Re: OT:shipping to Canada
On Wed, 3 Mar 2004 00:49:27 EST, you wrote: > >I must say after reading stuff on this list I will probably never use UPS. > >I sell a little bit of junk of ebay and I use US Postal Service priority >mail. If you accept PayPal, be aware of a big scam they are perpetrating. The bidder buys from sellers who are using Priority Mail (which normally does not have online tracking) then claims he never received the package. Acting on that claim, PayPal automatically reverses the funds from the seller back to the buyer. The buyer keeps the gear, and gets the money back. The seller pays the fees, and loses his gear. End of story, no appeal. Why? Because the seller violated the terms of service by not sending the package with Online Tracking. PayPal does not care whether or not the package was sent or received, or if the buyer paid for insurance, or even if the buyer account holder is the person making the claim. They only care if someone, anyone, logged in and pushed the website button saying non-receipt of item, and was there online tracking for the item in transit. May I humbly recommend those who accept PayPal always ship with online tracking to avoid this scam? Remember, the buyer gets the money back, and gets to keep the gear. Oh yeh, the seller gets to pay all the Ebay and PayPal fees to boot. But wait - there's more!. The other big PayPal scam is about the item description. It the buyer claims the item was not as described, PayPal will reverse the funds back to the buyer without recourse by the seller. Again, the buyer gets the gear and the money, the seller loses his gear and pays the fees. End of story, but at least in this case there is some provision for appeal by providing proof of condition. So always photograph the goods before and after packaging. Also, keep the description undeniably accurate (read:simple) because do you really want some desk jockey at PayPal giving your money away because the M-series lens you sold does not have autofocus, and is therefore not in Excellent condition? PayPal is not your friend. Make no mistake about it. They will change their terms of service without notification, then hold you to the new terms - and take your money. -- John Mustarde www.photolin.com
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
- Original Message - From: "Paul Stenquist" Subject: Re: OT:shipping to Canada > Sad story. And one that's been repeated many times. I shipped list > member Bernd Scheffler a lens via UPS. Bernd is in Germany, and I'm in > the US. The lens was worth $120 or so (I don't remember the exact > amount), but UPS and the German customs conspired to charge him an > extra $50. That was my last UPS international shipment. Never again. I > still use UPS for domestic shipments, because I get a great deal > through work, but for international I now use the US Postal Service. No > problems so far. I'm watching an auction right now for a lens I kinda want, but the seller sez UPS only for shipping. I just checked, and the lens is still available new, delivered from Pentax to my local store for about what I figure the auction will close for plus whatever UPS tacks on. If the guy would ship via any other shipper, I might have bid.. William Robb
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
Sad story. And one that's been repeated many times. I shipped list member Bernd Scheffler a lens via UPS. Bernd is in Germany, and I'm in the US. The lens was worth $120 or so (I don't remember the exact amount), but UPS and the German customs conspired to charge him an extra $50. That was my last UPS international shipment. Never again. I still use UPS for domestic shipments, because I get a great deal through work, but for international I now use the US Postal Service. No problems so far. Paul On Mar 2, 2004, at 12:21 PM, John Francis wrote: Time for *my* UPS horror story. My wife was asked to provide the wedding cake for friends back east (daughter of her Girl Scout co-leader). We shipped a box of important items (including the cake topper) UPS next-day air. When we checked the tracking number, we saw it was scheduled to go ground freight. Despite the fact that in the next 24 hours it went through three different scan-and-check stations UPS were unable (or unwilling) to pull the package off the truck and send it by air. It arrived at the local UPS depot on Friday. But they couldn't even locate it there and let someone drive down to collect it - it just got loaded onto a local delivery van for delivery on Monday - six days after it was supposed to be delivered overnight, and too late for the wedding (on the Saturday). Finally, to add insult to injury, the only recompense that UPS offered was to refund the *difference* between ground and air shipping. That's the last time I've ever used UPS for anything, and I let them know that (and the fact that I would pass on this story to as many people as I could).
