Re: Shipping Cameras

[henningw@portal.ca (Henning J. Wulff)]

Like some others, I have my own preferences among shippers, with a slightly
different slant. I live in Vancouver, Canada, and the cross border stuff
has its own problems.

First of all, I would like to point out that the Canadian government only
taxes items that remain in Canada; it (hardly) ever taxes stuff that leaves
the country; certainly not cameras. There is no duty whatsoever on cameras
or items for cameras which use film over 120 size; below that there is
still some duty, but it is being phased out, and I'm not sure at what point
we are now. All items brought into Canada and which are intended to remain
here are subject to our Godawful Stupid Tax, also known as the GST, which
is 7%. Everybody is also supposed to report to their provincial governments
that they have bought something from outside of their province, and
voluntarily submit the appropriate provincial tax. I have heard that there
are some people who do _not_ immediately run to their provincial Minister
of Finance with money in hand, and volunteer to pay this. These taxes apply
to everything.

Now when it comes to having stuff shipped from the States, UPS will ship it
cheaper than FedEx, but then they add a huge amount for brokerage to deal
with this tax (and duty, if applicable). And it takes a day of two longer.
Or you can drive to your local airport, do the brokering yourself (have it
shipped to you privately, not to a commercial address, otherwise the
paperwork is horrendous, and you will need a broker), and waste an extra
hour or two. FedEx does the brokering for no extra fee, and delivers stuff
promptly. You only have to pay the tax and duty. No hassle, and in the end
a lot cheaper than UPS. You can also have stuff mailed to you, but like
others, I have found that if the Postal Service does lose anything, finding
things is tough. When a parcel arrives via mail, the mailman collects duty
and tax, and charges a flat $5.00 fee for handling.

All in all, UPS is a pain, takes as long as the mail, and costs the most
and mashes parcels the most. FedEx so far has been fast, cheaper, and
nothing lost that hasn't been found within one day. The mail has been
decent, and cheapest, but not as reliable. Expensive stuff does not go via
mail.

Mostly, if I want someone from the US to ship something to me, I have them
ship it to a Parcel Service in Point Roberts, WA, which is just across the
border from us, and then when I am near there, I go and pick the items up
myself. Shipping to Point Roberts for large or heavy items is about 1/3 the
cost of shipping to Vancouver, and I get the stuff just as fast. I also go
there to ship stuff to points in the US. Just make sure you do everything
as a private individual; otherwise the paperwork takes all the joy out of
the trip. Also, if you tell the US Customs/Immigration people that you are
going to pick up something for a business, they make you pay ($5.00 I
believe) for the privelege. Governments are governments, and they always
need more of your money. (Let's bring back the tithe! instead of the 60%+.)

ps: Let Don Chatterton join (and Jim Kuehl, etc....)


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