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Shipping items from the US to Canada

May 29, 2007 at 10:39:20 AM
Limbofunk (160)
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(Otto Man) < King Solomon >
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I have a large package to send to Canada and I was asked to have it shipped via USPS rather then UPS.  The person told me they want this done because if it is sent UPS, they will have to pay admin fees to them as well as pay a customs charge.  Does anyone know if there's a way so they wouldn't have to pay any fees to pick the item up if UPS is used?

Thanks in advance,

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0


May 29, 2007 at 11:31:56 AM
Jumpman Jr. (47)
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Don't send it UPS

May 29, 2007 at 11:44:50 AM
Limbofunk (160)
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Originally posted by: Jumpman Jr.

Don't send it UPS


I know that's an option...it'll cost me 15$ extra though.

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0


May 29, 2007 at 11:56:12 AM
dangevin (219)
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If the "customs charge" is what I think i is, via UPS just understate the value. They just ask you when you mail it. Make sure you say $10 or less. I don't know what admin fees are...is that just their underhanded way of making it look like it costs less, but it really costs more? (like Airlines are prone to do)

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May 29, 2007 at 1:42:27 PM
burnambill333 (0)
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I always ship USPS and declare the item under $10 and "gift" whenever I send to Canada.

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Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!

May 29, 2007 at 1:43:36 PM
NationalGameDepot (279)
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Even it you ship something to them via USPS they still have to pay customs fees for whatever you mark the value on the customs form. Unless it is less than 30 bucks I think (a Canuck can correct me on that). No clue about admin fees or whatever though, new one on me. I refuse to ship anything via UPS cause 9/10 it is more expensive, especially internationally. I would just tell the seller that you will ship it anyway he wants so long as he pays whatever it may cost.
~~NGD

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Proud replier of post #1000 in the infamous Joel thread

May 29, 2007 at 2:03:45 PM
Battymo (100)
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I don't think I've had to pay any fees when stuff is marked as a gift, regardless of marked value... I don't think I've got a package that wasn't marked gift or other before.

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Edited: 05/29/2007 at 02:04 PM by Battymo

May 29, 2007 at 2:12:19 PM
NationalGameDepot (279)
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I know I have sent stuff to wizard marked as gift and he still had to pay fees on it. May depend on your PO I guess. Stupid Canada Post!
~~NGD

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Proud replier of post #1000 in the infamous Joel thread

May 29, 2007 at 2:15:29 PM
Jumpman Jr. (47)
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(Will Bowins) < Ridley Wrangler >
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Originally posted by: burnambill333

I always ship USPS and declare the item under $10 and "gift" whenever I send to Canada.


And thats why I love you

May 29, 2007 at 2:17:52 PM
Battymo (100)
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Yep, nothing like a little mail fraud to spread the love! What should happen if said package is exploded during shipping...

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May 29, 2007 at 2:23:47 PM
Battymo (100)
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I hate getting stuff via UPS or Purolator... Bought a camera once... and got dinged for an extra 300 bucks when I went to pick it up... Wasn't impressed!

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May 29, 2007 at 2:26:53 PM
the_wizard_666 (157)
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NGD, I think the max is $20, but I always tell people $10 to be safe.

And yeah, DO NOT, under any circumstances, send via UPS. May be cheaper for you, but what essentially happens is that UPS charges the receiver the same price as the sender. I don't even think it's got anything to do with customs when you go through them, I think it's just what they do. I've never had a UPS package that I didn't have to pay for, and both times I was VERY pissed off about it.

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"It's always amazing to me how some of the most worthless games from a gaming perspective tend to fetch outrageous amounts of money. But then again, it could be said that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I'm curious if the high bidder of the $873.04 Stadium Events (cart-only) realizes that it's nowhere nearly as rare as about 20+ games I can think of that sell for 1/10th that amount?  At any rate, I wanted to draw attention to this trend: if people say it's rare, it must be true, and therefore it must be had at any price."
-Dain Anderson, October 14, 2006
Originally posted by: kryptk33p3r

im used to dick jokes i get to see one everytime I pee

May 29, 2007 at 3:09:15 PM
EVIL OVERLORD
Dain (226)
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LOL, I guess I'm going to jail as well -- I don't think I've ever declared anything over $10 or as anything other than gift.

-Dain

May 29, 2007 at 3:29:10 PM
Braveheart69 (222)
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Too funny, you would think Canada Post would start to wonder why everything I send to Canada, at least once a week, in all different sized boxes is always a $10 gift. LMAO!!

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I HAVE IT ALL NOW NES WISE!  Unless you come across a Canadian DK JR MATH... if so I'm a Buyer!
USA GG set (Including all variants): COMPLETE!   Set includes 244 / 257 Sealed/NEW!
Euro GG set (Including all variants): Missing 9 boxes, 9 books, 9 carts.
Japan GG set: COMPLETE!  196/196
Brazil GG set: Have 61/68.  Need 5 boxes, 7 books, 3 carts.
GG Pirate Total68 different & Counting, Including Car Licence!
GG Prototypes:  4


May 29, 2007 at 3:32:29 PM
Battymo (100)
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Does it work that way in the US, when I send stuff from Canada? I usually put the approximate value (either money paid, or value of the item) and mark as gift.

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May 29, 2007 at 3:36:46 PM
NationalGameDepot (279)
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We don't have to pay customs on anything here in the US. Doesn't matter how you mark it, or how much it costs.
~~NGD

-------------------------
Proud replier of post #1000 in the infamous Joel thread

May 29, 2007 at 3:42:56 PM
Battymo (100)
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(Scrubb'n Nutz) < King Solomon >
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Next item that I ship, I'll make sure the custom's form says $1,000,000!

