Tips for Customs Charges - International Shipping

[Vanished]

Ok, I've done a few deals with people here on the forum, as well as on eBay and other online websites. I'm from Canada, so a lot of my purchases and sales come and go from the USA.

The main drawback of doing this is Customs, and UPS really likes to nail you on this. I've been charged over 50 dollars in custom fee's from an American seller.

The way to avoid this? When you ship something to USA or Canada or any country for that matter, simply mark the package as a Gift. Also, ship with USPS rather that UPS when shipping from USA to Canada. They base these custom charges on the type of item, as well as how much it is worth. Here are the rates.

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shippi ... rance.html

So PLEASE, if you EVER ship out of the country, mark the item as a GIFT to avoid excessive charges!

[fatray]

hmmmmm, tax evasion, isn't that what they got Al Capone on?

[Vanished]

If you got in s--- for doing this I would bail you out of it. As far as I know, marking an item as a gift is not illegal in any circumstances. You could ship me an item for free, and then I could later decide that I should give you a 'TIP'. No difference.

[fowljesse]

Thanks for posting this!

[Smith18]

Why isn't this STICKIED! Come on...

[Ricky_Bobby]

I've always tried to use USPS as much as possible to have things shipped to Canada from the US.
UPS are the biggest rip-offs when it comes to duty fees. I've paid for something that cost me 75$... and duties came to 40$!! More then half the value of the item!!

USPS FTW!!

[matt753]

I'm pretty sure this was UPS..........I paid $50 for my tail lights, $50 for shipping, then $50 in customs...it was ridiculous.

[Jcorrea81]

How long does an item usually take to ship from CanAda to the US?? I know it depends on locations so How long is the average hold up at custosm for auto parts, let say distributor?

[rekognize]

Avoid UPS at all cost just check out their rates.. http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shippi ... rance.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ElectricEnergy]

Sending items marked as gifts shouldn't be a problem. But You won't be insured if they get lost/damaged in the mail.

[infiniGTR]

Sending items marked as gifts shouldn't be a problem. But You won't be insured if they get lost/damaged in the mail.

Not true. I just mailed off a package (USPS) to Canada yesterday marked as "gift" and because it was sent priority, the item was automatically insured up to $114.92 USD. You also still have the option of purchasing additional coverage.

[ElectricEnergy]

Oh I see... my mistake.

[Vanished]

I just picked up a parcel today from hec.

Feels nice to leaving the post office without having to pay another 20 bucks haha...so thanks!

Seriously guys, please remember this. It's really shitty when you have to pay another 50 bucks that you didn't expect to have to pay because somebody checked the wrong box haha...

[Flyer]

Duties on regular parcels
Anything under $20 is not charged duties. Anything over may be charged duties. This is up to the BSO who is processing your item. I have seen BSOs release packages with a written value of well over $200 free of charge. you should thank them for cutting you a break.

Gift exemptions
Gifts valued $60 or less are not charged duties. If the value of the item is over $60, the difference is charged. However, just because you mark a gift, it does not stop us from ripping it apart to verify that it is a gift. Indicators include a card addressed to the receiptent or if it is gift-wrapped. If we decide it is not a gift, you get charged duties. Commercial shipments are never considered gifts, no matter what they are marked.

Blank declaration forms/no value listed
If a parcel comes ith a blank or incomplete declaration form, it gets sent to no dec. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is opened here. The BSO who opens it then can elect to release it free, charge you duties, or hold it for further investigations. If no value is listed, we either look for a receipt or appraise it and charge accordingly.

The package was valued at $20! Why did I get charged duties?
The package was examined and either a receipt was found indicating the true value (Paypal notes with "Please list as $20/gift" are always fun ) or the BSO decided that the value listed as false and appriased it on the spot.

I feel that I as overcharged/the BSO appraised the item wrong! What can I do?
Contact the CBSA with proof of how much you actually paid for the item in order to get refunded. Or charged more, although even I am not sure why you would do that...

I regularly ship items into Canada, but I do everyone a favour and declare it as a gift. Will anything happen to me?
If you do it enough to get our attention, you get placed on a "watch list" on the server, so to speak. That means everything you ship in will get examined. If you still continue to mark them as gifts or undervalue them, it could lead to all your shipments getting sent back.

I got an item that had the yellow customs tape and it was broken! WTF man?
Contact both CBSA and Canada Post Corporation. The package was broken by one of those parties and the party responsible will compensate you for the damage. If you really value your packages, ask the sender to mark the outside with "Fragile: Please toss underhanded". I have seen people kick around boxes clearly marked "WARNING: Glass item"

I got a package from the UK that was $20, but why was it opened?
Occassionally, certain countries are on a watchlist for a blitz lasting several days, meaning EVERYTHING gets checked until it is over. If you are lucky, it only gets x-rayed. If not, it is physically torn apart and checked. Personally, I blame the people trying to send illegal stuff in.