Canadian shopping online in USA

Bob_A wrote in post #2361219
Why would you do this for camera equipment? Just ship it to your home.

To my knowledge, Dell USA does not ship to Canada, only to US addresses. That's why I had to go pick it up.

twotimer wrote in post #2359175
I have found buying from The Camera Store and Robinson's eBay store, both from Calgary to be very competitive with U.S. prices. In Ontario that saves 8% PST for me by buying from Alberta and I don't have to worry about any hassles with the border. I would recommend both retailers highly.

My research shows The Camera Store is very competitive.

Also, I'm not sure if you can take advantage of the current Canon rebates if you buy from the US -- the Canon Canada rebate form specifically mentions items purchased from an authorized Canon Canada reseller shipped to a Canadian address. The US form has equivalent language.

So, even if the price is a couple of hundred dollars more buying from a Canadian retailer, it may still be cheaper when you include the rebates.

E.

It may, but it is not!
Still, it is a little better than previous years when Canon Canada didn't offer any rabates at all.

I have just found an example where I should have bought from http://thecamerastore.​com/ instead of ordering from the USA.

I needed a photo storage device for travel and the specs on FlashTrax XT sounded like it would meet my needs. It was not listed at http://thecamerastore.​com/ but was reasonably priced at Adorama, so I ordered it from there.

When I received the FlashTrax it seemed very cheaply made and did not work, so I sent it back and asked to exchange it for an Epson P5000. Hopefully that will be on the way now.

The Epson P5000 is about $680 US at Adorama, which works out to about $790 CAD. The same unit it $850 CAD at http://thecamerastore.​com/ which initially sounds more, but shipping is only $10 CAD and the no PST is charged. I have actually managed to find a more expensive way to purchase this item.

ScottE wrote in post #2363315
I have just found an example where I should have bought from http://thecamerastore.​com/ instead of ordering from the USA.

I needed a photo storage device for travel and the specs on FlashTrax XT sounded like it would meet my needs. It was not listed at http://thecamerastore.​com/ but was reasonably priced at Adorama, so I ordered it from there.

When I received the FlashTrax it seemed very cheaply made and did not work, so I sent it back and asked to exchange it for an Epson P5000. Hopefully that will be on the way now.

The Epson P5000 is about $680 US at Adorama, which works out to about $790 CAD. The same unit it $850 CAD at http://thecamerastore.​com/ which initially sounds more, but shipping is only $10 CAD and the no PST is charged. I have actually managed to find a more expensive way to purchase this item.

Yup, just goes to show you have to go through the calculations before making the purchase Most of the time B&H or Adorama will be cheaper, but thecamerastore is sometimes close enough and once in awhile actually less expensive as you found out.

dailykimchi wrote in post #2361148
Check out www.thelettercarrier.c​om in Point Roberts, WA. They do package forwarding to Canada so you can inquire there. I had my Dell laptop shipped there from Dell USA, and then I drove there (near Tsawassen, BC) to pick it up.

dailykimchi wrote in post #2361603
To my knowledge, Dell USA does not ship to Canada, only to US addresses. That's why I had to go pick it up.

I realize why you needed to do this for purchasing from Dell USA. You wrote your post as if you were advising people to use the service whenever you buy from the US.

ScottE wrote in post #2359221
Dorman is not correct in stating that there are no duties if you use USPS (US Postal Service). Most of the time you get charged PST and GST plus a $5 handling fee in addition to postage. Occasionally something gets mailed directly without going through customs, but I have never been so lucky with anything worth very much.

I've ordered from B&H many times and all but one time I've used USPS's equivalent to Xpresspost. One time I made the mistake of using a courier (UPS or Fedex, can't remember) and I was indeed charged sales tax, handling fee, and a brokerage fee. Everytime I've used USPS as the carrier I've paid the sales tax (HST here in N.S.), a $5 fee to the post office, and that's it. To me those are not duties, I expect to pay the sales tax. What I meant by no duties were no extra shipping fees, brokerage fees, etc.

Cheers.

Dorman wrote in post #2364529
I've ordered from B&H many times and all but one time I've used USPS's equivalent to Xpresspost. One time I made the mistake of using a courier (UPS or Fedex, can't remember) and I was indeed charged sales tax, handling fee, and a brokerage fee. Everytime I've used USPS as the carrier I've paid the sales tax (HST here in N.S.), a $5 fee to the post office, and that's it. To me those are not duties, I expect to pay the sales tax. What I meant by no duties were no extra shipping fees, brokerage fees, etc.

Cheers.

If you choose UPS Expedited there are no duties or extra shipping or brokerage fees. You have to be careful to choose Expedited.

The cheaprer UPS service is slower and does not include the brokerage fee. You will be charged a rather steep fee for customs brokerage, so although it is slower, it also ends up being more expensive.

Duties are levied by the government, so they will be the same regardless of whether you ship by postal service or courier. Fortunately there are no import duties on camera equipment or, thanks to the Free Trade Agreement, anything manufactured in the US.

ScottE wrote in post #2364641
Duties are levied by the government, so they will be the same regardless of whether you ship by postal service or courier. Fortunately there are no import duties on camera equipment or, thanks to the Free Trade Agreement, anything manufactured in the US.

I think all of my Canon lenses and cameras are manufactured in one or another Asian country. I think the reason there are no duties is that there is no Canadian industry to protect.

Gerhard

I was also wondering about the extra costs of ordering from the states. I think the most expensive purchase I made was just a $100 pair of boots from ebay, when they got delivered the guy then asked me to pay something like 60 bucks, 17 of it was tax, the rest was brokerage fees! So even though I factored in the exchange rate and shipping, I certainly wasn't expecting to pay over 200 Needless to say that put me off larger orders from the states, I didn't know what to expect for fees (or if I would be charged any, since some of my orders I wasn't).

So from my understanding, you will be charged brokerage fees if you choose the cheaper ground shipping options? Which is because the other options have it included in the price? There are no duty fees for cameras and lenses, what about all the other camera equipment? This ebay store I'm interested in ordering from is offering a free air upgrade for orders to arrive before Christmas, will I still avoid brokerage fees with this?

It seems they use a company called DHL for shipping.

I too either buy from The Camera Store or Robisnons Online. I have ordered from B&H before with things goiing great. Just remember to order it expidited like previously mentioned and this will be you total cost to concider.

Right now if you take advantage of the double rebate it is much better to buy in Canada.

twotimer wrote in post #2364679
I think all of my Canon lenses and cameras are manufactured in one or another Asian country. I think the reason there are no duties is that there is no Canadian industry to protect.

Gerhard

Correct, but believe it or not, sometimes people actually spend money on things other than cameras and lenses. I don't know why, but it happens.