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

From: Jerome Fine <jhfine_at_idirect.com>
Date: Mon Feb 25 10:09:40 2002

>Lawrence Walker wrote:

> Case in point. I bought some chips on Epay for US$7.50. With shipping
> Around US$11. The shipper for whatever reason placed the value as US$50.
> Now usually I am not tagged by customs and it seems hit or miss.
> In this case they charged me CAN$5 handling and 15% on the US
> value(approx CAN$80) CAN$12 . I was very aggravated. About double the
> price of the merchandise value and shipping. For UPS it's much worse since
> they charge a $15 customs handling fee plus PST&GST (15%) and in my
> case the closest agent is 60K away unless I want to pay an outrageous drop-
> off fee.
> Lawrence

Jerome Fine replies:

I AGREE!!! The fees that are collected are exorbitant! Especially UPS.
So when you buy items that are less than $ US 12.00, be sure to get an
agreement before you pay as to what the paper work will show.

Please read (b) and (c) again!

In general (unless I need an item very badly or it is actually worth more
than $ US 12.00), I will not bid on an eBay item at a price higher than
the GST collection limit. Plus, I always INSIST that a
                     "Commercial Invoice"
be included with the shipment which specifies ONLY the actual worth
of the merchandise inside the box - NOT INCLUDING any other
costs such as shipping, handling and insurance. If the shipper will
not provide a "Commercial Invoice", then I will not purchase.
Since the "Commercial Invoice" can be put on a blank piece of
paper with those words at the top and include just:
Vendor Name and Address
Customer Name and Address
Short description of item(s) and actual value
I have NEVER been refused.

EXCEPT, when shipping with USPS into Canada via ground - usually
the least expensive method, a GREEN CN-22 declaration form can
be used instead of the "Commercial Invoice". BUT BE SURE to
have the declared value to NOT INCLUDE shipping, handling and
insurance.

Sincerely yours,

Jerome Fine

> >
> > 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.
> >
> I've never heard any comments from people I've shipped to of problems with
> US Customs and I've had repeat business from many. With free trade you
> wouldn't imagine any import difficulties since Sales tax is collected by state
> agencies.
>
> > 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.
> >
> Hmm. I tend to avoid Priority Post since it has been my perception that
> these are tagged more often by Customs. Also packages that seem more
> professionally packed like from a company.
>
> > (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?
> >
>
> Lawrence
>
> Reply to:
> lgwalker_at_mts.net
Received on Mon Feb 25 2002 - 10:09:40 GMT