buying in usa from canada?

[blitzilla]

any canadian around here buys from american website such as bhphoto?  often deals are better in the us... how do the custom work?  usuly i need to pay fees for that  . anyone care to explain how this works

[kelvinhall05]

Someone on here told me that there were no import fees on electronics. Anyways, what I do is I see if the price is better on Amazon.com compared to Amazon.ca using a currency converter.

[Zmax]

Found this 

 

https://www.crossbordershopping.ca/calculators/canadian-duty-calculator

 

I have tried buying stuff on Amazon US they won`t ship to Canada. And they do not carry the tablet i want in Amazon CA

[trag1c]

I do frequently though many sites dont ship to canada so you may need some sort of address in the states (i have a family members property that i can ship to right across the border in montana so its easy for me to pick. Or if they do ship to canada be ready to pay a hefty premium.

 

Generally unless the sale is absolutely amazing its not worth it because of shipping costs and exchange. Or for me exchange and 5 hours of driving to pick it up. 

 

You still have to pay duties on the item though so keep tax factored in.

[FlatBrokeRacing]

I deal nearly daily with US-based suppliers. For the most part its usually painless, I have found USPS/Canadapost to be the best method of shipping if i am crossing the border with parcels. Anything made in the USA does not have duties applied, but taxes will be added. For larger item's or expensive orders i ship to a cross border parcel service. I am about an hour away from a close cross-boarder town that has many parcel holding places, so on larger orders it just makes sense to spend the time to drive and pick things up esp when often times there is free shipping to the lower 48

[Cypher-Jackson]

I bought a Fethead (preamp) from bhphoto. The shipping price sucked as always but I dont think I paid any customs. No customs at the door, anyway. Couldnt even find the product anywhere else besides USA. And if i did, the price was ridiculous

[Cjbirch80]

On 12/12/2017 at 8:09 AM, Zmax said:

Found this 

 

https://www.crossbordershopping.ca/calculators/canadian-duty-calculator

 

I have tried buying stuff on Amazon US they won`t ship to Canada. And they do not carry the tablet i want in Amazon CA

A site called cross border pickups will redirect mail to you.... Ship us to niagara falls ny... They reship cheap to canada.. Very good!! Used 3 times.... Saved big

[WkdPaul]

There are lots of services similar to what @Cjbirch80 is referring to. I'm in Montreal and I've personally used a company called Freeport fowarding in the past, but this one you have to physically cross over to the US to pickup at their warehouse.

[Ertman]

On 12/12/2017 at 7:53 AM, blitzilla said:

any canadian around here buys from american website such as bhphoto?  often deals are better in the us... how do the custom work?  usuly i need to pay fees for that  . anyone care to explain how this works

Customs usually are done by the carriers (FedEx, UPS, etc). This cost is passed on to you. The problem is you can get dinged pretty bad in brokerage fees depending on the value of the good and the carrier.

 

As someone else has mentioned there is dedicated companies that work as intermediaries that receive and then forward the package, usually through Canada Post. The fees charged vary by company, but its more upfront.

 

Generally I find the best is when it is shipped via USPS and then to Canada Post. Sometimes you get dinged on customs, sometimes you don't, but their brokerage fees are small.

 

I also thought Amazon had opened their sales to international markets including Canada, but I guess not.

[dizmo]

How are you planning on completing the order? Just getting it shipped across the border, or do you live close enough to the border to hop across and pick them up? The latter will generally save you the most money. If you're getting it shipped to you, check to make sure that they don't charge you tons for the convenience. Also avoid UPS, and generally FedEx as shippers. They'll charge you out the ass for brokerage and other fees once the package arrives at your door. I ordered a car component for $100, when it arrived there was $110 in fees. Never used UPS again.

 

On 12/12/2017 at 5:57 AM, kelvinhall05 said:

Someone on here told me that there were no import fees on electronics. Anyways, what I do is I see if the price is better on Amazon.com compared to Amazon.ca using a currency converter.

That was me. It is true, 99% of the time.

I find Amazon charges a lot on some items to ship them across the border, making it not worth it.

On 12/12/2017 at 10:57 PM, trag1c said:

I do frequently though many sites dont ship to canada so you may need some sort of address in the states (i have a family members property that i can ship to right across the border in montana so its easy for me to pick. Or if they do ship to canada be ready to pay a hefty premium.

 

Generally unless the sale is absolutely amazing its not worth it because of shipping costs and exchange. Or for me exchange and 5 hours of driving to pick it up. 

 

You still have to pay duties on the item though so keep tax factored in.

Haha, 5 hour drives to the border would suck! I miss living close.

Duties aren't the same as tax though...so, if he's buying computer components, he won't pay duty, just the tax of his province/point of entry.

16 hours ago, Cjbirch80 said:

A site called cross border pickups will redirect mail to you.... Ship us to niagara falls ny... They reship cheap to canada.. Very good!! Used 3 times.... Saved big

How much did they charge you?

I looked into that once and the shipping charges were pretty high.

16 hours ago, wkdpaul said:

There are lots of services similar to what @Cjbirch80 is referring to. I'm in Montreal and I've personally used a company called Freeport fowarding in the past, but this one you have to physically cross over to the US to pickup at their warehouse.

I use those extensively, they're great. Though if the OP is looking to use a service like this you really have to shop around as the rates vary wildly from provider to provider.

[trag1c]

57 minutes ago, dizmo said:

 Haha, 5 hour drives to the border would suck! I miss living close.

Duties aren't the same as tax though...so, if he's buying computer components, he won't pay duty, just the tax of his province/point of entry.

Ya i usually make a ski trip and liquor run out of it since its in whitefish montana.

[dizmo]

10 minutes ago, trag1c said:

Ya i usually make a ski trip and liquor run out of it since its in whitefish montana.

Haha, yeah that's not bad. I always get a chuckle out of the people that try to smuggle liquor into Canada, or say they paid next to nothing for it. They're not idiots. The assistant ripped into this one lady last time, confiscated about 6 large bottles, charged her a penalty and full duty/tax on 1 bunch of others. Then he filed my $6k worth of receipts under a duty free, PST exempt HS code. She was so pissed

[trag1c]

Its always funny to see people get dicked by cbsa on that kind of stuff. I always declare every bit of booze that i bring back even if im over what my duty free limit is. I have not been asked to pay duty or tax once coming back from the states(with at 4 or 5 trips a year)

[Majinhoju]

If the item isn't too expensive I'll usually order it from amazon.com but I'll have to pay shipping (if that items ships to Canada, some dont').  I work close enough to the border that I've started shipping to a post office just across the border and it's usually only $2 to pick it up instead of the the $20 - $30 they ask for shipping.