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Bike Parts from EU - Tax or not to Canada?

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phlegm

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I realize this forum is aimed at Canadian riding, but I have a Canada-specific question about parts shipments.

I've been finding crazy low prices on some stuff at a German online retailer and they ship via DHL which ultimately arrives via Canada post. Don't know the DHL service type, but it takes 2 weeks, so not an express option.

Ordered pedals, no tax or duty collected. (Sweet!)
Ordered a cassette, no tax or duty.
Ordered some tires, and Canada Post collected tax and applied a "handling charge". Huh?

Can anyone explain the difference?
 
#2 ·
It can be hit and miss for Europe. From the US they are pretty good at catching it all the time. I know lots of people who have avoided taxes/duties on their Chain Reaction shipments, and other times got taxed in full. A lot of time I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to it. Standard Canada post often charges an $8 brokerage fee. UPS ground will charge you a $30-35 brokerage fee unless you upgrade to their next fastest service. Its usually never worth it to ship UPS ground when you factor in their ridiculous brokerage, however their faster service is usually pretty quick and reliable. Can't say much for DHL, I avoid that company like the plague. They tried to charge me $20 in fees on a replacement computer keyboard coming from the manufacturer. I just ignored their letters and they disappeared, aha.
 
#3 ·
Entirely dependent on the mood of the customs inspectors, sort of like driving back from Buffalo.

Stuff around the Christmas rush almost never gets dinged.
 
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#4 ·
Firstly I don't mind paying sales tax it's the brokerage fees that bug me.
You are going to pay sales tax if you buy here so to me it's the same, Canada post almost never charges for anything under $50.
DHL usually goes through customs Canada then goes to Canada Post, I have bought from Germany this year and I paid HST plus $5 handling fee but saved hundreds over all.(not biking stuff).

Care to share the on-line retailer?
 
#5 ·
The handling fee is to do the paperwork, and also a bond fee for Canada Post paying your customs fees up front for you to get it through customs, in the expectation that you will then pay them back for it.

It used to be $5 or so with Canada Post, but recently it's been around $8 for me.

I've gotten some CRC orders without tax, but most get charged.

I like how Jenson does all the customs clearance work ahead of time for FREE, so you don't get hit with any brokerage charges.
 
#6 ·
I don't have a problem with handling fees 5 or 8 either.

I also liked that Jenson did the Canadian shipping all included but have found that their prices plus shipping are not as good as CRC
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Near north said:
Care to share the on-line retailer?
Click to expand...
I'm not here to promote them, but it was bike24. (Select Canada as your locale to see non-VAT prices.)

What initially sent me to that shop was some XTR (M985 Trail) pedals. A Canadian online shop shows them at 289 CAD. Jenson was 199 USD (~191 CAD). You'd add shipping and tax to both of those prices.

The German shop was 83.95 EUR (123.30 CAD), and as it turned out there was no tax on that one via Canada Post.

Weird that there can be that much difference.
 
#8 ·
phlegm said:
I realize this forum is aimed at Canadian riding, but I have a Canada-specific question about parts shipments.

I've been finding crazy low prices on some stuff at a German online retailer and they ship via DHL which ultimately arrives via Canada post. Don't know the DHL service type, but it takes 2 weeks, so not an express option.

Ordered pedals, no tax or duty collected. (Sweet!)
Ordered a cassette, no tax or duty.
Ordered some tires, and Canada Post collected tax and applied a "handling charge". Huh?

Can anyone explain the difference?
Click to expand...
Yes, I have bought probably 10,000 + worth of bike parts from the US this year building bikes for friends and their friends. It is not dependent on the mood of the customs agent the biggest factor is how it is labelled, you provide the proper paperwork and what service you use.

It has to be labeled intelligently ie: bike parts (brakes) or bike parts (wheelset) if it has no custom forms at all and just a value, you are just screwing yourself as if there is no documentation with the package, the customs agent has to open it up look at it and judge what it is and tax it on what they think it is, and they don't look kindly on undocumented packages or packages labeled "gift" with no value.

There are categories that they look up, "Bike Parts" is category under NAFTA and no matter where it was made is not subject to any duty charges from the Government. Entire bikes are subject to custom duties so if the agent puts it in the wrong category you get charged duty.

If there is proper documentation from the sender with the proper label then there is almost never any problem and the most you get taxed is the normal HST. JensonUSA is great with this as I order parts by 8:00pm eastern time and they will be at my door 9:00 am the next morning using UPS worldwide saver and never any other fees as you pay the HST to Jenson.

Any ground services (fed-ex,UPS) will charge you brokerage fees, which you want to avoid. Shipping Canada post is the exception of course.

Bottom line is, don't use any "ground" services and make sure it is properly documented and you will not have any problems buying outside Canada.
 
#9 ·
phlegm said:
I'm not here to promote them, but it was bike24. (Select Canada as your locale to see non-VAT prices.)

What initially sent me to that shop was some XTR (M985 Trail) pedals. A Canadian online shop shows them at 289 CAD. Jenson was 199 USD (~191 CAD). You'd add shipping and tax to both of those prices.

The German shop was 83.95 EUR (123.30 CAD), and as it turned out there was no tax on that one via Canada Post.

Weird that there can be that much difference.
Click to expand...
but bike24 charges you 19.95 EUR to ship to canada... that is usually not worth it anymore.
 
#10 ·
HST and duty(typically none for many bicycle components) should always be collected.

You should not be paying VAT. Make sure Canada customs charges you on the properly converted amount since some agents see it's coming from a euro zone and convert an already converted price and then tax you on that amount!

The difference is the probably in the amount the items cost or the size.
 
