I agree completely with the comments made so far USPS v UPS.

I used to mail order thins from he US fairly regularly and I learned the
hard way about the infamous UPS "brokerage fee". After that though, when I
ensured that the shipper used USPS, I had no trouble and Canada Post only
charged the applicable taxes and teh $5 fee as they are supposed to.

But - and it's a big but, Last week I ordered something from ebay and the
shipper wanted to ship UPS. I did a bit of an email discussion with him and
he assured me that eh could ship via UPS and there woudl be NO fees.

Well, since I had not discussed this prior to winning the auction, and since
I like to think you can trust people, I agreed to him shipping via UPS.

Lo and Behold! The item arrived in 4 days, in great condition and there
WERE NO ADDITIONAL FEES!!! I asked the guy how he managed this and he said
that he shipped it with a declared value of $80.00 and that there are no
fees. I don't know how this works, and I am still going to insist on
shipping via USPS but maybe, sometime, UPS might not suck.
"Upscale" wrote in message
...
"Dave O'Heare" oheareATmagmaDOTca wrote in message

The dealings that I have had cross-border by UPS would have been
laughable
if they hadn't been so expensive. They charge at least $25 as a service
charge, plus a percentage of the monies collected, plus tax on the whole
shebang.

I agree 100% with you. Only problem is when you buy something, tell them
that you want it shipped USPS and then they ship it UPS. A few years back,
I
bought a used DSL modem from someone on Ebay. Told him I'd pay his asking
price as long as he shipped it USPS and put the value as less than $50.
The
idiot shipped it UPS and put the value at $100. It was held up at the
border
until I paid duty and UPS brokerage charges. I'd already paid the guy with
paypal for it, so I was stuck and had to pay those extra bogus charges if
I
wanted to get my modem. None of that crap aside from a simple $5 service
fee
when I use USPS.

"Doug Brown" wrote in message ...
Lo and Behold! The item arrived in 4 days, in great condition and there
WERE NO ADDITIONAL FEES!!! I asked the guy how he managed this and he said
that he shipped it with a declared value of $80.00 and that there are no
fees. I don't know how this works, and I am still going to insist on
shipping via USPS but maybe, sometime, UPS might not suck.

There could be two other factors at play he
1) UPS expedited shipping includes brokerage; UPS Ground to Canada
doesn't.
2) You will likely be getting an invoice in the mail in the next week
or two from a customs broker closely associated with UPS. Unlike the
post office that seems to let most small packages through, UPS has to
collect tax on everything. Wouldn't surprise me if they add a
"disbursement fee" too.

Last week I got a $45 circuit breaker off eBay. The seller said he'd
use USPS, but apparently that message didn't get through to his
shipper who used UPS. Package arrived COD with a $29+ brokerage
charge (and $2 GST on that to add insult to injury). So UPS Ground is
definitely still collecting outrageous brokerage fees.

Let us know if you do get invoiced.

Tim

Same Here,

Won an 18 ga brad nailer on Ebay .. Seller sends by UPS .. surprise ... a
$38.40 plus GST Brokerage Fee .. a real surprise for a $69.00 tool. (The
total bill was $53.08 CAD)

I will not use UPS for anything shipped from the US !!! ( In fact now with
even domestic parcels I state no UPS !!! ) ... USPS to Canada Post ... at
max they only charge a $5 CAD handling fee plus taxes.

wrote in message
om...
"Doug Brown" wrote in message
...
Lo and Behold! The item arrived in 4 days, in great condition and there
WERE NO ADDITIONAL FEES!!! I asked the guy how he managed this and he
said
that he shipped it with a declared value of $80.00 and that there are no
fees. I don't know how this works, and I am still going to insist on
shipping via USPS but maybe, sometime, UPS might not suck.

There could be two other factors at play he
1) UPS expedited shipping includes brokerage; UPS Ground to Canada
doesn't.
2) You will likely be getting an invoice in the mail in the next week
or two from a customs broker closely associated with UPS. Unlike the
post office that seems to let most small packages through, UPS has to
collect tax on everything. Wouldn't surprise me if they add a
"disbursement fee" too.

Last week I got a $45 circuit breaker off eBay. The seller said he'd
use USPS, but apparently that message didn't get through to his
shipper who used UPS. Package arrived COD with a $29+ brokerage
charge (and $2 GST on that to add insult to injury). So UPS Ground is
definitely still collecting outrageous brokerage fees.

Let us know if you do get invoiced.

Tim