Packing suggestions (was Re: PDP11 Redux, or Behind-The-Scenes Bull)

From: Jerome Fine <jhfine_at_idirect.com>
Date: Sun Feb 24 13:28:18 2002

>Doc wrote:

> >On Sat, 23 Feb 2002, Lawrence Walker wrote:
> > Because of my location in northern Canada, and the problems with shipping
> > by UPS I use the postal system. Unfortunately many in the US are
> > intimidated by the thought of shipping to Canada or else have a bias against
> > us.
> Not Canada we're biased against, _Customs_. I bought my DEC-68-pin-
> to-50-pin-Centronics-STYLE external SCSI cable from a Canadian, and it
> took 4 weeks from postmark to get here. The box had been opened in
> Customs, and they cut deep enough to shave plastic off the cable. Just
> luck that it lightly shaved it instead if nicking into it.
> Bah.
> I don't mind shipping to Canada, or buying in Canada. Unless either
> party is in a hurry.
> Doc

Jerome Fine replies:

Just thought I might add a point or two.

I don't know which customs shaved your cable, but I presume it was
likely the US customs. I doubt that Canadian customs would be
interested in a package going to the US, although it might have been
opened and shaved in Canada - since very often it is more efficient
to do the inspection at a few central points of origin rather than
many points of destination. People are pre-cleared into the US
as well.

No comments on US customs since I have never dealt with
them directly and have not heard any details from anyone to
whom I sent a package.

On Canadian customs:

(a) While they obviously perform some useful work, they are also
used as a welfare office. Since most shipments from the US to
Canada are now duty free, the only tax collected is the GST
(7% - Federal Goods and Services Tax - and in some provinces
like Ontario now when the shipment is to a person, also the
8% PST or Provincial Sales Tax). However, there is a vast
difference between how air and ground shipments are handled.
With air shipments, the so-called "clearing" of a shipment charge
is paid as part of the air freight. So if GST is charged - which
is the ONLY reason that the shipment needs to be cleared -
then ONLY the 7% GST is collected based on the ACTUAL
value of the hardware NOT including shipping, handling and
insurance. In the case of media - like floppy media - I have
been advised in the past that the ACTUAL value of the media
does NOT include any software which is contained on the media.

(b) For ground shipments, the so-called "clearing" of a shipment
is not included in the ground freight. In that case, the charge to
"clear" is really just a collection charge and is needed ONLY
when GST must be collected. In this case, in addition to
the 7% GST, the cost of "clearing" (especially by UPS) can
often be more than the difference between the air freight
cost and the ground freight cost. SO BEWARE - if there
is going to be a GST charged, then check to determine
if ground freight is actually less expensive overall.

(c) Normally, GST is NOT collected if the total GST is less
than $ Can 1.40 - which means that the actual value of the
shipment is less than $ Can 20.00 or about $ US 12.00
at current exchange rates. I don't know if in Ontario where
PST is also collected if the $ Can 20.00 is still used when
the total collected is $ Can 3.00 (7% GST and 8% PST).
However, when neither GST nor PST is collected, then
the shipment is rated as "low value" and does not need
to be "cleared" since is put through under "courier remission"
i.e. it costs too much for the Federal Government to collect
less than $ Can 1.40

(d) Either under air freight or ground freight (the latter does
not matter much when it takes more than a couple of weeks
in the first place), when a shipment is in "courier remission",
it takes a full 24 hours LESS to pass through customs - so
shipments from the US which have a value of less than $ US 12.00
reach the customer a full one day sooner.

(e) Just as a matter of interest, all GST collected from a company
who receives a shipment from the US is refunded (always for
a company selling more than $ Can 30,000 a year - and usually
for most other small companies) when the company submits a
GST tax return. Since collecting the GST in the first place is
only weeks, on average, before the date when that same GST
is refunded, for a company, there is NO net gain for the Federal
government to collect the GST - other than having the money
a few weeks sooner. I don't know what percentage of the GST
collected from a company is refunded, but it is probably higher
than 90% - so, as I said, Canadian customs is mostly a welfare
office these days - since with interest rates so low, even collecting
$ Can 700 on a $ 10,000 shipment to a company probably results
in a net loss after the collection charges are considered since the
$ Can 700 is refunded in a few weeks in most cases.

Conclusion - if possible, keep the actual value of a shipment to
Canada at about $ Can 18.00 or less.

Does any of this happen in the reverse direction?
Received on Sun Feb 24 2002 - 13:28:18 GMT