Anywhere in Canada to get DIY LED supplies?
 

Sorry if this has been asked before but is there anywhere in Canada where one could purchase LED supplies, in particular Meanwell drivers and/or heatsinks?

Anyone have any ideas? Or are these things not sold from within Canada?

Not really aware of anything in Canada but you can order all that from RapidLED.com in the states. You won't get charged brokerage or duty and the shipping rates are reasonable so it's not much different from ordering from Canada.

+1 I'm doing the same ordering from rapidled.com would seem like they have reasonable prices and shipping , and I think the kits have a good reputation so far :)

How much (value) did you order? If it's a few hundred bucks, technically you should still get dinged for duty... Even if the sender checks off "gift."

Usually it's the smaller packages that can squeak through customs.

Dunno yet, haven't received it! Will update when I do...

The only ways you are getting away with not paying brokerage and taxes are:

1) They indicate the value of parcel under $20 CAD
2) They indicate the value of parcel under $50 (or $60) and check off "gift"
3) Shipping air express (that's what I've herd)

If they are doing #1 or #2, they are technically breaking the law, but some vendors do it. I know I always ask for it when ordering stuff.

For big ticket items, I just have my stuff shipped to Niagara Falls, NY, and pick it all up myself. The additional cost of shipping to Canada always more than offsets the cost of gas. Then just go do some shopping while down there.

It was $80 worth of stuff and I didn't pay duty. I don't think I've ever paid duty or GST on any items shipped USPS. I even just ordered $600 worth of bathroom fixtures and paid no duty so I'm not sure if some companies pay the duty for you or what. When something is shipped courier I usually always have to pay brokerage fees which I believe include duty and sometimes GST.

USPS is by far the cheapest. Not sure how you are getting away with not paying. Some companies charge you extra up front and prepay the fees for you, so that may have been your case.

- USPS charges $5 brokerage, and then you pay tax. This is done at package pickup. No pay, no package.
- UPS charges something like $15 plus tax, and they want the money at the door, or no package for you.
- FedEX is the worst. They are something like $20, plus the tax. The worst part is that THEY pay the fees on your behalf, and then mail you a leter 4 weeks later that you owe them money. If you don't pay, they send it to collections.

At least with UPS and USPS, if there's an error made, you can show paperwork and the brokerage/fees are adjusted. With fedex, is a pain in the ass, since the fees were paid a month prior.

Now, you are correct with your information on duties but you've over looked one key factor. Cree LEDs are manufactured in the U.S.A. I believe most of the manufacturing is done in Durham North Carolina. Because of this the order from rapidled.com should qualify under the NAFTA. To qualify under the NAFTA, the following must apply:

1. The goods are for your personal use; and
2. they are marked as made in the United States or Canada or not marked or labeled to indicate they were made anywhere other than in the United States or Canada.


Therefore, you should not be paying any duties. I've ordered from them before with no duties charged.

Yes you are correct. But there have been countless times where I've ordered something, and it clearly states made is USA all over it. Still got charged. When I tried to file a claim, there was so much paperwork and crap to fill out, that it simply was not worth the time and effort. Border service agents are also not well educated on the NAFTA stuff. As I've brought the big stuff over from my pickup location, showed them all the documentation that it's made in the US, and they said, "it does not matter, you are importing it into Canada and gotta pay."

Not quite.

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...ration+Charges

If you can get away with using USPS you are better off unless you are talking high dollar items.

why not call some electronic wholesale companys. Might be supprised.

Received the package today - did not have to pay a cent (for the duty or customs, etc...!) Thanks for everything, it all looks great. Will post a thread on the build in a bit (well, I'm quite busy so that may get stretched, plus the frag tank I was going to put these over just took a major nosedive due to my own carelessness!)

What kind of details did they put on the customs declaration slip? Description of goods/value/gift?

Most items that are sent though USPS make it though customs with no duty, with my own experience.

Electronics supplier (LEDs)
 

Here is another electronics supplier that handles high power LEDs.
They are a Canadian division of an American company.
http://canada.newark.com/

nlreefguy! what happened to the LEDs you bought from me? did you blow them up or something?

lol no..... just haven't had a chance to do anything with them yet! Life has been so busy lately I haven't been able to do anything but work.

and that realy isn't right all the time.

I ordered 19 bucks worth of LEDs from the us 5 years ago and when the UPS guy got to my door they wanted 35 bucks brokerage and import fees. so I refused the package then right away called the company and explained what had happened and asked them to resend them USPS. they came 5 days later with 0 for fees as they put "tester samples" on the way bill.

