Fed up with FEDEX and UPS

[Balsquat]

Did not want to start a new thread and this one was pretty close...

Fed-ex Question:

I ordered a Sideshow Catalog from Sideshow and about a week after I received the package I also got an invoice from FedEx saying that I owe about $13 for duties and customs taxes. But there is no due date for the payment, and only a return address on the Remittance statement. For you Canadian freaks that have had to deal with fedex before,
How long do I have to pay it and what will happen if I don't?

 

[cstojano]

Another reason to love Fedex. Several years ago I bought a 2500 dollar item from Australia, yes I got hit with the fees. Fast forward two years I get a tax bill from the state of Illinois where I lived at the time charging me use tax, plus late fees, plus penalties. It came to about 300 dollars, they got the record of the sale from fedex. Use tax is what states charge all transactions for which you do not pay sales tax. Anything bought from eBay should generate use tax, to be paid at the end of the year with your state taxes. I had never heard of it, nor was I pleased that the corrupt state of Illinois was scouring Fedex manifests for high dollar items to retroactively tax

 

[LChinoz]

Did not want to start a new thread and this one was pretty close...

Fed-ex Question:

I ordered a Sideshow Catalog from Sideshow and about a week after I received the package I also got an invoice from FedEx saying that I owe about $13 for duties and customs taxes. But there is no due date for the payment, and only a return address on the Remittance statement. For you Canadian freaks that have had to deal with fedex before,
How long do I have to pay it and what will happen if I don't?

I would give the CS a call about that one.

 

[jonny88]

Well today I had to pay another $40 on top of what I paid for my Sauron Helm at the door of my house before buddy would give it to me.
Its ridiculous. Sadly, I am through buying this stuff from the US. Its insane.
The last half dozen items I've recieved, I had to pay shipping all over again at my door basically to these yingyangs.

well theres your first problem you had the stuff shipped ups and fed ex. if you are canadian getting stuff from the states NEVER use them only usps.2 months ago l got a darkness statue from the stats at $60 for shipping and after taxes and duties it was only $15 at my door threw usps.if it were from ups it would have been $150 plus to me in alberta..so it is cheap if you ONLY get it shipped usps and have it shipped as gift.

 

[Balsquat]

well theres your first problem you had the stuff shipped ups and fed ex. if you are canadian getting stuff from the states NEVER use them only usps.2 months ago l got a darkness statue from the stats at $60 for shipping and after taxes and duties it was only $15 at my door threw usps.if it were from ups it would have been $150 plus to me in alberta..so it is cheap if you ONLY get it shipped usps and have it shipped as gift.

For sure. I completely agree, but this was a sideshow catalog coming straight from Sideshow and they ONLY deal with Fedex. Plus I got the catalog for free because I used a giftcard so I figured, , just pay the $18 shipping. I really think an additional $13 in fees is a little much, but I truly don't understand this form.

Thanks for the answers everyone, perhaps I will call on Monday.

 

[jonny88]

For sure. I completely agree, but this was a sideshow catalog coming straight from Sideshow and they ONLY deal with Fedex. Plus I got the catalog for free because I used a giftcard so I figured, , just pay the $18 shipping. I really think an additional $13 in fees is a little much, but I truly don't understand this form.

Thanks for the answers everyone, perhaps I will call on Monday.

thats why l dont buy direct from sideshow.l buy second hand were it can be shipped usps.about 4 years ago l bought 2 dodge charger restoration books from the states,the total for the books was $30 and shipping $15 threw ups and at my door l had to pay an extra $30 in fees,just for 2 small books,l was so pissed and to this day will never buy stuff from the states that cant be shipped usps.

 

[DPrime]

I also hate FedEx and UPS. It really, really annoys me that Sideshow won't offer a USPS option to ship stuff to Canada.

