Shipping between US and Canada

At 12:05 PM 11/19/05 -0500, Allison wrote: I've shipped small items like that to Canada via USPS with no problems except that things happen in SLOW motion once they hit the Canadian postal system. I've never used them but I know FedEx and UPS both deliver to Canada. However they both charge a "customs broker" charge and UPS in particular charges a LOT for that. Below is a reply that I got from someone in Canada just last week when I asked him about this very subject. Hi. What you heard about UPS is true. I received a brake disk last week and it was delivered with UPS. For a 55 USD value, I was charged 40 CAD for broker fee !!!!!!!! With that, I was charged 15 USD for shipping and needed to pay the canadian taxes......... With FedEx, I've never had any problem... If I remember well, their broker fee is about 3% (with a minimum of about 13 CAD) and a week after having reveived my item, I receive an invoice for the canadian taxes... I pay with a check and that's it ! USPS is slower but I don't pay any fee. USPS Fast Priority is faster (more expensive too) but I need to pay taxes at the post office... It's exactly the same when using USPS except that it will cost a little more and you'll need to fill out a small customs form with your name and address, the reciever's name and address, date and a couple of words describing the contents and value and a check box telling if it is a gift, merchandise or commercail sample. That only takes about a minute. Joe