Re: Canada customs and duty information - venting
Here is the deal, UPS does not charge a percentage. UPS charges a fee for a service. The service is getting the item through customs. They also pay, and then collect from you, the duty fees for the country imported into.
The reason that UPS ground is expensive, is that they file a clearance form for every piece of shipment.
UPS air, they file a clearance form for every plane. So it is much cheaper. You still have to pay the flat rate for customs, but the service is amortized over the whole plane load.
In the US you can clear items yourself, up to $2k. Most people who ship a lot of stuff over the border in Canada have a clearing house to deal with this issue. In this case, I ship to the clearing house, on the US side of the border. Places like Pembina, North Dakota. These towns exist for this sole purpose. The goods are cleared through customs, and then delivered to you.
" but that the shipments were always held up at the border for some reason or another."
OK, this part is weird. In the US there are laws governing the procedures for entry, and duty. But they are so widely interpreted and implemented. Rochester, NY is by far the worst place in the US for goods to enter. The officers are dicks, and they take pride in making everyone's life a living hell. Transporting goods into Rochester is far cheaper than having them come into NYC, and then making another connection to have them delivered to Rochester. But the time, and more to the point, the aggravation, of time and energy spent, even when a customs broker is doing the work for you, it is far more expedient to ship the goods to NYC, have them clear customs there, and then have them ground transported to Rochester.
In Charlotte, NC my broker usually has the goods cleared the same day they land, and picked up for delivery.
The system. Know how it works, and what works best for you.
Here is the deal, UPS does not charge a percentage. UPS charges a fee for a service. The service is getting the item through customs. They also pay, and then collect from you, the duty fees for the country imported into.
The reason that UPS ground is expensive, is that they file a clearance form for every piece of shipment.
UPS air, they file a clearance form for every plane. So it is much cheaper. You still have to pay the flat rate for customs, but the service is amortized over the whole plane load.
In the US you can clear items yourself, up to $2k. Most people who ship a lot of stuff over the border in Canada have a clearing house to deal with this issue. In this case, I ship to the clearing house, on the US side of the border. Places like Pembina, North Dakota. These towns exist for this sole purpose. The goods are cleared through customs, and then delivered to you.
" but that the shipments were always held up at the border for some reason or another."
OK, this part is weird. In the US there are laws governing the procedures for entry, and duty. But they are so widely interpreted and implemented. Rochester, NY is by far the worst place in the US for goods to enter. The officers are dicks, and they take pride in making everyone's life a living hell. Transporting goods into Rochester is far cheaper than having them come into NYC, and then making another connection to have them delivered to Rochester. But the time, and more to the point, the aggravation, of time and energy spent, even when a customs broker is doing the work for you, it is far more expedient to ship the goods to NYC, have them clear customs there, and then have them ground transported to Rochester.
In Charlotte, NC my broker usually has the goods cleared the same day they land, and picked up for delivery.
The system. Know how it works, and what works best for you.
