Any Canadians get their US$15 Video Essentials yet? (1 Viewer)

[Eugene Hsieh]

My transaction went thru Aug. 2. I haven't received it yet though.
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Eugene Hsieh, VisorCentral FAQ Editor
1000 km on a tank of gas??? Check out the Prius and drive the future now!

 

[Sebastian_M]

Eugene,
My transaction went through on the 2nd of August too and I received my copy yesterday. Beware a 16 dollar GST and import fee that the UPS guy will collect. This pissed the hell out of me, as every other American e-tailer doesn't do this. I guess DVD International doesn't have a Canadian distribution centre.
Seb
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All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

 

[Bill McA]

Beware a 16 dollar GST and import fee that the UPS guy will collect. This pissed the hell out of me, as every other American e-tailer doesn't do this.

Are you sure about that Seb???
I've had import taxes and handling fees imposed on purchases from Amazon, DVDEmpire, Ken Cranes, CDNow, Barnes & Noble, Reel.com and even eBay purchases.
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[PatrickM]

Its not the etailers fault. Its UPS. They suck! US Postal Service is the best way to send stuff. I just received a DVD-A from Jonatha Brooke via mail and I didn't have to pay anything most likely because its too small a dollar value.
Patrick
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If you live in Vancouver, B.C. or the surrounding areas, take a look at the Local Home Theater Forum Meets section for a Vancouver meet.
My DVD Collection

 

[Bill McA]

It's not just UPS, it's also USPS.
Anything that has a declared value which is the equivalent to $20.00 Cnd or more, automatically has 15% taxes and a $5.00 'handling' fee imposed.
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[Sebastian_M]

Bill,
I've never had to pay import taxes from Amazon, ever. My brother ordered a computer game from some e-tailer and the same thing happened and it was also UPS.

These were the only times that this happened. Amazon has a distribution centre here in Canada so I don't think you have any import fee from them.
How much did Amazon make you pay?
Seb
------------------
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

quote: Beware a 16 dollar GST and import fee that the UPS guy will collect. This pissed the hell out of me, as every other American e-tailer doesn't do this.[/quote]Interestingly, I had reported UPS to the Better Business Bureau about this. A few months later I got a meek call from UPS public relations. I basically told them (nicely) that until these practices are well-explained on the website then I cannot recommend their UPS standard shipping to anyone. UPS did point out to me that the info IS on the website, but it's in a spot you wouldn't look at unless you were specifically trying to find it.
For the record:
The more expensive UPS shipping methods do not charge the brokerage fee. However, they are supposed to still charge the GST +/- PST (depending on province). The cost depends on the value of the item. On very small items they sometimes don't charge the brokerage fee.
FedEx GROUND also has this charge - and I got hit (as expected) when I received my SVS subwoofer. The usual FedEx does not. Again, taxes are still levied.
USPS/Canada Post will charge a $5 flat rate plus taxes. This is viable option for expensive items, since it doesn't depend on the value of the item. However, they still sometimes charge the $5 on relatively small items.
Also, the taxes are charged on the declared value of the item. I was hit pretty hard (proportionately) on a couple of low value items ($6 total) when it crossed the border, since the shipper declared the value to be US$20.
Thus:
If you want tracking and it's an expensive light weight item, it may more sense to ship FedEx 2-day air vs. FedEx Ground or UPS Ground. The savings in brokerage fees often more than makes up for the higher shipping costs.
Anyways, I'm glad somebody in Canada has already received their disc(s). Not too much longer for me I hope.
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Eugene Hsieh, VisorCentral FAQ Editor
1000 km on a tank of gas??? Check out the Prius and drive the future now!
[Edited last by Eugene Hsieh on August 15, 2001 at 09:25 AM]

 

[Kwang Suh]

Amazon does not have a Canadian distribution center. They used Purolator, which is owned by the government and thus received special priviledges, such as no duty, handling fees, etc.
Amazon now uses Expresspost, which has the same exemptions.

 

[Sebastian_M]

I see Kwang. That makes sense. I've never had any problems with Purolator and have always been happy with their service. But Amazon has something here in Canada. When there was a problem with my Gladiator disk (audio drop-out) I wrote them an e-mail, the next day an Amazon van dropped off a new one at my front door.
Seb
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All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

 

[Kwang Suh]

It definately seems as though Amazon is expanding their Canadian presence. I just got a huge book flyer in the mail from them. It looks like they're starting to have a physical presence as well.

 

[Bill McA]

How much did Amazon make you pay?

It's been a while so I don't recall. The Amazon parcel that I was charged for was shipped USPS, but other Amazon purchases were shipped Purolator with no charges.
You never know how their stuff is going to arrive!
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Link Removed

 

[Kris McLaughlin]

Back onto the original topic, I ordered my VE on August 1st. It went through on my Visa on the 3rd, and I still have yet to receive the DVD.

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[Kevin Roebuck]

What are they aloud to charge? I don't see how it could be
$16? The shipping was supposed to be included in the $15 U.S. price and it did not specify that this was any different for Canada.
So I can't see how it could be anything but the $5 fee and GST!
I'm still waiting for mine.

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

Depends on who ships it. The brokerage fee can be anything they want. With USPS/Canada Post it's $5 CAD. With UPS it's variable.
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Eugene Hsieh, VisorCentral FAQ Editor
1000 km on a tank of gas??? Check out the Prius and drive the future now!

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

I've received mine. Came on Thurs actually, but I didn't pick it up until yesterday.
Canada Post charged me $8.47 ($5 fee plus $3.47 taxes), which ain't bad considering I had purchased two discs. The shipper mistakenly put the value as US$15 instead the actual US$30.
Note however, that I had paid an extra US$7 up front for USPS shipping to avoid the brokerage charges of UPS and because I thought DVD International's UPS shipping didn't include shipping to Canada anyway.
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Eugene Hsieh, VisorCentral FAQ Editor
1000 km on a tank of gas??? Check out the Prius and drive the future now!
[Edited last by Eugene Hsieh on August 19, 2001 at 03:05 PM]

 

[IanS]

I just received a disc from DVD Empire and wasn't hit with any taxes. Mind you, it's declared value was $20.00 and was shipped USPS.
Ian

 

[Kevin Roebuck]

My credit card was charged for this on August 1 and I still have not received the dvd yet.
Is anyone else still waiting for their disc?

 

[Kevin Roebuck]

Fry? Fry?..........Fry?

 

[Kevin Roebuck]

I'm still waiting for this. Have you other Canadian's received this disc?