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New NAFTA raises duty-free limits for private couriers, but not Canada Post

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  • Jul 2nd, 2020 3:43 pm
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New NAFTA raises duty-free limits for private couriers, but not Canada Post

Canadians who buy online from stores in the United States or Mexico will get a bit of reprieve from taxes and duties next week but only if their packages are delivered by a private courier.

If Canada Post is the one tapped to drop the package in the mailbox or on the doorstep, the old rules will still apply, leaving a two-tiered tax system for the same goods.

The change is part of the new Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, which comes into effect on Canada Day. Within the trade deal, Canada agreed to lift the very low limit it had applied for duty and tax-free consumer imports, known as the de minimis threshold.

It used to be that any goods purchased and imported by mail or courier would be subject to duty and GST if the total value was anything over $20. On July 1, that threshold is rising to $40 before GST gets applied and $150 before customs duties are added, for all packages delivered by couriers such as FedEx or UPS.

https://business.financialpost.com/news ... 1593188384
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Hmm, is this Trump trying to kill the USPS and CanadaPost in one shot? lol
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FedEx or UPS will charge the Canada Custom clearing. We ended up paying more and the couriers suck more money out of our pocket.
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Old rules: $20 threshold for taxes and duties
New rules for mail shipments: $20 for taxes and duties (NO change)
New rules for courier shipments: $40 for taxes, $150 for duties

Considering that there are no duties on many products like electronics, and none at all for products made in USA and Mexico, very little is changing. These kinds of trade deals typically benefit corporations only and rarely have any goodies for consumers; they often even make things worse for consumers like the new 20 year moratorium on copyright expiry and stuff entering the public domain.
Last edited by Kiraly on Jul 1st, 2020 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The other side of this is that Canada Post pretty much never charges tax on packages <$100 vs private couriers who charge taxes always due to them being able to charge their $10 processing fee.
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Havox07 wrote: The other side of this is that Canada Post pretty much never charges tax on packages <$100 vs private couriers who charge taxes always due to them being able to charge their $10 processing fee.
Private couriers' brokerage fees are usually a lot higher than $10. UPS charges $29 on items worth between $100 and $200.
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engineered wrote: Hmm, is this Trump trying to kill the USPS and CanadaPost in one shot? lol
embguy wrote: FedEx or UPS will charge the Canada Custom clearing. We ended up paying more and the couriers suck more money out of our pocket.
This

It’s all about making more money for Courier Cos ... which are HUGE American Corps.
(Trump’s pals ... the mega rich 1% )

Sure the limits are Higher when it comes to Taxes & Duties
BUT ... the Couriers still get to set whatever they want for Shipping & Brokerage costs

There is NO DEAL here for the Cdn Consumer
(Or the Cdn or US little guy or gal who has a middle class job working for either Postal Service ... he’s out to gut them entirely ... and he has not been shy about saying that if anyone cared to listen )
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Havox07 wrote: The other side of this is that Canada Post pretty much never charges tax on packages <$100 vs private couriers who charge taxes always due to them being able to charge their $10 processing fee.
Pretty much this.
Also why I like DHL for $100+ packages. It's $16 instead of $10 (unless it's very high value) and they ship quicker.
Plus you can pay online and get it delivered instead of getting carded and having to go find the stupid post office.
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In my experience, Canada Post would always charge tax on items over $20.

Additionally, they'd add a $10 processing fee because they had to charge me tax. That fee would often be significantly more than whatever taxes I would be paying.

In fact, I've never had duty charges from any other company besides Canada Post.

I do however try to choose shipping options that have clearance and duty included, they are usually only a few dollars more.

But most of the stuff I order from the states uses USPS, which automatically goes to Canada Post.