Steve

Read Section 2.2:
http://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/ma...Gcustoms-e.asp

Basically anything over $20CDN is subject to duties/taxes (with a few exceptions).

Items marked as "Gifts" under $60CDN are exempt; over $60CDN is duty/tax applicable.

If you use USPS, the only people that check are Canada Post, and they dont have the time nor manpower to inspect each package in full detail. That's why a lot of packages slip by without duties/taxes (even though they should get dinged).

Courier companies (UPS, Fedex) will be the broker for the packages they ship by default, so anything that's duty/tax applicable (as per the above criteria) WILL get flagged and processed by these companies. By providing this service, they will charge you their stupid brokerage fees. It's a source of revenue for them, so that's why they're so strict on it. It's totally legit, and they're following the letter of the law to a T for these packages. (You CAN refuse the brokerage fees and advise them that you wish to import it yourself, but there's a lot of paperwork you have to do before they will release the package to you, w/o their brokerage fees).

Technically by asking the US shipper to mark it as Gift or anything other than what it is, is illegal, and many US companies plainly state that they will NOT do that, as they will be committing mail fraud if they do.

If you ask them to declare a lower value than it actually is, then IF the package gets lost, you will only be covered for the amount stated on their customs declaration receipt. So that's a bit of a risk too.

These smaller companies shipping smaller packages dont really care one way or the other. But the larger ones may.

For anyone who lives near the US border, I do suggest you ship larger packages to a post office service right across the border, drive down to pick it up and pay them the $3US per package or whatever, then drive the package back to Canada yourself and take your chances with the Cdn border guards. You save on shipping costs since they will be at the cheaper domestic US rates (so the seller can't Gouge you for shipping to Canada), and you have a 50/50 chance at the border :P

I use this one all the time:
http://www.thelettercarrier.com/services

Just something to think about.

For what it's worth I just got a 48 ultra premium dimmable led kit plus 24 lenses for the xp-gs from rapidled.com. It was sent via USPS and I was apparently one of the unlucky ones and got charged $50 (less than I'd expected) by customs.. Maybe I was just unlucky or maybe the fact I opted for it to be sent insured had something to do with it. Either way, I wasn't having $500 worth of stuff shipping uninsured..

I believe (it wasn't itemized) that what I got charged was GST and PST rather than duty, so I'd have had to pay that even if I had it sent to the states and then picked it up, and then there would've been gas etc..

I personally overnight things if they have to be shipped via UPS or FEDEX if it is a smaller item.
if you overnight it, there are no brokerage fees and often times it is cheaper than shipping normally plus the brokerage fees.
regardless if the item is built in the states or not, you are required to pay the GST and PST of the province you live in...which is what you pay at the door. if there are duties then that is on top of that as well.
the only reason that it if is 20.00 or less it is too much of a hassle to get collect from everyone for such small amounts. In my experience, alot of times as long as the item is under a 100.00, canada post won't collect the GST.
HTH
Neal

I've been looking at this place...
http://www.reefledlights.com/

But it's pretty sad that there's nowhere to get these supplies WITHIN Canada, isn't it? (hint to retailers, maybe?)

I'm sure there is, but at a substantial markup.

For big group buys to get great deals check out below. He's a sponsor on nano-reef.com

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showforum=126

it's www.ledgroupbuy.com

yes, he operates on here as well and I have ordered LEDs from him, but he still orders them from the US. I was just lamenting the fact that I can't buy the product from a Canadian retailer, at least to the best of my knowledge. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I strenuously object to buying them from a US retailer, it's just that it would be less complicated if the were available regionally or even locally.

100% agree. And it would also be nice for that retailer to not take advantage of Canadian customers and gauge the snot out of them. Too many Canadian retailers are doing this.

I thought id bring this back from the dead. Any experiences where to order with in Canada for either Luxeon LEDs or Crees? Or if any one bought fromvendors in the US that didn't get dinged for ubsurd shipping charges?

www.modularled.ca was a vendor here selling stuff...but he seems to be getting out of DIY stuff lately.

bought some stuff from stevesleds.com from usa... not too expensive for shipping because package was very small with just some LEDs... and no duty ( if under $25, no duty) but was lucky with my order just over $60.00 , still no duty or local HST/PSTs.

msjboy

you live in richmond! have it sent to hagens of blaine (http://www.hagensofblaine.com/) and pick it up
or there is one in point roberts too
free shipping at ledgroupbuy.com

I think these guy's are in Vancouver, but not sure if they have a store front or it's just on line ordering.
http://www.lucentled.ca/