i'm a patriotic canadian but..THIEVES!

[PoolDoc]

Is that the best solution you can come up with?...

Sorry, didn't realize it would be offensive. My point was, that as long as the US and Canada are separate countries, and as long as Canada is a relatively small market, low volume US-made goods, such as pool products, will tend to be significantly more expensive there, then here.

It is possible to ship to Canada and ignore all that stuff, either ignorantly or because you hope you won't get caught. I know, because I did it some, before I understood some of the issues. But the whole problem of different regulations and different certifications creates an almost insurmountable problem with respect to chemicals and electrical devices.

Ben

[tenax]

i did use the word "thief" in jest..if i had mentioned a pool stores name, i would not have used the word, just so you know! in regards to shipping to canada, unless it's a prohibited item (i.e. chemicals that you don't want to "mislabel" to avoid custom issues for example) it's actually not difficult at all. i've done over 180 transactions back and forth across the border via ebay or with fellow members of a computer site i hang around on.and no,i'm not a dealer..i just refuse to pay local retail on expensive items ranging from computer parts to guitars and amps to pool stuff when there is a huge price disparity. i've occasionally had items shipped by fedex..will not have them shipped by ups for many reasons. it's cost prohibitive in some cases to get fedex because brokerage fees increase along with the value of the item...but, i do my homework...nice thing about couriers is the great tracking systems they have. usps air is generally how i have things sent to me and i've only had 1 package go missing in those 180+ transactions..and i question whether it went missing or just an unscrupulous private citizen who got cold feet when i asked a lot of questions usps air has tracking, is inexpensive and best of all, no brokerage fees given that canada post and usps have an arrangement where they handle brokerage for items going into each country for each other. at most i pay 6% canadian government sales tax with usps..and sometimes, and i don't know why, they don't even bother charging me that..i'm not going to complain

[PoolDoc]

in regards to shipping to canada, unless it's a prohibited item (i.e. chemicals that you don't want to "mislabel" to avoid custom issues for example) it's actually not difficult at all.


usps air has tracking, is inexpensive and best of all, no brokerage fees given that canada post and usps have an arrangement where they handle brokerage for items going into each country for each other.

Actually, it IS quite difficult, if you want to stay legal.

You can ship illegally, and not get caught. This was very fortunate for me, since I did it for awhile before I dug into the regulations. And even now, I'm not clear on who's liable: me or the recipient. What is clear is that the liablity if you DO get caught is quite large!

Regarding USPS, it's not legal, under current USPS regs, to ship many testkits by air even WITHIN the USA, much less to Canada. Some can be shipped within the USA, but only with extensive, expensive, and very time consuming paperwork. A prior approval process by the local Postmaster or each and every item is also required. Many PoolForum users discovered this this spring when my refill shipments to them were restamped "Surface Transportation Only", subsequent to regulations revised in April 2006. Neither I nor the local Postmaster knew about them, but we both learned the hard way! Fortunately for me, no fines were involved in this case.

Violating shipping regs is sort of like repeatedly running under Damocles sword. The odds that you'll get skewered, on any given pass, are small. But the consquences of being there at the moment the sword does fall are huge!

This season, I've had several people persuade friends to purchase my kits in the USA, and then reship them to Canada. That's their choice, their risk, and their responsibility. But, I can't do it.

Ben

[tenax]

gotcha ben..i wasn't trying to make a case for you shipping chem kits to canada, so you know the liability by the way for a mislabeled shipment, item marked as a gift when it is not, lost shipment, item marked at a clearly unreasonable value is the shippers, even if they have proof it was requested to be sent inappropriately by the receiver. the shipper has to make any inquiries and claims to usps.the receiver can try, but unless you get a real mr. friendly at usps, you will get the "usps manual" line and correctly so i think, that the shipper has to make the contact with usps. in most cases unless there is a really flagrant abuse, customs will simply seize the item and end of story. but i believe fines and imprisonment are possibilities. years ago when i started buying, selling and trading computer parts, i didn't know any better and people marked items as gifts all the time. these days, not worth it. the fees just aren't high enough from canada post to take the risk and if it's a low value item, the fees are going to be dirt cheap or nonexistent for duties (under 60 canadian value, zero duties)

[matt4x4]

I have to disagree, items under 60 from the usa shipped by a legitimate seller not as a "gift" are still subject to duties on them, recently i bought 45 dollars worth of goods, it cost me an extra 12 dollars in duties before it was released to me. I don't like buying anything from the USA because of the shipping issues, sometimes you get lucky and don't get nailed, other times it made the whole attempt at saving some money pointless AND on top of it you have to wait for the item to arrive - sometimes upwards of 3 weeks because of customs.

[RavenNS]

I agree with the above post;
I find that Duty is generally paid on items over $20... sometimes you get lucky & no duties on sums higher than that... most of the time you'll end up paying something.
USPS also charges a $5 customs brokerage fee... The couriers charge way more for that. Recently had a $65 customs brokerage fee from UPS!

What makes me crazy is having to pay HST ( $15% harmonized sales tax) on the customs brokerage fee part of the duty ( as well as the 12.5%duty)

I always attempt to get a seller to under-value the declared value if possible. I'm not saying write "gift" or anything, just put a reasonable amount for declaration.... ( & please not more then i paid for it!!!)
some sellers actually Inflate the cost because they want to insure it for a high dollar amount