I'd also like to comment on how ridiculous it is that the US has an $800 limit before any taxes or duties but we are $40 (still $20 in Canada Post's case).
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death_hawk wrote: Pretty much this.
Also why I like DHL for $100+ packages. It's $16 instead of $10 (unless it's very high value) and they ship quicker.
Plus you can pay online and get it delivered instead of getting carded and having to go find the stupid post office.
some people have said if u put in the tracking number on canada post it has an option now were u can pre pay the fees online. can't confirm none of my packages in a long time have had any fees. i know that for packages that don't require signature or don't have do no safe drop selected u can select a drop location were they can safely drop a package.

although just check one of my incoming packages from overseas and it has this message We encourage you to pay your duty and/or taxes online so we can leave the item at your door. This will reduce visits to the post office and help keep our people and communities safe during the COVID-19 situation. so I'm guessing once a package clears customs if something is due it must show online and give some kind of link to pay it although i've never seen it as of yet.
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I always refuse the package when typically DHL asks for processing fees. Seller sometimes contact me asking if I still want it, and if I do they'll send it again not using DHL.

The DHL delivery guy typically tries to hide that fee and verbally tells me the extra cost is from custom fees. When I check the invoice, the majority of the amount is the $10 processing fee and then I just refuse the package altogether.

They just do what they can get away with. Customers typically won't have the patience to wait it out and gives in. It's why the $10 is still in place - all because of impatient people. DHL is kind of like Coronavirus if you think about it.

If you want, you can compound that effect by giving a 1 star to the seller telling them they just wasted your time because they used DHL. All their benefits the seller think they had using DHL is gone all of a sudden.
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aaron158 wrote: some people have said if u put in the tracking number on canada post it has an option now were u can pre pay the fees online.
This is pretty huge if true.
can't confirm none of my packages in a long time have had any fees.

Not that this is a terrible problem to have, but I also have no idea if I owe anything either until i get carded.
i know that for packages that don't require signature or don't have do no safe drop selected u can select a drop location were they can safely drop a package.
Is that like really new? I tracked something recently and didn't see this. But then again I don't remember if it had a signature or not.
although just check one of my incoming packages from overseas and it has this message We encourage you to pay your duty and/or taxes online so we can leave the item at your door. This will reduce visits to the post office and help keep our people and communities safe during the COVID-19 situation.

Hmm... I never thought COVID would force Canada Post to innovate.
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death_hawk wrote: This is pretty huge if true.


Not that this is a terrible problem to have, but I also have no idea if I owe anything either until i get carded.


Is that like really new? I tracked something recently and didn't see this. But then again I don't remember if it had a signature or not.


Hmm... I never thought COVID would force Canada Post to innovate.
no its been around for 6 or more months. pretty much when u track it there will be a box u check off authorizing the safe drop and then a drop down menu to select were to drop if a signature is require or if the company selects the do not safe drop option then the option for safe drop is no there. almost all company's have this pre authorize drops for packages now dhl/canpar/fedex ups u have to sign up for my choice to do it. only one who don't seem to is purolator atm
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spiritsBB wrote: I always refuse the package when typically DHL asks for processing fees. Seller sometimes contact me asking if I still want it, and if I do they'll send it again not using DHL.

The DHL delivery guy typically tries to hide that fee and verbally tells me the extra cost is from custom fees. When I check the invoice, the majority of the amount is the $10 processing fee and then I just refuse the package altogether.

They just do what they can get away with. Customers typically won't have the patience to wait it out and gives in. It's why the $10 is still in place - all because of impatient people. DHL is kind of like Coronavirus if you think about it.

If you want, you can compound that effect by giving a 1 star to the seller telling them they just wasted your time because they used DHL. All their benefits the seller think they had using DHL is gone all of a sudden.
This is hilarious because out of every courier (including Canada Post) out there DHL is BY FAR the best.

-UPS is only good if your package is $20.01 (now $40.01) otherwise you're paying a lot.
-FedEx sends you a bill a month later and isn't any cheaper than UPS. Plus there's no way of prepaying or getting any information from them. I hit 4 dead ends the last time I had an incoming FedEx because of incompetence.
-Canada Post is technically cheaper at $10, but they're slow and (until recently) had no way of paying online. If what @aaron158 says is true, they'd only be slow now instead of slow and inconvenient. The only upside is that they also don't charge taxes until a package value of about $100.
-DHL is excellent for anything above $100. You can pay online and they deliver quick. It's $6 more than Canada Post for FAR faster service and better tracking.

If I had to pick literally any courier to ship internationally I choose DHL 100% of the time.
Unless it's eBay in which case I choose the Global Shipping Program.
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death_hawk wrote: This is hilarious because out of every courier (including Canada Post) out there DHL is BY FAR the best.

