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How would you rate purchasing from U.S. vendors: Taxes, Duties, Shipping, etc.

  • Excellent

    Votes: 69 19.3%
  • Very Good

    Votes: 89 24.9%
  • Satisfactory

    Votes: 79 22.1%
  • Troublesome

    Votes: 73 20.4%
  • Poor

    Votes: 17 4.7%
  • Never Again

    Votes: 7 2.0%
  • I buy only from Canada, you insensitive, unpatriotic clod!

    Votes: 24 6.7%

Purchasing From U.S. Vendors: Taxes, Duties, Shipping, other Issues, etc.

140K views 564 replies 239 participants last post by  e268 
#1 ·
I want to order some things from Parts Express Online. They are situated in Dayton OH. The UPS charge for shipping (calculated through Parts Express online ordering) is like $17 USD.

Now my question is, does this charge cover shipping to my door or will I be zinged for some "hidden" charge or duty or something?

Anyone have any experience ordering from Parts Express?
 
#408 · (Edited by Moderator)
panasonic pricing -canada gets shaft

so i was all set to buy a new 50s1 panny plasma. Folks were saying its a really good price right now. looking at canadian prices it was ok but nothing great.
got curious and checked panny usa and bestbuy usa.

damn!

same tv is going for 1200 in bb usa(on sale). and its 1600 list panny usa. a 500$ diff after factoring exchange.

sent this to panasonic.......
I have question in regards to pricing between Canada and USA. Why is Canada being charged $500+ more than USA?

USA list price is 1599usd = 1809can
CAN list price is 2399can = 2119usd
with exchange rates factored it, a 500$ difference!! why?

---got this reply ... does it make sense to you or just a snow job?

Thank you for your e-mail. Please be advised that there are a number of factors that come into play when looking at pricing in the United States compared to Canadian pricing, for instance:

* First and foremost, the biggest factor that comes into play is that the Canadian market is much smaller than the US, which affects how much items cost. The US sells higher volume, which allows them to purchase at lower costs and offer reduced pricing. It’s the same as buying bulk vs. single items at the grocery store – bulk is always cheaper.

* In Canada, we have added business costs including bilingual packaging and product requirements that US companies don’t need to fulfill.

* Finally, at Panasonic Canada our warranties are not the same as those offered in the US. In many cases, our warranties are longer and we offer added service levels that are not available in the US.

We understand your frustration and it’s always in our best interest to ensure Canadian consumers enjoy quality product, good value and high service levels from Panasonic.

Sincerely,
Customer Care Centre
Panasonic Canada Inc.
 
#409 ·
Just wondering if anyone here knows / has a list of manufacturers/models of TV's / receivers etc... other than Panasonic that are made in the US (or even Mexico). It would help a lot in trying to make a decision on whether to buy them and bring them in without paying duties.
 
#411 ·
I'm going to have the Panasonic 50G10 delivered to an address in Buffalo for pickup (UPS store, I guess?). At US$1300+exchange+Canadian taxes I'd be paying around CAN$1680, which is a savings of more than $1300 over the Canadian price of $2700 + tax. It's impossible for me to justify buying it in Canada when an hours drive to Buffalo can save me that kind of money.
 
#415 ·
hey timmy, where did you bought your TV from?
I'm also thinking of getting the TV shipped to UPS store in Ogdensbug NY. Alreary did that previously with tires but with a TV, this is an other story. Usually the UPS store looks like scrap yard. Let me know what happen once you get your TV.
TKX
 
#416 ·
I haven't placed the order yet but I'm probably going to go with B&H Photo. I've ordered from them before and they're currently selling the P50G10 for $1300 with free shipping inside the US lower 48.

The UPS store is a bit more of an unknown quantity, but I called the Niagara Falls (US) location today and the guy that answered was quite helpful. ~$20 charge to accept the shipment and then $2/day until I pick it up.
 
#417 ·
My UPS pre-amp story

I ordered my pre-amp from Fort Wayne, USA, by standard UPS, to Montreal (unfortunately I hadnt read this thread beforehand!).

The item took 7 days to arrive. The item is worth $46 CDN. I got "dinged" as you say for $39.29 of UPS charges at my door.

The fees are:

- 19.45 (brokerage rate based on the item value)
- 5.85 (minimum bond fee - cost of processing duty application)
- 4.50 (COD tag - this is for the green COD sticker on the package)
- 2.30 (GST tax on item)
- 3.63 (PST tax on item)
- 1.48 (GST tax on brokerage fee)
- 0.00 (duties)

adds up to $37.21

I called a UPS agent to get the above info, as the invoice was unclear, and even he couldnt figure out the exact breakdown because he said the invoice wasnt processed yet.

He proceeded to explain to me how I could have avoided the bond/COD fees.

