semaj550
September 13th, 2006, 03:13 PM
I would like to preface this by saying that this scenario is totally NOT AN's fault, however, I wanted to bring it to light so hopefully others won't be as surprised as I was.
I would like to suggest that in the shipping FAQ the section about the possiblity for import duties, etc. being levied on shipments into Canada be expanded to inform customers of just what this could entail.
I recently placed an order with AN and chose the UPS Ground shipping method. AN's price for this was roughly US$16. Well I got my UPS delivery attempt notice today and it noted COD charges payable to UPS of CA$42.51. This seemed completely rediculous so I called up UPS to ask about it. It turns out that the charges are partially sales taxes (payable to the Canadian government) and partially brokerage charges (payable entirely to UPS for them submitting documents to Canadian customs on my behalf). That still didn't make sense, the declared value of the shipment was US$72 so the Canadian sales taxes (totalling 14%) wouldn't be anywhere near that. So I asked for the exact break down. I was told that the taxes were about CA$12 and the brokerage fees made up the difference. CA$30+ to submit a document? Well, needless to say, I'll pay it but I'm not happy about it.
Like I said, this is totally not AN's fault but I think the shipping FAQ could afford to be updated so that people know that the fees that UPS will charge (and won't tell you about anywhere ahead of time) are likely to end up being almost twice what the shipping charge paid to AN will be.
I would like to suggest that in the shipping FAQ the section about the possiblity for import duties, etc. being levied on shipments into Canada be expanded to inform customers of just what this could entail.
I recently placed an order with AN and chose the UPS Ground shipping method. AN's price for this was roughly US$16. Well I got my UPS delivery attempt notice today and it noted COD charges payable to UPS of CA$42.51. This seemed completely rediculous so I called up UPS to ask about it. It turns out that the charges are partially sales taxes (payable to the Canadian government) and partially brokerage charges (payable entirely to UPS for them submitting documents to Canadian customs on my behalf). That still didn't make sense, the declared value of the shipment was US$72 so the Canadian sales taxes (totalling 14%) wouldn't be anywhere near that. So I asked for the exact break down. I was told that the taxes were about CA$12 and the brokerage fees made up the difference. CA$30+ to submit a document? Well, needless to say, I'll pay it but I'm not happy about it.
Like I said, this is totally not AN's fault but I think the shipping FAQ could afford to be updated so that people know that the fees that UPS will charge (and won't tell you about anywhere ahead of time) are likely to end up being almost twice what the shipping charge paid to AN will be.