-UPS is only good if your package is $20.01 (now $40.01) otherwise you're paying a lot.
-FedEx sends you a bill a month later and isn't any cheaper than UPS. Plus there's no way of prepaying or getting any information from them. I hit 4 dead ends the last time I had an incoming FedEx because of incompetence.
-Canada Post is technically cheaper at $10, but they're slow and (until recently) had no way of paying online. If what @aaron158 says is true, they'd only be slow now instead of slow and inconvenient. The only upside is that they also don't charge taxes until a package value of about $100.
-DHL is excellent for anything above $100. You can pay online and they deliver quick. It's $6 more than Canada Post for FAR faster service and better tracking.

If I had to pick literally any courier to ship internationally I choose DHL 100% of the time.
Unless it's eBay in which case I choose the Global Shipping Program.
I won't choose UPS either actually, but I haven't experience any lying yet with them.
One big difference here in Vancouver between the 2 is that DHL will deliver it once and if missed, they'll make you pick it up at their YVR airport branch. With UPS, the closest branch wouldn't be more than 2km away.
FYI, I live in Burnaby, which is like a 20 minutes drive to YVR. So having these kinds of experience, I picked on DHL instead of mentioning UPS which is just as bad as far as processing fee is concerned.

No love for Canada Post as far as speed goes, but they won't scheme up fees for you to pay unexpected cost. At the very least, it's a company that "does good".
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spiritsBB wrote: I won't choose UPS either actually, but I haven't experience any lying yet with them.
I still don't get where DHL is lying. It's clearly spelled out in the invoice.
One big difference here in Vancouver between the 2 is that DHL will deliver it once and if missed, they'll make you pick it up at their YVR airport branch.

True, but with paying online, something not possible with anyone else this usually isn't an issue.
I picked on DHL instead of mentioning UPS which is just as bad as far as processing fee is concerned.
DHL isn't as bad. Not by a long shot.
Referencing UPS Ground [1] (UPS Air has brokerage included which I'll expand on later at [2]) here's their fees:
https://www.ups.com/ca/en/shipping/zone ... rance.page
Assuming nothing changes except the up to $40 category, UPS breaks even with DHL at package values up to $60. Anything beyond $60 you're losing money.

DHL is $5.25+11.25 CAD or 2.5% of value of duties & taxes, whichever is higher. That "higher" break point is $450.
To import a $450 package via UPS costs you $60.40.

I finally found FedEx's rates:
https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/in ... anada.html
Similar to UPS and still not nearly as cheap as DHL. $450 package costs you $45.35 instead of $16.50 via DHL.
No love for Canada Post as far as speed goes, but they won't scheme up fees for you to pay unexpected cost.

Just because you don't want to do some basic research doesn't mean that courier companies are "scheming up" fees.
They're very easily searchable.
That's not to say that there aren't a few additions to what's listed depending on what you're shipping, how many items you're shipping, if there's anything weird/hazardous/etc, but it's still pretty easy to figure out how much you're paying, especially if it's a single item that's not strange.

And while I think Canada Post is $10 flat regardless of package value (I haven't been able to find anything about them since their website is down) their front end shipping rates are RIDICULOUSLY more expensive than everyone else so despite DHL coming in $6 more for brokerage, they still frequently work out to be cheaper anyways since the front end rates are lower. There's a fairly small point in where Canada Post (and by extension whatever the originating post office is) is actually cheaper at the end of the day. This is typically at package values that are under $100 (since they typically don't bill under that amount for some reason) and are fairly dimensionally light.

[1] As ridiculously expensive as UPS Ground brokerage is, their front end shipping rates are stupidly cheap. You can leverage this by clearing yourself. Save the $60 fees, clear it yourself, and pay FAR less than every other courier.
[2] As ridiculous as it sounds again, sometimes if your package is extremely light or high valued, it's more cost effective to ship via UPS Air since brokerage is included. Be aware that you have to set up an account otherwise it costs you $10 for advancement.
At the very least, it's a company that "does good".
DHL does better in practically every way.
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death_hawk wrote: I still don't get where DHL is lying. It's clearly spelled out in the invoice.