 

[Mesa]

well theres your first problem you had the stuff shipped ups and fed ex. if you are canadian getting stuff from the states NEVER use them only usps.2 months ago l got a darkness statue from the stats at $60 for shipping and after taxes and duties it was only $15 at my door threw usps.if it were from ups it would have been $150 plus to me in alberta..so it is cheap if you ONLY get it shipped usps and have it shipped as gift.

yup. Usps priority international and mark as a gift. Is it illegal to put a lower value on it too?

 

[Valarauko]

I feel your pain but the thing that's really a pain to me right now is that the frequency of SS LOTR teases, previews, pre-orders or even a mention is so non-existant that we're left to talk about problems with shippers!

SS - you've got a lot of catching up to do!

 

[jonny88]

I also hate FedEx and UPS. It really, really annoys me that Sideshow won't offer a USPS option to ship stuff to Canada.

well l think sideshow should offer usps to us canadians.trust me there sales to canada would double or triple l bet.

 

[Shai]

well l think sideshow should offer usps to us canadians.trust me there sales to canada would double or triple l bet.

 

[risingstar]

When receiving items via FedEx and UPS, Canadians generally get nailed with fees for any item valued over $20. For example, for a $20 item, you could get charged $30 in brokerage fees, $5 in GST/PST taxes, and an additional $3 in customs/duty. You could end up paying $60 for a $20 item. If that same item were sent through USPS, you would not pay a dime. Canada post only starts paying attention to the value of a product once it's over $75, and even then, not always. I've had $150 statues arrive without having to pay anything. I suppose it depends on how busy they are to fill out the paperwork at the time...

However, Americans have it way easier. They can have items valued up to $200 before they start getting nailed with fees, and it's not like they get hit with fees every time either. The US appears to have a much better consumer-friendly system.

 

[quadcent]

Did not want to start a new thread and this one was pretty close...

Fed-ex Question:

I ordered a Sideshow Catalog from Sideshow and about a week after I received the package I also got an invoice from FedEx saying that I owe about $13 for duties and customs taxes. But there is no due date for the payment, and only a return address on the Remittance statement. For you Canadian freaks that have had to deal with fedex before,
How long do I have to pay it and what will happen if I don't?

at least Fedex is the lesser of the two evils, ups would of been at least $75 at the door. question, did you pay anything when they delivered it to you the first time? i've never had anything dropped off by fedex that didn't need to be payed for, and if you did get ahold of fedex and raise ____ and they should just cancel it.

I also hate FedEx and UPS. It really, really annoys me that Sideshow won't offer a USPS option to ship stuff to Canada.

i've asked them about that a few times and the lack of tracking ability and damage issues is the many reasons they don't use them.

yup. Usps priority international and mark as a gift. Is it illegal to put a lower value on it too?

yes it is, though i doubt if anyone has actually even been charged for the crime though.

I feel your pain but the thing that's really a pain to me right now is that the frequency of SS LOTR teases, previews, pre-orders or even a mention is so non-existant that we're left to talk about problems with shippers!

SS - you've got a lot of catching up to do!

yeah the lotr line seems to be almost dead as of late.

well l think sideshow should offer usps to us canadians.trust me there sales to canada would double or triple l bet.

i believe it would definately increase thier business up here but i don't think we'll see it happen. funny thing is though that i've have dozens of pieces shipped by usps and never have had one arrive damaged, also to date nothing damaged by fedex either. now ups on the other hand i've had probably about 75% of the items i've had shipped by them damaged.
that's why when i'm buying off of the bay i make sure that the seller is willing to ship by usps, and if he only uses ups i just don't buy it. unless it's something really rare

When receiving items via FedEx and UPS, Canadians generally get nailed with fees for any item valued over $20. For example, for a $20 item, you could get charged $30 in brokerage fees, $5 in GST/PST taxes, and an additional $3 in customs/duty. You could end up paying $60 for a $20 item. If that same item were sent through USPS, you would not pay a dime. Canada post only starts paying attention to the value of a product once it's over $75, and even then, not always. I've had $150 statues arrive without having to pay anything. I suppose it depends on how busy they are to fill out the paperwork at the time...

