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11-04-2013, 06:52 PM   #1
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Experience Shipping to Canada?

I just had an inquiry about shipping my Marketplace advertised equipment to Canada.
Does anyone know with certainty if there are customs or duty fees imposed on the recipient of a camera shipped into Canada from the U.S.?
Thanks.

11-04-2013, 06:57 PM   #2
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I ship to Canada all the time -- I don't think so. Maybe if the value were very high.
11-04-2013, 06:58 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Presidente Quote
I just had an inquiry about shipping my Marketplace advertised equipment to Canada.
Does anyone know with certainty if there are customs or duty fees imposed on the recipient of a camera shipped into Canada from the U.S.?
Thanks.
Yes, the buyer will pay duty on anything going across the border, even if its a private sale, on the order of 10-15% of the declared value, but I don't know what it is for sure.

EDIT: You do not pay, the duty charges are on delivery.
11-04-2013, 07:00 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Gareth.Ig Quote
Yes, the buyer will pay duty on anything going across the border, even if its a private sale, on the order of 10-15% of the declared value, but I don't know what it is for sure.

EDIT: You do not pay, the duty charges are on delivery.
Thanks. I thought something like that may be the case.

11-04-2013, 07:35 PM   #5
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I doubt there would be duty charged unless it was a new camera or it came from a store.

What we do get hit with is taxes. I believe it is on anything above $20 we pay taxes on the declared value of the item; however, often things of higher value (sometimes up to $100) slide through without a charge. In addition to taxes we pay a 'customs charge.' If using the post office that charge is $5 (may be $8 now). However, UPS or Fedex can charge much higher for this customs charge---Never use UPS--their charge can be something like $50 for doing the customs clearance.

So....always have items shipped via the post office and not UPS or FEDEX. On most items from a personal sale I don't pay anything if the item is a declared value of less than ~$50. Higher value items will be charged the GST/PST or HST on the declared value of the item plus the $5 post office fee.

These are all charges the buyer must pay to pick up their items---there is no charge to the seller.

Steve.
11-04-2013, 08:02 PM   #6
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There no duty in Canada for photo equipment.
If send my UPS , Fedex or DHL , the buyer will pay for brokerage charge from the courrier company.
If package is sent by USPS, no such charge.
You could be GST#HST Tax but rarely from private sellers or used item
11-05-2013, 06:44 AM   #7
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I'll add a couple of other things. It takes a while for it to show up; it sits in customs for a little while. We end up paying some GST on some items; depends on the value. Otherwise, no problems. I've had stuff shipped from the US often.

11-05-2013, 11:18 AM   #8
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USPS is the way to go. The courier companies charge a "brokerage fee" which is an absolute rip-off. As mentioned before, there's no duty, but sales taxes are sometimes collected by the post office on behalf of CRA. Emphasis on sometimes--I buy lots of stuff from the states and it's only once in a while that they bother to collect the taxes.
11-05-2013, 11:13 PM   #9
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What you need to consider is whether you use US postal service or a courier.

USPS does not charge duty clearence fees, but what you declare as value and contents might be assessed duty. On old lenses this is not a problem.

If you use a courier, UPS especially, regardless of what you pay in the us, they hit the canadian customer with customs clearance fees even if there is no duty.

It really adds a lot to the cost of low value items
11-06-2013, 07:10 AM   #10
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What a lot of Canadians who live close to the border do, is to have a US mailing address, basically a wharehouse that holds the item for you to pick up. It's then up to the customer to take it through customs. A lot of E-Bay dealers will only ship to the address on the PayPal account though.

Tuggie76
11-06-2013, 09:26 AM   #11
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I live in Canada, and have shipped to and from the US often.

If you use UPS, Fedex, Purolator, etc then the buyer will be charged enormous fees to cross the border, sometimes as high as half the declared cost of the item. So please don't do that.

If you ship with USPS, and declare the item as used, then most of the time (except if value is high) there will be no customs fees. No hassle, no delays, just plain free trade shipping. If the declared value is high, then yes there might be a tax collected by the border agents. But that's the buyer's responsibility.
11-06-2013, 11:22 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by tuggie76 Quote
What a lot of Canadians who live close to the border do, is to have a US mailing address, basically a wharehouse that holds the item for you to pick up. It's then up to the customer to take it through customs. A lot of E-Bay dealers will only ship to the address on the PayPal account though.

Tuggie76
And a lot of ebay sellers won't ship outside the US
11-07-2013, 08:09 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lowell Goudge Quote
And a lot of ebay sellers won't ship outside the US
Recent changes at USPS makes it a lot easier to ship to Canada now, at least for low-cost items where 1st class is a better option (the cheap one) if you don't mind skipping insurance. Now there is a tracking# (with limited info, but at least delivery confirmation), and you can just print out a label and slap it on and give it to the carrier. Used to usually mean a trip to the post office, filling out forms on paper, and no tracking of any kind...
11-07-2013, 08:33 AM   #14
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I think shipping everything via USPS to Canada is the best way to go and both parties will be happy.
If is shipped by USPS, Canada Post takes care of the package once it gets on this side.
From my experience, what I have noticed is that they will charge for taxes, depending on how the package is marked.
If is "sample" or "gift", it usually doesn't get taxed no matter the insurance claim.

Brokerage fees from UPS or FeDex are a joke on this side. Lot of times I paid more on brokrage fees than the actual item cost. UPS is the worst from my experience. If you track the package, it keeps on going back and forth from Canada to US and charges keeps on pilling. Nothing but crooks from my point of view.

On the other hand, I had a somewhat good experience with DHL and Canpar...
11-08-2013, 11:04 AM   #15
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Any photographic item coming into Canada from the US is subject to PST & GST or HST only. (No duty) The rate of sales tax depends on the province you live in.

On top of that you will be charged a brokerage fee from CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency) if the item is coming via USPS or by the courier company. CBSA charges a flat rate of $9.95 CDN for the handling fee, Canada Post collects the taxes & handling fee on behalf of CBSA when they deliver the item.

If a courier company is doing the shipping you will be charged EVERY time, whether you prepay at the time of purchase or when the item is delivered.

If the item is coming via mail then CBSA “randomly” applies the charges. I’ve been dung for items with a declared value of less than $50.00US and not been charged for items with a declared value of more that $500.00US.

It’s anyone’s guess how CBSA selects which items gets taxed, but I’m suspecting it’s how busy they are more than anything.

Phil.
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