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Importing From The Us - Printable Version

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Importing From The Us - crazikev - 04-23-2008

I've heard some horror stories on here from time to time from people importing parts in from the states, what i would like to know is this just from sites like Ebay where people get murdered on fees they are not told about. So my question is, What is everybody's experience with importing things from across the boarder? I was quoted at $90 shipping for 4 tires, will that still be $90 when it gets to me? :lol:

Also has anyone ever bought tires from "Tire Rack", and how did it go?

Importing From The Us - Canadian ST - 04-23-2008

Thats $90 for shipping only. There is also duty on top of that and sometimes you have to pay taxes to. Check out tirerack.com it will give yo a breakdown of all the costs when shipping to Canada. I would just get the tires in the states and have them put on there. Just make sure your car is dirty and you put dirt on your new tires to make them look old.

Importing From The Us - ZTWsquared - 04-23-2008

crazikev,Apr 22 2008, 03:57 PM Wrote:I've heard some horror stories on here from time to time from people importing parts in from the states, what i would like to know is this just from sites like Ebay where people get murdered on fees they are not told about.  So my question is, What is everybody's experience with importing things from across the boarder?  I was quoted at $90 shipping for 4 tires, will that still be $90 when it gets to me? :lol:

Also has anyone ever bought tires from "Tire Rack", and how did it go?
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I do this all the time - if I say so myself I'm a bit of an expert at it now.

Here's what you'll pay.

FREIGHT: whatever the shipper quotes you to Canada - BTW, this is usally 2 to 2 1/2 times more expensive than shipping within the U.S. Check it out: check the Tirerack freight to Niagara Falls NY (zip: 14304) and then check to Niagara Falls Canada.

TAXES: you will pay both PST and GST on the Canadian value.

UPS BROKER FEE: this is based on the value of goods converted into Canadian dollars. For example, a purchase worth $1000 will cost you $68

BOND FEE: if UPS has to front the taxes, they will charge you 2.7% or a minimum of $6. You can avoid this by paying them the taxes and duty up front.

DUTY: With UPS the shipper is required to indicate the country of origin. Parts made in US or Mexico are duty free - but parts from other countries may have duty applied. You will need to know the country of origin to determine if you will have to pay duty, for example wheels from China and tires from Korea. IIRC duty can range from 6 to 10% depending the part and the country.

NOTE: the part about duty, although technically applicable to all imports, is never applied to personal importations - at least it's never happened to me in two years of bringing stuff back. I just show them my US receipt and it's taxes only.

Okay here's my spiel ... I've been bringing back stuff from the US for myself and a number of people on the board here for some time ... if I made it a more formal business venture and could save you money on freight, duty, broker fees and bond fees - is this a service that would be in demand.

Importing From The Us - crazikev - 04-23-2008

That is a lot of tax and duty lol. It looks like on tire rack you can have your order shipped to an installer, maybe i will do that, there is one less than 20km away :D thanks for the replies btw

Importing From The Us - meford4u - 04-23-2008

Try shipping to the UPS store in Niagara Falls. They charge $10 per item for delivery and $1 a day for holding. That way you can handle your own "taxes" at the border and skip the duty, brokerage, etc..



Importing From The Us - OAC_Sparky - 04-23-2008

meford4u,Apr 22 2008, 08:58 PM Wrote:Try shipping to the UPS store in Niagara Falls.  They charge $10 per item for delivery and $1 a day for holding.  That way you can handle your own "taxes" at the border and skip the duty, brokerage, etc..
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If you drive another 5 minutes you can send it right to the UPS Depot and is doesn't cost anything.

Importing From The Us - ZTWsquared - 04-23-2008

OAC_Sparky,Apr 22 2008, 09:28 PM Wrote:
meford4u,Apr 22 2008, 08:58 PM Wrote:Try shipping to the UPS store in Niagara Falls.  They charge $10 per item for delivery and $1 a day for holding.  That way you can handle your own "taxes" at the border and skip the duty, brokerage, etc..
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If you drive another 5 minutes you can send it right to the UPS Depot and is doesn't cost anything.
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Both of these are good options with the possible drawback that the U.S. shipper will not ship to an address different than your billing address for your credit card, they might not ship to a PO box type address or UPS - similarly sometimes an ebay seller won't ship to an address that is not your ebay address ...

Actually the UPS depot is closer to the border than the UPS store (by a minute or two) being right at the Porter / Packard exit of I190 ... but it's not open evenings

Importing From The Us - OAC_Sparky - 04-23-2008

ZTWsquared,Apr 22 2008, 10:08 PM Wrote:Both of these are good options with the possible drawback that the U.S. shipper will not ship to an address different than your billing address for your credit card, they might not ship to a PO box type address or UPS - similarly sometimes an ebay seller won't ship to an address that is not your ebay address ...

Actually the UPS depot is closer to the border than the UPS store (by a minute or two) being right at the Porter / Packard exit of I190 ... but it's not open evenings
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True, but what I have done is set up the Packard Rd. address as a secondary address in PayPal and eBay. Just remember to change it before you pay.

And personally, I almost always take the Rainbow Bridge over -- usually a lot less traffic.

Importing From The Us - meford4u - 04-24-2008

OAC_Sparky,Apr 22 2008, 08:28 PM Wrote:
meford4u,Apr 22 2008, 08:58 PM Wrote:Try shipping to the UPS store in Niagara Falls.  They charge $10 per item for delivery and $1 a day for holding.  That way you can handle your own "taxes" at the border and skip the duty, brokerage, etc..
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If you drive another 5 minutes you can send it right to the UPS Depot and is doesn't cost anything.
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I didn't know that.