Shipping from the US to Canada?

[crispygoat]

Which shipping service is the least expensive/best in order to ship a bass from the US to Canada?

I understand there are custom taxes and all, but last year I had to pay $150.00 with UPS and was wondering if FedEx or USPS would be less expensive?

[lo_freq_geek]

Avoid UPS... they have obscene brokerage fees plus they charge pst & gst upon entry. FedEx is not much better. USPS is by far the cheapest but they may have length restrictions.

[gjbassist]

I work for FedEx and I know the fees are fairly high. I can't give you an exact amount but you might want to call 1-800-GOFEDEX and talk to a customer service agent or check on the website.

[Geddyfleaharris]

Originally Posted by lo_freq_geek

Avoid UPS... they have obscene brokerage fees plus they charge pst & gst upon entry. FedEx is not much better. USPS is by far the cheapest but they may have length restrictions.

+1 but so far I have never hit the length restriction either shipping or receiving. Canada Post will also nail the Canadian receiver with the taxes but that's just the way it is. The buyer should know that. It's Canada for criminy sakes - the Government always gets their pound of flesh!

Canada Post charges a small fee -like $10 - for brokerage.

If the bass is Made In USA there are no import duties. As much as some people have an issue with shipping to Canada it's really not that big of a deal. Tracking numbers also work but once the item crosses the border, going either way, things gets dicey as far as the tracking info being up to date.

[deb]

+1 to avoid UPS. USPS is the cheapest after you account for the brokerage fees.

Fedex has an International Express shipping service which, I believe, includes brokerage fees. It's expensive but you shouldn't have to worry about brokerage fees for that. I pay $100-150 to ship a bass from the US to Canada using Fedex Express. Takes 1-2 days to ship. Then delay at customs (unless you call in advance and make sure the paper work is done beforehand). This method is fast and expensive.

USPS charges $5 or something like that for brokerage fees. UP postal system brings it to Canada. Canada Post brings it to customs. Customs clears it. Then Canada Post brings it to you. This will takes weeks. Can take over a month! It's cheap and slow.

Good luck!
deb

[bamba22]

Go with the postal service, post office

[YCBass]

FedEx is generally cheaper than UPS, ime, but I would be very careful... 3 years ago or so I shipped an amp to Canada, they delivered it as promised but did not collect taxes/duties upfront and instead billed the recipient a week later. Well, the guy didn't pay cause he already had his amp and to this day they are claiming I am instead responsible for the fees as supposedly written in their policies.

No way man, I don't care what FedEx policy is... The receiver is responsible for those fees and it was their job to collect upfront or return the package to me if my buyer didn't want to pay.

Just find out what they're procedure will be and cover yourself.

USPS will probably be the best way to do this, but they take long. I bought a bass from Canada and it took a month.

[eastcoasteddie]

I've shipped a good number of stuff to Canada, even a Bass. I use the Post Office exclusively for international shipping. By far the best prices, sometimes that is better than speed...
But every time I've either shipped or received something from Canada, it happened rather quickly, like within 2 weeks. I even shipped an onboard preamp to Australia via USPS, and he got it in about 2-3 weeks. Not too bad.

[Randall]

Originally Posted by YCBass

FedEx is generally cheaper than UPS, ime, but I would be very careful... 3 years ago or so I shipped an amp to Canada, they delivered it as promised but did not collect taxes/duties upfront and instead billed the recipient a week later. Well, the guy didn't pay cause he already had his amp and to this day they are claiming I am instead responsible for the fees as supposedly written in their policies.

No way man, I don't care what FedEx policy is... The receiver is responsible for those fees and it was their job to collect upfront or return the package to me if my buyer didn't want to pay.

Just find out what they're procedure will be and cover yourself.

USPS will probably be the best way to do this, but they take long. I bought a bass from Canada and it took a month.

I got a amp shipped from the US with fedex and yes they sent me a invoice a few weeks later for GST (Canadian tax). The invoice was in my name and I had to pay it. I cannot see how Fedex can expect you to pay the GST bill for the guy who bought your amp. They can get a collection agency to go after him.

[bassrad]

I live in Canada and trust me don't use anything other that USPS and Canada Post. The brokerage fees are going to be high.

