Shipping into Canada - Customs Rip Off- Beware

So I've been trying to hold this in and swallow it but now I need to vent. Really wondering if anyone else has had the same issues. Maybe not specifically with Dime city.

I went and bought the Progressive shocks from Dime City for $300. I was on the manufacturers site and they were a little more money so figured I'd go with Dime City. I also paid for extra shipping charges of course which wasn't cheap by any degree!

When they get to my door in Canada the postman demands another $100 for duty and taxes! 100 BUCKS! On a $300 order???! So now I've paid over 400 for these rear shocks. I'm thinking I probably should have ordered different ones from ebay cause I usually don't get nailed with extra duty/taxes. Does anyone else feel my pain?

Re: Dime City Rip Off

Yup. If you decide to go with a private courier over a border or two, be prepared to pay out the nose. They all charge (with the exception of DHL, I think?) extra to clear packages through customs. I got hit with $130 in customs and another $100 in "clearing fees" when I ordered some computer parts from the states to the UK.

Re: Dime City Rip Off

Well whoever screwed me the result was the same. I wasn't here and my gf forked over the extra cash. If it was me I would have probably refused delivery and sent them back then went shopping on ebay. I've ordered a lot of stuff from the US and this was by far the biggest hit. Nothing has ever cost that much for duty and taxes!

Re: Dime City Rip Off

Not to nitpick, but I'd update the thread name to something like "Dime City Canada Custom Fee's, Watch Out".


Dime City didn't rip you off and funny enough... I'm offended by the title of this thread... haha!

Re: Dime City Rip Off

Your title, "Dime City Rip Off" does no favors to a company that is one of the most legitimate and responsive suppliers to the riders on this site.

They had absolutely nothing to do with that bullshit extra charge...

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

I see your point.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

Did you specify your shipping method? I always request USPS. Rarely do I get hit with duty on packages and if I do, it's the tax on the declared value, 13% plus $5 handling. That's still not as bad as $100 on a $300 package.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

I've bought a few things from Dime City and they've treated me like a long-time friend... nothing but the best. When I saw the original title, I couldn't believe their good name was linked with the words "Rip Off." Glad to see the title has changed to more accurately reflect the situation.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

DrJ said:

Did you specify your shipping method? I always request USPS. Rarely do I get hit with duty on packages and if I do, it's the tax on the declared value, 13% plus $5 handling. That's still not as bad as $100 on a $300 package.

Click to expand...

+1

ALWAYS use USPS from US to Canada. US is $44.00 EXTRA without fail at the door for me.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

Ah, so that's how you all get free health insurance. I thought I also heard you have crazy high auto and bike insurance?

Title should read "Canadian Government - Citizen Rip Off - Beware".

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

The only issues I've personally had with DCC haf nothing to do with them, just a certain giant wave that hit Japan. As far as I'm concerned, they're standup guys. That is some bullshit, though.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

Yes I agree drop Dime City from the Title of this thread, it has nothing to do with them!

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

Yeah, if anyone has ever had anything of value (like over $15) shipped by UPS from the US into Canada, they only do it once. I've been burned like this once before and never again.

UPS charges very high Brokerage Fees to bring parcels into Canada. You would have paid the 13% HST on the shocks plus the UPS brokerage fee. Looks like about $50 for something in the $300 range.

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html

This is all assuming they shipped by UPS - is that who delivered? I'll pass the feedback along to Jason that they should explore using USPS or other courier to Canada for sure.

Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

I was going to suggest you have a conversation with someone from DCC, Jason, Herm, or Kara(?) via phone or email to let them know about the situation. I'm not suggesting they need to do anything for you, but just to make them aware of the situation so that it doesn't happen again. Maybe when they see an order from Canada, they can contact the buyer to discuss their shipping options.

Though, Tim, I think you would be a good person to contact them since you have a good relationship with them.

I spoke to Herm a bit last year at Barber and they are aware the somewhat high shipping costs, at least in the US, and are actively working to bring those rates down. These guys have been nothing but helpful and receptive to me.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

Already have, and Jason tells me there's a choice between UPS and USPS for shipping available. So if you don't know, and you choose UPS because you want it faster (as I think happened here) you're going to pay.

