Shipments from USA to Canada

[WB72]

Have any of you Canadians ordered any parts from USA Mail order companies? I am wondering what the Duty and Tax is on truck parts. Is it really worth it to order from them of would it be better if we ordered from local places?

Any past info would be great.

[my new 72]

The duties depend on the value of what you ordered. If you can get a good deal, and cheap shipping, then the duties to be paid are not really a factor. You will come out ahead over buying locally. Sometimes the local tax on a 500.00 part is more than you will pay in duties. You would be surprised, truck restoration parts are classified very low on customs officials looking to pose extra fees. Order small first to check the water, then see what happens. It is harder to ship a box of blank copier paper to Canada than it is to send the same box full of drugs. Weird huh. Not that I send drugs to people, I just work in the shipping business and know the rules.

[WB72]

When I was younger, I ordered alot of waterskiing supplies from the States, and the duty would change. Where the item was built to what its purpose was would be a factor in the percentage of duty to be collected by our (Canadian) government. Don't forget our dollar is only worth about $0.65 but the catalogs that I recieve, sure make it tempting to try again at mail order.

[StingRay]

You can pretty much expect any price in US dollars to end up as double that amount in Canadian dollars by the time exchange, duty,disbersment, brokerage, etc, etc, etc is all taken into account. UPS Kills the joy of f new part very fast. They make it real expensive. You can minimize the damage by shipping mail wherever possible and trying to get the shipper to state as small a value as is reasonabley beliveable and to have them specify the item as a gift and not a business transaction. Having stuff shipped to a US address and then picking them up stateside is a real money saver as well.

[my new 72]

Thats a damn good idea. If you live close enough to the border, get a po box here in the us in some place like Mailboxes Etc. and make monthly trips to pick up you stuff. Declaring things as gifts is a good way to avoid paying duties, but most companies you order from really on that type of thing. I almost forgot, UPS sucks, request a different courier company if at all possible. Both DHL, and FedEx are better alternatives. Stay away from Airborn Express though, they are the trash of the industry.

[old_truck1969]

I live about 40 minutes from the US border. There is a store just on the other side that hold packages for a small fee - I think 2 or 3 dollars, 10 if they have to unload it with a forklift. I think the duty is next to nothing on restoration parts. Once you get it back to the Canadian side, you have to pay the Canadian taxes. This deal is especially good if you buy parts from Summit Racing, because shipping is free in the US.

[Kas68c10]

I live in MI,am Canadian, in Sarina every couple of months,let me know if I can help

[Gee_Emm]

If you use UPS to ship DO NOT let them clear the customs, tell them that you clear your own and get the paperwork from them and do it your self, its easy and if you let UPS do it the will rip you off BIG TIME

[WB72]

I would like to be able to go down and pick the stuff up at a PO box or something like that, but I live 6 hours away from the boarder, so I think that is out of the question.

Thanks for your help.