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
I often wondered who would trust a parcel carrier called "oops". Nick -Original Message- From: "William Robb"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> UPS stands for: Unfortunately, the last Possible Shipper. William Robb
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
Time for *my* UPS horror story. My wife was asked to provide the wedding cake for friends back east (daughter of her Girl Scout co-leader). We shipped a box of important items (including the cake topper) UPS next-day air. When we checked the tracking number, we saw it was scheduled to go ground freight. Despite the fact that in the next 24 hours it went through three different scan-and-check stations UPS were unable (or unwilling) to pull the package off the truck and send it by air. It arrived at the local UPS depot on Friday. But they couldn't even locate it there and let someone drive down to collect it - it just got loaded onto a local delivery van for delivery on Monday - six days after it was supposed to be delivered overnight, and too late for the wedding (on the Saturday). Finally, to add insult to injury, the only recompense that UPS offered was to refund the *difference* between ground and air shipping. That's the last time I've ever used UPS for anything, and I let them know that (and the fact that I would pass on this story to as many people as I could).
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
On Mon, 1 Mar 2004 13:19:06 -0600, you wrote: >I have found that they tend to make up rules as they go along, and >don't really regard delivering parcels to the person on the waybill >as a high priority. >As always, YMMV > >William Robb > UPS does not care if any individual package gets delivered, or even if they get a signature when one is required. One time a UPS driver forged the name of Joe Bob in my shipping department on one delivery. Then when the package could not be found anywhere, the driver hinted but would not come right out and claim someone else forged Joe Bob's name. But there was no one else there that day at that time - everyone was sequestered in a meeting. Oh, and that package with the forged signature was never found. It contained my $1000 Pentax A* 200/f4 Macro. UPS never re-imbursed me, but that's another story. Thanks, UPS. Thanks for nothing. -- John Mustarde www.photolin.com
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:37:21 -0500 (EST), you wrote: >On Sun, 29 Feb 2004, William Robb wrote: >> Don't be afraid to ship to Canada, just don't ship UPS. > >Actually, all the UPS horror stories only applies for UPS GROUND shipping. >If you ship by UPS Express or Expedited, there is NO brokerage fees, it is >included. > >US Postal service is good, the only thing is that their basic service does >not have tracking or insurance; something you need to ask for specifically >if they are important to you. ' ' If shipping anything anywhere by any means wherein the money was collected through PayPal, be prepared to lose both your gear and your money, especially if using a shipper PayPal doesn't like. PayPal has some really nasty fine print in their terms of service, recently renamed something else for self-justifying purposes. Basically, PayPal does what they want and they move funds around from buyer to seller and back again at their whim. At a minimum use a shipper that offers online tracking and real adult ID signature delivery confirmation. At a minimum insure the package yourself for full replacement value regardless of what the buyer pays for. Take verifiable photos of everything in the package and the package itself to show condition before shipping. Keep your description accurate and simple so there can be no claim of "not as advertised." My little joke sig line about PayPal and Ebay is not really a joke... -- Cactus Jack Warm and Dry in the Valley of the Sun www.photolin.com www.photolin.com/payanon/payanon.htm No More Pay, Pal © 2004 John Mustarde Don't Ebay, pal, No more Pay, pal, Hey Hey-ah, Good Bye. Don't Ebay, pal, No more Pay, pal, Na, Na-aaa, Good Bye.
