Question about online orders and duty

[cvrle1]

I think I'll ask my parents to get me an icecap 660 ballast for x-mass. Heck it's only $270 at J&L and I might even MO it if I don't have to pay too much for the duty and all the other charges.

Doeas anyone know how much I would pay for the duty and the rest of stuff. I know that some people get their stuff sent to the states by the border but I never did that so not sure how it works. If you can explain it to me that would be great. Ballasts go for $170 US minus 20%-25% in some places.

Thanks for the help

[Bryan]

I have ordered plenty of times in the past in th past and there generally is NO duty on most things. If there is it's generally small 1-3 percent, but rarely charged. You will be charged GST though.

WARNING!!!!WARNING

Do not have your parcels shipped by UPS. If the value is over 20.00 CDN they will charge a 35.00 brokerage fee plus duty and taxes. Have the pacrecl shipped by U.S. Air or Parcel Post. The post office only charges a flat fee of 5.00 plus duty and taxes. Unfortunately most mail order places prefer to ship by UPS. I think FedEx offers the same type of 5 day servoce as UPS but without the outrageous brokerage fee.

You can get around the UPS problem by having your parcels sent to a mail box in Blaine and driving down to pick up your parcels. Mail Box International offers this service to Canadians. I think it's about 12.00 per year plus 2-3 bucks per parcel.

[BCReefer]

If you ship VIA FedEx and the cost of the goods in under $500.00 (estimated) then the duty is included in the cost. Not sure about the GST though.

[Bryan]

But does FedEx chage a brokerage fee if the value in under 500.00

[cvrle1]

Thanks for the info.

That is exactly what happened when I got my skimmer. O ordered it online and UPS was shipping company. I had to pay $50 for those fees. Could you give me the address or whatever I need in order to get my stuff shipped to that post office in Blaine? I mean for $10 a year and no duty + brokerage fees I'll do it.

[Troy F]

I'm not judging anyone, money is money after all but I think we should consider that if we shop over the border there are a whole list of economic ramifications not least of which is the stores in our area lose business. Just a thought.

Example: Icecap at J&L's is $270 Icecap from US mailorder is $170 x 1.55 = $263.50 then add your shipping/brokerage/duty and gas to drive down to Blaine to pick it up. Support Canadian business.

[Silverfish]

Just my $.02, I have to agree with Troy if the products you are buying are that close in price or even a bit more here in Canada, support local business it seems pretty cutthroat out there and it is nice to have quality shops nearby. (for you folks in Van anyway!) images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[titus]

Hello Guys,

Trick of the trade.
1) Ship via UPS Ground.
2) Call UPS that you'll pick up yourself
3) Goto UPS Office in Richmond (by the airport) and pickup a slip
4) Goto Revenue Canada to pay for the GST (not duty b/c IceCap is US)
5) Bring the payment stamp (by Revenue Canada) back to UPS Warehouse (across their office) to pick up your goods.

Titus

[Bryan]

In the past I have used two. Mail Box International in the mini-mall (International Village I think it's called) close to the truck crossing. They charge a yearly fee plus a pickup fee. You have to go down and set up a account

or

Blaine Enterprises
936 Peace Portal Drive, Blaine, WA 98230
(360) 332-6825

It is a home business and they only charge a couple of dollars , no yearly fee. they are in Blaine close to the Douglas crossing.


Give them a call to see if they still operate the service.

Basically when you order you have the shipper put your phone number next to there address on the package. Blaine Enterprises calls you when it arrives. I used this place for years and they were great.

But as the other poster's say, if the cost is comparable it's not worth the hassle of driving down.

-=Bryan=-

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cvrle1:
Could you give me the address or whatever I need in order to get my stuff shipped to that post office in Blaine? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Bryan]

Can this still be done. I called UPS awhile back and they wouldn't give me a straight answer if I was allowed to clear the package myself.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Titus:
Hello Guys,

Trick of the trade.
1) Ship via UPS Ground.
2) Call UPS that you'll pick up yourself
3) Goto UPS Office in Richmond (by the airport) and pickup a slip
4) Goto Revenue Canada to pay for the GST (not duty b/c IceCap is US)
5) Bring the payment stamp (by Revenue Canada) back to UPS Warehouse (across their office) to pick up your goods.

Titus<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Bryan]

Here is Mail Box International

Mail Boxes International
1733 H Street 330, Blaine, WA 98230
(360) 332-7678

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bryan:
In the past I have used two. Mail Box International in the mini-mall (International Village I think it's called) close to the truck crossing.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[canadawest]

Mail Boxes International charges an annual fee of $10US for parcel receiving service and there is a $1.50US fee per delivery.

Great service, I've been using it for over 10 years.

[ 22 October 2001: Message edited by: canadawest ]

[Troy F]

Hey Marco, I wouldn't buy an Icecap on e-bay for the simple fact that these ballasts can be finicky. I'd want the proof of purchase and everything in case you have to send it back. I've never had a problems with mine but J&L had enough problems that they were considering not carrying them anymore.

