OWC blogger Richard says:
Recently, we have received a few inquiries from our Canadian customers regarding shipping, brokers fees, customs & taxes and what is the best course of action for them to take when shipping products to Canada. We have investigated the situation, and have come up with these helpful insights to those affected.
If you choose to have your OWC order shipped via UPS or FedEx, OWC now includes all brokerage fees in our shipping costs to Canada. However, there still may be duty taxes and/or custom fees that would be charged separately by the carrier, on behalf of the Canadian Government, and are usually due upon delivery of your order.
[Note: This brokerage fee news is huge. I live in Canada and have lost count of how many times I’ve had my wallet siphoned outrageously on the doorstep by especially UPS, but also FedEx. with their with a so-called “brokerage fees” for rubber-stamping shipments originating in the US through Canadian customs and collecting Canadian value-added tax and fees. Nothing you can do about taxes but my central beef is rather the amount these companies charge for this service, which are outrageous, excessive, and extortionary. Time and time again I’ve vowed I would never again accept shipments from the US with these extreme and outrageous brokerage charges attached, but realistically what can you do? When they arrive at your door you’re between a rock and hard place. If you refuse to pay the absurd brokerage charge, then the driver will not release the parcel, and it will be shipped back to the sender at his expense. In most cases,, the consignee has already had the purchase charged to their credit card, and would be probably facing a 15% restocking fee and a lengthy wait for a refund at best if they refused the parcel. Most grit their teeth and cough up the ransom. By contrast, Canada Post (which is a freestanding, for-profit Crown corporation and not a public service) charges a modest $5.00 for clearing U.S.-originating items through customs and collecting the taxes - exactly tthe same service as the ciourier services have been is hosing their customers many times that amount for, and I’m sure Canada Post makes money on it, since with the NAFTA agreement, there are rarely any duties to calculate and process, so it’s basically just a matter of collecting the HST or GST percentage and rubber-stamping it through. Bravo to OWC for pro-actively addressing this issue. CM.]
If you choose to send US Postal (First Class, Priority or Express), please remember that for international shipments, First Class can take up to 3+ weeks to arrive. Priority usually takes between a week to a week and a half and Express shipments typically arrive within a week.
As far as tracking your parcel goes, typically USPS First Class is the least expensive option and, as such, does not come with any tracking information. Priority shipments will have a reference number that can sometimes show the major happenings like pick up and delivery. A neat trick that many may not be aware of is that the USPS tracking information can also be tracked using canadapost.com once the parcel has entered Canada!
However, for full and complete tracking information, you probably want to use either USPS Express, UPS or Fed Ex.
Below are some links that should help our Canadian customers make a more informed decision concerning buying and shipping products from OWC:
Duties, Taxes and Handling Fees:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/postal-postale/duty-droits-eng.html
Canada Border Services Agency Main Page:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html
Shipping Calculator:
http://www.thefinalcost.com/
You can check it out at:
http://blog.macsales.com/6291-shipping-your-owc-order-to-canada-eh
