UPS Charges

[DPittman]

I'm noticing few changes in AliExpress shipping options. Not sure if its the vendor or value or general improvements, but some vendors offer 'faster' delivery for a fee. But I have never seen UPS specified as an option. Some items from China are arriving within weeks & as much as half of the wait time is after I get an email saying 'arrived in your country'. Go figure.

Anyways, not sure if DYK is in your vicinity but it alleviates this headache from USA items. Let them send it via UPS or whatever floats their boat. It gets to the USA address often much cheaper than w can send inter-province. Then DYK trucks from there. You pay a (principally weight based) fee of course, but at least you can get items that are generally off limits if they ship 'only inside USA' or 'only UPS' etc.

This is the broach set I bought and obviously selected "free UPS shipping".

C$ 340.70 22%OFF | 18pcs HSS Metric Keyway Broach Set 4/5/6/8mm Broaches 12-28 Cutting Broach Brand new

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtmLUsE

 

[PeterT]

There are a few (very few) USA vendors that will reduce the UPS charge slightly but its hard to be 100% certain beforehand. I've also bought some Ebay items where all in shipping & import fees were predefined & I did not receive the dreaded follow-up UPS bill requesting additional $$$. Online Metals in USA ships UPS but they take some cost off the top. I'm guessing about 30% discount. Not awesome but a nice gesture & better than a kick in the pants.

 

[PeterT]

This is the broach set I bought and obviously selected "free UPS shipping".

Yes, I've experienced that situation too. It means they are covering UPS shipping charge to your door but (not said) you are responsible for any broker/duty/GST/PST/nut scratching fees that UPS inflicts.
If $27 is what you paid on $347 item, that's getting off light. I'll bet you couldn't ship that item to me for that.

 

[DPittman]

If $27 is what you paid on $347 item, that's getting off light. I'll bet you couldn't ship that item to me for that.

Ya I'm not really bichinbout the overall cost, because you're right there is no way I could ship that to you for that, I'm just feeling stupid because I thought I was not paying ANYTHING for shipping over and above the advertised price.

 

[DPittman]

I've also bought some Ebay items where all in shipping & import fees were predefined & I did not receive the dreaded follow-up UPS bill requesting additional $$$.

I've also just recieved an item purchased on ebay by a Canadian seller in Vancouver and Ebay said free FedEx shipping. The item was $81 and so I went ahead and proceeded to make the purchase. When I put in my postal code it then said $500 for shipping!
I contacted the seller and they said they had no control over that and it was because my postal code indicated a remote address.

I remade the order but I used families address in Lethbridge (70kms away) and got free FedEx shipping and had mt item 2 days later.

 

[PeterT]

You are a courier minefield survivor LOL. Yes I've heard that same story from buddies who live on acreage or farm & got the ransom note surprise. They probably used a generic in-city delivery schedule & didn't bother with proverbial fine print. That particular (in Canada) issue is in the hands of seller when they enter all the particulars in the shipping form. Flag for remote delivery, flag for volatile liquid, flag for battery > X watt-hours, flag for customer burns purple gas & wears steel toe boots....

 

[Former Member]

I ship a lot with UPS and my customers don't complain about any extra charges once I figured it out.

UPS WORLDWIDE EXPEDITED

Brokerage is covered! No Extra Fees tail end.

Problem is shipper or receiver (depending on who's account its on) must have good rates or its an arm and a leg.

Same applies for all couriers. Post is hit and miss for brokerage/duties and taxes.

 

[Tom Kitta]

There used to be a way to have your own broker ... but not anymore... small brokers were bought up and gone.

I guess for expensive stuff you can ship to the border and have it moved to a warehouse in Calgary for smaller fee than UPS.

Or just ship to the border and pickup yourself.

 

[PeterT]

I ship a lot with UPS and my customers don't complain about any extra charges once I figured it out.
UPS WORLDWIDE EXPEDITED

Well its great that you can pass costs onto your customers with no complaint. But I would not recommend this mode it to most regular individuals unless one has deep pockets & really require short delivery time. I suspect there is no extra costs because they baked it into the basic charge. Whether you pay it or customer pays it, someone is paying it.

https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/webcontent/en_US/retail_rates.pdf

 

[PeterT]

There used to be a way to have your own broker ... but not anymore... small brokers were bought up and gone.

I'm not sure if small smaller were bought up vs. more stringent clearance & taxation regulations came into effect. I used these guys in the past. They had some good services at reasonable rates for small orders, at least at the time. But they require a GST# in order to open an account. If you have a GST# as part of existing business, there are probably some suitable outfits to choose from. But I think if you have to create a business, register a GST#, file appropriate taxation returns... that's where things get messy, at least for 'personal' goods. If I have this wrong, please let me know.