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
- Original Message - From: "Lawrence Kwan" Subject: Re: OT:shipping to Canada > On Sun, 29 Feb 2004, William Robb wrote: > > > Actually, all the UPS horror stories only applies for UPS GROUND > > > shipping. If you ship by UPS Express or Expedited, there is NO > > > brokerage fees, it is included. > > > > Well, no. It doesn't. > > At least not in my experience. > > It DOES include brokerage fees for UPS Express or Expedited, I am quite > sure of that. And I have used it for mail order companies which can only > ship by UPS; and there was no brokerage fees at all, only taxes. Just > avoid UPS Ground or UPS Standard service at all cost. > > And you can confirm it by checking out this page, it's all spelt out quite > clearly: > > http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html > > As you can see, the worst deal is for shipping UPS Ground with a declared > value of $40.10, as they would charge you $18.45 (46% of your item cost)! > And it stated that brokerage is free for Express or Expedited service. > There is a disbursement fee, which can be avoided if you call them and pay > the taxes in advance after you got your tracking number. > I'll take your word for it, and avoid UPS whenever possible. I have had stuff shipped in from them via air and ground. The only difference I saw was that ground shipment from New York is about 2 months, air is about 2 weeks. Either way, they pillaged my bank account on delivery. Does their website cover their drivers leaving parcels on the street in front of your house? Or is that covered in the bonus segment of the website? I have found that they tend to make up rules as they go along, and don't really regard delivering parcels to the person on the waybill as a high priority. As always, YMMV William Robb
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004, William Robb wrote: > > Actually, all the UPS horror stories only applies for UPS GROUND > > shipping. If you ship by UPS Express or Expedited, there is NO > > brokerage fees, it is included. > > Well, no. It doesn't. > At least not in my experience. It DOES include brokerage fees for UPS Express or Expedited, I am quite sure of that. And I have used it for mail order companies which can only ship by UPS; and there was no brokerage fees at all, only taxes. Just avoid UPS Ground or UPS Standard service at all cost. And you can confirm it by checking out this page, it's all spelt out quite clearly: http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html As you can see, the worst deal is for shipping UPS Ground with a declared value of $40.10, as they would charge you $18.45 (46% of your item cost)! And it stated that brokerage is free for Express or Expedited service. There is a disbursement fee, which can be avoided if you call them and pay the taxes in advance after you got your tracking number. -- --Lawrence Kwan--SMS Info Service/Ringtone Convertor--PGP:finger/www-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.vex.net/~lawrence/ -Key ID:0x6D23F3C4--
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
- Original Message - From: "David Madsen" Subject: RE: OT:shipping to Canada > I just wanted to thank everyone again for their comments. I have not done > much shipping and the information given here has taught me much. When all > of my stuff is sold I will be having a *istD shipped to me. Any suggestions > on where to order from and what form of shipping to request? I can get it > locally but at a higher cost and 6% sales tax. Buy local. You may need that store at some point. William Robb
RE: OT:shipping to Canada
I just wanted to thank everyone again for their comments. I have not done much shipping and the information given here has taught me much. When all of my stuff is sold I will be having a *istD shipped to me. Any suggestions on where to order from and what form of shipping to request? I can get it locally but at a higher cost and 6% sales tax. David Madsen mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.davidmadsen.com
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
Makes one wonder why UPS is so bad up there. Here they are OK, not great mind you, but OK. Some of the others here are so bad that anything that actually gets the package to the house looks good by comparison. -- William Robb wrote: - Original Message - From: "David Madsen" Subject: RE: OT:shipping to Canada OK. It sounds like I do not want to use UPS. It almost sounds like I do not want to ship to Canada. I am glad I asked the question here as I have just learned a lot. Don't be afraid to ship to Canada, just don't ship UPS. In fact, for small parcels, the post office is the way to go. If you want a private carrier, , then Global Logistics is handled by Purolator in Canada, and they are excellent. Just don't ship UPS. I have had goos success with Fed/Ex. Just don't ship via UPS. We pretty much have to import every manufactured good that we want here anyway, so shipping in isn't a problem, unless some impediment is put in the way of the importation. UPS is (in my opinion) an impediment to efficient trade and commerce into this country. William Robb -- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com "You might as well accept people as they are, you are not going to be able to change them anyway."
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
Well, perhaps the fact that there were two armed rebellions started over taxes here, makes the US government somewhat leery of being too blatant about such taxes. You other former Crown colonies who just paid, and paid, and paid without complaint have what you deserve (grin). -- frank theriault wrote: Strangely, it doesn't work both ways, Peter. In the US, you have the enlightened attitude that since you have no photographic industry to protect (as you manufacture no cameras - at least not anymore), you shouldn't be charged customs or duty. -- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com "You might as well accept people as they are, you are not going to be able to change them anyway."
