I am refusing to pay UPS brokerage fees! any tips?

[shaqx7]

ok at least im safe with newegg.ca!!!
They use ups and its about 14 CAD for a 450$ purchase (my purchase was rather light) and i had a chat with their techie on the site

hi, i was wondering if there are any additional fees for shipping
2:58:26 PM Customer
like ups brokerage fee
2:58:27 PM Agent
When placing an order?
2:58:38 PM Customer
when recieving the order at the door
2:59:37 PM Agent
There will be no extra charge to the order, you are only charged for the amount of the order.
3:00:37 PM Customer
oh okay thats great, so the deliveryman will just require a signature and thats all?
3:01:27 PM Agent
New egg does not require any signature, unless they feel like it is unsafe to leave the product.

[sarajk]

ok at least im safe with newegg.ca!!!
.

Because .ca is a Canadian site. You don't pay customs if you are ordering from within your own country.

[olegplanets]

ok at least im safe with newegg.ca!!!
They use ups and its about 14 CAD for a 450$ purchase (my purchase was rather light) and i had a chat with their techie on the site

hi, i was wondering if there are any additional fees for shipping
2:58:26 PM Customer
like ups brokerage fee
2:58:27 PM Agent
When placing an order?
2:58:38 PM Customer
when recieving the order at the door
2:59:37 PM Agent
There will be no extra charge to the order, you are only charged for the amount of the order.
3:00:37 PM Customer
oh okay thats great, so the deliveryman will just require a signature and thats all?
3:01:27 PM Agent
New egg does not require any signature, unless they feel like it is unsafe to leave the product.

Thanks for sharing bro! I too ordered a mobo on newegg and after a while it occured to me that it's UPS. I suddenly remembered my first experience when I bought a processor on ebay for 100$ and had to pay UPS around 50$. I asked them why the hell the charge is so high and I didn't really understand their explanation. I always order USPS and never pay anything.
Now I was afraid again, I bought a mobo for 115 off newegg +taxes&shipping and it costs around 150-170 at a local store. The mobo actually arrives in only a few hours and I was freaking out, getting ready to report them to BBB, take the thing from UPS guy and not pay him, file a dispute with my credit card company or refuse to accept it. But then I thought wtf, who'd be buying on newegg if the fees were so high!? I'm happy I read this thread until the end and thanks to you I can now relax and wait stress-free.
For all others, never use UPS to order from the states. Even if you manage to avoid the brokerage fee, it's gonna take you a lot of time. Instead just use US-Canadian postal service. This way, whatever the amount I pay on ebay - that's it! And they bring it to your door, you don't have to go anywhere to fill out any forms or anything of that sort. It's actually funny that government bureaucracy works so well in this case while a private free market company is more like a scam...

[olegplanets]

Because .ca is a Canadian site. You don't pay customs if you are ordering from within your own country.

But the merchandise itself actually comes from US, even if it's a .ca website.
So then should I be expecting a brokerage fee?

02/25/2010 08:00:00OUT FOR DELIVERY[I]LACHINE, QC, CA02/25/2010 03:50:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]LACHINE, QC, CA02/24/2010 21:14:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 17:19:00LOCATION SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 17:05:00UNLOAD SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 01:14:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/23/2010 23:30:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 19:03:00LOCATION SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 19:01:00IMPORT SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 16:22:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]BUFFALO, NY, US02/23/2010 13:41:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]BUFFALO, NY, US02/23/2010 03:02:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]SECAUCUS, NJ, US02/22/2010 20:55:00LOCATION SCAN[I]SECAUCUS, NJ, US02/22/2010 09:31:00ORIGIN SCAN[I]EDISON, NJ, US02/22/2010 16:53:40BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED[M]02/25/2010 08:00:00OUT FOR DELIVERY[I]LACHINE, QC, CA02/25/2010 03:50:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]LACHINE, QC, CA02/24/2010 21:14:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 17:19:00LOCATION SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 17:05:00UNLOAD SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 01:14:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/23/2010 23:30:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 19:03:00LOCATION SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 19:01:00IMPORT SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 16:22:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]BUFFALO, NY, US02/23/2010 13:41:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]BUFFALO, NY, US02/23/2010 03:02:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]SECAUCUS, NJ, US02/22/2010 20:55:00LOCATION SCAN[I]SECAUCUS, NJ, US02/22/2010 09:31:00ORIGIN SCAN[I]EDISON, NJ, US02/22/2010 16:53:40BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED[M]
02/25/2010 08:00:00OUT FOR DELIVERY[I]LACHINE, QC, CA02/25/2010 03:50:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]LACHINE, QC, CA02/24/2010 21:14:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 17:19:00LOCATION SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 17:05:00UNLOAD SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/24/2010 01:14:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]CONCORD, ON, CA02/23/2010 23:30:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 19:03:00LOCATION SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 19:01:00IMPORT SCAN[I]FT. ERIE, ON, CA02/23/2010 16:22:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]BUFFALO, NY, US02/23/2010 13:41:00ARRIVAL SCAN[I]BUFFALO, NY, US02/23/2010 03:02:00DEPARTURE SCAN[I]SECAUCUS, NJ, US02/22/2010 20:55:00LOCATION SCAN[I]SECAUCUS, NJ, US02/22/2010 09:31:00ORIGIN SCAN[I]EDISON, NJ, US02/22/2010 16:53:40BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED[M]02/25/2010 08:00:00
OUT FOR DELIVERY[I]
LACHINE, QC, CA
02/25/2010 03:50:00
ARRIVAL SCAN[I]
LACHINE, QC, CA
02/24/2010 21:14:00
DEPARTURE SCAN[I]
CONCORD, ON, CA
02/24/2010 17:19:00
LOCATION SCAN[I]
CONCORD, ON, CA
02/24/2010 17:05:00
UNLOAD SCAN[I]
CONCORD, ON, CA
02/24/2010 01:14:00
ARRIVAL SCAN[I]
CONCORD, ON, CA
02/23/2010 23:30:00
DEPARTURE SCAN[I]
FT. ERIE, ON, CA
02/23/2010 19:03:00
LOCATION SCAN[I]
FT. ERIE, ON, CA
02/23/2010 19:01:00
IMPORT SCAN[I]
FT. ERIE, ON, CA
02/23/2010 16:22:00
DEPARTURE SCAN[I]
BUFFALO, NY, US
02/23/2010 13:41:00
ARRIVAL SCAN[I]
BUFFALO, NY, US
02/23/2010 03:02:00
DEPARTURE SCAN[I]
SECAUCUS, NJ, US
02/22/2010 20:55:00
LOCATION SCAN[I]
SECAUCUS, NJ, US
02/22/2010 09:31:00
ORIGIN SCAN[I]
EDISON, NJ, US
02/22/2010 16:53:40
BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED[M]