[reefburnaby]

Hello,

I agree with Troy. There are definite advantages with shopping locally that you wouldn't get from buying at MO or ebay.

The price's will be a little bit higher in local LFS, but you will get customer service.

- Victor.

[cvrle1]

Hey Troy thanks for that hint about eBay. I never knew that so it's a great tip.

Another question that just poped up (I just keep cominmg up with new once)I was reading a post on one other BBS and question was: is there any major diferences between icecap, lights of america, and hamilton electronic, VHO ballasts, and people replyed that if they had a choice they would rather buy lights of america VHO ballast then icecap because they are almost the same and LOA is way cheeper ($40 US). Anyone have any experience with these and can the other two double the peower of NO lights like icecap can?

Thnaks again.

[cvrle1]

Thanks again for the help.

Just to verify few things. I do agree with Troy on shopping localy instead of MO if the price is same. So far I bought every sibgle thing from lfs except my skimmer which was MO(It was cheeper even after all the taxes and stuff by ~ $100 canadian). The reason why I wanted to buy icecap MO is because I found 2 online stores that are giving 25% of on orders over $100 so instead of it being $170 as it is right now, it would come out to $135 which would be ~ $200 canadian + plus shipping and other stuff would come out to $250. Now that would be $60 less than at J&L. Concidering that I'm a student that is quite a saving for me.

Now another question that I had about this thing is what happens if you buy stuff on eBay? I saw icecap660 for $130 US and was conteplating on betting on it (bidding was closing in 2 hours)Question is, would I have to pay any duty or other stuff. It would be sent as a package in an envelope and it would be treated as a present. No UPS shipping or anything like that. Any info on that?

[christyf5]

If you buy something on ebay you can get away with having it sent as a gift and not pay anything as long as they insure it for less than $50. I bought a CPR Bak Pak on ebay and the guy insured it for $100US. I paid $83US and had to pay GST and PST on the $100.

[Troy F]

No experience with L of A but another option is the Coralife electronic ballast. They are made by IceCap and, if memory serves me, the only difference is that they are not dimmable. If no one here has any experience post on one of the bigger boards

[FlameAngel]

AS for lighting stuff I think JL is a bit on a the expensive side

for example from www.lampsnow.com (http://www.lampsnow.com) I got a 4bulb VHO electronic ballast set, with harness with bulbs, and reflector, with shipping (via US Postal) and taxes just under 500 bucks.

JL's similar non brand specific 4 bulb vho system costs 619 without taxes and bulbs.

I see a savings there.

FlameAngel

P/s I think that 170 IceCap price is also with the wiring harness which isn't included at JL. Just my 2 centonies

[DJ88]

Wiring harnesses are included with the ballast.. Adam(One Divided) bought a 660 last week and it came all included..

Wanted to let ya know.. images/smiles/icon_wink.gif

[FlameAngel]

with endcaps I meant.. If it does that is a good price.. Ice caps in general are competative anywhere

[reefburnaby]

Hi cvrle1,

VHO ballasts...they are all doing the same thing. They all deliver approximately 1500mA @ 73V to a glass tube. Be it cap+coil or high tech electronic ballast with dimming and soft start, they are doing the same thing. The question is the quality of the ballast. Lights of america tend to have poorer quality...so keep a spare just in case they burn out. All in all, they are all the same.

The Icecap is a little bit different. I think the Icecap is a auto-sensing ballast that can differential between VHO, HO and NO.

As for the doubling the output of the NO, I think it is an Icecap thing. I suspect they are overdriving the NO tubes by 60% to get the extra light. NO tubes are commonly driven at 80% of the rated wattage or 32W. This is a US regulation thing -- which started in early 1990s. Doubling the power applied to the tubes makes the tubes glow almost twice as bright as normal or 64W or 60% above the rated wattage. Soo....I think that is what it is doing and it is also why not everybody is doing it (people like Advance and Magnetek/GE). Driving lamps at 60% above rated wattage significantly reduces the life span of the tube. For aquarium use, a 2 year life span is pretty good....so that's why Icecap is so special. That's my theory.

- Victor.

[ 23 October 2001: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]

[FlameAngel]

Good research on the topic.. I know Advance makes some good ballast, esp. for halides
westcoast lighting has a lot of their stuff.

[titus]

Hello Bryan,

Yes it still can be done because of the fact that businesses need to clear their own shipments. But you must make sure you keep tracking the parcel and make sure that UPS knows that you'll be picking it up.

Titus

[Doug]

All I do is double the catalogue price of the American item. Thats close to what it costs when it arrives at your place.

I with the others though. We use to buy lots in the US. Most from That Fish Place, years ago.

Of course with places like JL or MOPS, I buy new in Canada. I still purchase items from the for sale posts on the various boards. Some of you have most likely seen my pics of how some of that arrives. images/smiles/icon_mad.gif images/smiles/icon_mad.gif images/smiles/icon_mad.gif images/smiles/icon_mad.gif images/smiles/icon_mad.gif