As I posted on Moo:
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Now according to UPS they tend to actually charge the following:
http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html
For a 799$US item so roughly 1000$ CDN:
Entry Prep Charges: 58.05$ (Apparently this is waived for Express, Express Plus and Expedited purchases)
C.O.D. Fee for collecting the above: 4.25$
(Plus I'm guessing they have GST charges on top).
Interestingly enough, I've been charged over that for a 200$ item...
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Brokerage fees are charged ON TOP of any duty/customs/taxes for importing an item. Essentially they are supposed to cover the added cost to import an item (paper work, paying the taxes/customs/duty so that it can be delivered, collecting the above from receiver in the form of a COD, etc.)
Fees are different depending on the country, and in this case it's not charged to the shipper but the receiver. Also note that I forgot another one of their fees. :P
More on it here:
http://www.cbc.ca/streetcents/archives/guide/2002/17/s07_01.html
Everyone else charges brokerage fees, typically when they have had to have paid duty/customs/taxes . However UPS tends to be the worse (at least in Canada). The cheapest cost is generally from something that comes here via Canada Post (ie shipped via USPS) which is a flat 5$ brokerage fee that is only charged IF there was any customs/duty/taxes. :P
[ Edited by td741 on 2005/6/14 11:01 ]
Steph
