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

[eri]

I recently bought a MacLaren stroller (for 149,99 - it is 279,99 at babies r us) and it was shipped USPS International Priority (came as Xpresspost in Canada) - I didn't have to pay any duties, should I be scared of a big bill later on in the mail?
then someone posted this on craigslist..I am paranoid. The website even specifically said Canadian Orders include Taxes and Fees..Also I paid 20$ shipping but on the customs form it said Shipping+Fees were 35.xx

"so funny you just posted about the hidden duties/taxes. I bought my Maclaren stroller about 3 weeks ago and did not pay duties when it arrived:o)
Just got a bill in the mail today NOT from UPS but from Canada customs border services. It was in a brown envelope so I thought it was baby bonus when I opened it up it was a bill, NOT only for the TAXES on the stroller but 35.oo for broker costs and 15.00 CCA fee what ever that is The bill was almost 70.00 I almost had a heart attack as now I paid the same price as the stores here and I have no Warrenty from Maclaren as it is a USA model.

You really have to watch what you buy. I guess it was too good to be true :o(

Hope this helps others avoid my mistake."

[travelgeek]

You should be fine. Canada Post (which delivers items sent via USPS) does not release a parcel if there is an amount owing on it.

[1764]

I recently bought a MacLaren stroller (for 149,99 - it is 279,99 at babies r us) and it was shipped USPS International Priority (came as Xpresspost in Canada) - I didn't have to pay any duties, should I be scared of a big bill later on in the mail?
then someone posted this on craigslist..I am paranoid. The website even specifically said Canadian Orders include Taxes and Fees..Also I paid 20$ shipping but on the customs form it said Shipping+Fees were 35.xx

"so funny you just posted about the hidden duties/taxes. I bought my Maclaren stroller about 3 weeks ago and did not pay duties when it arrived:o)
Just got a bill in the mail today NOT from UPS but from Canada customs border services. It was in a brown envelope so I thought it was baby bonus when I opened it up it was a bill, NOT only for the TAXES on the stroller but 35.oo for broker costs and 15.00 CCA fee what ever that is The bill was almost 70.00 I almost had a heart attack as now I paid the same price as the stores here and I have no Warrenty from Maclaren as it is a USA model.

You really have to watch what you buy. I guess it was too good to be true :o(

Hope this helps others avoid my mistake."

Did you purchase it from eBay or from an online company? It really depends on the VALUE and TYPE OF IMPORT (gift or commercial item) on the USPS Customs Declaration form (the green sticker on all international packages coming from US), or a larger customs form on Priority and Express mail.

As the person above me stated, Canada Post does not let you get your package until you have paid the amount due. Therefore you don't have to worry. Only UPS, Fedex, etc. will allow you to have your package first and charge you later -- so you will get your package in the guaranteed time frame.

The person on craigslist -- he/she is mistaken. The brown envelope should be, in fact, from UPS (their envelopes fit bi-folded A4 papers instead of tri-folded A4 for standard envelopes). The $35 would be regular brokerage fees, but I'm really not sure what the $15 CCA fee is. He/she should really contact CBSA or UPS regarding this.

If you were mis-charged or charged the wrong amount of Canadian customs (and have proof), you can appeal using this form.
http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/E/pbg/cf/b2g/b2g-07b.pdf

Again, if anyone is burned by UPS brokerage fees for the first time, you should really write to them by email for an appeal (my seller was aware of brokerage fees but did not tell me). I just received my full refund of brokerage fees earlier this week.

[eri]

it was from a store (www.babye-store.com) i am relieved then! i hope to never have anything shipped ups/fedex from an online sale to me...

[thbt]

Just want to add my $.02. One of the items that I ordered from Salonperfection.com was on backorder, so they shipped it separately. UPS ended up delivering both packages on the same day, and wanted $37 in brokerage fees for EACH package. I balked, told them to return it to Salonperfection.

Thankfully, Bryan at Salonperfection was very understanding and agreed that the brokerage fees were ridiculous... he didn't know anything about the fees either. He's agreed to re-send via USPS. So, happy ending for me, but I'm no less pissed off at UPS.

[eri]

i hate ridiculous administrative fees in general

[shirley_bee]

does anyone know what postal method is best if i'm ordering from an international source?
is UPS only from the States? or is that worldwide?

