Canada Import Taxes/Duties.. Question :)

[BeautifulLie]

Hi, i'm planning on buying a putter from rockbottomgolf.com
Now, my question to all Canadian buyers is.. how much was your import taxes + duties? I've had two purchases before, one that I believe the brokerage fee I had to pay for when it came to my door which was (~$40 for everything)and this was only for a driver, and one where i bought a 5-pw set and it was only 19$ (had a 10$ flat brokerage fee) so, i'll assume the duties and taxes are relatively cheap and it was the brokerage fee that really bit me in the butt the first time.

Do any canadian buyers out there know approximatively how much the taxes/duties from buying an item from the united states usually costs them? I'll only be buying a putter.

[dave1269]

I have made many purchases from US based stores. You will be charged 5% GST on the declared value of the item + conversion to $C (no PST in Alberta to worry about). Most couriers (FedEx, UPS) charge brokerage service charge ($10 is charged by FedEx). I opened an account with FedEx to avoid this additional charge, and FedEx then charges the tax amount directly to my credit card. When I place an order (or win a bid on the Bay) I give the vendor my FedEx account number.

[tasker]

Depends on carrier. I find UPS brokerage charges to be highest ($15), then Fedex ($10) then USPS/CP ($5 to $0). In any event the carrier will then be required to collect tax on values over $60 (I think this is the threshold but it is close to this). But I also find USPS/CP is really hit or miss on getting hit with charges of any kind. In my own experience, I would say I have paid charges only 3 times out of 10, whereas for Fedex/UPS it is 100%. One exception was a recent experience with Fedex (from 3Balls golf). Since the value was under $60 CAD, I paid NO brokerage fees or taxes. So it seems like Fedex only charges brokerage fees when they actually do something, like collect taxes, whereas UPS charges them in all cases in my experience.

So to calculate it, use 5% (for GST) for values over $60 plus the brokerage fees mentioned to get an idea how much it will all cost. No extra duties are applicable on golf equipment nowadays.

[moparman426]

UPS are ripoff artists. If at all possible, always try to get a different courier. This is based on close to 35 or 36 crossborder orders over the past couple of years. Some places only deal with UPS, so there is no choice. The problem with UPS is that they have ridiculous charges, and they sub-contract thier deliveries from the major depots here. I once had an order sitting in Joe Schmoes broken down truck for a week, because it's his contract and UPS sees no problem there.....I mean WTF? Fed-ex also sub-contracts out to rural areas, but at least they use other major delivery companies like DHL.