In NZ we have to pay for GST (15%) and potentially Duty on imports. It used be that there needed to be ~$50 to be collected before they would care, but that always varied a bit based on carrier, luck etc.
If that gets collected, the process by which it happens can vary wildly. UPS will hold your package, charge you an extra ~$70 of fees and ship once it’s paid. Fedex will ship immediately and bill you something similar. NZ Post will hold the package, send you a letter by mail (not sure if this is still the case) and charge you an extra $20 of fees but with potentially a week + of delay.
That has been going away somewhat as a lot of the big payment providers can now collect GST at point-of-sale, leading to a minimal-fee import…
In the EU we pay MWSt/BTW/VAT 20-21% on all products. So all so on locally produced goods. Tax differs per country.
The strength of Alie and Temu is the offered and payed price is total price you have to pay. No more hidden cost, customs etc. They handle everything to your doorstep so no problems with UPS, DPD,PostNL
The taxes are basically the same in most of the EU per agreement.
But yes, in general it’s a bit more complicated. Goods over 150€ etcpp, which type they are. But it’s all not surprising and you can look it up beforehand.
It’s because so many large vendors arrange brokerage (either outside of UPS or at better rates) and pre-pay import duties and taxes that people that don’t regularly ship from smaller vendors across the Can-US border get surprised. More surprised when UPS nails them $100 for what Canada Post only charges $10 for (and used to only chatge $7).
If it’s any consolation, it’s the same shipping into the US from Canada. At least 2/3rds, if not 75%, of US buyers acuse me of ripping them off or lying about shipping costs, or marking them up because USPS domestically is “so much cheaper” than Canada Post can hand things off to USPS for.
It’s not the taxes “we” are surpised about. We pay about 13% (depending on which province it crosses the border at) and most people expect it. It’s the exorbitant brokerage charges.
Same for Canada (see post #7). I generally use FedEx to cross the Can-US border to avoid UPS hell.
Same here both ways across the Can-US border, so that it’s no fee… it just shows up and you owe nothing. The problem is that so many of the major vendors do this that as a small vendor that doesn’t do this you’re an asshole and are surpising the customer with “crazy fees that they never see with anyone else”. It looks even more suspicious to the customer when they get hit with UPS brokerage rates vs a third party broker’s rates (or negotiated discounted UPS rates) that might be only 10% of UPS brokerage’s regular rates.
In Australia, it’s quite peculiar - if you are an overseas vendor selling more than $75,000 per annum into Aus, you are required to register and pay GST (10%) on every sale.
Here’s what the government says:
If you are a non-resident business and you sell goods into Australia with a customs value of A$1,000 or less, GST applies and you will have to collect this from your customer and send the GST to us.
The customs value is the price the goods are sold for, minus freight and insurance from the place of export.
Some goods have different rules:
For consignments of goods imported over A$1,000 any GST, customs duty and clearance charges are charged to the importer at the border.
The reality of that is that most imports that have a value of less than $1,000 are not taxed, but if they are, the world of crazy unexpected fees kicks in.
I’ll add my agreement that UPS (and Fedex to a lesser degree) will charge exorbitant brokerage fees when shipping into Canada from US… I once received a package worth <$15 CDN ($10 US). I received a notice from UPS that I owed them $1.75 CDN for taxes and duties and another $75 CDN for brokerage fees.
Since then I refuse to purchase if the vendor uses UPS or Fedex. USPS usually clears the border with no fees or taxes for items less than $20, and if there are brokerage fees from Canada Post, they are usually around $10 CDN.
Cheaper and faster is to have the vendor ship via USPS, UPS or Fedex to a US mailbox address at the border (US shipping from many vendors is free), The cost for picking up the package is typically around $4 CDN, and unless the shipment is >$200 US, the Canadian Border Services agents usually wave me through with no taxes or duties.
That last part may have changed since the two-way tariffs have been implemented, but I wouldn’t know, as ever since Trump started threatening to annex Canada, I have been refusing to buy American goods or cross the border.
A few vendors seem to have run the rat maze to be able to ship stuff OK, but for most, the “brokerage charges” can and have been more than the shipment, taxes and shipping combined, and there’s almost no way to predict when it will hit.
I bought a used LCD monitor for $25, plus $14 shipping. UPS charged me $78 to convert that to CAD and figure out the 5% sales tax on it. (I refused the shipment, and didn’t even bother asking eBay seller for a refund.
If they decide that they’re your customs broker, they charge an arm and a leg, even if there’s no actual work to do.
I sent two USPS boxes across to Canada again, lets see if they make it this time. I will try to use USPS for Canada, and UPS for all other international.
I wonder if there is a common item in the shipments that are getting turned back by USPS. I’m wondering if somebody is seeing “mysterious circuit boards” and shouting “export controls”.
Have the returned shipments been opened?
Super frustrating for you, I’m sure, that they don’t give a reason.
My guess would be that the description on the customs declaration may be either vague or slightly inaccurate, especially if it doesn’t include the correct identification code,
Yeah, this was one of the things I wanted to see addressed in our recent election campaign, but didn’t. Who knew that when the strike from 6 months ago was put off for 6 months that it would become an issue 6 months later? (Duh…)
shipping into the US from Canada. At least 2/3rds, if not 75%, of US buyers acuse me of ripping them off or lying about shipping costs, or marking them up because USPS domestically is “so much cheaper” than Canada Post can hand things off to USPS for.