Letter to Good Sam re Free Shipping To Canada

[Canonto]

Just purchased a RV-Pro 10000 Pure-Flow water softener on amazon.ca . I compared between RV upgrRVade Vs amazon.ca. RV upgrade had it at $177, shipping to Toronto, Canada $48, plus $40 UPS broker fee, plus US-CAN exchange, plus unknown duty, taxes. Amazon.ca charged $280+13% tax, free shipping.

[Fred1609]

Why can it not be shipped by USPS? UPS charges broker fees where there is no need. Ask for the unit to be sent up the old fashioned way. We live near the border and use Amazon.com where it is $200 with free shipping.

[Ron_H]

Originally Posted by tncruiser

would Americans have a brokerage fee if we ordered from canada ,is the brokerage fee a tax or just some made up fee by u.p.s.
brianj

I don't know how the customs and duties system works in in the US so I'm unable to respond to that portion of your question.

Tax and/or duty are different than a brokerage fee. The tax and/or duty is charged by the government whereas a brokerage fee is charged by a "broker" for the service they supposedly provide by processing orders through customs when entering Canada. Not all goods need to be cleared customs. Most small value goods or certain types of good, such as documents, simply slide through the system. Other items may require clearance and with many carriers you have the option of clearing them yourself or having the carrier assign a broker to clear them. Some companies, such as FedEx, provide their own clearing and don't charge the customer extra other than passing any tax or duty charged along.

The problem with UPS, well three problems actually, is they don't provide the option to self-clear, they charge brokerage (clearing cost) on many items that should never event enter this system, and they choose a broker without any input from the customer and that broker then charges (through UPS) very high prices.

I once forgot a cheap pair of sunglasses at a US customer's office for whom I was doing some consulting work. Being conscientious, one of the guys there sent the glasses back to me via UPS. UPS changed a brokerage fee of $75 to clear a pair of sunglasses that cost less than half that when new. Rather than possibly cause issues with the customer attempting to do a good deed, I simply paid the $75. On my next visit to that customer I discussed the event with their President and sales team and two weeks later that company dropped UPS and until now, about 8 years later, they have been using FedEx.

[Ron_H]

Originally Posted by Fred1609

Why can it not be shipped by USPS? UPS charges broker fees where there is no need. Ask for the unit to be sent up the old fashioned way. We live near the border and use Amazon.com where it is $200 with free shipping.

Shipping by USPS makes sense from the customer's end but is problematic for the shipper in a number of ways and increases their cost. The shipper must prepare declaration papers for customs, a process automated when using a courier system like UPS or FedEx, and they must sent someone to wait in line at the Post Office, adding more labour costs.

[Murf2u]

Originally Posted by Ron_H

Shipping by USPS makes sense from the customer's end but is problematic for the shipper in a number of ways and increases their cost. The shipper must prepare declaration papers for customs, a process automated when using a courier system like UPS or FedEx, and they must sent someone to wait in line at the Post Office, adding more labour costs.

No, USPS has all the forms online, it's very fast & easy. In fact it's automated based on the shipping address put into online order, that's how they know the cost & transit times. Also, if you're a commercial account, especially one the size of CW they send a tractor trailer to you.

[cb1000rider]

I ship internationally (small business) and use USPS. It's integrated into the shipping printing... And I hear the same thing from customers in CA - willing to pay shipping costs, just not brokerage fees.

Shipping is expensive. I can ship something small to MI for $5.50. To Canada, $40.00. That's USPS. UPS is worse. But many people in Canada have been indicating that they can't take UPS packages due to that fee.

What ever happened with NAFTA?

And the "free shipping" you get from Amazon.. well, it's not free. It's baked into the total costs of what you're charged, just like "free shipping" on ebay is. Amazon will allow small business to have Amazon auto-pack and distribute using their shipping locations, which is a huge help and potential speed advantage, but shipping isn't ever "free". Likely you're subsidizing it via Amazon Prime..

[NorthernDriv]

NAFTA is still in place. We canucks don't pay Duty on USA made items BUT we have to pay GST(Federal tax). Since GST has to be paid, UPS pays it and hits us with Brokerage.

[Ron_H]

For those of us who live near the border the best solution is to ship good to a US address. I have been renting a mailbox in Blaine, WA now for more than a decade and it pays off in the reduced cost and hassle of purchasing US goods.

The PO box I use supports the use of standard street addresses so it is not considered to be a PO box by the shipping party. I also have my credit card statement sent to that same address so I don't have any issues resulting from different shipping verse billing addresses. The PO provider has also introduced 24/7 pickup service now so goods can be collected when there is virtually no border wait times late in the evening.

[datrbone8]

Originally Posted by NorthernDriv

NAFTA is still in place. We canucks don't pay Duty on USA made items BUT we have to pay GST(Federal tax). Since GST has to be paid, UPS pays it and hits us with Brokerage.

So the issue isn't really Camping World, but Canadian taxes ?

[NorthernDriv]

The problem is UPS......they will pay the $1.87 tax for us and add $40 brokerage fee. With USPS we go to the PO and pay the $1.87 tax and thats all.