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fair-priced camera shop in Canada?

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You can fill out brokerage papers yourself on some items and the shipper can include them or I have hired a third party brokerage firm to represent my company when importing from the us. Some items have import duties some don't depending on class of good and country of origin.

UPS has ridiculous brokerage fees, it is cheaper for me to pay a third party broker to clear a 4000 lb shipment of metal parts that are hard to classify than it is when I shipped a 30$ text book via UPS (was 60$ brokerage + gst and shipping charges.)
 
hi everyone, check this chart for a list of UPS brokerage fee breakdowns:

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html

it seems that if you ship UPS standard, you will be charged on brokerage depending on the value of the item, but UPS express/expedit will have brokerage fee cleared(free). very interesting indeed, considering expedit service is just slightly more than standard.
 
Someone is taking you for a ride. I order from B&H Photo occassionally and get my stuff shipped via UPS Express. When it arrives I only have to pay GST on the order and that's it.

--
Have a look at my work: http://neilvan.zenfolio.com
 
Framer said:
Someone is taking you for a ride. I order from B&H Photo
occassionally and get my stuff shipped via UPS Express. When it
arrives I only have to pay GST on the order and that's it.

--
Have a look at my work: http://neilvan.zenfolio.com
Click to expand...
C'mon guys,

This subject has been bled to death over the past few months. For goodness sake do a search on shipping to Canada. It's all there!

For the record, I purchased from B&H 3 weeks ago. Parcel weighed 8 lbs. UPS expedited cost $35.00 NO BROKERAGE OR FEES. Just the regular Canadian Sales tax which I would have had to pay in Canada, but same percentage on a product costing $100 more in canada. So even saved $14.00 on taxes.

Arrived at my doorstep 4 calendar days after placing a web order.

What's so diffiicult, or not to like, about purchasing from a REPUTABLE US vendor?

Roy Sletcher
whio is now sick of this subject.
 
Because despite what you are saying folks are continually being burnt by surprise costs, it's the lack of consistancy that makes us a little scared to leap again.
Roy Sletcher said:
Framer said:
Someone is taking you for a ride. I order from B&H Photo
occassionally and get my stuff shipped via UPS Express. When it
arrives I only have to pay GST on the order and that's it.

--
Have a look at my work: http://neilvan.zenfolio.com
Click to expand...
C'mon guys,

This subject has been bled to death over the past few months. For
goodness sake do a search on shipping to Canada. It's all there!

For the record, I purchased from B&H 3 weeks ago. Parcel weighed 8
lbs. UPS expedited cost $35.00 NO BROKERAGE OR FEES. Just the
regular Canadian Sales tax which I would have had to pay in Canada,
but same percentage on a product costing $100 more in canada. So
even saved $14.00 on taxes.

Arrived at my doorstep 4 calendar days after placing a web order.

What's so diffiicult, or not to like, about purchasing from a
REPUTABLE US vendor?

Roy Sletcher
whio is now sick of this subject.
Click to expand...
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti
 
Try The Camera Store in Calgary. Competitive prices on most items. http://www.thecamerastore.com . I've found some of their lens prices to be the same in Canadian dollars as the big US stores sell for in US dollars.

There's also Aden Cameras in Toronto. http://adencamera.com . And McBain Camera in Alberta http://www.mcbaincamera.com .

I suggest you shop around. One store might have one lens for more than another store but another lens for less than the other store.
 
UPS will then include the taxes in their shipping costs + extra ! Don't be fooled by UPS, they will charge everything they can. I had this problem on a used lens (cost = $2200, UPS charged me $400 !!!!! ). I did call them to complain: nothing changed. I did check at the canadian customs: nothing changed.

To avoid paying taxes, you need to write $0 or very low value on the package. But then, no shipping insurances !
 
  • I am not going to list them here but there are 3 highly competitive stores within walking distance of each other on Bank Street . Go to one store with a quote from A and ask B to match or beat that price.
Shopping locally works for me, especially if the alternative is a small savings percentage wise for dealing with mail order or making a trip to buy out of town. I also know that the shops I patronize appreciate me shopping there and that it all comes back to me sooner or later.

Good luck
 
Yes, but when I inquired about express/air shipping the cost would have been also very high since they would have included the taxes in the shipping costs (that's what they told me)
 
.. they've all arrived fine, paid my GST and PST plus the 5 dollar brokerage fee that shipping via post brings and voila!

I've also had antique swords and armour shipped from Japan (and even Australia) and had a buddy mail me a camera from the US.
It's not expensive or complicated.

Canadian camera stores charge 25-40% more for pretty much everything.
 
seems like lens ordered from B&H via UPS expedit cost $29US, and express cost 35$, that is actually pretty cheap if i had used the regular, the brokerage fee itself would be as high as the shipping price listed above.
 
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