Some information about ordering aquarium equipment from the U.S.A.

[trilinearmipmap]

Someone asked me this in a PM so I thought I would post it here.

If you order something from the U.S.A. there are a few shipping options. Most places will ship either U.P.S. or U.S. Postal Service. There is also Fedex but I have no experience with receiving items via Fedex.

The fees you will pay are:

1. Shipping Cost

Here is the UPS shipping cost calculator:

http://wwwapps.ups.com/servlet/QCCServlet

And here is the U.S. Postal Service shipping cost calculator:

http://ircalc.usps.gov/

2. GST and PST will be assessed when your item goes through customs, whether you ship by UPS or US Postal Service.

3. The customs brokerage fee is a rip-off fee the shipper charges to fill out a few papers to get your shipment through customs. If you ship by US Postal Service it will be a flat $5.00 fee. UPS charges a sliding scale.

Here is the link for UPS brokerage fees which for most orders will be around the $50.00 to $60.00 range.

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...clearance.html

4. No customs duty is payable on items made in the U.S.A., but items made in foreign countries are dutiable. However I have never had to pay any duty regardless of where the item was made, it looks like they overlook this at customs.

The fees (GST, PST, brokerage fee and any customs duty) will be charged by UPS or Canada Post when you receive your shipment. So even if you pay for shipping at the time of your order, you have to pay the GST PST and brokerage fee and duty in addition. If you don't pay it, you don't receive your order.

I have had good experiences shipping from the US both via US Postal Service and UPS. Because of the high brokerage fees, I have used UPS only for big-ticket items where the brokerage fee makes up a relatively small amount compared to the overall cost of the item.

Lastly the best option for shipping might be one of those places in the US near the border that will let you use them as a postal shipping address for receiving goods. You pay them a fee, the item gets shipped to their address, and you pick it up there and take it over the border. The advantage of this is most places in the U.S. will ship for free to a U.S. address, so you save the shipping fee. If anyone has any experience with using one of these places for shipping can you please add to this thread.

Lastly, use the U.S. for items you can't get in Canada, or for items which are grossly overpriced in Canada. For items that cost 10% to 20% more, please support Canadian businesses.

[trilinearmipmap]

As far as shipping times, I have got UPS shipments in roughly 10 days, and US Postal Service shipments in roughly 2 weeks.

[Delphinus]

One quick thought, one last thing to consider is be prepared to wait. I hear that with the dollar rate, Canadians are buying so much "stuff" south of the border that USPS is having a backlog bigger than their Christmas rush.

[Swordtail]

If you live in the Vancouver area there are 2 places you can go.

1. The Letter Carrier

They are in Point Roberts.You don't need an account with them to use there service.No need to wait in line,just park your car on the canadian side walk to customs and to the letter carrier (1.5 block) and you'll be back on the canadian side in 10 minutes.Check there web site.


2. Security Mail Services


They are in Blaine.You need to open an acount with them in person b4 you can use there service (10 bucks).Expect long line ups to cross the border.Check ther web site for more info.

There is no custom brokeage fee,they charge by weight (a few bucks for under 70 lbs.