True, but with paying online, something not possible with anyone else this usually isn't an issue.


DHL isn't as bad. Not by a long shot.
Referencing UPS Ground [1] (UPS Air has brokerage included which I'll expand on later at [2]) here's their fees:
https://www.ups.com/ca/en/shipping/zone ... rance.page
Assuming nothing changes except the up to $40 category, UPS breaks even with DHL at package values up to $60. Anything beyond $60 you're losing money.

DHL is $5.25+11.25 CAD or 2.5% of value of duties & taxes, whichever is higher. That "higher" break point is $450.
To import a $450 package via UPS costs you $60.40.

I finally found FedEx's rates:
https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/in ... anada.html
Similar to UPS and still not nearly as cheap as DHL. $450 package costs you $45.35 instead of $16.50 via DHL.


Just because you don't want to do some basic research doesn't mean that courier companies are "scheming up" fees.
They're very easily searchable.
That's not to say that there aren't a few additions to what's listed depending on what you're shipping, how many items you're shipping, if there's anything weird/hazardous/etc, but it's still pretty easy to figure out how much you're paying, especially if it's a single item that's not strange.

And while I think Canada Post is $10 flat regardless of package value (I haven't been able to find anything about them since their website is down) their front end shipping rates are RIDICULOUSLY more expensive than everyone else so despite DHL coming in $6 more for brokerage, they still frequently work out to be cheaper anyways since the front end rates are lower. There's a fairly small point in where Canada Post (and by extension whatever the originating post office is) is actually cheaper at the end of the day. This is typically at package values that are under $100 (since they typically don't bill under that amount for some reason) and are fairly dimensionally light.

[1] As ridiculously expensive as UPS Ground brokerage is, their front end shipping rates are stupidly cheap. You can leverage this by clearing yourself. Save the $60 fees, clear it yourself, and pay FAR less than every other courier.
[2] As ridiculous as it sounds again, sometimes if your package is extremely light or high valued, it's more cost effective to ship via UPS Air since brokerage is included. Be aware that you have to set up an account otherwise it costs you $10 for advancement.


DHL does better in practically every way.
My rules are simple. I pay the seller what they ask and I expect it to be delivered to my home without additional cost. Depending on what the content is, I may expect there to be import fees. That's all I expect. According to you, I'm now this lazy ass who doesn't do his research into their hidden fees.

From the perspective of sellers, DHL is fast and sellers get benefits.
From a buyer's perspective, the DHL guy expects you to subsidize the seller's benefit - That's the DHL model.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're a seller.
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death_hawk wrote: This is hilarious because out of every courier (including Canada Post) out there DHL is BY FAR the best.

-UPS is only good if your package is $20.01 (now $40.01) otherwise you're paying a lot.
-FedEx sends you a bill a month later and isn't any cheaper than UPS. Plus there's no way of prepaying or getting any information from them. I hit 4 dead ends the last time I had an incoming FedEx because of incompetence.
-Canada Post is technically cheaper at $10, but they're slow and (until recently) had no way of paying online. If what @aaron158 says is true, they'd only be slow now instead of slow and inconvenient. The only upside is that they also don't charge taxes until a package value of about $100.
-DHL is excellent for anything above $100. You can pay online and they deliver quick. It's $6 more than Canada Post for FAR faster service and better tracking.

If I had to pick literally any courier to ship internationally I choose DHL 100% of the time.
Unless it's eBay in which case I choose the Global Shipping Program.
Gotta pile on fedex's incompetence. They called saying package was awaiting clearance, so I gave them my broker's info. Next thing I know, the package is delivered the next day and my broker hasn't heard anything from them. If I get a brokerage bill I'm going to go off on them.
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engineered wrote: Gotta pile on fedex's incompetence. They called saying package was awaiting clearance, so I gave them my broker's info. Next thing I know, the package is delivered the next day and my broker hasn't heard anything from them. If I get a brokerage bill I'm going to go off on them.
I just laugh at Fedex and ask them to show me where i signed anything agreeing to pay any fees. I told them id be happy to pay the tax but thats it and they whine a bit and then accept my offer.

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