Feedback from Canadians who ordered from Parts Express

**Bent** · 21 July 2006, 09:21 Friday

The only thing I've bought from Parts Express was a roll of tech-flex.
no problems there at all.

I have, however ordsered some Dayton RS28 tweeters which I cancelled prior to shipping date - they were excellent in their customer support.

That being said, I'd highly suggest shipping via US post from PE if they give you the option. Flat rate shipping/brokerage is almost as cheap as self clearing at Customs.

I had a Zektor component video switcher sent to me from California via US post, and I managed to avoid any duties as well as any taxes.

**cjd** · 21 July 2006, 10:08 Friday

PE *will* ship postal service but you have to request it specifically.

Or, since you're in Toronto, know anyone on the other side of the border so you could plan a day-trip to visit them?

C

**kingpin** · 21 July 2006, 14:29 Friday

Originally posted by cjd

PE *will* ship postal service but you have to request it specifically.

Or, since you're in Toronto, know anyone on the other side of the border so you could plan a day-trip to visit them?

C

Unfortunately I don't really know anyone close enough. I have been asking some friends if they know someone but no luck.

Mike

**opt-e** · 21 July 2006, 15:13 Friday

DO NOT ship UPS unless you want to pay brokerage fees up the woozie.

You dont have to make a special request to ship USPS, it should list it in the shipping options. The upfront cost is much higher than UPS but in the end will be less since they don't charge any extra fees. You will have to pay import duties (tax) either way though.

For the Vancouverites there is a shipping centre called The Letter Carrier just across the border which will accept shipments in your name. You have your stuff shipped there for a small ($2) fee and you can drive down and pick it up yourself to avoid brokerage duties. I did it this way for my most recent order. It ends up cheaper and twice as fast (2+ weeks for cross-border shipments vs 4 days) if you can spare the time to drive down. See if you can find somewhere close to Toronto that offers the same type of service.

I wouldn't worry too much about the condition of your parts on arrival. PE is very good with this type of thing and it will be no problem to have a damaged part replaced.

**morbo** · 21 July 2006, 15:18 Friday

I have ordered from PE 5 or 6 times, USPS each time. The largest order was 4 RS225 woofers. Every order had drivers and XO parts, all came in good condition, the worst I ever saw was a smooshed up box corner on the outer packaging, all drivers come in boxes and they were never damaged. The USPS rate seems more expensive, but if you go with UPS you will be dinged with big 'brokerage' fees on delivery. With USPS you will pay only tax+duty. It does take 1-3 weeks for delivery, unless you use the USPS air option. I'm about 40 minutes from you, so I imagine you'd get similar service. Hope that helps.

**thylantyr** · 21 July 2006, 16:00 Friday

PE's shipping fees {within USA} always seems on the high side to me. I try to order bulk on consumables to
ease the pain.

**Shawn Solar** · 21 July 2006, 19:57 Friday

HEHE i got 3 cabinets coming my way right now. I 've ordered the jasper jig last month and have not had a problem. Brokerage fees are a killer so this time I got it shipped usps.

**kingpin** · 21 July 2006, 20:55 Friday

It looks like I will be splitting my order up in 2-3 orders.
If I do it all in one it is 180lbs 8O .

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas.

Mike

**ThomasW** · 22 July 2006, 00:03 Saturday

Originally posted by kingpin

It looks like I will be splitting my order up in 2-3 orders.
If I do it all in one it is 180lbs 8O .

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas.

Mike

You won't need to split the order PE won't ship a single box that heavy.

**kingpin** · 22 July 2006, 01:11 Saturday

Originally posted by ThomasW

You won't need to split the order PE won't ship a single box that heavy.

You have a good point there.

That sounds pretty sensible.
I guess I should figured that myself.

Mike

**ct991** · 23 July 2006, 19:56 Sunday

I've made a few of orders from PE and I've had good experiences. For my large order (sub driver, amp, accessories...about 50Lbs) I got it shipped to a customs broker (like The Letter Carrier) in Blaine, WA (just over the border) and went to pick it up myself. I still had to pay GST and PST but that's it. For smaller orders I just have it shipped USPS direct to me since the difference in shipping costs was insignificant.

One thing to definitely watch out for is out-of-stock items. If you place an order and something is out of stock, they will ship the order without the item(s) and tell you the item is on backorder. Once they get it in stock you must reorder and pay shipping for another order. So you have to pay shipping twice. If you're in the States, backordered items are shipped without any additional shipping charges, which is completely unfair in my book.

See PE's backorder policy here:
PE Customer FAQ

**ThomasW** · 23 July 2006, 21:17 Sunday

What is your back order policy for international shipping?Out of stock items are removed from your order. Sign up for notification (on the website product page) when parts arrive in stock and please reorder. Product Restrictions We are not permitted to ship aerosol products outside of the continental U.S.

If they're removed from your original order you only pay for shipping one time....

**ct991** · 23 July 2006, 23:56 Sunday

If they're removed from your original order you only pay for shipping one time....

Yes, but the order you receive is now missing that item and if you want it then you have to order it again once it's in stock and pay shipping for the new order.

Say I'm ordering some drivers and some crossover components and some of the crossover components are out of stock (I am currently faced with this situation right now)
A lot of the shipping charge is a fixed amount, and then so much is added per pound of merchandise. If you have to make two orders to get what you want, then you pay that fixed amount twice, where you would only be paying a small extra amount if that out-of-stock item was included with the original order.

If the crossover components I wanted were included with my order for the drivers, I would only be paying a very small amount of shipping to add those crossover items to the order. But instead I have to wait for the crossover components to be in-stock, then make a new order and pay a lot more shipping for just those parts.

If you have to make two orders instead of one, you will be paying more for shipping.

**cjd** · 24 July 2006, 10:03 Monday

Paying more, but not paying again.

Crossover components you can usually pick up from Solen CA and save on border hassle.

C

**ct991** · 24 July 2006, 13:31 Monday

Crossover components you can usually pick up from Solen CA and save on border hassle

That's true. In fact I planned on getting everything from Solen...but they don't sell any non-air core inductors. I need a 3.3mH and a 4.7mH inductor and I was going to buy the Erse Super Q, but the 4.7mH is the one that's out of stock...d'oh!

**knifeinthesink** · 25 July 2006, 12:20 Tuesday

Hi Mike,

Im in Toronto and Im going to be making an order from PE very soon. If you want to bundle them together I think we could save a reasonable chunk on shipping. It would be fun to know another DIYer in TO too.

Reply in this thread if your interested and Ill give you an email or something.

David

Feedback from Canadians who ordered from Parts Express

Feedback from Canadians who ordered from Parts Express

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