Quote:
Originally Posted by TallMomof2
I don't expect to have to pay much if any customs on the Kobo reader. I do a lot of shipping from the US to all over the world and for small ticket items customs duties/taxes tend to be low if there are any at all.
The shipping was less than $10 US so I bet it will shipped via the post office and I've never had to pay customs on any item shipped that way. The only time I had to pay customs was on some expensive musical instruments ($2K +) shipped from Europe via UPS and that was less than 10% of the value.
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I'm afraid not. Canadians have an import limit of $20 Canadian. Anything over and above that is subject to federal taxes (GST), provincial taxes (PST) which vary from province to province and duty depending on where the item being imported is made. If goods are sent through the postal system it's hit and miss as to whether or not they get assessed taxes. With millions of packages being mailed they can't inspect and collect on all of them. If the goods are sent by courier, which this likely would be, then you are guaranteed to get hit with taxes AND brokerage charges from the courier. Couriers sometimes collect before handing over the goods or they'll leave you the goods and send you a bill in the mail.
Brokerage costs are what courier companies charge for the priviledge of clearing your item through customs from one country to another. They're always expensive even for low dollar value items.
If the Kobo reader is being sent to Canadians from inside Canada, then none of the above applies. If it's coming from the US or directly from China or wherever it's been made then the above will apply.
Americans have an import limit of $200 US before their packages are assessed taxes and duty.
I sell stuff on eBay and bring it over the border myself to mail inside the US. I also import items into Canada for resale. I've gotten pretty good at this import/export, customs, tarrif codes and stuff over the years.