Recently I purchased Ken Lawrence bass from US, full value insured, shipped with USPS, and extra duties were only USD55.70$.

With UPS i would expect to be a couple hundreds at least.

R.

[deedub72]

Originally Posted by eastcoasteddie

I've shipped a good number of stuff to Canada, even a Bass. I use the Post Office exclusively for international shipping. By far the best prices, sometimes that is better than speed...
But every time I've either shipped or received something from Canada, it happened rather quickly, like within 2 weeks. I even shipped an onboard preamp to Australia via USPS, and he got it in about 2-3 weeks. Not too bad.

I shipped a bass to Russia via USPS back on Nov 23rd, it is still not there! They all suck, the trick is finding which one sucks less

[NoobOnRoad]

USPS and Canada Post are the way to go. I don't like Fed Ex because of brokerage fees. I always ask for USPS even if it's longer.

[bassman74]

I've many account in the music business in the states and i have all my stuff ship through USPS. IT's not the fasted but it is the cheapest.... + NO broker fees but you may have to pay some taxes.

Depending on the officer at the border, he may charge you the canadian taxes on your parcel value in canadian dollar. IME 75% of the time when it's for a particular they don't charge any taxes..

i hope it helped

[Jonyak]

I have had basses shipped to me from the states, and it has never taken longer than a week or 2...

the only time I have had a problem was when canadian customs held an order I got from golighur.

[awall]

I have made The Perfect Bass my number one shopping site. They ship with Fed Ex and I am totally happy with the costs. They shipped me a Fender Jazz With a hard shell case for less than $100. Smaller items cost much less. I did get a bill for the GST about a month after the bass arrived.
Al

[JazzyJames]

UPS is the best IME. Fedex is extremely pricey internationally. UPS will sometimes charge you duties but other times youll get lucky.

[bullshark]

Originally Posted by crispygoat

Which shipping service is the least expensive/best in order to ship a bass from the US to Canada?

I understand there are custom taxes and all, but last year I had to pay $150.00 with UPS and was wondering if FedEx or USPS would be less expensive?

The problem with Fedex and UPS is that you can't know ahead of time how much they'll decide to charge for brokerage fee, even calling them is completely useless. Fedex is worst than UPS in the sense that you won't even know when you receive the item how much they decided to charge you that day, they'll send you a bill a week to two months later. I was once charged $345.00 in broker fees, that's on top of shipping cost and sale tax, for a $1500.00 camera lens!

With UPS you at least know upon pickup how much they want, and if it's too much still have the option of refusing the package(sometime they'll even negotiate with you if you refuse the package for indecent broker fees).

With USPS it's a flat 5 dollar fee for brokerage. I've heard horror stories about USPS shipment, but for myself I've never had a single problem in over 20 years of ordering from the US to Canada using USPS.

[iamlowsound]

USPS, I wont even bother buying something if it can't be shipped USPS anymore. The longest that I have had something take was 13 business days.

lowsound

[Geddyfleaharris]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

USPS, I wont even bother buying something if it can't be shipped USPS anymore. The longest that I have had something take was 13 business days.

lowsound

+1 to the length of time. I have never had something take more than 13 0r 14 days going either way.

FedEx are bizarre with their after the fact charges. Happened to me with a bass I bought from a TBer in Texas. I sent him the money due because it should have been charged to me in the first place.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by crispygoat

Which shipping service is the least expensive/best in order to ship a bass from the US to Canada?

I understand there are custom taxes and all, but last year I had to pay $150.00 with UPS and was wondering if FedEx or USPS would be less expensive?

you can self broker......make sure the shipper notes on the bill and package that it is to be self brokered,and call to find out how it's done...

.ups,fedex,et al are rapidly narrowing down the options available to ship,and i would not be the least bit surprised to hear that they lobby the usps to restrict service even further to draw us into their clutches.....there used to be hundreds of ltl carrier options and now there are a handful....ups fedex etc have a near monopoly and the obscene treatment of our goods,bogus claim denials and insane pricing are testament to that.....

i've spoken to customs reps and it is possible to set yourself up as a broker....it's legal,and inexpensive....