Can anyone tell me what type of additional charges I can expect when ordering from Squadron.com, and having it shipped into Canada? Is there going to be PST, GST charged? What about handling fees by the brokers at the border? I am just wondering if it is going to be worth my time and money to order from the USA, or do I stick with the local shops and get charged a heck of a lot more than what I see on the internet.
Thanks for your opinions, JC
You're supposed to be invoiced for GST (and maybe PST, depending on which province you're in), but it doesn't always happen...
If you get Squadron to shop by parcel post, then there shouldn't be any extra handling fees by brokers - Canada Post does its own customs work. (If you must get a shipment delivered by courier, then I'd recommend using FedEx or Purolator, not UPS. The UPS brokers have historically charged substantially more than those at the other courier services.) Also, it's less likely (though not impossible) that you'll get invoiced for GST and PST on a parcel received through the mail than on a parcel received through a courier service. I'd strongly recommend getting Squadron to ship any purchases you make by registered mail, for the tracking services available.
One note: Parcels with a declared value of under $10 Canadian are excempt from Canadian customs charges. (Parcels valued at more than $10 usually don't get charged, either, but it does happen sometimes.) However, if the parcel is lost in transit, you only get to collect the declared value from the insurance company.
One more option from Japan or Hong Kong
Sometimes, their prices even better than US webstore.
I've never been charged anything extra when I've received stuff from Squadron. I noticed that all of their monthly flyers are postmarked in Windsor. I'm wondering if they send all of their parcels their first and then they get sent thru Canada Post.
If you do get charged though it would be PST, GST and a $5 handl>Can anyone tell me what type of additional charges I can expect when
Hi JC,
If you're looking for Japanese made kits (Tamiya, Hasegawa, etc.) I'd highly recommend ordering from Japan from the likes of HLJ
A 2kg SAL package from Japan only costs 2080yen ($25Cdn) for shipping and can hold 4 Tamiya 1/12 motocycle kits. However, bulky kits like 1/6 motorcycles can be very expensive to ship if they exceeds Small Packet limits. Then it better to order from within North America.
Since SAL is regular mail, there is no massive brokerage fees like with couriers. The only additional charge will be GST, PST and a $5 collection fee.
For example, if I bought 4 Tamiya 1/12 Honda RC211V kits here in Toronto it would cost $230 w/taxes, but if ordered from Japan it would cost just $150 in my hands. And maybe even just $130 if it escapes GST,PST, & $5 fee.
Once an order is shipped, I typically have it in about 9-11 days. And they will separate large orders into multiple SAL packages to keep shipping costs to a minimum.
Ken
I'm reasonably certain the value is $20 cdn - in the past I've had problems with ebay vendors overvaluing packages, and I've written to Canada customs and gotten refunds on items which were worth between $10 and $20 cdn (based on the auction price), but which the seller had thoughtlessly labelled as $20 US.
Nick Wesson
You're right - it is $20 Canadian. (It used to be $10, but that's changed recently.) My bad.
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