[protecteur]

Last week I ordered some spices from dizzypigs in the US. I paid my shipping but when I received my parcel today I got billed $44 from ups for brokages fees for a $89 order!!! What the $%%^^. I called Canada custums and they said there's no duty on food items!! Customs agent was saying use regular mail and you will never be charged these outrageous fees!!

I say ya ok to pay brokage fee if there was duty to be paid! I called ups and they basically said they have to pay to pre-clear the parcel, and to clear it and to pay themself and the government!! Let me tell you what a scam they got going!!

[Patty Smyth]

Yup happened to me on some shirts DH ordered from Microsoft. They ended up being twice the price. Of cours they wanted cash on the spot.

[Natalka]

I tried to search - someone had a thread here a while back about which shippers to use for US items - but I can't find it. Can anyone help?

[sarajk]

They aren't hidden fees.

All the couriers (fed ex/ups/worldwide ect...) Pre-declare their items at the boarders. This keeps their trucks from being held up and allowes them to have guranteed delivery times.

They do this by using brokerage firms, which charge them. So they are going to pass those charges onto you. It has absolutely nothing to do with custom's fees or taxes.

[Sally888]

bump

[Sally888]

WHEW! I merged all the threads on this topic. Good luck!

[BlazingDriver]

I learned very early on that when you are ordering from the U.S. you MUST insist on using USPS. (That stands for United States Postal Service if anyone is wondering.) You completely avoid the BS brokerage fees, although sometimes Canada Customs will nab your parcel and then you might have to pay PST/GST + a $3.50 handling fee.

If you are using eBay make sure to get written agreement from the seller that they will use USPS. If the seller disregards your directions and uses UPS or another courier service that demands a brokerage fee you can refuse the shipment and have it returned. Then you contact the seller and demand that it be shipped as was directed and agreed upon. If they won't do it you can get a full refund by filing a complaint with eBay. (I know, I done it.)

[Trueler]

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So, if you have local customs office close to your home, you do not have to ask UPS for brokerage services and pay outrageous fees to them.

[FallenPixels]

UPS ground is now the only major one that charges brokerage separate (UPS Express etc include brokerage) so I always ask them not to use UPS and if they insist, don't order

But as (I think) Trueler is alluding to, you can choose to do your own brokerage, and send the paperwork ahead to customs, but you need to organise it with UPS and the local customs office (you need the tracking # early etc)

[Trueler]

Exactly, as soon as you get tracking number, you call UPS and tell that you are clearing package in local customs office where you take commercial receipt as well. I had some troubles last time, but official reply from Canada customs resolved it: UPS Brokerage Fees - Total Scam, Fraud, Cheating. How to avoid it
I'm not advertising my blog. I just want to share valuable information with buyers. I believe UPS grabbed enough money from customers via brokerage fee.s Let's stop it!
I live in GTA and can use Brampton CBSA office to clear goods.

[Trueler]

There were two successful self clearance cases in the last days! Looks like UPS starts to follow official recommendations from CBSA. For updated info (necessary documents and information, what to tell in UPS and CBSA) and comments from other importers visit my post (link above). Thank you!