Avoiding brokerage fees on items being shipped from the states?

[KFBR392]

Does anyone have any experience with avoiding brokerage fees? I'm ordering an expensive item (15k) from the states, and I'm looking to avoid this crooked fee. I've been hit hard with it before in the past, but that was about a decade ago so I have little experience with it since.

From what I can gather, any of the major shippers (FedEx,Dhl,UPS) all charge this.. But I've read something about USPS possibly not charging it, and they will hand the package over to canada post at the border.

I've also read about the possibility of clearing your own item to avoid the charge, but from what I can see it's only on low value items under $2500.

Does anyone here have any experience dealing with this stuff? Tried calling customs -but they're closed, so I figured CDC is the next best thing.. right?

[Blackberries]

Ship it to point roberts mailbox you rent. Drive across border boom

[Dion Phaneuf]

Ship it to point roberts mailbox you rent. Drive across border boom

Duty. He'll have to declare the item since it's worth 15k.

[The Magician]

What kind of a package that small is 15k?

[KFBR392]

Ship it to point roberts mailbox you rent. Drive across border boom

That would be nice, but I'm not on the lower mainland. The time and money would it would take to get there would probably even itself out at best... That said, I'm not even sure how they calculate duty. From what I recall, I paid about $300 in brokerage on an item worth 2k 10 years ago. That may have included duty though.

As for duty, I won't be paying it on this item as it's manufactured in North America, just pst/gst.

[TGokou]

Yeah avoid shipping to Canada. You will definitely pay brokerage on that item. Brokerage fees are calculated based on the value of the item and for a 15k item you are looking at $150. There is no way to avoid the taxes. Ship it to Point Roberts or Blaine and make sure you declare. Don't risk not declaring it or they WILL confiscate your item and good luck getting it back.

I don't think I'm allowed to name the companies I use but the one in point roberts I use starts with a T. The one in Blaine that I use starts with a "P".

Either or there are many shipping companies and I know the one in Blaine only costs $2.5 Canadian not sure about the one in Point Roberts if they increased their prices.

Just sign up on one of the websites and make sure you use a reputable company.

[TGokou]

That would be nice, but I'm not on the lower mainland. The time and money would it would take to get there would probably even itself out at best... That said, I'm not even sure how they calculate duty. From what I recall, I paid about $300 in brokerage on an item worth 2k 10 years ago. That may have included duty though.

As for duty, I won't be paying it on this item as it's manufactured in North America, just pst/gst.

If shipping to states is not an option, see if where you buy the item can withhold Canadian taxes. If you've already paid the taxes, then there shouldn't be a brokerage cost.

[KFBR392]

If shipping to states is not an option, see if where you buy the item can withhold Canadian taxes. If you've already paid the taxes, then there shouldn't be a brokerage cost.

From what I understand, the brokerage fee is the result of the shipping company clearing the item through customs on your behalf. So what you're saying is, if they withhold the taxes it no longer has to clear customs? How would the pst/gst paid be transferred to canada customs?

The silly thing is, this item is located in Seattle. If I didn't value my time so much, I could probably get to the border for under $100. But it would take me all day to do it.

[peaches5]

Does anyone have any experience with avoiding brokerage fees? I'm ordering an expensive item (15k) from the states, and I'm looking to avoid this crooked fee. I've been hit hard with it before in the past, but that was about a decade ago so I have little experience with it since.

From what I can gather, any of the major shippers (FedEx,Dhl,UPS) all charge this.. But I've read something about USPS possibly not charging it, and they will hand the package over to canada post at the border.

I've also read about the possibility of clearing your own item to avoid the charge, but from what I can see it's only on low value items under $2500.

Does anyone here have any experience dealing with this stuff? Tried calling customs -but they're closed, so I figured CDC is the next best thing.. right?