I just went through and tested an order for a chain from DCC shipped to me here. You can get a shipping quote by selecting your country etc.

This is what popped up for a $70 EK chain - note the disclaimer against the UPS selection:

UPS (Note: you may incur brokerage or tax fees If shipping outside the US with UPS)

UPS Standard $26.81
UPS Worldwide Expedited $108.89
UPS Saver $118.78
UPS Worldwide Express $122.58

United States Postal Service

First-Class Mail International Parcel** $16.32
Priority Mail International $36.86

I don't know what the ** is for against the First Class mail option, and truth be told, you may also face brokerage fees and taxes with USPS shipments. Difference is the worst-case scenario is you pay Canada Post a $5 brokerage fee and 13% taxes to the gov'mt. Most times shipments slide through without any fees at all.

$17 shipping for a chain is perfectly reasonable and in fact pretty cheap for US -> Canada.

Bottom line is this has nothing to do with DCC, they indicate you're likely going to be charged by UPS if you choose them and give a full set of shipping options. I'm not just saying this because they're friends of mine and the site - this is about as full disclosure as you're going to see from any company offering shipping to Canada.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

Gotta chime in here. As someone who works for UPS as a courier driver let me first say I take ZERO offence if you don't like my company or our services. I do however have a problem with the ill-informed!!! One of the above posters said BLAME UPS for..........

The shipper aka dime city/joe blow.com/amazon etc. have choices when it comes to shipping methods. If they choose UPS they are aware of the shipping choices and what costs them more vs. less and what charges will get put on the end user(YOU THE BUYER). When you order a product from a company they(THE COMPANY) are 100% aware of what is going to happen when it shows up at your door if they chose the cheap method. Especially if it's an international shipment!

Without getting into an obscenely long post I'll just leave it at BUYER BEWARE and READ THE SMALL PRINT : ) good day.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

I think we all love UPS just fine. The problem is they charge among the highest brokerage fees in the industry to bring items into Canada, which makes them the worst possible choice for that particular service.

It is absolutely buyer beware - the buyer needs to educate themselves on the shipping service they select and the potential extra fees they're going to have to pay upon delivery.

Compared to other services there's absolutely no justification whatsoever for a $50 brokerage fee on a $300 shipment. The notion of a sliding scale based on the declared value of a shipment is also flawed. It doesn't cost UPS $0.01 more to bring a $40 item into Canada than it does a $2000 item, yet the brokerage fees for a $40 item are $7, while a $2000 item is $80.

Bottom line is UPS is fine for items valued at under $40 ($7 fee, $0 for under $20). Then it becomes comparable to Canada Post's flat-rate brokerage fee of $5. You pay for the difference in shipping service - just talking about brokerage services which are apples-apples. Same service.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

This isn't really related to enormous fees but I might as well put this experience in this thread:

I bought a fork brace from one company, and fork springs from another company - both in the US, shipping USPS to Canada:

fork springs: shipped on a monday, arrived at the canada border on a thursday, released Friday morning, I picked it up the following Tuesday after it was delivered to my door Monday and nobody was home. Quick enough.

fork brace: shipped on a monday, arrived at the canada border on a thursday, released..... A MONTH LATER BY CANADA CUSTOMS, picked it up some Tuesday in the future.

Lesson learned: USPS is fast enough, but Canada Customs is the bottle neck. Oh, my customs chargers were approximately 13% of the value. Also, sometimes if a product is not actually made in the US but manufactured somewhere like say... Italy, then Canada has a different tariff value based on that product and sometimes it takes a while for Canada Customs to figure out what they're doing.

Anyway, I need some internal lights for my tach & speedo, time to email Dime City!

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

Your 'customs charges' were HST most likely - exactly 13% if you're in Ontario. I haven't paid 'duties' on anything in years.

But absolutely shipping USPS and using Canada Post's brokerage service can be mind numbingly slow. One big advantage to a courier is the speed, no doubt. Like I say, for low value shipments or important things, UPS is fine. FedEX too.

Re: Dime City- Canada Customs Rip Off- Beware

No I didn't specify anything. I didn't see anywhere to do that on the order page. I'll keep in mind for next time. Thanks.