Canadians wishing to bring items in across the border from the states. AVOID USING UPS at all costs!!!!:eek: :eek:

My latest example .... I ordered a $55 pair of mud flaps for my vehicle. The company charged my $25 to ship (which is too high to begin with) and I find a notice on my door yesterday asking for another $37.73 in COD charges owing.

So the breakdown ....

1) $55 item
2) $ 62.73 for shipping

UPS is absolutely ripping Canadians off by charging brokerage fees on TOP OF SHIPPING amounts!! And to boot, this order, that is costing me $62.73 in shipping is taking 16 days to arrive .... can you believe it??? Great service UPS ... yeah that's worth paying more than the value of the goods for :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored:

So my final statement to fellow Canadians ... ONLY buy through retailers that offer shipping via USPS (or the post office). Good retailers like TT here, do exactly that. Avoid anyone who ships to Canada via UPS, or be prepared to pay for it.

Long story short ..... I am refusing delivery of the parcel when they try a second attempt today ..... and its going to feel good telling where to stuff their brokerage fees. Now I have to go after the retailer for my money back.:thumbsup:

I'm with you all the way, I've had acouple examples exacally like yours. I have actually called up the UPS office and called them crooks!!! If a vendor will only ship UPS, I will not buy it. I will ONLY have things delivered USPS from the States.

fedex aint any better from what I hear!
Wrecks a whole month of finding great deals doesn't it?
USPS all the way, and if you have friends in the USA who will redirect - even better - here's an example - shipping from TT to me would likely come to 30+ bucks, however shipping in the USA is free over 150.00 so I chose to drop ship to my buddies who will redirect it and pay all of 5-10 dollars to get it to me using USPS ground - yes, it takes a week longer but hey - it's winter - I can't ride anyways!

matt4x4 said:

Good idea!!

Also another thing that irks me is paying $40 in shipping to Canada (through any company), only to recieve the package and see that it actually only cost $15 to send. Thats my favourite.

When you ask the seller, they claim its "handling charges" YET when they ship within the US, its free. Funny how the "handling charges" disappear :excuseme: This is true even for those that ship USPS.

What is it with US retailers wanting to screw Canadians over :excuseme:

This is exactly why I buy local. When you look at the price of the item + shipping + whatever else, sometimes the final price you pay is the same as through your local dealer.

I get great deals at one my local dealerships and it almost always beats what I pay for online. Even if it doesn't match, I can get it the same day instead of waiting upwards of two weeks for an online purchase.

It works for some people, ie: people who live close to the boarder who can go pick it up or people who have enough patience to wait for an item to be shipped. Not me!! ;)

Dude, your having items shipped across an international border, it's going to cost money. UPS doesn't have any control over any extra custom charges. The COD fee is something you should have known about to begin with from the shipper, though. Sounds more like a shady company than UPS' issue.

The United States Postal Service is a joke when it comes to packages. I work for a mail order business and I refuse to ship with it. The tracking numbers that USPS provides are useless and the ship times are the most un predictable of any company we use (if it actually makes it to the end user).

No shipping company is going to be perfect, as we definitely have daily issues with packages. UPS has definitely treated us and our customers better than any other shipping company (even though they still find ways to make things interesting). Fed Ex isn't bad, but they just don't have as much to offer our situation.

As a courier, I get to hear people bitch and moan everyday about COD charges. It is true that UPS rips you off big time with their brokerage fee (where I work it's a $7 flat fee) which usually amounts to more than the product is worth.

The one thing I have to explain to people over and over again is that just like when you buy stuff in the states and drive across the border you have to pay your duty taxes (which go to the gov't). After that you still have to pay your Canadian taxes, GST and PST (which also obviously go to the gov't too). So the only complaint to the shipping company should be their brokerage fee, anything after that, take it up with the gov't. When someone doesn't want to pay I tell them to refuse it and have the company send it through the mail to avoid the hassle.

I have one woman on my route that buys items off ebay at least once a week and argues with me every single time I have a package for her and it gets old quick. Everytime I see her name on a box I die a little inside each time. She always rants and argues with me about the free trade agreement and how she shouldn't have to pay the gov't, like I somehow hold the power to her COD charges. Yet every week I keep getting her packages and she always ends up paying for them so what the hell lady?

To sum it all up-
1. UPS brokerage fees are a rip off
2. Use ebay.ca not ebay.com
3. Ship it through the mail
4. If you hate the extra fees buy from Canadian retailers cause you may only save a buck or two
5. Don't shoot the messanger, we're just bringing you the crap that you ordered

Mayhem said:

Alot of venders only use UPS so not much of a choice there.Also I compare Canadian and US prices before I buy anything,usually a saving of $50-$100 on just one item.Also there is alot more choice of different parts in the US,that venders up here just dont have.Most things on ebay.ca are from the US anyways and the shipping cost they want is allmost as much as the item.

ups has been sending me letters for months asking for 11$ for a "shipping cost recalculation". the only way they are getting it is if a guy from ups comes to my door with a firearm. i have everything sent usps and usually its no problem.

