i'm thinking about purchasing an item from ebay and was wondering how the canadian custom/border fees were calculated?the item total will be around 400
I am not sure of the value to dollar, but it depends on what the seller puts down for the value and if he puts it as a gift or what not. If he puts the value less than $50, then there will be no fees.
If the seller puts down the actual value (or 'gift' and it actually gets opened to verify), they'll tax you on the full amount based on the province you live in, and duty will be determined by what the product is. Through NAFTA, anything made in Canada, US, or Mexico won't be charged duty, as well as a vast majority of electronics (for whatever reason, I don't know...). Otherwise, duty will be between 6-14% (give or take) depending on the item.
I've bought hundreds of items on Ebay from the USA. You get charged provincial tax and GST plus $5.00 brokerage fee if it's shipped by US Postal Service and Canada Post. If it's shipped by UPS, Fedex etc. prepare to be raped viciously by brokerage fees. As a resident of Ottawa you should do what I do. If the seller insists on using a courier, have the item shipped to The UPS Store in Ogdensburg, NY, it's only a 50 minute drive. Go down there for a day of shopping and pick up the item. They charge $5.00 per item for pick up. Bring your Paypal bill and declare the item at the border with your other purchases. As a Quebec resident, I only pay GST when coming back through Ontario.Send me an IM if you have any questions.
Quote, originally posted by Raven »I've bought hundreds of items on Ebay from the USA. You get charged provincial tax and GST plus $5.00 brokerage fee if it's shipped by US Postal Service and Canada Post. If it's shipped by UPS, Fedex etc. prepare to be raped viciously by brokerage fees. As a resident of Ottawa you should do what I do. If the seller insists on using a courier, have the item shipped to The UPS Store in Ogdensburg, NY, it's only a 50 minute drive. Go down there for a day of shopping and pick up the item. They charge $5.00 per item for pick up. Bring your Paypal bill and declare the item at the border with your other purchases. As a Quebec resident, I only pay GST when coming back through Ontario.never thought of doing that --- i was going to purchase a $300 surround system, but they ship through UPS and I was concerned about how much I would have to pay. The UPS site says around 40-45 dollars for that item. i've since decided not to purchase online because of all the extra fees that i'll have to pay on that item --- currently scanning local ads