Anybody import into Canada from U.S.? Don't know were to start

Hello all
A lot of people have told me about how much money they've saved by going to the U.S. to buy things. My sister & brother-in-law for instance priced out Lazy-boy recliners at home, $1,400 apiece v.s. $700 stateside. 2 for 1. I've done some on line searching for I few things that I'm interested in & I could always get them cheaper at home. Finally found something for the shop that I need, & a deal to boot.$3,176.20 at home $2,591.10 stateside. $585.10 difference. Great!
I searched old posts, but they were the other way around. Buying in Canada & importing into U.S.(that one didn't turn out well). I Googled & found Borderbuddy.com's on-line calculator. Brokerage fee, duty (not made in Canada, Mexico or U.S.)& taxes, $877.64
Huh? Am I missing something here? Spend $877.64 to save $585.10. Am I going about it the wrong way. It's too far for me to go to pick it up,(Fort Wayne, IN) have to get it shipped. I wonder if I could get it shipped to the border & picked it up myself & not use a broker. Or maybe even to Grand Forks, ND. Oh, but then I need a passport. I forgot about that. I haven't been across the line for quite a long time. I'm not sure they'll let me in.
Any help from someone whose done this before would be muchly appreciated.

Might help if you tell what you are buying. Most items are now duty free but GST and PST will be collected. Brokers are a pita and should be avoided if at all possible. Pick it up in the US and bring it in yourself is always better.
Bob

I've done both, if you're buying for your business and its a registered business, GST/hst is deducted 100% quarterly, but it sounds like you don't have a registered business eh?

It's not always worth buying from the US, there was some really nice savings 4-5yrs ago when our dollar went even higher compared to the USD and we were still getting screwed at 70% higher on nearly everything, lots of canadian companies made serious money those years as their import costs dropped so much, but since then the market prices have somewhat adjusted, where we mostly just get screwed by 10-20% now(doesn't include certain cnc brands)

Don't forget the banks take around 2-3% on the exchange rate plus a bit of transfer fees if you do wire, some credit cards are better for those smaller amounts.
There's not much I bring in from the US now, only some tooling and I'm searching for reasonable canadian sources, last lathe I got from there and the Lagun a few years ago, but VMC, and cyclematic lathe I got in Canada for less than it would have cost to bring from the US.

Either way, first thing is register a business to get refunded on that sales tax, assuming you use this equipment to earn some $ and can charge HST on your end as well.

First, check this out:
Avoiding UPS/FedEx brokerage fees « Ronblog

I/we import tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff from the US every year, mostly electronics and various tools & equipment due to the often huge price differences (though it's been getting better lately). You can avoid brokerage fees by brokering your own shipments. But in many cases (shipping via USPS or shipping via most decent large-item shippers, ie. not UPS or FedEx) you won't end up saving a whole lot by DIYing as most charge a fairly reasonable low fee.

As mentioned already paying taxes you can't avoid. Well, if you went across the border and snuck it in I suppose you could, but if you got caught you'd be screwed. There are sometimes benefits of getting it shipped to a depot near the border, though, even if you can't pick it up yourself. For example if you regularly use a shipper for large items in Canada you may be able to get a better price having them pick it up for you and transport it to the destination. Some Canadian-based shippers are much better to deal with for crossing the border than US-based shippers. But in most cases most people are best off using just one shipper for the whole thing.

As for duty, if it's not made in NA then yes, you will have to pay duty (even if it was already imported to the US and any US-specific duty was paid). In many cases US sellers unknowingly declare the item as having the US as country of origin, perhaps not understanding that they mean where the item was made, and in many cases Canada Customs don't pick up on it. If the item is high-dollar or is clearly marked as coming from somewhere else then it's more likely that they will pick up on it and charge duty. But I've never seen them charge a penalty for having this info wrong.

HTH!

