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Last week, I ordered some stamps from a US company I LOVE. I haven't been able to find the stamps locally, or I would have gotten them here. I figured the $15-ish shipping charge wasn't too bad. Flash forward to today, and the note left by UPS stating they will attempt delivery again tomorrow and the nearly $50 brokerage fee! I was gobsmacked- that's more than my order was! It was an expensive lesson to learn. :(
Last week, I ordered some stamps from a US company I LOVE. I haven't been able to find the stamps locally, or I would have gotten them here. I figured the $15-ish shipping charge wasn't too bad. Flash forward to today, and the note left by UPS stating they will attempt delivery again tomorrow and the nearly $50 brokerage fee! I was gobsmacked- that's more than my order was! It was an expensive lesson to learn. :(
Omg. I am sorry for you. Can you tell me what a brokerage fee is? I am curious...
I am sorry that you have to go through this, it isn't fair. Did the company give you the option to have it shipped by postal service instead of UPS? If you ever order from them again I would be tempted to contact them and find out if they would ship USPS instead. Those brokerage fees can be nasty for us in Canada, they are even worse than the customs fees that we get dinged with.
I admit that as a Canadian, I either will only have items shipped to me if it is sent USPS (US Postal Service) or I will have the items sent to a box in the US and then go pick it up myself. If you live near the border, you can have a mailbox company accept the package and hold it for you for about $5.
Thanks for providing this information. Even though it's not something that I have to deal with, I appreciate understanding some of the issues that international crafters contend with.
I admit that as a Canadian, I either will only have items shipped to me if it is sent USPS (US Postal Service) or I will have the items sent to a box in the US and then go pick it up myself. If you live near the border, you can have a mailbox company accept the package and hold it for you for about $5.
I do something similar. I check the shipping options from a company before I order. If the only options are UPS or FedEx, I simply won't order. It just isn't worth it - by the time you pay for the order, the ridiculous shipping prices from those sorts of services, and then brokerage fees (which often exceed the actual cost of the item), you've sometimes paid for the item three times over.
I have no issues with paying customs fees if I order things that fall in those categories. But I do object to paying brokerage fees when I didn't ask them to broker my package KWIM?
For the stuff that I really can't get here or shipped via USPS, I am very grateful for some US friends who are kind enough to tack stampy stuff on to their own orders for me & then re-ship to me via USPS. Which usually makes the shipping much cheaper, and avoids the brokerage fees.
__________________ "You may not have lost all your marbles, but there's definitely a hole in the bag." Grumpy Cat
Last week, I ordered some stamps from a US company I LOVE. I haven't been able to find the stamps locally, or I would have gotten them here. I figured the $15-ish shipping charge wasn't too bad. Flash forward to today, and the note left by UPS stating they will attempt delivery again tomorrow and the nearly $50 brokerage fee! I was gobsmacked- that's more than my order was! It was an expensive lesson to learn. :(
Hi Tyshero,
I have learned that lesson the hard way, too. You can refuse the shipment, and the company will refund your money. Then, contact the company, and ask them to send it USPS.
Next, pm me and I can get you involved with my group of girls - we constantly order from the states and send it to Mike's Parcel Pick Up in Pembina, ND. Someone is always crossing the border and it only costs $5 per package to pick up. Great when you combine it with free shipping!
It was my own fault- I picked UPS instead of USPS. One letter can be pretty pricey! I may contact the company and let them know what the brokerage fee was, and suggest that maybe they put an information piece beside the UPS option that additional fees may apply- that would have made me hold off on ordering it, or selecting the USPS option. Lesson learned. It will irk me every time I use the stamps, though.
We do live near the border- I may look at getting the US box option. Usually, though, I prefer to buy Canadian, or support Canadian companies, but this particular set isn't available here (or I haven't seen it.) Oh well. Thankfully my hubby supports my addiction (I mean habit), and didn't say anything about the fee.
It was my own fault- I picked UPS instead of USPS. One letter can be pretty pricey! I may contact the company and let them know what the brokerage fee was, and suggest that maybe they put an information piece beside the UPS option that additional fees may apply- that would have made me hold off on ordering it, or selecting the USPS option. Lesson learned. It will irk me every time I use the stamps, though.
We do live near the border- I may look at getting the US box option. Usually, though, I prefer to buy Canadian, or support Canadian companies, but this particular set isn't available here (or I haven't seen it.) Oh well. Thankfully my hubby supports my addiction (I mean habit), and didn't say anything about the fee.
I have a US mailbox and love it! It is well worth the money.
Just to let people know that US customers can get hit by brokerage fees too - ask me how I know!!!!
I explained it to the company based in England and they weren't too sympathetic. So I haven't ordered anything from them since to be sent either here or in England. The kicker is they had an upcharge to send it overseas as well for "processing".
oh, such a hard lesson to find out. thanks for sharing that information. You would think the company sending it, could have emailed you about such expenses, I'm sure they are aware of it.
__________________ Carolyn
my avatar: (such desparation), Dear God, if you can't make me thin; make my
friends fat"
my DH got stung with brokerage fees to the tune of 160.00 one time for an off road part that was not available here. Needless to say he calls companies direct now and if they don't ship USPS he keeps looking for the part, we aren't close enough to the border to drive across for pick ups. I hate those extra fees!!!
I am very careful about ordering online from companies in the states because of the shipping and other fees that can really add up quickly. Another challenge for us Canadians - "international" credit cards. I don't have PayPal, and when I tried to place an order with Ellen Hutson for some Memory Box dies, I was unable to purchase as they would not accept an international Visa or Mastercard, and I don't have a US one. So, I tracked down a company in British Columbia (approx. 3500 miles away) who shipped the items I wanted for $5. Now, the cost of the dies themselves were higher in base price, but that is because the company had to import the items themselves, and that cost was buried in the price. In the end though, they cost the same amount as if I had ordered online, and no issue with the "international" credit card.
Now, don't get me wrong, there are a ton of companies out there that will ship to Canada free if you spend a certain amount of money, or for a small fee (I believe Gina K Designs is very good in this department), or there are some companies that are just so much cheaper. I was able to purchase two pairs of my daughter's favourite cross trainers (she is very specific about what shoes she wants - she's a varsity athlete), including shipping, duty, extra taxes for less than the cost of one pair of the exact same shoes in Canada.
__________________ Elizabeth
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Hand over the chocolate, and no one will get hurt!
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