Bricklink Orders actual end total fees importing to Canada

[hsvmann78]

Can anyone please share their true end total costs for importing Lego pieces into Ontario,Canada, from either the US or Europe?

I would be ordering exclusively from Bricklink. So, while it is fairly easy to determine the Shipping and Handling cost from the sellers perspective, I don't like surprises (read: ebay and UPS).
If possible could you list the country of origin, approximate value of product along with a breakdown of shipping, the shipping company,taxes,brokerage,duty and any other "funny" fees.

Thanks in advance

btw, Love this forum, some great information posted here!

[scotth510]

This also interests me. Looking forward to reading responses.

[lemus]

USA based here. So obviously I don't have the complete info. But from the point of view of a BL seller, I know that as long as the seller uses USPS to ship the items, there won't be a "brokerage" fee. Said fee is charged by the independent carriers like UPS and FedEX for their "trouble" in collecting the duties from you.
Furthermore, AFAIK once the foreign package goes through customs in Canada, it either passes without further inspection and thus no duties at all (kind of a luck based thing) or it gets inspected and in that case the package will be charged based on certain thresholds on the value of the item, if said value is very low it might still be tax exempt. I do not know these exact values. Also depending on the province in Canada the rules will be different.

[Hodgeman]

I've made about 60-70 Bricklink orders - most from the USA, some from Canada and a few from Europe (Poland, Germany). All my orders have shipped by regular post from the country of origin, and I've never paid import duties, taxes, brokerage, etc on them. I'd say most orders have the green customs sticker on them as well, declaring the value.

Hope that helps.

[hsvmann78]

Thank you, I appreciate the feedback. I can tell you, I've just about pulled out all my hair trying to find the best places to buy, the best lot selection, Minumum qty's.,etc., with the most economical shipping while attempting to determine taxes and any other fees.
I remember being extremely naive using eBay years ago and paying the price for not asking questions and being uninformed, so I'm being very careful and hope to educate myself enough to save the most money!

[beethead]

I've made about 60-70 Bricklink orders - most from the USA, some from Canada and a few from Europe (Poland, Germany). All my orders have shipped by regular post from the country of origin, and I've never paid import duties, taxes, brokerage, etc on them. I'd say most orders have the green customs sticker on them as well, declaring the value.

Hope that helps.

I've placed about 60 orders on Bricklink mainly from sellers in the USA and some in Europe and I've found it really depends on the declared value of the parcel whether you get dinged for duty/taxes. If you receive your parcel through Canada Post you won''t be charged any brokerage fees but I've found if the value exceeds $100 they will charge you duty/taxes and Canada Post will charge you a service fee for collecting for the government. In the past I've found packages sent through FedEx and DHL charged outrageous brokerage fees.

Bottom line is stick with the regular postal system (USPS and Canada Post) and try not to make big $$$ orders if you want to escape brokerage fees and duty/taxes.

[TRUKLEDOG_13]

Indeed, CP may charge taxes and duty when the declared value is above $20. The amount will then be $9.95 + GST + PST.

When buying/trading with anyone from outside Canada I always ask for my parcel to be declared with a value of $20 at the highest, even though I've don't remember been asked to pay for anything declared below $40.

[FenrisAkashi]

When buying/trading with anyone from outside Canada I always ask for my parcel to be declared with a value of $20 at the highest,

Technically this is illegal and dont be surprised if you get marked for asking for it. That said its all between the buyer and seller.

[TRUKLEDOG_13]

Marked by who? do you mean by authorities or by people with whom one would deal? Official e-tailers won't accept these kind of practices of course, so I wouldn't even bother to ask them. I'm talking about dealing from person to person. 99% of the times, I would not make any deal with someone who refuses to proceed as such, and as you said it's "all between the buyer and seller". I've made over 2000 such deals (back and forth) with people who were absolutely delighted to be able to avoid and to be aware of such duty fees

[dr_spock]

The seller could get in trouble for false declaration depending on the laws in his/her country. I don't think there is enough manpower to check and enforce everything. It is bad if you're a big company caught violating export/import laws. They can lose their rights to import/export and do jail time.

[Hodgeman]

A lot of sellers pretty clearly state that they will not "fake" customs declarations right up front.

Again, if you stick regular mail, I think in most cases you'll be fine.

[hsvmann78]

My purchase would be fairly large from one source in Europe. As far as I can tell, based on some of the responses so far, I can expect to pay at the very least the HST and if delivered by CP the service fee. Has anyone paid duty on large shipments over $100?

The Canada Customs site seems to imply that toys (ie lego?) are not charged duty. Is this true?

[TRUKLEDOG_13]

My purchase would be fairly large from one source in Europe. As far as I can tell, based on some of the responses so far, I can expect to pay at the very least the HST and if delivered by CP the service fee. Has anyone paid duty on large shipments over $100?

The Canada Customs site seems to imply that toys (ie lego?) are not charged duty. Is this true?

Despite the fact that the law claims that $20 is the min limit, I don't remember being charged for any declared value below $40; but I remember being charged nearly every time for anything valued as $40 and up, whether being done at the border or by mail. Also, LEGO and toys in general are no duty free... I'm pretty sure you'll be charged brokerage, GST and PST.