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
- Original Message - From: "Lawrence Kwan" Subject: Re: OT:shipping to Canada > On Sun, 29 Feb 2004, William Robb wrote: > > Don't be afraid to ship to Canada, just don't ship UPS. > > Actually, all the UPS horror stories only applies for UPS GROUND shipping. > If you ship by UPS Express or Expedited, there is NO brokerage fees, it is > included. Well, no. It doesn't. At least not in my experience. William Robb
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
On Sun, 29 Feb 2004, William Robb wrote: > Don't be afraid to ship to Canada, just don't ship UPS. Actually, all the UPS horror stories only applies for UPS GROUND shipping. If you ship by UPS Express or Expedited, there is NO brokerage fees, it is included. US Postal service is good, the only thing is that their basic service does not have tracking or insurance; something you need to ask for specifically if they are important to you. -- --Lawrence Kwan--SMS Info Service/Ringtone Convertor--PGP:finger/www-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.vex.net/~lawrence/ -Key ID:0x6D23F3C4--
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
- Original Message - From: "David Madsen" Subject: RE: OT:shipping to Canada > Let me explain what I am shipping, and maybe that will help. I used the > "OT" in the subject line because I am shipping drum equipment (since my > surgery I am unable to play and am selling my stuff). It is a pair of bass > drum pedals. The box weighs 20 lbs and has a value of about $200 USD. > UPS stands for: Unfortunately, the last Possible Shipper. William Robb
RE: OT:shipping to Canada
Let me explain what I am shipping, and maybe that will help. I used the "OT" in the subject line because I am shipping drum equipment (since my surgery I am unable to play and am selling my stuff). It is a pair of bass drum pedals. The box weighs 20 lbs and has a value of about $200 USD. David Madsen mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.davidmadsen.com -Original Message- From: William Robb [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, February 29, 2004 8:30 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT:shipping to Canada - Original Message - From: "David Madsen" Subject: RE: OT:shipping to Canada > OK. It sounds like I do not want to use UPS. It almost sounds like I do > not want to ship to Canada. I am glad I asked the question here as I have > just learned a lot. Don't be afraid to ship to Canada, just don't ship UPS. In fact, for small parcels, the post office is the way to go. If you want a private carrier, , then Global Logistics is handled by Purolator in Canada, and they are excellent. Just don't ship UPS. I have had goos success with Fed/Ex. Just don't ship via UPS. We pretty much have to import every manufactured good that we want here anyway, so shipping in isn't a problem, unless some impediment is put in the way of the importation. UPS is (in my opinion) an impediment to efficient trade and commerce into this country. William Robb
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
- Original Message - From: "David Madsen" Subject: RE: OT:shipping to Canada > OK. It sounds like I do not want to use UPS. It almost sounds like I do > not want to ship to Canada. I am glad I asked the question here as I have > just learned a lot. Don't be afraid to ship to Canada, just don't ship UPS. In fact, for small parcels, the post office is the way to go. If you want a private carrier, , then Global Logistics is handled by Purolator in Canada, and they are excellent. Just don't ship UPS. I have had goos success with Fed/Ex. Just don't ship via UPS. We pretty much have to import every manufactured good that we want here anyway, so shipping in isn't a problem, unless some impediment is put in the way of the importation. UPS is (in my opinion) an impediment to efficient trade and commerce into this country. William Robb
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
Strangely the USPS and Canada Post work together to deliver items duty and handling fee free. Just put the item in a suitable box insure it and ship it. I've received a number of items from Canada shipped just this way, no hassle no extra cost. David Madsen wrote: OK. It sounds like I do not want to use UPS. It almost sounds like I do not want to ship to Canada. I am glad I asked the question here as I have just learned a lot. David Madsen mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.davidmadsen.com
RE: OT:shipping to Canada
I agree... unless you are in a desperate hurry to see your precious buys, don't use UPS or DHL or Fedex... They are such good friends with the custom services that they declare everything and everything... I do prefer the postal services much much more than those bloody services. I've only waited just over a week to get my lens from Canada to Taiwan. Cheers Andy -Original Message- From: Fred Widall [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 9:30 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: OT:shipping to Canada I agree with all the comments so far expressed regarding UPS. I have heard endless horror stories about their 'service'. My experience was typical - I won an old Rolleicord on ebay from a seller in Florida. I paid him US$14 to ship via USPS, but thinking he was doing me a favour he shipped using UPS. When it arrived here in Ontario I was presented with a bill for an additional CA$48 for their wonderful brokerage 'service'. I have a friend who has bought several times from B&H using their 'Express Mail' shipping option. The items have been delivered by Purolator and they did not charge any additional fees (including no GST or PST). -- Fred Widall, Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: http://www.ist.uwaterloo.ca/~fwwidall --