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May 29, 2007 at 4:02:58 PM
the_wizard_666 (157)
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What happens isn't that we get charged customs fees, it's that we have to pay the GST on any incoming packages worth over $20. So if you declare it as $30 value, they charge you 6% of $10 (60 cents) plus a $7 handling fee. $7! For the privilege of having them charge you fucking tax on your mail! I had to pay on a package declared at $120...came to an EXTRA $15 or so. It's not duty, it's tax. Fucking asshole government. As if 46% of my paycheque isn't enough for them...fuckers.

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"It's always amazing to me how some of the most worthless games from a gaming perspective tend to fetch outrageous amounts of money. But then again, it could be said that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I'm curious if the high bidder of the $873.04 Stadium Events (cart-only) realizes that it's nowhere nearly as rare as about 20+ games I can think of that sell for 1/10th that amount?  At any rate, I wanted to draw attention to this trend: if people say it's rare, it must be true, and therefore it must be had at any price."
-Dain Anderson, October 14, 2006
Originally posted by: kryptk33p3r

im used to dick jokes i get to see one everytime I pee

May 29, 2007 at 4:05:55 PM
Battymo (100)
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(Scrubb'n Nutz) < King Solomon >
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That's weird dude... I have never been charged for anything that I pick up at the post office, and I've had packages come in with some higher dollar amounts written on the customs form...

Do you guys have HST out west? HST is another 7% on top of GST which is 7%. So I pay 14% tax on all goods purchased (was 15% up until last year!) Stupid government is right!

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May 29, 2007 at 4:25:35 PM
the_wizard_666 (157)
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GST is only 6% now Batty. Thank you Stephen Harper If you're getting charged 14%, then your HST is 8%.

Anyway, they randomly sample the packages that they charge you for. You may have just got lucky. The worst is when they open the package and arbitrarily decide that the listed value is not enough, and charge you what THEY BELIEVE THE VALUE TO BE!

As for HST, we don't have anything like that in Alberta...no provincial sales taxes here. BC and Saskatchewan do though, although the exact percentages elude me at this time...think BC has a 7% PST on top of the 6% GST.

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"It's always amazing to me how some of the most worthless games from a gaming perspective tend to fetch outrageous amounts of money. But then again, it could be said that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I'm curious if the high bidder of the $873.04 Stadium Events (cart-only) realizes that it's nowhere nearly as rare as about 20+ games I can think of that sell for 1/10th that amount?  At any rate, I wanted to draw attention to this trend: if people say it's rare, it must be true, and therefore it must be had at any price."
-Dain Anderson, October 14, 2006
Originally posted by: kryptk33p3r

im used to dick jokes i get to see one everytime I pee

May 29, 2007 at 6:03:48 PM
Dr. Morbis (30)
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(Basil T) < Kraid Killer >
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No, the best is when they slap on the customs form after deciding that you don't actually owe any tax but proceed to STILL charge you the handling fee! I've had this happen to me 3 times already: GST (Tax) Due - $0, Handling fee $5. WTF is that about? I'm paying money for the courtesy of them telling me that I shouldn't owe any money ?!?!?!

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My mantra, as worded by SamSpade on 06/12/12:
I don't resell to fund my collection, I don't treat this hobby like a second job, I don't care if my collection is worth ten bucks or ten thousand because I never plan on selling it. Seriously, what does the value have to do with anything if you never plan on selling? Speculation doesn't mean jack shit to me at this point, I just want to play my nes games...

May 29, 2007 at 6:22:09 PM
EVIL OVERLORD
Dain (226)
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(Dain Anderson) < Founder >
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Wow, I thought we had it bad here! ... oh, wait, we do -- read on....

You guys want to hear something REALLY messed up? A 5 oz package w/DC (1 cart) costs more now to ship in the US than to Canada!!!!

1 cart (5 oz) = $1.99 in the US
1 cart (5 oz) = $1.93 to Canada

How messed up is that?!?

-Dain


Edited: 05/29/2007 at 06:22 PM by Dain

May 29, 2007 at 7:17:22 PM
Battymo (100)
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(Scrubb'n Nutz) < King Solomon >
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Yep... it's cheaper for me to send something to the US most times than to a part of Western Canada...

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May 30, 2007 at 3:38:22 AM
the_wizard_666 (157)
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(The Fat Ninja) < Wiz's Mom >
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I once sent an Atari cart to Edmonton from Calgary...same province, and the cities are mere hours apart by car. Cost me $3 more than an NES cart to the US. THREE FUCKING DOLLARS! Six cents is nothing Dain.

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"It's always amazing to me how some of the most worthless games from a gaming perspective tend to fetch outrageous amounts of money. But then again, it could be said that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I'm curious if the high bidder of the $873.04 Stadium Events (cart-only) realizes that it's nowhere nearly as rare as about 20+ games I can think of that sell for 1/10th that amount?  At any rate, I wanted to draw attention to this trend: if people say it's rare, it must be true, and therefore it must be had at any price."
-Dain Anderson, October 14, 2006
Originally posted by: kryptk33p3r

im used to dick jokes i get to see one everytime I pee

May 30, 2007 at 2:25:38 PM
Dr. Morbis (30)
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(Basil T) < Kraid Killer >
Posts: 2320 - Joined: 10/04/2006
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Yeah, up here in Canada it's actually cheaper to send a loose Atari cart to the southern tip of Florida than it is to mail it to the end of your street. And that's no joke

-------------------------

My mantra, as worded by SamSpade on 06/12/12:
I don't resell to fund my collection, I don't treat this hobby like a second job, I don't care if my collection is worth ten bucks or ten thousand because I never plan on selling it. Seriously, what does the value have to do with anything if you never plan on selling? Speculation doesn't mean jack shit to me at this point, I just want to play my nes games...