frag Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I would have liked more responses to my previous post but, «boring» is not very good advertisement. Some here have asked in the past if it was indeed profitable to order parts from a discount seller in the U.S. instead of buying in Canada. I'm buying some parts from Jason in Auburn and here are some costs comparison. From Jason: One timing belt One tensioner One tensioner pulley Three idlers (two smooth and one toothed) Total: 389$ USD + 7% exchange = 417.02 Can + TPS (6%) and (here in Québec) TVQ (7.5%) = 475$ Can + 6% duty charges (Worst case, cause zero% if they think parts were made in the US) = 503$ Can + 25$ for UPS delivery = 528$ Can. Price for exact same parts at a canadian dealer (Scotti here in Montreal) = 857.82 CAN Draw your own conclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thanks Frag. That's interesting info. When I've mail-ordered from the US, it is a bit hit and miss with taxes and duties. Sometimes the parcel gets delivered without any extras, and other times I've been hit with all the taxes and duties. But at least now the CAD/USD exchange rate is much better (for Canadians anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I would have liked more responses to my previous post but, «boring» is not very good advertisement. Some here have asked in the past if it was indeed profitable to order parts from a discount seller in the U.S. instead of buying in Canada. I'm buying some parts from Jason in Auburn and here are some costs comparison. From Jason: One timing belt One tensioner One tensioner pulley Three idlers (two smooth and one toothed) Total: 389$ USD + 7% exchange = 417.02 Can + TPS (6%) and (here in Québec) TVQ (7.5%) = 475$ Can + 6% duty charges (Worst case, cause zero% if they think parts were made in the US) = 503$ Can + 25$ for UPS delivery = 528$ Can. Price for exact same parts at a canadian dealer (Scotti here in Montreal) = 857.82 CAN Draw your own conclusions. Saving money or making money is never boring,..since I live Canada, 1 mile from the US border I do almost all my purchases from the States and have the parts delivered to a pick-up address in michigan solely for this purpose as so many others do, thereby avoiding any other extra costs except shipping..or take a holiday to the States for 48hrs and bring back $400 duty free(each person)..no smuggling involved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankosolder2 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Saving money or making money is never boring,..since I live Canada, 1 mile from the US border I do almost all my purchases from the States and have the parts delivered to a pick-up address in michigan solely for this purpose as so many others do, thereby avoiding any other extra costs except shipping..or take a holiday to the States for 48hrs and bring back $400 duty free(each person)..no smuggling involved Not to be jacking the thread- this is sort of related! Do you happen to know what the rules are vis-a-vis duty in the other direction? I buy parts for my Rover from Canada and get dinged with some irritiating processing fees (which I think relate to filing the customs paperwork) when I have them shipped to the US. If I were to personally import them- i.e. drive up and get them- what dollar value could I bring into the States? Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Not to be jacking the thread- this is sort of related! Do you happen to know what the rules are vis-a-vis duty in the other direction? I buy parts for my Rover from Canada and get dinged with some irritiating processing fees (which I think relate to filing the customs paperwork) when I have them shipped to the US. If I were to personally import them- i.e. drive up and get them- what dollar value could I bring into the States? Nathan for exact info to your question, you will have to phone the customs people AT the border ....generally, duties if charged are always much less going into the States and in most cases none at all for personal usage...my experience over the years on both sides of the border, is such that when bringing items to be mailed or shipped , for example, a transmission or motor must always be of a Personal or non-business nature, in fact anything...once they smell that a profit is going to be made you must go thru a "broker"..also if you buy to much (left up to there interpretation) for your own personal use, you might automatically to deemed a "commercial enterprise" and will have to prove otherwise just to bring in your recent purchases Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 All the times I've crossed the boarder, coming into the US has been much easier then going into canada. It may just be because I am a US citizen. I have never gotten searched coming into the US, but have gotten searched 35% of the time going into canada. Its gotten so bad that I pack the car in such a way to make life easy for everyone. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reveeen Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Or............... You could just buy a "Dayco" timing kit One timing belt One tensioner One tensioner pulley Three idlers (two smooth and one toothed) $300 cdn trade price (just bought one). At the moment, shipping USPS (forget UPS, or you will get reamed) the last two I got in (a crossover pipe 2 weeks ago, and a couple of door locks today) came in duty/GST (group sex tax) free. Last time I crossed into the US, the Marine looking border crossing types held me there for 3 hours, almost made me want to fly the 18 wheeler I was driving into a nuclear power plant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 All the times I've crossed the boarder, coming into the US has been much easier then going into canada. It may just be because I am a US citizen. I have never gotten searched coming into the US, but have gotten searched 35% of the time going into canada. Its gotten so bad that I pack the car in such a way to make life easy for everyone. nipper You must have a "tooo honest" looking face...every time they pull me in, I warn them that I will stop telling them the truth if this keeps up and I will give the "student on guard for thy" what they want to hear so I can sail on thru (many so called border guards are students during the summer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilroy Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Want to calculate border fees? http://www.myborderpro.com/2006/ http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html There is currently a lawsuit against UPS for their 'fees' for bringing items into Canada from the US. USPS may be a little slower, but shipping to Canada via USPS is MUCH cheaper than any courier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 an interesting thread to me. Over the years I have traded a number of things both ways with good results. I have sent hard to find bits to friends in Canada and have been sent stuff like fine thread metrics that are tough to come by here. Also British motorcycle bits seem easier to find there. Since this has never been for profit authorities have been reasonable on both sides. Folks who live by the border have always bought in the cheapest country. Those big shopping centers in Maine would starve if not for the Canadian tourists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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