Looking for your input on brokerage fees.

[snarkys]

Originally Posted by Chin_Lee

I vote Option 2 but just wondering how do you calculate the taxes and duties due to prepay without knowing the total amount to be shipped on the Friday?

taxes and duties are directly related to the products purchased, don't fluctuate and can be easily added in during checkout. We can then choose to have these fees paid by us rather than you so there are no surprises when the package arrives, if there are any surprises they will be for us and paid for by us : )

the brokerage fess change drastically with prices. With a $100 order the brokerage is $39.1 after brokerage , bond and COD fees. This is 40% of the purchase price.

if we take advantage of this program that consolidates all the orders into one $1500 shipment the brokerage would be $73.35 which is less than 5% of the value of the order. We are willing to pay that 5% out of pocket so you have zero brokerage fees. : )

Judging by the response here I would say there is a good chance this will be in place early next month. Special thanks to our customers who utilized the old system so we could do enough volume to utilize this new program : )

[banditpowdercoat]

Ohh, I would soo wait till Friday for no Brokerage. UPS only delivers here Thursdays, so even if it was shipped on Monday, I wouldnt get till Following Thurs earliest.

BTW, I HATE UPS LOL

[fkshiu]

Option 2! Option 2! Option 2!

[banditpowdercoat]

Acctually, I just got off the phone from chewing out a UPS rep. $87 rokerage and other fees for a $295us item. I chew UPS out regularly. Maybe if I stress all their call people out, they realize that they NEED to reduce the BRokerage. Its legalized Extortion. Canada Post, Our Govt who loves to take our $, only charges $5 no matter what the value, for doing the paperwork(Brokerage) Why does UPS get tp charge a % of the stated Value?? Paperwork doesnt change because somehting is more expensive.........


OK, Im done ranting, off to beat my head against the wall

[fencer]

The charges bother me too. It only takes a short walk to Canada Customs to clear your parcel for these courier services. I wouldn't be surprised if it is done electronically. If you really want to rag on someone....ask your supplier not to use a courier service but insist on USPS or don't do business with them.

[littlesilvermax]

FWIW I clear customs myself with UPS, it is a pain, but worth it IMO.

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by littlesilvermax

FWIW I clear customs myself with UPS, it is a pain, but worth it IMO.

How do you do that?? I have my own UPS import acct, but I think that acctually costs me MORE

[littlesilvermax]

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

How do you do that?? I have my own UPS import acct, but I think that acctually costs me MORE

I try to get the tracking number first, then call UPS and ask to "clear own". I then get a call when they have the package and the paperwork is ready.

I print off a receipt, get the paperwork from UPS, go to Canada Customs, clear it (costs $0, but you gotta pay both taxes) and then take the paperwork back to UPS and I get the package. The first time took me 1 hour, but now that I know the ropes I can do the whole thing in about 20 mins. Pretty good for saving $30 tax (kinda like tax free income).

If I don't get the tracking number and they try to deliver it, I ask to kindly refuse delivery, and that I will call to "clears own". The guys that drive know exactly what I am talking about.

Only thing is you have to live in a "port" location, which I think means that it is a location that UPS has designated as (I don't know what to call it) but the same as an airport can have you in it before you have passed customs, but the rest of the country can't have you in it, so whatever that area of the airport is called.

If you are not in a 'port' location I think you are out of luck.

[snarkys]

Originally Posted by fencer

ask your supplier not to use a courier service but insist on USPS or don't do business with them.

Believe me , we would do it if it made sense at all. USPS has a variety of issues from both customer and business standpoints. We are trying to find a way to let the customer have the best of both worlds.

1) USPS often charges more for postage than other services but the low brokerage fees make up for this. If there are no brokerage fees (like in option 2) it simply costs more.

2) USPS's tracking is next to worthless. Most the time it only says it left here and then updates that it has been delivered. This is no help when you are trying to figure out when a package is going to arrive. It also doesn't help when the package got held by customs and it has been two weeks with no delivery ...

3) Our experience is USPS is really unreliable. One shipment will arrive really fast and another shipped on the same day mysteriously takes three weeks. This can be pretty distressing it if is your new $500 skimmer.

4) International packages over a certain weight need to be hand delivered to a post office employee, this is typically all of our packages. Sometimes the wait there is 10 minutes and sometimes it is an hour, Most businesses simply don’t have time for this type of shinanigins.

5) the USPS’s API for integrating their shipping costs into a websites calculator is poor at best. Often results in the customer being both drastically over and under billed because of limited weight and box size options. It is also incapable of telling you that this item is to heavy or to large to be shipped with USPS

6) They also have size and weight limitations. USPS doesn’t take packages over approximately 2 cubic feet which isn’t that big and certainly doesn’t lend itself to our “bulk packaged” idea.

[snarkys]

Well this new program was approved for us and we should be able to implement it next week or the following.

To reiterate, taxes and duties will be charged during check out and paid for when you purchase the item. There will be zero brokerage fees and your package will arrive without any charges due.

In exchange packages will be shipped every Friday. If it is important that the product arrive quickly you can choose expedited service and it will ship same day.