I saw a thread a while back regarding ordering from the US, but can't find it. Anyways...
I'm looking to get either the Tein SS or the Tanabe Sustec Pro II coilovers. I've checked some US prices and after converting it to CDN dollars, it would be cheaper. I've never ordered anything from the US before, so I'm just curious if there are any charges I should look out for. I'm also assuming we would have to pay the 15% tax, correct?
Any tips or suggestions are appreciated. Also, any recommendations with whom to purchase from would also be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I'm in the T.O. area too...actually...Barrie.

When you order from the US, you will inevidibly be charged AT LEAST GST on the converted value and a brokerage fee. In some cases there may also be a duty charge.

The last shipment I had from the US came via UPS...the brokerage fee was $75 Canadian.

My advice...purchase the goods, book a hotel reservation for 7 to 10 days later for you and your woman at a hotel in the Buffalo or Niagara Falls, NY area, have the goods shipped to the hotel with a note stating "Hold For Guest Arriving On..."

Put the stuff in your trunk and drive back.

At the end of the day, by the time you pay for the hotel, it's probably just as much, but, hey, you might get lucky!!

 

I have purchased a few things from the States and the brokerage fees are defintely a downer as they can add substantially to the overall price.



Excited

 

In my experience, UPS charges the highest brokerage fees. Avoid them at all costs. My experience with FedEx and the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been good.
Some vendors will also mark the item as a gift. YMMV.

 

Exactly, avoid UPS like the plaugue. FedEx or USPS.

 

FedEx will also charge the borkerage too and they kind of like to just leave your package on your front door even not try to ring the bell. They did that on my set of Volks. So usps is the best but not everyone willing to ship on them. And also declare as gift also not good too, they just ignore it and will give it a value as they estimate. So for expensive item, go for UPS Express which won't charge you borkerage, for less expensive stuff, try ask usps otherwise FedEx and wish them just drop it off on your front yard and then ignore their bill for borkerage afterwards.

 

When I used to work at a warehouse, I noticed the fedex guys treated their cargo better than UPS. However, at home, I also noticed that the fedex guys will leave stuff at your doorstep and not ring the bell. It's horrifying to find tons of expensive stuff sitting on my porch.

I then tried UPS...the online tracking system said "Garage", and I was confused...but when I looked, the UPS guy had taken the time to go to the side of the house and hide it behind the garage. It was quite a strange sensation (after solely using fedex for a long time) to find a courier who actually cared about the stuff

 

So UPS Express won't charge a brokerage fee on expesive items? Would a set of coilovers (approx $1000 cdn) be considered an expesive item?

 

Yes, UPS Express won't charge brokerage. So let's get an quote and see the difference between UPS Standard and Express and see if the difference worth it. Like if you are buying something like $2000 and the difference between Standard & Express is around $50US then it is worth it since you going to paid over $100 for brokerage fee and UPS also have better tracking and they won't just leave it in front of your door. But since coilovers are quite heavy so maybe the Express will be way more than the Standard.

 

UPS odes not charge a Brokerage fee on parcels delievered by air. Keep in mind this,

Seller would probably not ship by air because air shipment is $$$ which adds to the total price of the product and would probably deter people from buying from that seller. The illusion is that if The seller sells you an item for $100. You have the misconception of thinking your only paying for tax and exchange and free ground shipping. In actual fact..you end up paying a brokerage fee to your end..not the seller's end.

Sellers tend to avoid Fedex when it comes to crossing borders because the buyer recieves the goods but does not pay a brokerage fee at the time of pick up. Few months go by and fedex sends a bill for the brokerage fee. The buyer doesn't care about the fee because he got his product already and then fedex goes after the seller for the brokerage fee.

Best bet is to have stuff shipped USPS. $5 brokerage fee.

 

I got in touch with the sales at tsxparts.com and inquired about shipping via USPS. They told me it would cost $195 to ship with them. Hmmm? What's that all about?

 

Is that USPS ground?

 

Comptech shipped over new brackets and bushings for my swaybar yesterday and used FedEx. That fawkers left the package in the middle of my porch They could have at least moved it over to somewhere that was out of sight from passers by.

The good news is no brokerage fees.

 

Man is toronto such a crime-ridden city that you guys all panic about leaving expensive stuff outside? I've never had a package stolen from my door in my life and I have lived on a couple pretty crappy streets.

 

I really wouldn't be comfortable with this in any city.

 

Dom..fedex doesn't charge brokerage fees right away to speed up delivery.....most likely you'll be getting a bill from fedex in the near future.

 

If you come down to buffalo ray laks is the vendor for acura. Off of transit.

 

But if I recall correctly I was charged anything last time. Its only a $15 order so it shouldn't be too bad anyway.

 

$195????? I paid $60 on shipping for my a-spec suspension and I dun think the teins is that much heavier than my a-spec!

 

There won't be ne borkerage and duty for $15.

 

Ohh....yeah $15 should be ok.

 

Ya, new swaybar brakets since I left the originals on my old car

 

i guess it's neighborhood specific.

i've had my sneakers stolen from my porch, at least 3 times already, while the porch door is locked.

i'm pretty sure that it's the same person/people jacking my shoes. not sure why though. they're used and they stink. but, they're nikes. maybe that's the motive...

 

I live on a cul de sac with 8 houses on it in an average neighbourhood. My next door neighbour is a top ranking police officer. 2 years ago he got 3 bicycles stolen out of his garage.

If you live in Yuk-a-Tuk where your closest neighbour is a 5 min drive..i'm sure you'll have no problems leaving packages outside without it getting stolen.