Importing Camera Gear from US->Canada

Has anyone here ordered something from the US and had it shipped to Canada? I heard somewhere that Camera equipment is duty-free, so you won't pay fees at the border, but I thought this was only gear that was manufactured in North America.

Does anyone know what the rules are for these kinds of things?

Yes, Ordered several lenses, my flash and other gear. Try doing this when the two currencies are not too far a part in value You still pay taxes upon receiving your goods, just like in Canada, but they call it duty and of course you pay shipping most of the time. If you order a camera, like an SLR body, you pay additional duty, depending on it's value, However no extra charge on lenses or flash, as those are considered "Accessories" Cheers and good luck, EH!

You pretty much summed it up.
If the item was produced in NA then there is not duty on said item.
Now, you will still most likely pay fees such as GST and brokerage on the items.

I've ordered a lot of stuff out of the US and I typically stick with USPS when ordering from a store as UPS tends to really gouge on items coming over the border.

photoprice.ca has a great section on this stuff

Yes, camera equipment is duty free, but it's not tax free. If you import something from the US, you'll pay provincial and federal sales tax on its list value when it crosses the border. Here in Quebec, the amount payable for a $300 lens would be about $40 in tax, plus a $5 "brokerage fee". They charge the tax on the Canadian dollar value, not the US dollar value, so you need to take that into account too. It wasn't so bad when the Canadian dollar was at or near par, but these days it makes a difference.

If importing, you also need to be careful how the lens is shipped. The United States post office service (USPS) only charges $5 brokerage fee, but some of the other carriers like UPS or Fedex will charge a lot more - up to $40 in some cases.

A few months ago, when the dollar was at par, it was well worth buying in the US, but these days the cross-border taxes and exchange rate loss has destroyed most if not all of the benefit.

Those guys above pretty much said it all. I would too recommend if you can, pick USPS for shipping rather than UPS or FedEX. Might be a bit slower, but then you won't get charged brokerage fees from UPS and FedEx. Those guys will rob you. USPS shippments will only get charged GST, if they can even be bothered to charge you. I get a lot of stuff that doesn't get any charges on it at all. Anyway, I'd say a good 80% of my gear is from the US. There are a lot of things that you just can't find here (in Calgary) and it ends up being cheaper to ship it from the US than from Ontario for me.

I also buy a lot of stuff from Japan and China off eBay (couple of lenses, filters, etc). I have yet to be charged any brokerage fee, duty or taxes on any of that stuff. Not entirely sure why, but that's been my experience.

P.S. If the item is labeled "used" or "gift" you don't get charged anything for shipping it in, save for the shipping cost itself.

With the current dollar, there is not much if any advantage to buying in the US when you add in exchange rate/shipping and potential taxes on a camera body or a lens.Even back in July it was cheaper for me to buy in Ontario (I'm in Quebec) than to buy from the US.

True about stuff coming in from Hong Kong/Cnina.. I have never paid any taxes..over 10 purchases. Mind you, they were all small items but a grip also made it through without suffering any taxes.

like everybody here has stated, be aware of the taxes

as for shipping, I will NEVER use UPS. FedEx has been good to me but USPS is probably the best way to go, in terms of savings costs

with our current dollar, it's pretty much a wash - for the first time ever, I would probably rather buy equipment in Canada.

I buy stuff from US retailers all the time, just never Camera gear -- I'm familiar with the basics (DHL charges an annoying brokerage fee as well, in case anybody was wondering), but wanted to know if there were any camera-specific things.

Problem is that it's hard to find the equipment I want. Henry's can "special order" it for me, but I might as well order it myself :P The savings isn't what it used to be, but it's still there.

Try here for some ideas and price comparisons... US/CDN

http://www.photoprice.​ca/