However, Americans have it way easier. They can have items valued up to $200 before they start getting nailed with fees, and it's not like they get hit with fees every time either. The US appears to have a much better consumer-friendly system.

yeah usps or should i say canada post is really all over the map when it comes to items tagged for duty and taxes. i've picked up items at the same time from the post and one valued at $150 i'll get dinged the $5 brokerage and 5% tax and then the $750 shipped insured item, i'll just sign for and walk out without having to pay anything.

i think i can be linked to the amount of work load that they have, since i've noticed around christmas time or when ever the canadain dollar is near par i think the workload is quite a bit more for the workers and that's when they just push through alot of items.

 

[Balsquat]

Yea, it really is freak luck with usps whether you get dinged with fees or not. I have also had $100 items arrive with no fees, but also get charged $10 tax and fees on a $30 which should not have happened. At least it is never ridiculous with USPS.

 

[quadcent]

Yea, it really is freak luck with usps whether you get dinged with fees or not. I have also had $100 items arrive with no fees, but also get charged $10 tax and fees on a $30 which should not have happened. At least it is never ridiculous with USPS.

it's actually canada post that's charging us on our end J/K

but at least with usps/canada post you'll only ever get charged $5 for brokerage and then the gst or hst depending on which province you live in, which you'd have to pay if you bought anything in a retail store anyways.

$5 is a far cry from the $50-$75 that ups charges, and at least fedex is quite a bit less than ups, just not as cheap as mail is all. but they do have way better service, normally

 

[theguru1]

However, Americans have it way easier. They can have items valued up to $200 before they start getting nailed with fees, and it's not like they get hit with fees every time either. The US appears to have a much better consumer-friendly system.

It's even better down here. Anything up to $1000AUD (not including postage) is fee/tax free, it just sails right through. Combine that with the new lower postage fees direct from SS (especially for the larger items) and it's finally a win for us down under.

 

[Elendil]

The other day when my $150.00 package arrived I also had to fork out another $45.00 to UPS after already paying $33.00 for delivery to them. I will only use USPS from now on. They said it was for Brokerage fees as I did not have a broker myself (not like they asked). They also kept moving the delivery date around. At least 3 changes within a two day period.

 

[Slingblade]

I won a bunch of stuff from one of the Comic Con Sideshow online chat contests, it was all free, until I got stuffed for 80 bucks in "Fees" at the door when it was shipped to me. I was like, I'm not paying 80 bucks for stuff I won for free, tried to dispute it with Sideshow for putting a monetary value on free contest items, they told me to call UPS, UPS said pay it or send it back...

Now I get stuff sent to my buddies house over in Detroit, and go pick it up myself, have a beer and a visit. Screw the border and their "Brokerage Fees"

 

[quadcent]

I won a bunch of stuff from one of the Comic Con Sideshow online chat contests, it was all free, until I got stuffed for 80 bucks in "Fees" at the door when it was shipped to me. I was like, I'm not paying 80 bucks for stuff I won for free, tried to dispute it with Sideshow for putting a monetary value on free contest items, they told me to call UPS, UPS said pay it or send it back...

Now I get stuff sent to my buddies house over in Detroit, and go pick it up myself, have a beer and a visit. Screw the border and their "Brokerage Fees"

thought for a second there you were going to say something else

 

[El Skutto]

I won a bunch of stuff from one of the Comic Con Sideshow online chat contests, it was all free, until I got stuffed for 80 bucks in "Fees" at the door when it was shipped to me. I was like, I'm not paying 80 bucks for stuff I won for free, tried to dispute it with Sideshow for putting a monetary value on free contest items, they told me to call UPS, UPS said pay it or send it back...

Now I get stuff sent to my buddies house over in Detroit, and go pick it up myself, have a beer and a visit. Screw the border and their "Brokerage Fees"

Heh. I've got a brother who lives in PA who has a closet dedicated to all the stuff I have shipped to his place. Maybe twice a year, I go down and bring everything back across the border. I've probably saved well over $1000 in additional shipping fees AND duty fees this way, even when you factor in the cost of gas.