how much for duty/import fees ?

spikehs · #1 09-12-2002, 11:10 PM

Hey all,

I am thinking of getting a digital camera from an online store in the states, the camera will be about $300 US. Does anyone know how much i should expect to pay in importing or duty fees? Thanks

Sean

Bryan · #2 09-12-2002, 11:22 PM

Unless you are getting a super deal I wouldn't bother. If the package is shipped UPS you would be charged about $50.00 brokerage fee, plus applicable duty and taxes. If by U.S.Mail the fee is duty plus taxes and a $5.00 handling fee at Canada Post. Most things are duty free but you will have to pay g.s.t

300 + 20.00 shipping x 1.57(a guess) exchange = 500.00

$500 + g.s.t = $535.00
Brokerage fees around $50.00 to &75.00.
check the fee schedule on the UPS website. You have to hunt for it as it's burried in there pretty good.

All told the camera is going to cost you around 600 bucks. What are you going to do if it needs service, a lot of warranty's won't be honoured if the item is not bought in the country it's sold.

reefburnaby · #3 09-13-2002, 12:50 AM

Hi,

IMHO, I would take a peek at www.henrys.com and see if they sell the camera you want. They are a large camera shop in Toronto and you don't have to pay PST if you don't live in Ontario. Even local computer shops (like atic and ncix) carry fancy cameras at low prices.

The duty not only includes GST and brokerage, but it also include PST. :eek:

- Victor.

Bryan · #4 09-13-2002, 02:03 AM

That's right I forgot, two years ago the NDP changed the rules and added PST to anything brought in across the line.

Quote:

Originally posted by reefburnaby:
Hi,

IMHO,
The duty not only includes GST and brokerage, but it also include PST. :eek:

- Victor.

christyf5 · #5 09-13-2002, 02:06 AM

Hi,
I just bought a digital camera from Henrys on ebay. The service there is great and you get a canadian warranty with their cameras. Plus you can get some really good deals if you are paying attention. The best part: for some reason I only got charged one tax. beats me but I'll take it!

Christy [img]smile.gif[/img]

Canadian Man · #6 09-13-2002, 02:12 AM

Sean, Hears a little story for you.

Katie(my wife) and I recently started a karaeoke business....We purchased all of our sound equipment locally but the cd's we were hesitating on because if we purchased them locally it threw us way over our budget.

Anyway so we were looking online and found the same CD set in the USA to be ALOT less than if we purchased it from calgary or even anyware in canada.

So kate called to customs,I think and asked how much duty would be charged on these cd's and the guy said that they don't charge duty on cd's.
:eek: WOW we said.

So, we purchased these cd's from the US for a total of $600, which was the final price and if we purchased the same cd set locally it would have cost us $1850.

So I don't really know how this portrays to your question other than calling customs and asking and maybe they will suprise ya. :confused:

Cheers

[ 12 September 2002, 22:14: Message edited by: Canadian Man ]

spikehs · #7 09-13-2002, 03:31 AM

thanks for the responses, i was looking at the nikon 880, so i'll hafta see if i can find it from a candian vendor.

Sean

titus · #8 09-13-2002, 03:55 AM

Hello Sean,

You pay $0 on brokerage and import fees. You may pay for duty (call CCRA and give them the place of manufacture and type of camera and ask for a rate). You pay GST and PST to CCRA.

Titus

spikehs · #9 09-13-2002, 05:18 AM

thanks, do you know where i would find the number?

Delphinus · #10 09-13-2002, 12:51 PM

Hi Sean,

If an item is made in Canada or the U.S. (or Mexico) then it falls under NAFTA and there won't be duty. There WILL be GST, and brokerage fees. How much you pay on brokerage depends on who brokers the items across customs and that is the decision of the carrier. Some places do it themselves (Canada/US Post, UPS) and some places outsource it to places like Peace Bridge. UPS charges a flat rate of $30 or $50 which kinda sucks if the item you buy is less than $100. Post is about $5 or $10, and Peace Bridge ... hmmm it has been many years since I ever had to pay an invoice to them but I remember it was like $50 or so.

Now here is the kicker. Nikon is a Japanese company. That means that they were imported into the U.S. and to buy it from the U.S. means you're re-exporting it again and now importing it into Canada. My advice is .... don't bother. It's already imported into Canada from somewhere else. You should be able to find just as good a deal on a camera here in Canada. Now admittedly, I haven't looked at this in a while, but about a year ago I looked into getting a Nikon 990. The prices I found online in the U.S., once the Canadian dollar exchange rate was taken into account .... were not any better than going through a local dealer or at least a Canadian online supplier. That was a real eye opener for me. Maybe things are different because cameras are basically consumer electronics and consumer electronics are basically commodoties.

Plus there is the issue of warrantees, if you MO through the U.S. you may get some kind of manufacturers warrantee but dollars to donuts you will have to mail your item to some service depot which means you're out of a camera for several weeks if something were to go wrong with it. It is a bit of a gamble.

Just my $0.02 ... I've MO'd a lot of stuff from the U.S. and basically it comes down to ... unless it's a huge, huge savings it's just not worth it. Savings on paper tends to work out into not a lot of savings in reality once all is said and done.

Like Jonathan pointed out there are exceptions so it does pay to check into things from time to time ... but if it were me I wouldn't order a camera from the U.S. if there was a Canadian supplier for the item I was looking for, and the price difference was not that much.