Recently, we have received a few inquiries from our Canadian customers regarding shipping, brokers fees, customs & taxes and what is the best course of action for them to take when shipping products to Canada. We have investigated the situation, and have come up with these helpful insights to those affected.
If you choose to have your OWC order shipped via UPS or FedEx, OWC now includes all brokerage fees in our shipping costs to Canada. However, there still may be duty taxes and/or custom fees that would be charged separately by the carrier, on behalf of the Canadian Government, and are usually due upon delivery of your order.
As far as tracking your parcel goes, typically USPS First Class is the least expensive option and, as such, does not come with any tracking information. Priority shipments will have a reference number that can sometimes show the major happenings like pick up and delivery. A neat trick that many may not be aware of is that the USPS tracking information can also be tracked using canadapost.com once the parcel has entered Canada!
- Duties, Taxes and Handling Fees: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html
- Canada Border Services Agency Main Page: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html
- Shipping Calculator: http://www.thefinalcost.com/
OWC would appreciate any feedback on these links, or others that may be of help to our Neighbors To The North! Please make your comments and suggestions below.
If you’re purchasing this with a business account, you may be charged duties and require a shipping broker… as opposed to purchasing it personally.
Another option if you’re nearby a border town is to have it shipped via Fedex or UPS to a depot location State-side, and indicate in the delivery options that you prefer to pick it up, instead of a delivery option.
There is a $75 duty-free allowance per person per day ($750 per week) when crossing over the border, and anything over that will be entirely up to the discretion of the CBSA agent at the gate. Don’t try to sneak it in, just pay the taxes, as you’re probably getting a great deal to begin with, duties or not!
And if you want a guaranteed delivery, not a ballpark-estimate, use Fedex, not UPS (pronounced OOPS!).
Thanks, OWC, for being willing to work with your Northern neighbours on this stuff!
I needed a hard drive replacement for an audio session I was working on in a hurry, talked to the OWC agent on Friday and Monday it was at my door via FedEx. As I live in an area that doesn’t get to door delivery from Canada Post, this was ny best option. It was fast (actually faster than expected… and yes there was obligitory “customs” fees, in this case well worth it)… BTW the disk drive replacement for our Pro tools rig, plug and play… worked like a charm!
The US postal Service is the BEST low cost option to receive packages delivered in Canada from the US.
For instances where I prefer to have an item delivered quickly I have been using a courier/postal drop in the US and then crossing the border to retrieve the package(s). By using this method I avoid the high shipping and brokerage charges levied by UPS and other courier companies. UPS charges a 15-20 percent premium to ship packages to Canada as opposed to a point just south of the border. They then add a $45 + charge for their customs brokering service makes the total cost of the purchase much more expensive. UPS has consistently refused to allow my customs broker to clear packages and it’s not been possible to connect with anyone in UPS to get clarification. The person I last spoke to simply quoted company policy.
Some companies do not use the USPS and rely only on couriers. When there is no choice I cross the border to save money.
I appreciate OWC’s assistance , thank you!
Nice! When I ordered in the past from OWC, I opted for the USPS/Canada Post option because they don’t charge an outrageous “brokerage” fee. It’s usually $5 for handling (if they even bother charging that) and you’ll usually only pay the taxes based on the value claimed (note that they often use the insured value and not the actual quoted or invoiced value – don’t bother over insuring your packages).
UPS is by far the worst IMHO. Last time I had something shipped via UPS from the US, it cost me almost $50 in “brokerage” fees on an item that was duty exempt. Heck, it was being sent by a relative and was really a gift!
Never again will I use UPS.