Shipping Parts to Canada-best way?

[Steve Sears]

Jon,
When it comes to cross-border shipping, it seems as though UPS doesn't want
to be bothered and thus charges a huge brokerage to compensate them for the
hassle.  You could ship the rims to the closest UPS customer counter on your
side of the border with instructions/stickers to "HOLD FOR CUSTOMER
PICKUP" - it's on their web site - UPS will call the customer when it's in
and hold it for a period of time (BTDT - Pachinko machines from Sacramento
to Buffalo).  Apparently Fed Ex charges less of a brokerage fee - and there
is no Duty, Tax or brokerage on declared "GIFTS" (on the CN22 form) valued
at 60 Canadian dollars (not US dollars...and note that the rate does change)
or less.  You might also consider a freight company like "Forward Air" - I
had them bring a 335lb jukebox (more like 400 lb with all of the pallet and
crating) from Oklahoma City to Toronto.  The hold the goods in their
warehouse and give you the paperwork to take care of at Canada Customs (now
"Canada Border Services Agency") - you do the legwork that a broker would
normally do, and then return to the warehouse with the stamped papers and
they release the goods.  Their web site is at www.forwardair.com  It looks
as though the closest depot to "eastern Canada" would be at Dorval in
Quebec - not much help if they're in Newfoundland.  Yes, sending the rims
from inside Canada would simplify things.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ - running on parts sourced in junkyards and in the US
1980 Audi 5k - sitting on a huge Type 44 stockpile of used parts
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes - always looking for parts...NOS
or used (Sometimes I even have to make my own).
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)

----- Original Message ----- 
> Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 22:00:48 -0400
> From: George Harris <harchris at smokesignal.net>
> Subject: Re: Shipping Parts to Canada-best way?
> To: tom winter <tom at freeskier.com>
> Cc: quattro at audifans.com, "Archibald, Jon" <Jarchibald at whpacific.com>
> Message-ID: <40A42850.7080304 at smokesignal.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
>
> Regardless of the declared value, they charge a "broker's" fee. They
> also hold it up at the border until they find out if the receiver has a
> broker. Does the buyer have a friend just across the border he can visit
> and pick up the parts from?
>
> tom winter wrote:
> > on 5/13/04 9:00 AM, Archibald, Jon at Jarchibald at whpacific.com wrote:
> >
> >
> >>I'm located in Portland, Oregon, and I have agreed to sell a set of BBS
> >>wheels to a chap in eastern Canada. Unfortunately, the boxes I want to
> >>ship the wheels in exceed the size limit for USPS international parcels.
> >>UPS will gladly do it, but I understand they charge the receiving party
> >>all kinds of bogus fees, which I would like to avoid. Whats the best
> >>way?
> >
> > Jon - I think the fees come into play in regards to customs taxing the
value
> > of the goods. So you have to list to value of the goods as 0 and not
insure
> > them to avoid customs duties. This may be hard to do, given the size of
what
> > you're shipping.
> >
> > Good Luck,
> >
> > Tom