#11 ·
electrik said:
HST and duty(typically none for many bicycle components) should always be collected.
Click to expand...
HST "should" be collected on everything over 20 bucks technically, but you do have a chance of getting lucky and not getting charged. Typically through canada post but I would not count on it.

If you ever do get charged more than hst for any bike parts you can appeal the decision with customs Canada and fill out the proper forms, because no bike parts should have tax over hst, that does not include brokerage, handling, or any thing that is a fee and not a tax.

Reason for the differences in the op's experience is documentation. A receipt is not documentation for customs. Customs forms can be filled out at any post office or fed-ex/ ups etc...usually online dealers don't fill these out because then they would have to pay taxes to the canada government if they were found to be selling a lot of product.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Cheers! said:
but bike24 charges you 19.95 EUR to ship to canada... that is usually not worth it anymore.
Click to expand...
Even with the 19.95 EUR (27.50 CAD) shipping, Jenson isn't close:

Total cost was 123.30 pedals + 27.50 shiping = 150.80 CAD.

Jenson price is 199 + 25.87 tax + 20.51 shipping = 245.38 USD or about 235 CAD

Now, I'll give you that the Jenson shipment arrives in 1 or 2 days, but I'll wait a couple of weeks to save $85. :)
 
#13 ·
The last two shipments I received from Uhlmann both correctly documented 5 copies of the export papers in a pouch on the outside. one was, on wasn't, I wish they could have reversed them 1 was 450 EUR 1 was 1200 EUR they missed the 450 go figure
 
#14 ·
agreed...

JensonUSA is great if you need a quick delivery, but can not compete with CRC.

Just received an order from CRC - all SIS nutrition stuff - 5 jugs in a big box. Paid HST - no duties or shipping at all.

Saved 40% over Canadian pricing...

No wonder that brick and mortar shops are complaining, even petitioning against CRC, but as much as I would want to support LBS - sorry - the difference in price just does not justify it.

eBay is another great source, if you know what you are doing...

Near north said:
I don't have a problem with handling fees 5 or 8 either.

I also liked that Jenson did the Canadian shipping all included but have found that their prices plus shipping are not as good as CRC
Click to expand...
 
#15 ·
osokolo said:
JensonUSA is great if you need a quick delivery, but can not compete with CRC.

Just received an order from CRC - all SIS nutrition stuff - 5 jugs in a big box. Paid HST - no duties or shipping at all.

Saved 40% over Canadian pricing...

No wonder that brick and mortar shops are complaining, even petitioning against CRC, but as much as I would want to support LBS - sorry - the difference in price just does not justify it.

eBay is another great source, if you know what you are doing...
Click to expand...
Pinkbike is another good resource for buying stuff as well. As long as you watch out for those people trying to sell Rocky Mountain Vertex frames for 50 bucks more than retail ;)

Also I heard CRC has a pretty bad return policy if anything is damaged in shipping. Certain things are cheaper on both sites, just have to shop around. Jenson, Performace bike and Nashbar are great for those who have an American mailing address as they also offer free shipping and then you start saving some real dough.

One thing is for sure, it will be cheaper than your LBS most of the time.
 
#16 ·
BrokenAnimator said:
Pinkbike is another good resource for buying stuff as well. As long as you watch out for those people trying to sell Rocky Mountain Vertex frames for 50 bucks more than retail ;)

Also I heard CRC has a pretty bad return policy if anything is damaged in shipping. Certain things are cheaper on both sites, just have to shop around. Jenson, Performace bike and Nashbar are great for those who have an American mailing address as they also offer free shipping and then you start saving some real dough.

One thing is for sure, it will be cheaper than your LBS most of the time.
Click to expand...
Yup, CRC has a great return policy that you'll likely never be able to use...(they shipped me a part worth more than i paid and then didn't issue me a RMA)

Jenson is quick, but they're using fedex to canada.

Price point. performance, and nashbar all use typically UPS to Canada - So watch out you'll end up with their outrageous brokerage charges which have been known to exceed the value of your small goods!
 
#18 ·
BrokenAnimator said:
Nope, they use UPS worldwide saver. I think they used to use Fed Ex couple years ago maybe, but now they have worked out everything with UPS so there are no extra charges. Also out of all the UPS services, UPS ground is the only one that does the brokerage charges.
Click to expand...
Well, that doesn't explain why Jenson sent my packages in my hand via fedex.

UPS ground is a problem and from what i've heard people are still getting dinged $50 to have UPS clear their packages. UPS ground service is normally what is used by the mentioned companies when they simply specify "UPS".
 
#19 ·
electrik said:
Well, that doesn't explain why Jenson sent my packages in my hand via fedex.
Click to expand...
Well when I talked to them in the store they told me they don't use Fed Ex anymore and it's exclusively UPS worldwide saver to Canada, as they worked out a deal with UPS so there are no extra charges. I haven't seen a shipment yet that contradicts this, but anything is possible.

Also Nashbar and Performance bike use USPS to Canada, Nashbar doesn't even give another option except USPS.
 
#20 ·
BrokenAnimator said:
Well when I talked to them in the store they told me they don't use Fed Ex anymore and it's exclusively UPS worldwide saver to Canada, as they worked out a deal with UPS so there are no extra charges. I haven't seen a shipment yet that contradicts this, but anything is possible.

Also Nashbar and Performance bike use USPS to Canada, Nashbar doesn't even give another option except USPS.
Click to expand...
Er, ok. that change at Jenson must have just happened a week or so ago. I've never purchased off Nasbar due to their exceptional ability to allow your creditcard information to fall into the wrong hands so i can't confirm what you're saying about usps.
 
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