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Cross border shopping doesn’t always involve driving and visiting malls in person. Shopping on-line is most convenient today. Thanks to the extension of Internet Tax Freedom Act, US mail order companies will not charge US sales tax for orders coming to Canada. However cross border mail order has its pitfalls that you should consider and investigate carefully.
- Warranty. Some products do not have international or North America warranty.
- Return of defective products. Some mail order firm only handle defective products for a limited period of time. After that, you’ll have to deal with the manufacturer directly. Of course, you’ll pay for all the shipping charge.
- Satisfaction guarantee. Unlike the friendly local companies, mail order companies usually have a limited satisfaction guarantee and may charge a restocking fee for returned items.
- Shipping cost. Without exception, free shipping cross border never applies.
Comments
34 responses so far. Leave a comment
I want to order a Golf GPS from a US store. I believe there is no duty on it but will I have to pay taxes since it costs $399USD. If so, will the taxes be based on the $399 value or on the converted value in Canadian dollars or the value for which it is being sold in Canada ($499CAN)?
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BoB
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November 24th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Tax will be calculated based on the recipe price converted to CA$, based on a government published exchange rate.
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Hi,
I’m selling a horse saddle on Ebay, and the Canadian bidders want to know how much shipping will be; before I can tell them, I need to figure out what the tax and/or duty fees will be on the saddle. Is there a standard tax/fee rate or does it go by the dollar amount or what? I can’t figure it out using this site ( I may be stupid, but this site is a bit obtuse it seems…Can’t seem to find a simple answer) Can you help?
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Dan
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February 19th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
You won’t pay the duty the buyer will when they take delivery of the item. The Canadian Border Services (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html) is the place to confirm the duty / taxes.
I am not 100% sure but if the item is made in the USA all the buyer should be on the hook for is 5% GST and any provincial sales tax on the item.
The real kicker is if you ship it by FedEx or UPS. They both charge VERY high ‘customs broker’ fees to handle the item at the border. The USPS / CanadaPost does not. On small items the fees can be more than the item it self.
Offer USPS to us Canadians if you can and be clear that they are resposible for determining / paying any duty and / or tax atthe border.
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i buy cigarettes online from a bonded warehouse in Ukraine. I just got a duty bill of $250. (yes you read that right) on 4 cartons including $160 flat ($40 each) for “provincial tobacco and/or alcohol taxes”… is there a reason why i’m being charged this? what’s the point of buying online if they can still charge me duty – from a Bonded Warehouse??
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Dan
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February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
‘bonded’ has nothing to do customs. It just means that the warehouse is claiming that they take extra security measure (background checks etc) with their employees.
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on line i purchased hand drums (tabla) worth 200 canadian dollares , do i have to pay duty on it. please reply me.
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does anyone know what taxes i pay on shipping from the USA to Alberta Canada. i am coming from UK and want to purchase some jeans while there from American Eagle
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Shyandemure
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August 1st, 2010 at 5:55 pm
wear them for pete sake..take tags off and wear them while in Canada..with our weather of course you need proper clothing sheeesh
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Hey i was wondering what the duty fee and or tax on a bike frame and part priced at 299$ US dos any know?
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I would like to buy a 2800 watt inverter electrical generator at a cost of $1600.00. How much would the tax be on this item when declared at an Ontario Border Crossing. Planning to be in US for 1 week.
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i wanted to purchase some items from a japenese website, they will charge me for the shipping, well the shipping include the duty cost as well? and are hobby items charged duty as well as HST?
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I am buying something from E-Bay, which is going to be from the United Kingdom.
How much duty will I have to pay, and will I be able to pay the duty and pick up my item at my local post office?
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Roger
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June 25th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Brittany: Expect to payi UPS another 18% (!) on top of the amount paid. That’s what they charged me for some electronics from England. Someone just said that UPS and FEDEX charge very high broker fees…I don’t know the truth of that.
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I ordered some speakers from Ebay from New York and they are coming to Canada… I was wondering what the duty would be for these 2 50lb speakers… yes, they’re huge… 20x31x17 inches… and they include stands… Can anyone help me on this?
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I want to purchase cigars online, and I was wondering how huch duty I will be expected to pay upon arrival? How does it work? Thank you.
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I want to buy a pair of Ray bans from a US Site. They are $113 US Dollars. How much tax will I have to pay when they come in to Canada?
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would like to buy clothes for son. need us address. went to web sites got headache. Which is the best and cheapest. I live in alberta cda. thanks
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I am buying a USD $100-150 watch from the US over the internet. How much would I have to pay towards import duty?
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I ordered a garment on the intranet and I paid tax and duty when it came to Canada. If i want to return the garment to the company, Can I apply for a refund somehow?
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Our company experimented with shipping orders to Cananda (from the USA) using USPS Priority Mail International. Does anyone use this service regularly to ship to Canada from the USA? We shipped several orders (around 50) with over 20 percent of the orders never reaching their destination in Canada. We discontinued shipping to Canada. Any advice for shipping items to Canada at a decent price and reliably?
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John R
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September 14th, 2011 at 11:00 am
If you want to explode in the canada marketplace, call up a broker that offers a service that would allow you to ship to their US warehouse, about 20 packages at a time, then they clear it, and drop it off at canada post, or purolator.
(Disclosure – I work for a broker that does just that. You would ship up a bulk order, and then when it clears, we drop it off to Canada Post or Purolator and they it goes on to the customer)
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If I buy a dress made in the US and have it mailed to Canada, how much duty will I have to pay on it when it arrives? The dress costs $85.00
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John R
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September 14th, 2011 at 10:57 am
None. But HST applies
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if i buy somethings online that is $100 when you total it up. i live in ontario,canada and the products i am importing is from USA. would i be charged with duty/costume fees? and if so how much do you think i will be charged?
thank you 😀
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John R
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September 16th, 2011 at 8:21 am
Depends. I would need to know what the items are, and where they are made (just because it is shipped from the US, doesn’t mean it was made in the US). Expect to pay at minimum the 13% HST. Duty on item ranges from 0-18%, but I would really need to know what the items are to tell you what duty.
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alisha
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January 19th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
Hi there,
I am buying wedding favors from the States to Canada, I am just wondering if I’ll get charged with duty fees. I am ordering Wine stoppers, Paper bags, and labels. The total with shipping is about $150.
If you can help that would be great!
Thank you
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When purchasing jewellery at an online auction that is shipping “from” the US “to” Canada, do you pay duty and or tax on the what you paid for the item or what it’s actual appraised value is?
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John R
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November 17th, 2011 at 10:39 am
What you paid (typically). Customs can re=asses the value though, if the value is way out of whack.
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Hey! I have ordered 4 dresses from a british website, my order totals about $380 or a bit more and I am paying customs, if I wanted to return any of them would I be able to claim any of these paid customs?
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What are the import duties, taxes and charges for a purchase from Hong Kong to Ontario, Canada? Is there an additional 13% tax added as well?
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hey i ordered chewing tobbacco online from usa to canada the price was only about ten dollars it came to 19.23 after shipping and handling there is about 400 ounces will i have to pay even though it is under 20 dollars
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I ordered several items at once through a company as valentines presents but I did not have them labeled as gifts because I did not know how, is their any way to prove they are gifts so I dont have to pay the duty? Each item is under 60$
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I would like to order some alloy wheels for my vehicle from the USA. What are the duties and taxes to Edmonton Alberta?
Thanks,
Steve
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