I am sick of being Bullied by my Big Brother!

[mikereed100]

It seems to work going form north to south as well. When I have bought from Pride and Binnacle and Noah's I have been surprised at how much the shipping cost.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by jackdale

I will only use USPS for shipping.

Amazing government service.

Last week I shipped some stuff off to Hong Kong using USPS, at 1/4 the cost of UPS or FedEx.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Glad to hear that US Tax Dollars are subsidizing good shipping service to Canada (at least we are not waging war on you too). USPS is still under the delusion that it is a "business". The real businesses have to make a profit or cease to exist.

The U.S. Postal Service is a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be revenue-neutral.
That is, it is supposed to break even, not make a profit.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

➥ NALC: Congress turns $200M USPS profit into $3.2B loss - postalnews blog

➥ Postal Service Ends Fiscal Year 2011 with $5.1 Billion Loss

[lifeofreilly57]

I am a US citizen and don't use West Marine unless I have to. You pay a premium for the convenience of an extensive catalog, much of it junk, fortunately Defender is much better both price wise and in customer service. Jamestown Distributors is also another excellent company to do business with from a customer service standpoint, although I don't know what their international shipping practices are.
Since my company ships capitol machinery worldwide I do know Canada can be difficult to deal with when it comes to customs, second only to China when dealing with customs officials. It's all about the duties, after all, their salaries are paid out of those duties. Don't even think about sending a technician to assist the customer in setting up and learning how to run there newly purchased equipment. It is much easier to send a technician to Communist China than to Canada, no joke, it's all about the tax dollars. Sooo...yes, you are paying a fee to a broker to handle the customs red tape and I can't blame the vendors for not wanting to get involved with the customs issues, it would require a full time team to deal with all the different categories involved in shipping a single multi-part order. I know, I've had to deal with customs people the world over, it's no fun at all.
Buy local when you can and deal with companies much better equipped to deal with international shipments when you have to.
Don't even get me started about dealing with South American "customs officials".

[Blue Stocking]

Don't those freight companies trade on the exchanges, and probably have Canadian shareholders.
" Complain I will, but pay I must"

[NorthPacific]

Originally Posted by Efraim

Nothing stopping from going down to their border warehouse and clearing it though customs yourself - for free. Essential you are paying for someone to clear these items through customs for you, the courier companies charge you whatever they feel the market will bear, while Canada Post charges you something like 5 bucks.

Spoken like a man who things Canada stops and starts 20 miles from the US border. Clear through customs is a 4 line form filled out. I do agree that it is what the market will bear, I am saying I do not want to bear it!

Try and get FEd X UPS to explain their fee structure. It is a blatant money grab. To which I am saying "sod off son!"

If Defender are now using USPS it is great. Perhaps my constant complaining has had an effect.http://www.cruisersforum.com/images/...n_rolleyes.gif Now to work on West Marine.

[NorthPacific]

Hi Life of Me,

Ya free trade has not filtered down to the likes of me. Local companies are few and highly priced. I will support Canadian business, but I will not be held hostage, it is often cheaper to buy Canadian manufactured goods in the US!

As to the comments about Hockey players, be warned, you need to watch John Candy in Canadian Bacon!!!! So be warned, LOL

I will try Defender again and any other that will help.

[Cheechako]

You need to look closer to home. The big fees are imposed by Canada. Also, in the states , if I send something Parcel Post or Priority mail, they usually take about the same time to get there. (most people dont realize this) I've tested it. But If I send something to Canada and dont send it Priority it may takes weeks rather than days. My understanding is that this occurs on the Canadian side of the border. US Customs doesnt care much what is going OUT. If I mail it to Canada from here it'll be on your side the next day....then the buearocracy takes over I guess!

[Richard_W]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

However enough is enough! UPS, FEd Ex, or whoever have this neat trick of imposing "border fees". These fees can double the cost of the purchase. Ebay sellers, West Marine, Defender< etc all find it expedient to us cross border couriers. USPS charges what it costs to get your goods across the border, no more no less. The Big corporate guys have this cash cow going.

I live on the both sides of the border and deal with this issue frequently. The usual import fee "imposed" by carriers is 20% when shipping to Ontario, of which 13% is Canadian HST (tax). The remaining 7% is a brokerage fee. Although still high, this fee is related to paperwork and the process required to collect Canadian taxes and sending them back to Canadian Revenue Agency.

Here you go ... perhaps petitioning the Provincial/Canadian Parliaments for lower taxes and/or true free trade would be more effective. This is the single most important reason that while being Canadian citizen, I keep my permanent residence south of the border ...

BTW ...
I've heard that fees/taxes imposed on imports to BC are higher than in Ontario.
Fees/taxes might represent bigger percentage on low cost items due to fixed costs.

