BRS Shipping Fees Excessive

[intarsiabox]

I have to agree about only dealing with companies in the US that ship USPS. I have been getting orders (not just fish stuff) shipped for years with USPS and have never had a single problem and it is much cheaper as brokerage rates are usually around 50% of the product value and has nothing to do with weight. General freight prices are also cheaper than UPS and Fedex before brokerage is even added on. I ordered (2) 24" 4 bulb T5 light fixtures from florida and shipping was only $23 for both units. A year or so ago I tried buying a JBJ nano cube but the company would only send via Fedex, shipping was around $50.00 but then I got a bill in the mail for $250 for brokerage. Luckily Fedex smashed the tank to pieces so they had to take it back. I'll admit that it sometimes takes up to 2 weeks to get the product but the delay seems to usually be caused by canadian customs and canada post (which seems to be getting very slow). I have cheap scotsman friend who flys model airplanes and he only buys with USPS as well and has been doing so for 30 years without issue but has saved a ton of cash in that period of time.

[Lance]

I've ordered from numerous American sites and have found BRS rates to be more than fair compared to others. International shipping is just plain expensive; there's no way around it.

[DiverDude]

As someone who spent 10 years importing and exporting from/to the US and around the world, I can tell you what Snarkys is telling you is straight up. Cross-border shipping is truly a nightmare thanks to our respective governments.

You need to expect to pay a brokerage fee (~$50) and applicable tax and, possibly, duty on anything you buy in the US. USPS won't charge brokerage but I've been charged a lesser 'processing' fee and their tracking is seriously a joke and there is no insurance worth talking about. You are taking a chance shipping with them and I've had both good and very bad experiences.

In the end, due to volumes and tax laws, you can sometimes find better pricing in the US but you need to consider all factors before you buy. Sometimes, even though it will cost you a few bucks more, it's a lot simpler to buy locally. If ever there's a problem with anything, it's a lot quicker/simpler and cheaper to resolve.

Sorry you got a shock but I wouldn't blame the seller -they're already going a lot farther to make your life easy that most US companies would.

[Ron99]

And try shipping anything out of Canada. You will pay even more. I used to import alot of products and I could take any package I would get from Japan or Europe and the cost to ship the exact same package back was always about double. Canada Post is ridiculous.

Although, I do have to say that what UPS charges for brokerage is criminal considering that it is probably 10 minutes of work filling in some forms and a bit of accounting for the taxes and duties collected. I always used to do my own Customs clearing of UPS packages as it was worth an hour of my time to do so (most of that hour was spent driving back and forth between the UPS depot and the customs office and then waiting 20 to 30 minutes to pay my taxes after spending the 5 to 10 minutes to fill in the forms).

[Funky_Fish14]

I ordered a booster pump from there for around $100 and I think shipping and brokerage and tax and all that crap was like $40 bucks? The only problem was the box was smashed and the pump had some scratches and a bent bracket. Otherwise I thought the price was ok. It was nice to not get a letter in the mail a month later saying I owned a million dollars in brokerage.

[Spiny]

personally before I order anything from the US, I compare the prices with canadian businesses. When and only when it's less expensive in the US do I order there. Most of the time I go local, except with BRS... for some reason their prices are stilll competitive after brokerage and shipping. Keep it up BRS!