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

[Oread]

I have the same issue at the moment with UPS. I knew there were issue with using them, so I try not to buy off sellers that use them, but I slipped up this time as the method was not listed.
I ordered a lot of used Atari games of eBay, for under $10, paid another $10 for shipping. The first notice came for my neighbour's address, the second came here, but with no name & indicated a fee of over $70 to be paid; with no name I assumed it wasn't for me. I've now been contacted by the seller (who is as shocked as I am) & then by UPS by email. Unless I pay the money (which I will not be), it doesn't look like there's a way to get my package at this point, from what they tell me in the email anyway, nor will they be returing it to the sender. They say they will hand it over to Customs, but do not tell me what that means. I'm pretty pissed off.

[bcteagirl]

Hey Atari games!! Glad I am not alone... Sorry to hear about that, that is really awful.. they just sent me *another* 150$ bill for the one I *already* paid!!! Some nerve I tell you.

[matrix82]

anyone have any issues with fedex?

[LAT]

anyone have any issues with fedex?

I thought they were OK, a month ago I ordered a package using them and it arrived, no fees, or so I thought. So I ordered again online using them. Now, a month later, I have two invoices that are almost as bad as UPS. I don't see how this can be legal, to charge for a service I didn't agree to. They even left the one package on the step while I was at work! Nice security there.

[william_2354]

Good Luck!!

[curls]

Interesting. Last 2 times i've ordered through Sierra Trading Post it came via UPS and i only had the pay them GST... I'm in Alberta, but why would that matter???

[Sally888]

A word of advice, I personally no longer will order anything from the USA unless the duties are paid in advance through there carrier (ups purolator fedex etc) or if it comes by mail.

Basically these carriers can charge you whatever they want to a certain extent. DHL is one of the worst ones. It cost me over 35 dollars to get 60 dollars worth of merchandise from the states, and thats not including the 16 dollar shipping.

You can look on the site for the various brokerage fees they have country to country. I had to look on DHL for over an hour because they really hide that info from the public.

[bcteagirl]

Good advice.. whenever I am having stuff shipped I always say USPS please! NO UPS! (Now I will also say or fed ex or DHL ).

[Sally888]

Yup, at least if it comes by USPS Canada post only charges 5 dollars then tax lol.

[operabob]

My wife orders product for her home business from China so we always expect brokerage fees:

http://www.dancingdragon52.com (Yes, I know I need to update it)

China always ships FEDEX and we've never had a problem until the one time they shipped UPS then everything went to pieces. Because my wife does less than $30,000/year she does not need an importer's number and is just allowed to use the shipper's own number.

UPS couldn't figure this out and despite our protestations insisted on applying for an importer's number on our behalf and which they tried to charge us for (There's no charge for you to apply yourself).

UPS decided there must be something wrong not having a number so we ended up being investigated by CCRA as possibly importing "counterfeit goods". BTW: This was an order for 100 pair of shoes so it's not like we were/are a major concern. We comment to the Customs Agent was that a 6 year old could tell the difference in quality between our shoes and high-end.

Add in the shoes were normally delivered to our 4th floor condo. Our elevator was being rebuilt so we had the shoes shipped to her dance teacher partner's address in a suburb 10 minutes away. Now we're under suspicion of trying to avoid something or other by shipping to another city. My reply, "It's 10 minutes away people.

Anyway, the UPS broker refused to allow us to directly talk to the CCRA people so we could clear it up. End result was 3 weeks of needless hassle wasting tax payer dollars only to find out it was honest people being honest.

In the end they sent us a $5 bill for applying for an importer's number. I sent them a copy of the letter from CCRA saying we didn't need one.

They were totally incompetent in this matter and we now insist China ship by FEDEX. Expensive (as is UPS) but we've never had a problem.

I get my US CD/DVD shipments via USPS too. Still hate the Canada Post $5 handling fee for something they don't even look at though.

OB

Good Hunting To All!

[0wl]

To make this clear once and for all . I work for ups ( seriously ) . For you to not have to pay broker fees , the shipment value has to be less then 100$ . The gift exemption for personal sales/purchase is 100$ all year long (except in December , they will tolerate up to 150$ ). If you ship express , all fees are covered ( some exceptions still applies ). Don't get me wrong i'm not here to defend ups. It's just that i buy a lot online. For stuff i buy in Canada Puralator is definitely the best. For worldwide services i prefer dhl since they're waaaaaay cheaper. But never use DHL for North America. . And Fedex is quite reliable & cheaper

If you are buying from Ebay try to make the seller declare less then 150$ value. And you will have no evils fees to pay

[dedoc1]

Although not convenient for all, there are a number of businesses just south of the border that will receive your mail/parcels for a low monthly fee. The decrease in shipping fee to a U.S. address as opposed to a Canadian one will more than pay for the cost of the service. While you are still liable for duty and taxes crossing the border (depending on the value and discretion of the Border Guard) there are no brokerage fees.

[Sally888]

Im sorry but my mother just recd a shipment from the states via ups. It cost her 24 dollars for 50 dollars worth of goods.
The value was declared at 50.

A lot of retailers dont offer express ups, its just standard ups. But express is so much more money your basically paying the fees inadverntantly kwim?

I totally agree not to use dh from usa to canada.

[operabob]

Actually, I made a mistake and Thanks to Owl I noticed it.

We had our goods shipped to us from China with DHL no problem rather than Fedex.

UPS we refuse to use now.

OB

Good Hunting To All!

[travelgeek]

Although not convenient for all, there are a number of businesses just south of the border that will receive your mail/parcels for a low monthly fee. The decrease in shipping fee to a U.S. address as opposed to a Canadian one will more than pay for the cost of the service. While you are still liable for duty and taxes crossing the border (depending on the value and discretion of the Border Guard) there are no brokerage fees.

This is what I do, except I have it shipped to my client's office in Boston or to an Amerifriend.... whoever I plan on visiting first, then bring it back through customs myself. Even though there are no extortion fees involved in shipping domestically to a US address, I still refuse to use Unidentified Pond Scum.