[GordMay]

How to self clear shipment at CBSA and avoid UPS/FedEx brokerage fee
➥ How to self clear shipment at CBSA and avoid UPS brokerage fee | Trueler

Custom Clearance Rates:

USPS
USPS/CanadaPost have agreements with each other to handle each other's mail, so NO BROKERAGE FEES are EVER charged with USPS (or CanadaPost) services.
Canada Customs ONLY assesses taxes (GST or HST) on goods valued at $20 CAD or more (when they ‘catch it’, which they often don’t).
Taxes are generally about 5-15% (depending on the provincial destination). An $8.50 'handling' fee is also added when an item is taxed.
When taxes are charged, Customs sticks a taxes-owing form on the box and the box is held by the Post Office as a COD. Recipient pays the tax/handling when the package is retrieved.
There is NO DUTY assessed on goods made in the US, Canada, or Mexico (NAFTA); or on used goods, generally.
Note that USPS shipments take between 10 and 14 business days for delivery to major cities; outlying cities may take up to 21 business days for delivery. U
➥ Postal Program - Importing by Mail

UPS
➥ UPS: Rates for Customs Clearance into Canada
➥ http://www.ups.com/media/en/ca/ca_brokerage.pdf

[Richard_W]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Ya free trade has not filtered down to the likes of me. Local companies are few and highly priced. I will support Canadian business, but I will not be held hostage, it is often cheaper to buy Canadian manufactured goods in the US!

It's not just often, and it's not just Canadian ... all goods and services are cheaper on the US side, and this is before taxes that are much higher on Canadian side. It is often that the same item is priced by Canadian outlets around 200% of what it costs in the USA. This had some merit when Canadian dollar was much lower than USD.

Now, when USD and CAD are on par (more/less) it is just a money grab ... and the reason why Canadian finance minister increased amount of value of duty/tax free products you can take across the border from US. You might want to explore this venue.

[NorthPacific]

Stop these well reasoned explanations. I am being screwed by corporate America and that is that!!! LOL

Seriously, I am trying to get ready for my off this summer and most deals are South of the Border. The fees are real and the difference between USPS and the other sods can be substantial. For simple transactions the paperwork is done in seconds, no justification for the mark up.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by jackdale

I will only use USPS for shipping.

Amazing government service.

USPS are OK if you don't particularly mind if it gets there or not. This is personal experience, over years of shipping stuff sold on Ebay. Fedex and UPS, 100% reliable. USPS, not so much - more like 95% for packages. That's not good enough.

I had one experience that means I'll never use them again for an important package. They blamed me for not delivering my package, and denied having it at the Postal Office. It's a shame as there are some great employees (I have personally experienced stellar service too).

If a company has the attitude that nothing ever goes wrong and the customer is always at fault, you can see how lousy service will result.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Hi. This is unashamedly aimed at corporate America.

As a Canadian you have to get used to the Big fella next door to the South! From disputing borders that they had unilaterally imposed under threat of war to thinking that they have better hockey players, it is like the winter snow a fact of life.

However enough is enough! UPS, FEd Ex, or whoever have this neat trick of imposing "border fees". These fees can double the cost of the purchase. Ebay sellers, West Marine, Defender< etc all find it expedient to us cross border couriers. USPS charges what it costs to get your goods across the border, no more no less. The Big corporate guys have this cash cow going.

Well enough is enough! I am pouring the tea into the harbour( yes harbour is spelt with a u) and saying stuff you! Any American company that needs my $ (Canadian that is worth more than the American) will have to work at saving me money.

Obviously as with any revolution, several suporters would be very welcome.http://www.cruisersforum.com/images/icons2/icosm07.gif

I thought we were just making up the difference for all the Canadian snow birds in Hollywood beach.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

Hi. This is unashamedly aimed at corporate America.

As a Canadian you have to get used to the Big fella next door to the South! From disputing borders that they had unilaterally imposed under threat of war to thinking that they have better hockey players, it is like the winter snow a fact of life.

However enough is enough! UPS, FEd Ex, or whoever have this neat trick of imposing "border fees". These fees can double the cost of the purchase. Ebay sellers, West Marine, Defender< etc all find it expedient to us cross border couriers. USPS charges what it costs to get your goods across the border, no more no less. The Big corporate guys have this cash cow going.

Well enough is enough! I am pouring the tea into the harbour( yes harbour is spelt with a u) and saying stuff you! Any American company that needs my $ (Canadian that is worth more than the American) will have to work at saving me money.

Obviously as with any revolution, several suporters would be very welcome.http://www.cruisersforum.com/images/icons2/icosm07.gif

Buy out of Hong Kong (lots of ebay sellers depending what youre buying.). Cheaper too :-D