Please help quick! Duties/fees buying from Canada?

[Ricky]

After 10 months of avoiding upgraditis, I am about to buy something from Canada. 39 lbs for $1500, and it's not an amp Can someone please tell me if and how much U.S. Customs will charge in duties and tariffs? Would the seller or buyer be charged? What are ways to minimize this?

The seller will ship Fedex COD, and pay all Fedex shipping and insurance.

Thanks!

[Andrew Pratt]

this thread might interest you

http://www.htguide.com/CFBoards/index.cfm?fuseaction=Threads.viewthread&CFB=1&Tid=56497&Forum=25&DoOnePage=Yes&RequestTimeout=500

[TSG]

Ricky,

I started a thead about this at HTF. Seems to be hit or miss with the duty charges.. Is it a gift?

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91457

Tom

[Ricky]

Thanks guys, I saw both threads earlier. Does seem hit or miss? Is the Aragon Soundstage made in the U.S and therefore would not qualify as a made-in-Canada item?

[Lex]

Is it a slurpee machine? LOL.

I have no idea. I try for most my things to go the other direction.

Lex




Cable Guy DVD Collection

[Ricky]

Yes, my birthday is coming up soon and I want to treat myself Well, the Soundstage will do battle against the MC1 ( and the Rogue 66 magnum tube preamp. Last year, the MC1 defeated the Citation 5.0 and Yamaha RXV1.

I blame Lexman for this purchase! After he appointed me a moderator, then some DT old-timers showed up, basically...one thing just lead to another......... :P

[TSG]

Well there you go... Have the seller send it as a gift. No charges apply.. I think :?:




Tom

[Ricky]

I suppose the COD would make a "Gift Labeling" look funny or prevent a lower assessment of the value? And if I prepay with Paypal or money order, the Fedex insurance amount would be apparent?

[Lex]

haha Ricky, always glad to be of service. :LOL:

Lex

[TSG]

Gifts are insured too.. no? Have him/her write happy birthday/gift on it and send it the fastest possible way.. hope for the best :!:




Tom

[dsmith]

Ricky, when I sold the Outlaw 950 to a guy in Canada he gave me specific instructions on shipping to avoid extra fees. He said it was best to ship by US Post Office. Here it is:
_______

Ship USPS Air-mail Parcel Post (4-7 days)

** Please, make sure the Maximum length and girth of the box combined is less than 108", otherwise, they won't take the package. I believe it shouldn't be a problem, as the box should not be that big. Also put my phone number on the box, and write FRAGILE on it if it's not already there.

There will be a space to specify the content of the package, this is what I would like you to write:

*GIFT -> No commercial value*
1) Content: Pre-Amplifier
2) Brand: Outlaw Audio
3) Model: Model 950

================================
There should be a checkbox where you should check that it's a GIFT also (other choices are Commercial Sample, Document, Merchandise). Please, only check that it's a GIFT.

All this should be fairly easy and everything should go very smooth. Please, advise me if something isn't clear. I do have a sample of the custom declaration form with me that I can scan if you need it for an example.

Like I said before, the reason I'm giving all the instruction is to make sure I do not get hit with the taxes, broker fee, duties fee, etc...

________

Ricky,

If you like I will email him and ask him to contact you with advice, though I can't guarantee he will do so. But apparently he does this a lot and seems to know the system.

dsmith

[Ricky]

[Ricky]

Don,

Yes, please refer him to this thread. Things might be different going from Canada to the U.S. And I would give up the COD safety option if I prepay. btw, I checked...the U.S. import duties on Preamps/Amps is 4.9% (about $70)...alot lower than Canada's.

[Steve]

I like USPS for shipping [to] Canada, whenever I get something sent UPS I get charged brokerage fees. It sure adds up when you include the exchange rate, PST and GST.

Steve

[dsmith]

I have emailed him with the request. Hope he cooperates for us.

Edit: He just replied to my email and said he would pay a visit when he gets a chance.

dsmith

[Duy]

Hi guys,

Don asked me to chip in this thread. I'm no expert, but here's what I know.

I have much more experience with shipping US into Canada, but from my past experience when shipping to US, none of the buyers I had to dealt with had to pay any taxes or duties.

I normally use Canada Post to ship to the US. The 2 limitations are :

1-Max 66lbs weight.
2-About 666$USD maximum insurance coverage (1000$CND)

Shipping Canada Post XpressPost (4-7 days) is probably a bit more expensive than UPS or Fedex, but since there are no brokerage fee, it normally ends up cheaper. If you choose Canada Post Expedited parcels (7 days), it's even cheaper.

When I ship to the US via Canada Post, I make sure I always declare as a GIFT and if the item is made in Canada or US, I write it on the custom form. According to the NAFTA agreement, I *believe* that an item made in Canada or US should be duty free.

In case of damage (which already happen to me), you either have the choice of re-sending the damage item and get the amount of the insured value or send a "repair quote" and get that amount back.

For your case, I would make it shipped by Canada Post only if you can live with the 666$USD insurance value.

===============================================

Fedex

You should ask the seller if he's gonna ship the unit via Fedex Ground of Fedex Express.

If it's shipped via Ground, he will need to open an account with Fedex (Fedex Ground does not permit cross border shipping to non account holder). You will be charged some brokerage fee if it's shipped by Ground and that amount depends on the declared value of the unit. That amount will be charged to you unless the shipper clearly specify that the amount will be charged to his account.

If the item is shipped via Fedex Express, there are no brokerage fee, but Fedex Express is much more expensive than Fedex Ground.

Regarding the taxes, I think you should contact US Custom. It may depend on your state. As for the duty, unlike Canada Post, if there is duty to be charged, I highly doubt it's a hit and miss with Fedex or UPS.

Make sure the seller complete the custom forms correctly to make sure your item will clear to borders without delay. He may have to provide FCC numbers.

Last time I called Fedex, COD shipping wasn't available unless the recipient was a business...so you may check that also. One other thing you can investigate is doing the border clearance yourself to avoit brokerage fee. I wouldn't bother because I do not expect them to be more than 20$, but that's up to you. There should be an option/checkbox on the shipping papers specifying that custom clearance should be made by the recipient.

==============================================

UPS won't insure used items for more than 1000$CND and for that, you must bring the item to a Boxe etc. counter for them to check it out.

For brand new items, they will insure. The brokerage fee apply if you ship UPS ground and it's free if shipped UPS Air. Duties and taxes, same as Fedex, you should check it out with US customs.

Let me know if you have any questions...

[Ricky]

Duy,

Thank you for the info, it is very helpful. And you are very right about Fedex...the seller called me last night and said he can't use Fedex for COD and Fedex Ground without an account. I decided to wire him the money (just did that an hour ago), and he would ship it via Canada Post. Since we're only a 9 hour drive apart, delivery time should be on the shorter end of the range.