sunnyboy

To all dealers / vendors who still sell to Canadian folks,

PLEASE NEVER EVER USE UPS TO SHIP YOUR GOODS TO CANADA. PLEASE DON'T USE FEDEX EITHER, BUT UPS IS THE WORST.

PLEASE DO USE USPS - THE US Postal Service.

UPS GOUGES all Canadians when your goods cross the border. We get charged something called "Brokerage Fee" which is basically a fancy term for picking our pockets. It's almost double what the tax rate would be on goods entering Canada.

Also, it is NOT faster than your mail service. UPS seems to hold stuff for days at the border, and there's never any tracking information for the customer.

With USPS, we often get a tracking number which works with both USPS and the Canadian postal service, so we can track the package up to the point it's on the truck for delivery. No such luck with UPS or the others.

So please - if you still want to sell to Canadians, at least ASK US when we buy what our preferred shipper is, and be willing to use USPS if we request (or better yet, make it your default).

I know some Canadians get enough stuff that they have their own broker and thus avoid these fees, but the drysuit I got repaired arrived today and at NO TIME did UPS call me to arrange brokerage. They just charged me their fees and that was that (not that I had a broker, but they didn't even try).

cool_hardware52

For all those customers that choose / request delivery via USPS.

If you choose a method that does not offer tracking and or insurance please do not then demand a tracking number and expect us to replace lost items.

Some USPS services do offer tracking and (some) insurance, some do not.

Oddly enough the low cost services do not offer tracking and or insurance.

Express Mail is a premium service that does offer insurance and tracking, but it can approach the cost of UPS.


Tobin

diverchris

Tobin,
The issue at hand is not the cost of shipping it's the gouging the UPS and FedEx do at the border. The brokerage fees are typically the same if not more than shipping, then to add insult to injury we have to pay taxes on top of "Brokerage".

For myself if the company will not ship via USPS I look for another company to buy from.

wedivebc

I thought Fedex handled the cross border brokerage as part of their service? I know UPS doesn't

__________________
Cheers,

Dave....

www.wedivebc.com

s115

I dont know why anyone would ever use anything but USPS.

Shortest delivery times, best tracking, and in oz, they hold at the local post office instead of returning to a depot for pickup. UPS you have to go within certain times to an inconvienent location for pick up of you miss the pakcage. which you invarilably will, if you have a job. And since you are buying expensive dive gear, chances are you do!

jkaterenchuk

Sounds like a good reason to support your Canadian dealers and vendors.

I suspect in most cases you do not because the price from the USA dealer is lower. I can not blame your for wanting to save money. But maybe some of the reason the Canadian prices are higher is that they also have to pay for brokerage.

John

wedivebc

I agree John.

__________________
Cheers,

Dave....

www.wedivebc.com

jkaterenchuk

I guess when it comes to cross border commerce and opinions on socialized medicine I have a unique perspective having experience on both sides of the border.

John

aaen

The brokerage fee is handing the box to another person at the customs counter, it is a rip off. Have had items come in that were 30-40% of the item cost because of this brokerage fee, i've refused the package and had the sell resend it many times with usps as they were originally instructed to. I do not mind paying a handling fee, etc but at a flat rate, not based on the value of the goods.

Regardless, usps is the best way to go for shipping to Canada. It is relatively fast and they do not rip us Canadians off.



Steve

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

cool_hardware52

I'm aware of the problem with UPS and Canada. We do sell a great deal of inexpensive items, instrument mounts for example. ~$10-20. It's absolutely possible and often most practical to ship these "regular" mail for a few dollars.

Regular mail does not provide tracking or insurance, but the low cost is attractive to many buyers.

Many of these same buyers, the ones that *choose* the $4 regular mail option will immediately demand we provide a tracking #. They like the low cost, but apparently don't understand that low cost doesn't = tracking and insurance.

I'm not trying to discourage customers from USPS, it's often the best choice. My plea is for them to understand that the low cost services don't provide tracking and insurance, not matter how many emails they send demanding to know *why* we failed to provide them with a tracking number........

Tobin