Not to quibble but most machine tools are zero rated for duty even if made in China. Off hand the only one I can think of are drill press around 3%. You can declare it as a milling machine which is 0 rated!!! These rates are all available on the CBSA website but it is probably the most user unfriendly site out there
Bob

And BTW compare Canada and US flier prices from KBC if you think we aren't getting screwed
Bob

Paying brokers pisses me off but it makes the border go much smoother and is neccesary if you are using trucking companies. I import some steel that I cannot get in Canada on a monthly basis. I pay the broker the Hst plus about $40, I get the Hst back so it is not that bad. I think the key is finding the right broker, some of them can be really ignorant to deal with and charge you a lot, you have to find one that will explain things to you and not stick it to you. Depending on what you are buying and whether you have to pay shipping to buy it in Canada $600 may not be worth the hassle if you end up paying $400-$500 for shipoping, talk to the vendor and see what kind of deals they have with shipping companies.
The other thing most brokers won't tell you is if you are exporting you need an American broker, importing a Canadian one (reverse this for those in the US). If you hire the wrong one they will sub it out and then you are paying an additional mark up.

Hello Bob
Newall DRO to put on that Monarch. Forgot to mention that I checked out CBSA website, definitely not the most user friendly. I guess calling the 1-800 won't be much better. That's why I posed the question here.
Hello SND
Registered business, have GST # so I will get that part back.

That much for a Newall DRO? call a canadian Acu-rite dealer, so long as you don't clean machines with an air hose.

Hello SND
Yeah I've read the old thread DRO debates, but I've got my heart set on Newall. I have C80 on mill & like it very much. The feed rate readout is a must on a servo driven x & y. Hard to figure out chip load per tooth without it. I know it's not an issue on the lathe though. But you know how it is sometimes, I had good luck with GM so why buy a Ford?

3axis acu-rite on my mill, it shows feedrate as well, the one I used on a lathe before had it as well. But it is user preference, I just wasn't impressed with the newall displays I used before and know a few other guys on lathes not overly impressed with it as well(dp700 I think, or maybe that taller looking display), although I haven't used the newer DP-900 which has a layout very similar as current acu-rite/heidenhain and a few others. I also found the newall cables really tiny. That said my lathes have older Heidenhain ND-730's and I wouldn't trade them for anything currently on the market.

Anyhow, regarding imports. If you plan to bring things from the US fairly often, try to get a broker that has a location on the US side of the border crossing near you and see if they can have packages shipped to that location. Some offer the service where its shipped there, they check all the papers and do their clearing, and then have a truck bring it into canada to do the final delivery every few days when they have many packages ready to go across. I learned about this only a few days ago from a customer who uses the same broker company as me, but my broker had never mentioned that possibility. I guess it can also save on broker costs if you have a few packages coming from the US at one time.

I have a used like new C80 and could save you some money, I have a scale for cross slide but nothing long enough for the other axis. I should remember but I don`t, is that a 60`latheÉ
Bob

Pretty sure the DRO will come in duty free.

Hello Bob
50 Series Model 16. Total movement on cross 8.25", total movement on carriage 74.25". I was pricing 10 x 80, but I think 8 x 72 would work. I think I read that Newall scales are 4" longer. I'm not sure, but I think that it means you've got the extra length for travel, but no reading. Wouldn't really need the reading at the very end, but wouldn't want to run out of scale before you run out of travel. Somethings got to give.

My small company ships to Canada quite a bit. Small packages always go Postal to save on the duties and brokerage. UPS/FedEx we avoid at all costs if we can BUT if it needs to get there quickly then these are the best options. We truck freight at least 6 shipments per year up North. Keep the bill of lading brief as you get charged per line of text by brokers! (Yes lines that had the text: Thank you for your business we appreciate it!, cost brokerage $)

I would expect a DRO to ship Postal so just ask the vender if they can ship USPS.

We have a lot of customers that have products sent to the "receiving" companies, basically an US address right across a border crossing. (Several of these companies all along the border, small fee usually) They then drive across into the US, fill up their gas tank and pick up the package in the States. Its never a good idea to sneak anything across either way. Best to just declare what you have to pay any fees owed at the border. Still WAY cheeper than a broker.

Last I looked the CAN $ was worth more than a US $ so the transaction is in your favor as long as the shipping is low.

