UPS Brokerage fee, should it be this high?

[BigBadD]

I called and got more info...

So after being on hold for a bit I was told that I can get the commercial invoice so I had her send me that, this is just an itemized and priced list by TB (looks like maybe material costs) sent to UPS for the delivery.

The agent told me "the first 5 lines are free, additional lines are $4.50 each and you have 10" which is a little weird given the commercial invoice TB sent has around 23 lines.

Given the hassle for about $40 extra of clearing this myself I then decided to just pay the import duty (which is $5 less if you pay before delivery is attempted) I then get the UPS import charge receipt. This has 10 lines of item categories as you can see:

Attachment 23559


So, the "first 5 lines are free" seem to be in this list. So it's $10 charge just for the brokerage I guess then 5*$4.50 for the other categories to make up a total of $32.50 brokerage fees, plus tax of course, why not.

It seems to me then that if you order more small things then UPS are going to do this categorization crap to skim more cash off the top of the shipment.

I don't know if TB can do something there, like maybe one bag a bunch of things and just put one line of "accessories" or something. Or ideally don't use UPS, they are well known to be the worst for this sort of stuff.

Interesting... Thanks for sharing.

[cucumber.sandwich]

I called and got more info...

So after being on hold for a bit I was told that I can get the commercial invoice so I had her send me that, this is just an itemized and priced list by TB (looks like maybe material costs) sent to UPS for the delivery.

The agent told me "the first 5 lines are free, additional lines are $4.50 each and you have 10" which is a little weird given the commercial invoice TB sent has around 23 lines.

Given the hassle for about $40 extra of clearing this myself I then decided to just pay the import duty (which is $5 less if you pay before delivery is attempted) I then get the UPS import charge receipt. This has 10 lines of item categories as you can see:

Attachment 23559


So, the "first 5 lines are free" seem to be in this list. So it's $10 charge just for the brokerage I guess then 5*$4.50 for the other categories to make up a total of $32.50 brokerage fees, plus tax of course, why not.

It seems to me then that if you order more small things then UPS are going to do this categorization crap to skim more cash off the top of the shipment.

I don't know if TB can do something there, like maybe one bag a bunch of things and just put one line of "accessories" or something. Or ideally don't use UPS, they are well known to be the worst for this sort of stuff.

The easiest thing TB could do, I think, would be to send the parcels on route to Canada by USPS. It transfers to Canada post once over the border.


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[BihnBag]

The easiest thing TB could do, I think, would be to send the parcels on route to Canada by USPS. It transfers to Canada post once over the border.


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I agree, it's a flat charge of $10 for brokerage + the tax and I have had lots of parcels sent via USPS and it's worked well. The tracking number from USPS can even be used on the Canada Post side these days I believe once things have hit the border and the package has changed hands.

Fedex is less greedy than UPS too. Still greedy, but less so in my experience.

I think a border hold point is very useful too, I've never used one but Kinek I have heard are good.


The exchange rate, extra shipping cost, tax and then extra stuff like this really do make TB a premium purchase for Canadians!

[Yarpy]

This is why I’m seriously considering purchasing my gear when I’m in Seattle next June. I recently received an Aer City Sling. It was $75USD. The UPS brokerage sheet listed the “Total value for duty” at $98.64CDN. The duty was $6.90 and GST was $13.72. My total C.O.D. Charge was $31.92.

The whole NAFTA duty thing seems to be inconsistent. I’ve done near $100USD orders from Jet Pens in California via USPS, and never had to pay a duty or brokerage fee.

Kinek makes sense if you’re crossing the border anyway (ie. travel). As I’m 90 minutes away, the expense for fuel plus the time makes me just eat the brokerage fee.

[terayon]

I’m interested if any Canadians have had a charge this high. Its possible its because I am having it sent to my work address.

I’m in Canada. I usually seem to get hit with about $30-35 due on delivery by UPS, almost regardless of what/how much I order. My approach has been just factor it into the cost of the bags.

I order directly from TB once in a while (maybe once a year), and I tend to wait until the exact bag I want is available and order it along with (a) any other items I have been curious about and am pretty sure I’m going to like and (b) small items (pouches, straps, etc) that I already know I like and could use more of.

I often buy secondhand - I still sometimes get dinged with import fees, but far less often.

Also, when I’ve travelled to the US in the past for whatever reason, I’ve usually timed an order to get to me while I’m there. Often I’m under my duty-free allowance, but if not it’s still cheaper to pay the taxes directly to CBSA that way.

[Mredden]

I just ordered a S22 and a S30 and my UPS brokerage charges into Canada were $10 plus HST.

What the various shipping companies charge for brokerage has always been a mystery to me. Guess I got lucky this time.

[BihnBag]

I just ordered a S22 and a S30 and my UPS brokerage charges into Canada were $10 plus HST.

What the various shipping companies charge for brokerage has always been a mystery to me. Guess I got lucky this time.

Did you buy other things?

I called, and it seems the more you order of different things the more "lines" you get on the import receipt and the first 5 lines are free then UPS charged $4.50 for each additional.

If you get a DLBC and a strap and TB put these down as two separate things in their commercial invoice UPS will mark this down as two different categories for brokerage processing.


So, be careful of throwing in extras like key straps and pouches and parts. That $1 clasp might end up costing you around $8.

[Mredden]

Did you buy other things?

I called, and it seems the more you order of different things the more "lines" you get on the import receipt and the first 5 lines are free then UPS charged $4.50 for each additional.

If you get a DLBC and a strap and TB put these down as two separate things in their commercial invoice UPS will mark this down as two different categories for brokerage processing.


So, be careful of throwing in extras like key straps and pouches and parts. That $1 clasp might end up costing you around $8.

Just the two bags this time and I already have a boatload of accessories from previous purchases (A45, S19, Pilot, BB) I will definitely keep this info in mind for future orders and limit myself to 5 lines or less...

[Darcy]

Yikes. @BihnBag much of this is illuminating to us. Thank you for doing all of this research. We actually have a meeting scheduled with our UPS rep this week, and we're going to ask about some of these things.

[ceb]

Yikes. @BihnBag much of this is illuminating to us. Thank you for doing all of this research. We actually have a meeting scheduled with our UPS rep this week, and we're going to ask about some of these things.

I think that would be great. I suspect that everyone in the great white north accepts the fact of paying the taxes, but are a bit miffed at paying a significant amount for the paperwork - especially since USPS (mail)items show up just the same without such expensive fees.

[Yarpy]

I think that would be great. I suspect that everyone in the great white north accepts the fact of paying the taxes, but are a bit miffed at paying a significant amount for the paperwork - especially since USPS (mail)items show up just the same without such expensive fees.

Add to that the 30% exchange rate.

[ceb]

Add to that the 30% exchange rate.

Nothing we can do about that...

[ClicketySnap]

Also from Canada. I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $40... but I know a former coworker shipped things to work (which I also did all the time) but the company name of our workplace was included in the shipping address. The package was automatically handled by the company’s brokerage dealer at customs instead of just coming through as usual. She was charged twice as much in fees as the item cost to ship to Canada.
When I shipped things (including TB) to the same workplace, I just used my name and the street address and didn’t mention the company name. I never had a problem with fees the way she did.


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[Yarpy]

Yikes. @BihnBag much of this is illuminating to us. Thank you for doing all of this research. We actually have a meeting scheduled with our UPS rep this week, and we're going to ask about some of these things.

Did you get any more info from your meeting? I'm preparing to order on Monday but leery of ordering too many little bits.