First off it doesn't matter who you ship the item with the duties is a fee charged to any merchandise or a gift valued over $99. The way you don't pay duties is you get the item(s) shipped to a location in the US like a PO box I can't remember what exactly it is called but you then you cross over the border and pick up the item(s) and then you just don't tell the people at the border crossing that you have purchased anything. If you bought this item from someone and not a business you can tell them to mark it as a gift and mark the value as under 99.99$ and then you don't have to pay duties either unless, but this is very rare, someone at the border opens your item and says hey thats a real diamond ring thats worth more than 99$ I have personally never had the Canadian border do this but I have had some places in Europe demand a receipt.

Also Most websites you buy things from include the duties on your bill so you've prepaid them and don't get slammed at the door.

Now if this item is huge like lets say a car then there is absolutely no way to get it across the border without paying duties.

Duties on an item valued at 15k is going to be around $2,000

[KFBR392]

First off it doesn't matter who you ship the item with the duties is a fee charged to any merchandise or a gift valued over $99. The way you don't pay duties is you get the item(s) shipped to a location in the US like a PO box I can't remember what exactly it is called but you then you cross over the border and pick up the item(s) and then you just don't tell the people at the border crossing that you have purchased anything. If you bought this item from someone and not a business you can tell them to mark it as a gift and mark the value as under 99.99$ and then you don't have to pay duties either unless, but this is very rare, someone at the border opens your item and says hey thats a real diamond ring thats worth more than 99$ I have personally never had the Canadian border do this but I have had some places in Europe demand a receipt.

Also Most websites you buy things from include the duties on your bill so you've prepaid them and don't get slammed at the door.

Now if this item is huge like lets say a car then there is absolutely no way to get it across the border without paying duties.

Duties on an item valued at 15k is going to be around $2,000

I'm talking brokerage fees, not duty. I'm not concerned with duty as the item was built in North America. NAFTA ftw on that one.

As for sneaking it across the border, in my case to avoid paying gst/pst - I've thought about it, but won't risk it. I'll play by the rules because if I was caught, the fine would be significantly more that the tax.

[iLLmAtlc]

I'm no expert but I don't think duty and brokerage fees are the same thing. Duties are unavoidable because they are charged from the gov't but brokerage fees are the charges your shipper charges to get your items through customs. Afaik you are entitled to be your own broker to avoid those fees.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/per-eng.html

[taxi]

Use USPS. They do not charge brokerage fees.

Otherwise, you can still avoid them, with a simple google search:

http://trueler.com/2010/09/13/ups-brokerage-fees-total-scam-fraud-cheating-avoid-it/

Basically, the gist of the procedure is to phone FedEX/UPS and tell them you want to clear the item yourself. You then pick the item up at the UPS office and take it to your CBSA office and clear it yourself.

Here's where to find the CBSA offices, be careful though, not all of them may be able to process this stuff, call ahead:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/do-rb/provinces/bc-eng.html

[taxi]

I'm no expert but I don't think duty and brokerage fees are the same thing. Duties are unavoidable because they are charged from the gov't but brokerage fees are the charges your shipper charges to get your items through customs. Afaik you are entitled to be your own broker to avoid those fees.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/per-eng.html

Brokerage fees and duty are not the same thing.

Duty is charged by the government. It is generally unavoidable. Although sometimes things are so small in value, the govt doesn't bother. Also, treaties, like NAFTA, mean there is no duty on certain goods.

Brokerage fees are BS fees charged by private companies. They fill out a form and then charge you ridiculous amounts of money for doing so.

[peaches5]

I'm talking brokerage fees, not duty. I'm not concerned with duty as the item was built in North America. NAFTA ftw on that one.

As for sneaking it across the border, in my case to avoid paying gst/pst - I've thought about it, but won't risk it. I'll play by the rules because if I was caught, the fine would be significantly more that the tax.

GST/PST on 15k is going to be like 2k

[KFBR392]

Use USPS. They do not charge brokerage fees.

Otherwise, you can still avoid them, with a simple google search:

http://trueler.com/2010/09/13/ups-brokerage-fees-total-scam-fraud-cheating-avoid-it/

Basically, the gist of the procedure is to phone FedEX/UPS and tell them you want to clear the item yourself. You then pick the item up at the UPS office and take it to your CBSA office and clear it yourself.

