Customs from the US to Canada

DunDunDun · Posted: Mar 28, 2006 3:43 pm Post subject: Customs from the US to Canada

so i am ordering some stuff from action village. and i was wondering how much customs will be. shipping is only $35. does it go by weight? and if so what are the weights and prices? is there a website where i can view this? will it be added onto my VISA automatically?
thanks in advance

oh and the gun is a kingman pilot ACS
http://www.actionvillage.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=4Yr-JRKqioL-flaDJqc-jRhjqeXbNpMb4l8=?ProductID=8IDAqArbrCYAAAECFfMmO6f8
theres the link. its huge

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

Why would there be a charge for customs? Companies won't send you something that is illegal (generally). Why not contact the company?

Mitchell · Posted: Mar 28, 2006 3:58 pm Post subject:

just order it from a american company $35 seems alot for shipping

Chales · Guest

Customs won't/shouldn't charge anything. They are paid by taxpayers. Sales taxes are what can get you though, if you get taxed both in America and Canada. Look for "duty free".

microman · Posted: Mar 28, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject:

Chances are you will pay something(e.g. brokerage fees), depending on how it's shipped, what the item is, and what it's declared value is. On top of that you get to pay taxes on it.

Just pray that UPS is not shipping it to you.

Free trade, yeah right.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/courier/postal/menu-e.html

Damon · Posted: Mar 28, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject:

Its amazing how far paintballing has come... 4 years ago a high end semiauto kingman was 200 by itself. Talk about a waste of my money, I should really start playing again.

arof · Posted: Mar 28, 2006 6:16 pm Post subject:

I just got a pair of shoes from the states, claimed at 30 bucks, sent by USPS and paid 15 bucks in duty. Shipping was 10 bucks. This summer, I got a pair of bindings, claimed at 150, sent by USPS and had to pay 35 bucks. You will get nailed most likely.

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

why don't you just have a friend in the States buy you the the stuff and mail it to you?

arof · Posted: Mar 28, 2006 7:03 pm Post subject:

jt09, I have a cousin who visits friends in the states alot. We would mail stuff to them and just get it when my cousin went down (ususally every other weekend or something). For some items, I don't like to wait though.

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

arof, no no - what I mean is this: Have someone (your cousin's friend, in this case) go to the store and buy it for you, then ship it to you via UPS. You would save the tax part. Am I missing something?

arof · Posted: Mar 28, 2006 8:29 pm Post subject:

jt09, there's still the chance that they will nail ya for duty though. Customs is a tricky business.

Mariognarly · Addict Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Posts: 853

Yeah you will get dinged on customs either way. I used to work for FedEx, which actually has a really nice system. I haven't seen the inside of UPS's process, but from my experience with them I dont like it.

Depending on who ships it, customs will usually come seperately than your main purchase fee. Usually you need to write the delivery man a cheque, or pay cash, but now I think they have interac at the door.

The amount that you pay depends solely on the type of item. I have ordered wake gear, boards and bindings, and have not paid a cent for customs. I have paid big customs on pairs of jeans and assorted clothes. As much as 50 bucks on a 300 dollar order of clothes. I do not know where you can find a list of what each item's 'customs' price is, but I bet you could find out by calling your shipper.

bluefish86 · Posted: Mar 29, 2006 9:29 am Post subject:

A good rule of thumb I find for buying stuff from the US is that the final price in $cdn is double the price in $us. So if you buy bindings listed at $150 US, they'll most likely come to just under $300 cdn once shipping, customs fees, brokerage fees and currency exchange are all factored in. If you ship with USPS, it'll be less because they have the cheapest (no?) brokerage fees.

Wired1 · Outlaw Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 171

DunDunDun, Is it coming from the US and you live in Canada? (I don't know where Kawartha Lakes is)

My fiance is in BC, and I'm in Washington St. I travel up there once a month. He buys a lot of snowmobiling stuff from the States, has it sent to me, and I bring it up. This saves him a lot of time (stuff can sit at customs for a long time), and you DO have to pay a duty. It's often rather pricey. Call the customs office for the country the product would be entering.

DunDunDun · Posted: Mar 29, 2006 12:08 pm Post subject:

well i live just about one hour north of toronto. so if someone wants to get this stuff and drive it up ill pay for the stuff and then pay them also.

Bambamski · Posted: Mar 29, 2006 12:29 pm Post subject:

UPS charges 35 bucks to for brokerage charges and then you have to pay GST on the brokerage and the item you purchased. Never have anything sent overnight, it will never make through the border over night and can take weeks to clear.

The USPS and Canada post only charges 5 bucks (brokerage) and you have to pay GST on top of that. There should be no other duty.

You can get away with having someone send an item as a gift and not have to pay any brokerage or GST. I believe it has to be under a certain amount though to be a "free" gift.

Your best bet is to send it to a U.S. address and pick it up at some point. My wife has family stateside so if I need something I'll have a package sent to one of them and I pick it up and bring it back when I'm down there. You have to plan a head when you do that though.

I have a friend buying a drysuit down there and I'm going to pick it up for him in May. It will cost him about 250 bucks cdn vs paying 400-500 bucks here. Pretty much a no brainer.

Stay away from UPS at all costs!!

SIXTRE · Posted: Apr 23, 2006 11:55 pm Post subject:

Check out this Duty and Tax calculator - http://www.aacb.com/tools/dutytax.asp

And, if buying from eBay - check this out - http://www.myborderpro.com/