I want to order some exercise equipment from OSIM, but this particular model is only available in Asia. Its going to cost me $600... I am scared about what the duties will look like once i get the product.

Is there a specific shipping method or company that is better?

[eri]

i am not sure about other international destinations but definately use USPS if it is coming from the U.S.

[skloon]

Fedex does the same, I had two parts for a saw shipped to me, it was a recall issue and they came in at no value and no cost to me. About six weeks after getting them Fedex sent a bill for about 80.00 for the two items, as I had cleverly used my dogs name I did not pay for the fees. This would not work of course if it was something you had to pay for as I doubt many places would ship to another name even if at the same address. I guess I may have messed up the dog's credit rating though and he may never get a pre-approved credit card offer, luckilly I have a second dog, oh well off to name the fish.

[bcteagirl]

LOL! That is hliarous Skloon!

[1764]

does anyone know what postal method is best if i'm ordering from an international source?
is UPS only from the States? or is that worldwide?

I want to order some exercise equipment from OSIM, but this particular model is only available in Asia. Its going to cost me $600... I am scared about what the duties will look like once i get the product.

Is there a specific shipping method or company that is better?

UPS is a US-based company but they have locations or are accessible basically anywhere in the world (through other outlets as well as their own).

Where exactly in Asia? And are you ordering directly from OSIM or a distribution company, or having your relatives ship it to you? (I don't believe OSIM will allow you to choose your own carrier.)

Since you are shipping an electronic, I would suggest to claim full value on the custom forms - that way if the package is lost/stolen/damaged, you will be reimbursed with the full declared value. Be prepared to pay $5 + your local tax % of the value.

If you want to have the item at lowest cost, you can ship by government-owned carriers such as HongKong Post, Japan Post. HongKong Post is quite cheap and packages can upgrade to registered mail for a fraction of the postage cost, thus efficient. Japan Post is rather expensive but reliable nonetheless.

For express services, Hong Kong has speedpost and Japan has EMS.
In some cases, you will not have to pay taxes as they try to get the package to you ASAP and does not want to have it stuck at customs.

FedEx is also popular in Asia and also charges $5 + tax on their basic service (unsure about their express, but it's more costly).

[mariad]

it's simple - <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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1. you do not accept the package at your door (is better to not open the door when UPS is delivering it, because they put not that the package is for returning if you), <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
2. you call at UPS and you say that you want to clear the package yourself, so they keep the package there<o:p></o:p>
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3. you go to the office where the package is<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
4. the give you some documents and the address of the customs you have to go<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
5. you go to the customs and pay the taxes; <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
6. you return to the ups office, give them the documents back and they give you the package<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
this will take you around 2 hours; if you're payed less than 15$ per hour - do it.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
with Fedex you can apply the same; the difference is that they deliver the package, and send you the invoice afterwards; the thing is that nobody in the customs know what to do because the package is already delivered and it's not cleared, but with little more time there you can taxes, and fax documents to Fedex, even they continue to call you afterwards (it happened to me 3 times) that they didn't receive the fax..<o:p></o:p>

[shirley_bee]

I ordered an item on ebay for $201US + $166 shipping fees.
Now I am super worried about what the custom fees are gonna be.
The item at the brookstone website is valued at $599 (but is on sale for $299).

I called UPS and told them and asked if I would be able to clear my own customs when the item is shipped to Edmonton.
She was very nice. She said i could call back with a tracking number when the item is shipping, but since its being sent to a resident rather than business, it has to be cleared before it comes in.
She said it was hit or miss and I could ask them to leave it there for me to clear, but there is no guarntee it would be caught in time before it goes through on its own.
Also, she said that the item may be at some other port other than Edmonton and I would have to travel to another city or province in some situations???

I told her the value I paid, she said for all items between $200 - $350, there is a flat rate of $52.50 on brokerage fees???

So if its only $52.50, why did some of you pay way more than that for your fees??

What should I do? I'm so scared the fee will be over $200!!

[roseofblack25]

WHAT i think they lied to you about the fees LOL cause when they shipped the rice cooker from bzzagent to me it was valued $25 and they wanted $23 shipping fees so we refused it then it was sent back two weeks later with no fees idk bzzagent must have taken care of it

[shirley_bee]

I was looking at their site and it lists the fees
http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...clearance.html

I wonder what other hidden charges there could be?

I am really hoping that the $52.50 is correct and it wont be any more than that.