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Waitin' for UPS...

Anthbass

Anthbass

Jul 24, 2006
1,085
16
Canada
#1
I arrived home from school last night to find the much coveted 'UPS InfoNotice' affixed to my door. I elected to work from home today so that I can take possesion of my Clement fretless, which has meandered its way from sunny Florida to decidedly wintery Alberta. For those interested, I had the bass shipped standard, which cost $55 USD, including insurance. Upon arrival in Canada, UPS has bilked me a further $115.77 (CDN) for the tax and brokerage, which works out to roughly the same money that having the bass shipped express would have cost. Not an issue really, as I budgeted for it, but having the bass in 3-5 days as opposed to 2 weeks for the same money is rather more appealing. Lessons for next time. Back to waiting.
(drums fingers on desk)
 
#2
I've had a number of things shipped into Canada from the US, and it seems that UPS has the highest brokerage fees by a long shot. Taxes (5% GST, and PST if applicable) and duty are unavoidable, but brokerage fees are different depending on the shipping company. Shipping via US Postal Service means it gets handled by Canada Post coming into Canada, and they charge a flat fee of $5 for brokerage. FedEx seems to be about $8 (so far it has been about the same regardless of the value of the item). The few times I've had something shipped by UPS, they've charged upwards of $30 or $40 for brokerage. I've heard of some extreme stories too, like UPS charging $80 brokerage on an item that's valued at not much more. The worst thing is, it's hard to find out up front what the brokerage fee will be, and then people are shocked to get the bill. I saw some discussion about this whole issue on the ebay forum, and apparently there is a class action lawsuit against UPS over brokerage fees. I try to insist on using USPS or FedEx instead of OOPS. :hmm:

This site has some good info on the topic: Invalid Link Removed
 
#3
I'm a logistics coordinator in the hotel industry, and I ship a lot of stuff from US to Canada. UPS is significantly more expensive, however they are the only reliable option. While most shipments with FedEx or USPS go off without a hitch, if there is a customs issue the package goes into a hell of bureaucracy that can take 6-8 weeks to sort out. IME, UPS has these issues sorted out in a couple days. For me, that is easily worth the extra cost.
 
#5
cavemusic said:
I've had a number of things shipped into Canada from the US, and it seems that UPS has the highest brokerage fees by a long shot. Taxes (5% GST, and PST if applicable) and duty are unavoidable, but brokerage fees are different depending on the shipping company. Shipping via US Postal Service means it gets handled by Canada Post coming into Canada, and they charge a flat fee of $5 for brokerage. FedEx seems to be about $8 (so far it has been about the same regardless of the value of the item). The few times I've had something shipped by UPS, they've charged upwards of $30 or $40 for brokerage. I've heard of some extreme stories too, like UPS charging $80 brokerage on an item that's valued at not much more. The worst thing is, it's hard to find out up front what the brokerage fee will be, and then people are shocked to get the bill. I saw some discussion about this whole issue on the ebay forum, and apparently there is a class action lawsuit against UPS over brokerage fees. I try to insist on using USPS or FedEx instead of OOPS. :hmm:

This site has some good info on the topic: Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

You are bang on with 99.9% of your statement. I avoid UPS like the plague. The way around the excess UPS brokerage fees is that you tell UPS you will do your own brokering. This means that you have to run the shipping documents from UPS to Canada Customs and get it cleared yourself. If you have the time great but most people don't have that much spare time.

The other point is if the item is manufactured in the U.S. then it is duty exempt. Only PST and GST are collected. :)
 
#7
Bass is here and was totally worth the wait. Thanks for the suggestions, folks. UPS charged me $67.65 for brokerage, plus a brokerage GST tax of $3.38. I may try another carrier the next time I bring a bass into the country.
Cheers.
 
#9
Anthbass said:
Bass is here and was totally worth the wait. Thanks for the suggestions, folks. UPS charged me $67.65 for brokerage, plus a brokerage GST tax of $3.38. I may try another carrier the next time I bring a bass into the country.
Cheers.
Click to expand...

Just curious: is the bass worth over $1600 (CDN) or under? The process is quite different, and accordingly the brokerage fee is different too. That might not be any different than other customs brokers if the item is valued over $1600.
 
#10
rustynuts said:
Just to be fair, while the USPS and Canada Post don't have to pay for an outside brokerage service, UPS and FedEx do. They incur a cost in transporting an item across international boundaries so they pass it on to the recipient. If the recipient refuses to pay, they bill the shipper.
Click to expand...

Except the recipient has no way of knowing what that cost will be ahead of time. And frankly, what UPS charge for "brokerage service" has nothing to do with the cost they incur, it's highway robbery, plain and simple.

I use USPS or have it picked up by Purolator when I need something delivered from the US. If UPS is the only option, then I just don't buy, period.
 
#13
bullshark said:
Except the recipient has no way of knowing what that cost will be ahead of time. And frankly, what UPS charge for "brokerage service" has nothing to do with the cost they incur, it's highway robbery, plain and simple.

I use USPS or have it picked up by Purolator when I need something delivered from the US. If UPS is the only option, then I just don't buy, period.
Click to expand...


Yeah. You can get an exact quote for shipping, but you never quite know the brokerage fee until the bill shows up. FedEx has always charged me $8 or so for anything I've bought from the US. When the item is under $1600, Customs Canada allows couriers to use a special program that makes it easy to bring items in, so UPS and FedEx don't really have to do much paperwork in that case. Once I bought a minidisk recorder - shipping through UPS was about $20 - brokerage fee was $40. $20 to truck something clear across the continent - $40 to fill out a form. Go figure.
 
#18
cavemusic said:
I've had a number of things shipped into Canada from the US, and it seems that UPS has the highest brokerage fees by a long shot. Taxes (5% GST, and PST if applicable) and duty are unavoidable, but brokerage fees are different depending on the shipping company. Shipping via US Postal Service means it gets handled by Canada Post coming into Canada, and they charge a flat fee of $5 for brokerage. FedEx seems to be about $8 (so far it has been about the same regardless of the value of the item). The few times I've had something shipped by UPS, they've charged upwards of $30 or $40 for brokerage. I've heard of some extreme stories too, like UPS charging $80 brokerage on an item that's valued at not much more. The worst thing is, it's hard to find out up front what the brokerage fee will be, and then people are shocked to get the bill. I saw some discussion about this whole issue on the ebay forum, and apparently there is a class action lawsuit against UPS over brokerage fees. I try to insist on using USPS or FedEx instead of OOPS. :hmm:

This site has some good info on the topic: Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

This is exactly my experience with UPS. And there IS a class action lawsuit against them, in response to their horrendous brokerage crap.

ALWAYS get your shipper to AVOID UPS when shipping across the BORDER!! A month ago, I was charged $150 brokerage... for a $400 dollar purchase!! I've learned my lesson by way of more than $600+ of their bull*%^* fees! Anyhow, I finally figured out the sham, and I refuse to buy anything that is shipped via UPS... period.
 

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