RE: OT:shipping to Canada
I agree with all the comments so far expressed regarding UPS. I have heard endless horror stories about their 'service'. My experience was typical - I won an old Rolleicord on ebay from a seller in Florida. I paid him US$14 to ship via USPS, but thinking he was doing me a favour he shipped using UPS. When it arrived here in Ontario I was presented with a bill for an additional CA$48 for their wonderful brokerage 'service'. I have a friend who has bought several times from B&H using their 'Express Mail' shipping option. The items have been delivered by Purolator and they did not charge any additional fees (including no GST or PST). -- Fred Widall, Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: http://www.ist.uwaterloo.ca/~fwwidall --
RE: OT:shipping to Canada
OK. It sounds like I do not want to use UPS. It almost sounds like I do not want to ship to Canada. I am glad I asked the question here as I have just learned a lot. David Madsen mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.davidmadsen.com
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
Yes, there would be. Canada Customs, in its great generosity, charges both GST and PST on almost every piece of used photographic equipment it catches coming into Canada, plus a duty fee. UPS no doubt has its own duty or "handling" fee that you'll have to pay. So much for 'free' trade. I recently lent a 50/1.2 to a list member in the US, who kindly returned it with a 50/1.7. I believe the package was marked as a gift, as well. Canada Customs decided that there was over a hundred dollars owing in taxes and duties before they would allow me to pick up my own lens. I had to mail them a letter, complete with evidence that I had purchased the 50/1.2 and had already paid tax on it, and that I was given the 50/1.7 as a gift, before they would release the lenses. They eventually allowed me to collect my own equipment for no charge, but not until well over a month had passed and Christmas had come and gone, leaving me without the lens. It's a telling fact that the Canada Customs and Revenue agency (yes, our broder is guarded by our tax collectors) is changing its name to the Canada Revenue Agency. Customs is not concerned with patrolling our borders, or keeping our country safe, or even with facilitating travel and understanding between our countries, but with squeezing every bit of revenue it can out of the border for our coffers. It's all revenue to them. Not that I'm bitter chris On Sun, 29 Feb 2004, David Madsen wrote: > Can anyone tell me if there would be any duties or customs charges if I > shipped a used item from the US to Canada using UPS? > > David Madsen > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.davidmadsen.com
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
- Original Message - From: "David Madsen" Subject: OT:shipping to Canada > Can anyone tell me if there would be any duties or customs charges if I > shipped a used item from the US to Canada using UPS? > > David Madsen > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.davidmadsen.com A used item will come into Canada owing GST on the declared value, and depending on what the item is, it may also be subject to import duties and excise taxes. In addition, UPS will tack on what it calls a brokerage fee, which will be a minumum of (I believe) C$20.00, or 15% of the declared value + any duties, whichever is greater. In the event that the package is opened for valuation at the border, the declared value may be ignored, and all charges would then be based on a valueation that Canada Customs assigns to it. Generally, this valuation is greater than the declared value. Of course this also raises the amount of brokerage that UPS charges. If the person you are shipping to is actually home to recieve the shipment, then there is a possibility that UPS will put the parcel into your customer's hands, but this is a possibility only. More likely, UPS will abandon the shipment in the vicinity of your customer's property line, perhaps on his property, perhaps not. If this is the case, your customer might recieve his shipment, or it may be picked up off the street by a third party. Either way, UPS doesn't care, and they will charge out what they feel is their fair share, and will send the matter to a collection agent with no recourse to the shippee, whether or not the delivery was made, stolen by the driver, or otherwise lost in transit. I strongly advise anyone shipping goods to Canada to use any shipping method other than United Parcel Service, and for any Canadian buying from an out of country shipper to refuse to do business with any person who insists upon using United Parcel Service as a shipper into Canada. William Robb
Re: OT:shipping to Canada
Bill Robb can tell you David Madsen wrote: > > Can anyone tell me if there would be any duties or customs charges if I > shipped a used item from the US to Canada using UPS? > > David Madsen > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.davidmadsen.com