Good luck!

Mark

Hello Helocat
I hear you on that UPS/FedEx. A while ago I inquired about buying a tool holder & box of inserts from U.S. vendor. No problem, we'll ship to you by UPS. Here's our zip code & you're looking at about 2 Lbs. I went to the UPS on line calculator & yes they would of delivered it right to my door step for just under $100. What? Got to be a better way. A small package like that, why not by mail? I went to USPS & it was just under $12 to my post box
Thanks for the tip on receiving companies. Googled & found 3 close by, & their rates are cheap, no brokerage fees! Some Ebay sellers & other vendors offer free U.S. shipping. Free freight to receiving company at the border, 104 miles to border & a few more & done. Oh yeah still got to get that passport.
Our dollars at about $1.02 U.S. but wherever you get the money exchanged they're going to take their cut ,so I guess it would work out pretty much even right now.
Hey, about that cheap gas, I was thinking of starting a new thread on that one, just to show you Americans that you've got nothing to complain about there. Around here it just came down to $1.18/litre. That's 5.36/gallon or$4.47/U.S. gallon. What are you paying?

What I have done is as follows;
For small stuff, I use UPS.

For large stuff LTL, ship to a LTL or other shipper depot near the border. Take it across the border myself and pay the HST.

For full truckload, ship direct to shop but must meet the truck at the border crossing and pay the HST.

Of course, bill of sale required for customs.

bob said:

Not to quibble but most machine tools are zero rated for duty even if made in China. Off hand the only one I can think of are drill press around 3%. You can declare it as a milling machine which is 0 rated!!! These rates are all available on the CBSA website but it is probably the most user unfriendly site out there
Bob

Click to expand...

Hello Bob
Tried that CBSA site again & found myself going in circles, got fed up & made the 1-800 call. A lot easier to navigate there. The woman on the phone asked me to describe what I was buying & described it as a computerizes measuring system for a lathe. It has a monitor & takes measurements electronically. She says sounds like computer equipment to me & there's no duty on computer equipment no matter were it's made.

There are 2 problems with bringing stuff back yourself for your business without a broker. You have to fill out the forms on a computer at customs, you need to know the tariff code for what you are importing and have to figure out EXACTLY what they want on the forms. DO NOT COUNT ON CUSTOMS AGENTS AT THE BORDER BEING HELPFUL FILLING OUT THE FORMS. I once brought some castings back into Canada that I had shipped to the US and there were some problems with. I was already losing money on this deal so I decided to do the paperwork myself. I entered all the information on the computer, multiple pages and lots of stuff to look up. Printed the pages and after being told I had to tear the pages apart and strip the perforations off the sides I handed the papers in. They were handed back and I was told "there wrong" what I asked what's wrong I was told "its not my job to tell you what's wrong". After multiple times filling out the forms (from scratch, computer blanks all forms after printing) I did get a LITTLE help from one agent and finally got through after 4 hours at the border. This was a little more complicated than a normal import as I was returning my own product but it shows how they can be.
The second thing you have to be careful about is something my broker mentioned to me. If you transport commercial imports across the border more than a certain # of times in a year (not calender year) you can get major fines for operating as a non registered transport company. The number was not very high it may have been as low as 3 times I don't remember the exact # as they mentioned it to me a few years ago. It is something that every now and again they crack down on.

Hello SND
Local Acu-rite price is only $300 less than Newall. By the way, Newall scales can be used on most of the other high end brand displays. The best of both worlds, you can use your Acu-rite or Heidenhain displays with Newall's superior scales.

I didn't read all the responses, but in case somebody didn't say it... Search on: US Forwarding Services...

There's companies that will ship stuff, or both purchase and ship stuff for you, from the US to other countries. Because of their volume, they can get shipping fees about one third what individuals would pay. But you'll probably still get the broker fee. I have customers in other countries use them sometimes.

It all depends on the item... Some things might be easier to just buy directly. But honestly, I'm not sure how things would be all that much cheaper overall. Most people in other countries buy from the US, for lack of selection... not price. Which usually isn't an issue in Canada.