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import fee deposit at amazon.com?

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Sep 23, 2008
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import fee deposit at amazon.com?

i tried placing an order for a book on [rfdlink=4]amazon.com[/rfdlink] and now they tack on an import fee deposit. but i thought there were no duty or fees when you buy books from the .com site, so why is there an import fee deposit now? will i be reimbursed for that amount after i get my book?
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Feb 20, 2006
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Thats a new one for me, I guess its new and pretty sure that kills all Amazon.com deals for us IF it is actually used. Maybe they are separating them and no longer shipping from within if you order from amazon.com

Hopefully someone else knows

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Sep 30, 2001
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Which book are you ordering?
Is the seller Amazon.com or someone from the marketplace?

I just added a book to my cart and I do not see an import deposit added.
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Sep 23, 2008
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i tried it with the complete calvin and hobbes collection
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MrDisco wrote: Which book are you ordering?
Is the seller Amazon.com or someone from the marketplace?

I just added a book to my cart and I do not see an import deposit added.
i tried it with a random book and it was there, tried it without a book and put in a dvd and it was there. Its a shocker

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Nov 14, 2004
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They refund it eventually if it's not needed.

I just got a refund on something I purchased like a month or so ago.
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CheapScotsman wrote: The "Import Fee's Deposit" is in a different color and underline. Click on it and it pops a window up that describes what it is for and how it works.

They also have a full FAQ for this in the international shipping section: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/ ... 720#import
I think the problem is that books, cd's, dvds and such are shipped from WITHIN Canada and should have no Import fee's associated with it. Now if they have changed and are no longer shipping these items from within Canada then I can see the fee but not the other way around

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Feb 25, 2004
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AmberMoon wrote: I think the problem is that books, cd's, dvds and such are shipped from WITHIN Canada and should have no Import fee's associated with it. Now if they have changed and are no longer shipping these items from within Canada then I can see the fee but not the other way around
True, however, Amazon might be shipping books from wherever based on availability, etc .... so some books for some CDN order might come out of the US.

They FAQ does note that if the actual fees are less than collected fees that they will refund

I guess the other wrinkle is ... I've never been charged "duty" on a book so I wonder what the import fees are (perhaps GST/PST)?
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Oct 8, 2006
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I guess they did this because the people who got charged duty might have refused delivery, got their full refund and so amazon.com has a lost of delivery + duties
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CheapScotsman wrote: True, however, Amazon might be shipping books from wherever based on availability, etc .... so some books for some CDN order might come out of the US.
That could be possible but that would not be on DVDs then, If you just place a instock dvd into your cart it still comes up with the fee. These items are in stock at the canada warehouse and would normally have been shipped from within.. SO im not sure
Kasakato wrote: Its either for brokerage or tax.
Should be no brokerage if its shipped within your own country. As for the tax, it did not calculate correctly so i cant see it being that..

Hopefully someone who has recently purchased through amazon.com can shed some light otherwise its gonna be a guessing game until someone completes a transaction

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Mar 21, 2002
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AmberMoon wrote: I think the problem is that books, cd's, dvds and such are shipped from WITHIN Canada and should have no Import fee's associated with it. Now if they have changed and are no longer shipping these items from within Canada then I can see the fee but not the other way around
Utter nonsense. Amazon.com shipments have never originated from within Canada. They have always been from the US. Goods are transported across the border and then re-shipped via Canada Post to the end customer in Canada.

The fact that they are reshipped with a Canadian postmark from a point in Canada has created the false impression that there was some kind of Amazon.com warehouse in Canada or that they were really being shipped out of an Amazon.ca warehouse in Canada. All not true. All Amazon.com shipments originate from locations in the US.
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i just ordered a book on monday and no import deposit fee. is it because your book is over 100?
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woof wrote: Utter nonsense. Amazon.com shipments have never originated from within Canada. They have always been from the US. Goods are transported across the border and then re-shipped via Canada Post to the end customer in Canada.

The fact that they are reshipped with a Canadian postmark from a point in Canada has created the false impression that there was some kind of Amazon.com warehouse in Canada or that they were really being shipped out of an Amazon.ca warehouse in Canada. All not true. All Amazon.com shipments originate from locations in the US.
I'm gonna have to disagree with you on this, for various reasons. Having one postage label which states Canada shipping payment and Canadian address. Unless you are going to say they repackage it? And without looking even at the shipping method there would be no way that a package could end up on my door within a couple of days IF it was shipped from within the united states and sent here ( Possibility it could be but i seriously doubt it ).

Customs would have to be involved ( Unless under 20) and I and along with hundreds of people on this board have never paid any fees from amazon to canada post for any items shipped from amazon.com.

Now I could be totally wrong but I do not think so, As I stated before someone is gonna have to order and have that charge on their bill and then come back and tell us the status.

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Oct 20, 2008
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According to their FAQ the fee is only applies if you choose the priority courier shipping option - not if you go with standard or expedited shipping.

Also, if it ends up not being needed or it is less than they charged, you get a refund for whatever amount wasn't used. And if it ends up being more than they charged, you will not be billed the additional money.

Here's their FAQ section on this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/ ... 720#import

KM
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Feb 17, 2005
484 posts
St. Catharines
Astrakan wrote: According to their FAQ the fee is only applies if you choose the priority courier shipping option - not if you go with standard or expedited shipping.

Also, if it ends up not being needed or it is less than they charged, you get a refund for whatever amount wasn't used. And if it ends up being more than they charged, you will not be billed the additional money.

Here's their FAQ section on this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/ ... 720#import

KM
That's how the FAQ reads, but the deposit comes up regardless of the shipping method.

It gets worse... I found this on the blu-ray.com forums:
Hello from Amazon.com.

For orders placed after October 15, 2008, Amazon Export Sales will estimate and collect an Import Fees Deposit for orders destined to Canadian addresses. Previously, Amazon was unable to provide customers an import fees estimate for all shipping options.

For orders placed before that date, we will not collect the Import Fees Deposit, even if the order is shipped after October 15. For those orders, you would need to make arrangements to pay any import fees that are charged on these packages.

In your case, this means that we will not collect import fees for Order # , since it was placed before October 15.

Regarding how orders will be shipped, for those placed before October 15 and for which Standard and Expedited Shipping are selected, we will continue to ship them via USPS and Canada Post. For orders placed after that date, we may also use DHL Global Mail for Standard and Expedited packages.

Since you selected Standard International shipping for Order #***** and it was placed before October 15, it will most likely be shipped via USPS/Canada Post, as before.

In either case, UPS is used only for Priority Shipping packages only.

To learn more about the Import Fees Deposit, please visit our Help pages:



Finally, I did want to let you know that you might find it more cost efficient to order from our Canadian partner site, www.amazon.ca. If you do so, you will not have to pay import fees, since the order is shipped from inside Canada. Further, you will have lower shipping costs for Amazon.ca than for those ordered from Amazon.com. You will even qualify for free shipping on orders of $39.00 or more.

If you would like more information on ordering from Amazon.ca, please visit their Help pages at this link:


I hope that this information helps. Thank you for shopping at Amazon.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:
So first they totally rape us with huge shipping cost increases, and now they're going to switch to DHL and charge us import fees?

And then they rub it in by suggesting Amazon.ca as a cost efficient alternative. Give me a break...

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