You can broker you own parcels with UPS to avoid their outrageous brokerage fee's. Simply have the shipper mark the package "Do Not Broker, Receiver Will Broker". UPS will notify you when the package arrives at the depot in your city, you attend and pick up the paperwork and head to the nearest Canada Customs office and clear the package (pay the taxes and any duty owing) and then head back to UPS to claim your package.

Here in Winnipeg the UPS depot and the Customs office are both within 5 minutes of each other near the airport, the entire process usually takes less than 30 minutes total of my time.

I had an order shipped from the TT store via USPS. It got here 2 weeks quicker than UPS would have, and arrived on Christmas Eve. I'd just be getting it now if it was UPS. Great service from TT, and far better shipping than anything else I've ever got from the USA. I'd recommend them to anyone!

Mayhem said:

I could live with $7 ... I think anybody could, as long as there was a "service" provided.

Taxes are fine too.

In my case it was a $55 dollar purchase that I paid $25 dollars to ship ..... THEN UPS tacked on another $30 in brokerage fees. So for $55 dollars here is the "service" I got..... 16 day to deliver the goods and a shipping amount higher that what the product is worth. Thats no service to me???


UPS can :foul: my :foul: . They will NEVER see a single dime from me ever again.

I am sending the goods back for a refund ... and I don't care if I lose money ... its based on principle now :thumbsup:

never pay for shipping online becuase they always want money when they drop it off anyway so always choose the "pay later" option

My Dad had some motorcycle parts shipped by UPS (he shops on-line exclusively now that knows how) and was charged $60 for brokerage fees. Yikes! He learned his lesson right away and refused the package and had it re-sent by USPS so he didn't have to pay those crazy fees again.

You should be able to get your money back if you don't take custody of the package (refuse it). If they can't send it through the mail then support the local TT economy and see if they can get you what you need because they'll ship it anyway you like (without those nasty added charges). Paying more for shipping than a product is worth seems pretty silly when the whole point is to save a buck or get what you can't buy locally.

At the Ottawa Int'l airport FEDEX, PUROLATOR, UPS and DHL are all in the same complex so you could have it shipped by any of them and go the do it yourself route as well (Great advice by the way, I didn't even know you could do that).

supervokes said:

You're just now figuring this out? :excuseme:

I will never use UPS, FedEx, or any other courier service to ship across the Canadian border from the US. UPS charged me $35 on top of all shipping, Customs, and tax fees because "we have to have someone at the border sign for your package" (quoted from the UPS driver, poor girl. I really let her have it, and sent a snottygram to UPS to boot). I call bullsh!t!! That $35 fee is just another way for UPS to add to their profit margin. Now, whenever I order products from the States, I use the United States Postal Service. It might take (a little) longer to get to me, but I don't get screwed by courier services.

Oh yeah, one other minor detail. THEY DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT THESE EXTRA FEES WHEN THEY QUOTE YOUR SHIPPING COSTS!!!!: F:censored: ing bastards!!!:foul:

Yes, its true... Don't use UPS, they charge big brokerage charges at the border, Fedex won't even send you your parcel until you pay for the brokerage charges over the phone by credit card... :crazy:

So only use USPS, they only charge taxes at the border... So you pay for, your items in your shopping cart, shipping, and taxes... And it does work out to be cheaper than buying here in canada, and you can find all of the stuff in one place (the TT store rocks :thumbsup:). You would never find it all at a good price up here...

I always ask for USPS now. UPS brokerage fees seem to be calculated by picking numbers out of a hat. I bought a chrome mothpiece for a Moto 8 a long time ago and the fees were 5x more that the part was . I've had large items (over $200) $15 brokerage and stuff for $50 charged $30 in brokerage. Even if a place says they use UPS they will often ship USPS if you put a request in the comments section. I've requested USPS for the last 1.5 years and 99% of them have honoured my request. UPS can piss off!

I really don't get where UPS get's those brokerage fees from. At DHL we charge $7 flat on all COD's for brokerage. I find it funny because there is a courier business strip located at the airport with all the major couriers (FEDEX and Purolator even have their entire facility there) and then customs is right at the end of that little strip for convenience. So every company has to WALK basically the same distance (+ or - a couple feet) over to customs to do the paper work, yet the prices for doing so varies wildly. I just don't get it.

i try to buy local also.......even if its ordered online..i go pick it up....but i stll love UPS