Oh Boy ... another opportunity to warn people away from even thinking of using UPS to destinations in Canada.

They are just a lousy company .. plain and simple. UPS will levy a "Customs Brokerage" charge on each item from the US. The amount varies based on the value of the item. The lowest I have been assessed is $25 and that was on a single transistor used in radio broadcast transmitters ... value on the part was $7 US funds. I needed the part desperately to repair a sick sounding transmitter, so I very angrily paid their blood money on a part which had no duty owing.

Next was a purchase on EBay as a part of my wife's birthday presents when I specifically asked the item to be shipped via US Postal Service, NOT UPS. The clown on the other end made a bad decision, screwed up, and sent it via the dreaded UPS. This time it was assessed at $45 on a $20 item. Wife's birthday was the next day and I just didn't have the time to stand up and fight the buggers. Again, it was an item where there were no duty surcharges. When I complained to the seller, he explained UPS was convenient because the driver would come to his place of business and pick up the outgoing item. He would have had to take it to the Post Office, and that was too much effort.

The last straw for me came a few months ago when I ordered something else from an auction on EBay .. a collector's plate of a nice Rainbow Trout. It looked great and the owner was made aware that UPS rips off its customers under the guise of making it seem like they are doing extrememly complex work as if they were clearing the paperwork to allow importation of a suitcase-sized atomic weapon. This time it was another $25 "Customs Brokerage" charge. This time, I had the time to look into this more deeply and found I had the following choices:

1- Refuse to accept the parcel and it would be sent back to the shipper with a notice that I had refused delivery....that would have meant negative feedback on EBay and I'm new enough to EBay that I didn't want to start getting people saying I was a deadbeat.
2- Take the paperwork over to Canada Customs and clear it myself rather than use their "service." They only work limited "usual business hours" and close at 4 PM. I had to leave work 2 hours early .. and take the pay cut and then go over and run it through the system. That only took about 2 minutes to complete and cost me zero except the lost pay and an extra day's delay in getting the package into my hands....oh and I almost forgot to mention the damage done to my circulatory system by the elevated blood pressure.

Understand something, Canada and the US are each other's largest trading partners. We have had Free Trade between the two countries for about 2 decades. Almost nothing that enters Canada from the US ... of US manufacture ... has any form of duty applicable. Sam thing for items going to the USA. There is no favored industry protectionism in the form of government surtaxes (duties) to prop up an industry that can't make it on their own merits.

Like many places, we have sales tax ... some people are highly confused and think that sales tax is Customs & Excise "Duty" which it is not. You pay sales tax on anything you buy, and doing it by mail order is no exception.

So UPS has some sweet deal going ... charge Brokerage fees on everything and anything that crosses their doorstep from the USA ... a giant ripoff.

Be very aware of this when you purchase something from the US and think about using UPS.

Now, I absolutely refuse to buy anything from a supplier who uses only UPS to ship items.

My experience with the US Postal Service has been universally excellent. If I get something using their service, it just shows up at the door ... via courier I might add, and it is just like someone mailed from the other side of town. Sometimes a little slower than I'd like, but so be it.

I trust this has been somewhat helpful if you are considering using UPS.

Regards,
Lee