TrackdayRSA.

I just got my new mats from Lloyds mats in the US...when UPS delivered the box I was ordered to pay $60 duty on the mats which only cost $145! I was bloody furious, but wanted the mats so I paid it. The UPS lady said "it all who depends who you get, sometimes you will pay nothing" What a f**king ripoff.

fenix

For UPS, if the seller shipped using UPS ground you need to keep in mind, what you are paying is not all duty. You need to look at the actual break downs. For item valued $100-$200. UPS charges $29 for an entry preparation fee (which is basically type in what item and what category it is) that is pure UPS profit from what they collect form you. UPS may also charge a small COD fee. Then there's around $20 for GST/PST. So whatever money you are paying from that $60 they ask at the door is mostly not duty related. The only time UPS don't charge you extra on top of GST/PST and standard duty is when it is shipped using UPS Worldwide Express or UPS Worldwide Expedited. Of course those shipping method are much much more expensive so for something $100-$200 it's probably not worth it. Or alternatively there are people does their own import clearances so that UPS can't charge you those entry preparation fees. Anyway here's the entry preparation fee schedule posted by UPS.

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...clearance.html

So you know ahead of time how much UPS will take from you aside from sales taxes and duties next time.

Rinty

I just bought some suspension stuff from Paragon in Corpus Christi. Had it shipped to a supplier, in Dallas, of a client of mine for inclusion in his weekly parts shipment. My client gets bulk clearance and shipping rates, so it saved me some dough. And the Texas sales tax is refundable once the shipment crosses the border. My client is a gearhead, so he was happy to help out with a bit of extra admin work.

DHI

USPS and CanadaPost rock.
I won't purchase anything if vendor doesn't use POSTAL service.

fenix

Yeah USPS and Canada Post is the best choice. They only charge $5 for standard parcel and $8 for express parcel on top of GST/PST and duty. And from time to time they don't check the parcel and you get it tax free. It is indeed one of the best shipping method if you are buying stuff from US.