:lol:

Why pay a brokerage fee?

Get the seller to ship your goods USPS and avoid this all together.

USPS is their own customs broker and doesn't charge you a brokerage fee. :biggrin:

I get shippments from the US on a weekly basis and avoid UPS like the plague.

Good to know.
I mentioned brokerage fees because I wanted to do a fair comparison between a hobbyist buying from the US and a Canadian based wholesaler that sells to Canadian LFS.
Before I checked with the CTB I assumed there were fairly large fees involved when a truck crosses the border.

I was told the trucking companies absorb these fees and the truckers understand that there is extra time involved in crossing the border. Both the trucking companies and the truckers want to keep the trucks running as that is how they make their money.
Thanks
Wayne

Interesting thread. In a free society it is possible and perfectly moral to sell at " what the market will bear " . Competition usually controls excessive profits ( we could do with a bit more in the banking sector ! )
What is unusual, in this situation is the HUGE difference in prices accross the border.
Most of us would understand and accept a difference say of 10% - 15% due to varying market conditions ,but when a camera that retails for c$ 585:00 can be purchased over the line for U.S.$330:00( C$ 320:00? )something is seriously out of whack. A RETAILER in Canada could buy RETAIL from the U.S. ,pay all duties ,brokerage etc.and still have room to sell here cheaper and realise a healthy mark-up...........................
We can only ,as suggested by the consumer advocate in Ottawa ,vote with our feet and buy where the price right. I am perfectly happy to pay a few more dollars but suck the lemon on nearly double the price !
The above being said ,we out west are served very well ,particularly in Vancouver and the Island by our local stores with variety, and friendly, freely given advice which is impossible to put a price on.

...........................Dave

Initially I thought a 10% to 15% higher cost to us was justified based on shipping and brokerage but was surprised to see that even that was way out of line. With the dollar now at 4% more than the US dollar that is more than adequate to cover any additional costs they have including freight.