Here's where to find the CBSA offices, be careful though, not all of them may be able to process this stuff, call ahead:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/do-rb/provinces/bc-eng.html

I did the same "simple google search", but came across the $1600 limit (saw 2500 elsewhere) that they speak about in that article. It seems as though if it exceeds the value, you have to go directly to the port of entry. That's the only place I've read that though.

That list of cbsa offices is great though. I didn't come across that. Thanks!

[KFBR392]

GST/PST on 15k is going to be like 2k

Yes, I know. It sucks.

[TGokou]

I'm guessing the reason there are Brokerage fees is because they are paying your taxes in 'advance' and it is there way of saying hey I'm charging interest on the money you owe us to the amount of 150% lol. I do know that you can 'clear' it yourself however I've never done it myself. The guys at UPS (and I assume all the major shipping companies) are idiots because last time I tried to do that I called ahead of time to tell them to LEAVE the package at their office so I could go clear it myself. They said ok, but when I got there they said the item was on a UPS truck being shipped to my house (for the second time). At that point it wasn't worth my time to drive out to the airport (where their UPS facility is located) another time so I bit the bullet and paid brokerage (I think it was around $50-80) and had them ship it to my house. Like I said, they are idiots.

[LostViking]

Brokerage fees and duty are not the same thing.

Duty is charged by the government. It is generally unavoidable. Although sometimes things are so small in value, the govt doesn't bother. Also, treaties, like NAFTA, mean there is no duty on certain goods.

Brokerage fees are BS fees charged by private companies. They fill out a form and then charge you ridiculous amounts of money for doing so.

I agree that paying brokerage is no fun, and most places charge too much, but it is far from a BS fee.

Companies that engage in cross border shipments have to track everything they send over the border, this means information systems, IT support, accounting support, logistics support, none of which are cheap. When it comes to the CBSA, everything is mired in red tape, and one wrong step and you wind up with a massive (and expensive) audit. Shipping companies, the smart ones anyways, will always charge a bit more and then use those funds to ensure the proper procedures are followed, the risks of not doing so are simply too great.

As for duty, it is a % of the product's value. The % is based on the HTS code of the product, you can look these up online. The CBSA considers any value under $200 to be immaterial and will not enforce duties (unless you are hit with a random inspection), so its relatively easy to get small purchases through the border via large shipping companies without paying duty (though I do not recommend this whatsoever).

[taxi]

I did the same "simple google search", but came across the $1600 limit (saw 2500 elsewhere) that they speak about in that article. It seems as though if it exceeds the value, you have to go directly to the port of entry. That's the only place I've read that though.

That list of cbsa offices is great though. I didn't come across that. Thanks!

Should have definitely read your post better before making snide comments.

Yeah there is a limit. Call the office they'll tell you what to do. For such a large item driving down to border doesn't seem like that big a deal.

[KFBR392]

I agree that paying brokerage is no fun, and most places charge too much, but it is far from a BS fee.

Companies that engage in cross border shipments have to track everything they send over the border, this means information systems, IT support, accounting support, logistics support, none of which are cheap. When it comes to the CBSA, everything is mired in red tape, and one wrong step and you wind up with a massive (and expensive) audit. Shipping companies, the smart ones anyways, will always charge a bit more and then use those funds to ensure the proper procedures are followed, the risks of not doing so are simply too great.

As for duty, it is a % of the product's value. The % is based on the HTS code of the product, you can look these up online. The CBSA considers any value under $200 to be immaterial and will not enforce duties (unless you are hit with a random inspection), so its relatively easy to get small purchases through the border via large shipping companies without paying duty (though I do not recommend this whatsoever).

Do you know how the brokerage fee is calculated?

Should have definitely read your post better before making snide comments.

Yeah there is a limit. Call the office they'll tell you what to do. For such a large item driving down to border doesn't seem like that big a deal.

Yeah, I'll call them tomorrow and hopefully figure it all out. Times like this I wish I lived on the mainland.