Kai,
Thanks for such a thorough response. You are obviously as pleased as I with
UPS.
Last time I came through the border (US -> Canada) I was bringing some
fenders in and doing the paperwork there, when I asked them about the
"Antique Auto Parts" thing. They told me that that is passe now. Now,
because of the wonderful Free Trade Agreement, what matters is that the
items being brought in are/were manufactured in the US, in which case, no
duty applies.
The UPS charges I was hit with were not duty or customs, but UPS' own fees:
1. They pay the PST and GST at the border on my behalf.
2. They charge me a fee for doing so.
3. There is GST on their fee.
4. They charge me a fee for filling out paperwork at the border. It's
variable, tends to be in the $30-45 range. If there are more than 14 items
on the packing list, the fee goes up as it is more work for them.
5. Sometimes, depending on how the shipper specified it, I have to pay
shipping from the border to my place.
All this ganged up on me once when I bought $300 worth of used tractor
parts - many items in the box, sender was ill-advised (read ripped off) by
UPS at his end about how to ship. So UPS shows up at my door with a box and
a bill for $270. No kidding. Then the guy I bought the stuff from asked me
to please send him the $34 they charged him to ship it from his place to
the border. When I asked UPS how much it would have been to have him pay
for shipping to my house it was actually less....go figure.
By contrast: after I wrote my message yesterday I received a notice that I
had some TRF parts (about $150 worth) to pick up at the post office that
had been shipped via USPS. I had to pay GST and PST of course (and I was
able to do it all by myself!) and the fee at the post office was: $8. Yeah,
eight.
So I will try I guess to convince Rocker Arm Specialist to try the USPS
again. Maybe he had a uniquely bad experience. Hope so.
Jim
=========================================
Kai wrote:
......UPS is probably the worst shipping firm in the USA, in my opinion of
course......
>Not a single one of my customers has ever had to pay brokerage fees or
>import duties when I have shipped items via USPS or FedEx to Canada.....no
>duties or additional fees were assessed by FedEx or the Canadian
>contractor that handles the deliveries in St Martins.
>
>I don't know if it helps at all, but even though I list the total value of
>the parts and a complete break down of the parts in the box, I still write
>"ANTINUE AUTO PARTS - 1960 TR3 (or whatever year/model)" on the customs
>forms. I once had someone else tell me about doing this, and who knows
>perhaps this is the secret to my successful shipping to Canada.
>Kai M. Radicke
>Wishbone Classics
>* British Car Parts *
>www.wbclassics.com
>Ph: 215.945.7250
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