I told him no more UPS for me, if I had known, blah, blah. I said we shouldn't have to go to their website beforehand and try to figure out what MIGHT be the final charges!

I was especially ticked at the fact that it was costing me $10 for their determination that $0 - ZERO duties apply.

He said since it was my first time with them (and last) blah, blah, they would credit me $15.00 by cheque (not sure why the $15...).

Anyways, I stopped complaining, and figured I learned a lesson at NOT TOO high a premium!
 
#418 ·
My only question is what are people actually paying for the Panny up here?

I bought a Sammy LN52A750 from FS back in January. List price was $2599 and I talked them down to $2117. Can something similar be done with the Panny? Although even talking them down to say $2,200, it still may be worth getting it south of the border.
 
#419 · (Edited)
Just ordered the Panasonic P50G10 and a Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-ray player from Crutchfield.com -- they have a deal on that got me both units for US$1269 shipped to Niagara Falls USA. Unbelievable considering I would pay about $3120 Canadian for that package at Best Buy. I wasn't planning on getting a BD player but buying the package saved me $30 over buying the television alone.
 
#420 ·
I learned my lesson over 10 years ago, dealing with UPS, Fedex, etc. Legalized theft, in my eyes. The Canadian government is also complicant in this B.S. as well. I wonder why you can only bring back $20.00 worth of of goods via the mail and nothing for a day trip, when the Americans can bring in $400.00 U.S. daily. Before the passport law came into effect, the U.S. border agents always wanted to see your birth certificate and drivers licence to let you in. A few days after 911, I had to go down to take care of some shipments to my P.O. Box, in New York State, and coming home, they never even asked for any I.D. at the Canadian border crossing at Alexandria Bay. All they wanted is the money and how much they could collect. That still is the same to this day. Back in the mid 90's, I set up a U.S. bank account for Paypal and opened my P.O. Box for just this reason. It's cheaper to pay the $48.00 yearly (was $24.00 back then) to save lots of money from the loan shark types that masquerade as courier companies. I am now considering getting an address at the UPS store, this time around, because many E Bay companies and other businesses won't ship to postal boxes anymore.

Just one other thing. Check how much it is for the person shipping via a courier company from their U.S. courier to Canada, then turn around the addresses with the same courier and it's obscene the difference in price. I salute all of you folks who go down and get the best deal stateside. If the Canadian subsideries of these companies want to rape and gouge, then they can do without and go out of business.:mad:
 
#424 ·
I'm having it shipped to a UPS store in Niagara Falls. Crutchfield is being very careful about all of this... they've even called the UPS store a couple of times to verify stuff. The rep told me they generally don't ship large items to pickup locations because of problems in the past. I had to sign a waiver saying that I understand that the warranty is valid only in the US and that their responsibility for shipping ends when the tv is delivered to the UPS store. He also asked me to open the box up and inspect everything before I take it back across the border.

The service so far has been really good but I have spent a lot of time on the phone. I don't mind doing a little work though, considering the deal I'm getting.
 
#426 · (Edited by Moderator)
Looks like Crutchfield is out of stock on the P50G10. It was listed on sale at $1299 w/ $300 off if you added another Panasonic item, which brought the price down to $1269 when I added a $270 Blu-ray player. I think the $300 off deal is still available for a few more days on other Panasonic plasmas.

Regardless of the price you will have to call them since their online payment system doesn't accept non-US billing addresses.
 
#427 ·
has anyone ever bought a Panasonic tv in the US and brought it over the border? I've heard conflicting stories about the duty.. some say there is none (made in mexico), some say there is.. I know you have to pay the taxes (about 13-14% depending on where you are)... the deals on amazon are incredible.. 50G10 is $1300 usd...
 
#428 ·
I think the moderator may send this over to Digital Deals, so I'll be short.
I just bought the one you list at Best Buy in Grand Forks, ND for the price you list. I paid GST and PST at Canadian Customs - no duty. I also paid State Tax in the store, but am claiming a refund on that from the State Tax Office.

Dave S.
 
#430 ·
I'm getting an education

Did not realize how much it cost you guys to get stuff shipped into Canada. I recently bought ******** sat dish and lnb,(from Canada), price was great! Cost me $67usd but with freight etc, total cost $98.00usd. Items were shipped to Arkansas. I will be looking into reduced shipping costs in the future.:confused:
 
#433 · (Edited by Moderator)
Dying for an Onkyo 876 but...

Prices here in Canada difer soo much from those in the states. The cheapest pice ive got so far for that unit in Canada is 1600 plus taxes.

I was thinking, if I buy the unit from the states at 1000, lets say $50 for shipping, and 15% taxes on this side of the border; how much more would i be spending on the brokerage fees? Would it be worth the trouble or should I wait a few more months till the new onkyo receivers come out and the 876 goes down on price a bit?

Any ideas?
 
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