Customs Broker & Freight Forwarding - Cole International

With offices across Canada and the U.S., Cole International provides customs brokerage and freight forwarding services to companies across North America.

www.coleintl.com

 

[Former Member]

Well its great that you can pass costs onto your customers with no complaint. But I would not recommend this mode it to most regular individuals unless one has deep pockets & really require short delivery time. I suspect there is no extra costs because they baked it into the basic charge. Whether you pay it or customer pays it, someone is paying it.

https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/webcontent/en_US/retail_rates.pdf

View attachment 30492

I don't pay the published rate. My negotiated Expedited Rate is greatly discounted from the published rate, which matches the published low rate service.

Check shipping charges with Netship or Shiptime which use their volume discount to offer similar rates to consumers, I just do enough volume to get even better rates.

Ask your vendors to check.

BTW when FEDEX tried for my business, they they wouldn't beat Shiptimes Fedex rate, so FEDEX doesn't get my business.

Additionally when shipping I occasionally still shop around for rates when they seem excessive. Sometimes I still use other services (thru third party resellers) as certain geographic locations are better serviced by others.

I sell expensive, heavy products, so shipping cost must be kept in check to be able to do business.

@PeterT learn the system and use the system. If shipping is too expensive ask what the package dimension/wt is and arrange shipping yourself thru a third party service like the two mentioned above if the vendor lets you.

 

[Tom Kitta]

I don't pay the published rate. My negotiated Expedited Rate is greatly discounted from the published rate, which matches the published low rate service.

Check shipping charges with Netship or Shiptime which use their volume discount to offer similar rates to consumers, I just do enough volume to get even better rates.

Ask your vendors to check.

BTW when FEDEX tried for my business, they they wouldn't beat Shiptimes Fedex rate, so FEDEX doesn't get my business.

Additionally when shipping I occasionally still shop around for rates when they seem excessive. Sometimes I still use other services (thru third party resellers) as certain geographic locations are better serviced by others.

I sell expensive, heavy products, so shipping cost must be kept in check to be able to do business.

@PeterT learn the system and use the system. If shipping is too expensive ask what the package dimension/wt is and arrange shipping yourself thru a third party service like the two mentioned above if the vendor lets you.

Yeah but a lot of vendors already hate dealing with "Small" Canada so getting them to do anything custom even for relatively big order is ... a bit of a pain. I.e. we are cutting into their profit by needing special service. This is why there are these "pretend I am in US" services so you can purchase from sellers in US that only sell to US.

My favorite eBay seller charges posted UPS shipping rates mostly b/c he does not charge packing fees. I am sure in reality he pays much less but it also takes time to actually pack items. Maybe a little "petty" but maybe for very large order with multiple packages he would be OK for me using custom service. Otherwise probably I would just use ship to the border. Incidentally the rate for UPS to the US border is only marginally less than to Calgary - you are just skipping the fees.

From seller perspective it is also a pain to deal with internationally (i.e. outside of US and Canada) - if there is a problem you have a big problem.

 

[PeterT]

I see what you are saying @Degen but its maybe a bit of apples & oranges to your situation. [apples] you have a business & do shipping volume, yes no surprise you can negotiate terms with shippers. Taken to the end of the spectrum, that's how multi-B$ Amazon can command low/free rates or even 'fire' Canada Post because they are too slow or too expensive for their liking.

[oranges] a hobby guy buying a onsey-twosey from AliExpress or Ebay store, you are going to tell him 'please check' so he is getting the best terms for you? 99% of time it just doesn't work that way. Typically you pick from their available shipping options or even consent that actual overages will be added to cost (such as the rural address example). Seller stores typically know the shipping side of the transaction so well they might even game it to their advantage. That's why you see listings like ItemA 25$ + Free shipping vs identical ItemB for $15 (+fine print 12$ shipping). yes, some sellers will work with you on shipping but I find mostly individuals vs stores/businesses.

In the case of China shipping, almost the opposite metrics apply. Like the specific example of this post: $347 item shipped for $27 (negating the extra fee issue). My point is try & ship that same dimensional + physical item across your own city using every service at your disposal. It might be more expensive than what it cost to ship from the other side of the globe. Why? because their government is financially underwriting shipping to help them get product sales. We don't have that luxury.

Your point is taken on checking around for price comparison. Normal due diligence like buying anything. I've imported & shipped many unconventional items. One of the worst is a typical RC models. Long boxes that weight 5 kg but pay on dimensional weight of 80 kg. Seems unfair unless you work for Fedex. That box of air is taking up room they can pack many smaller boxes. They are in business to make money. But some shippers are slightly cheaper depending on their business model, where its going etc.

 

[Susquatch]

They are in business to make money

Overall an excellent dose of reality Peter.

I'd only add that this applies to the shipper/receiver too not just the carrier. I'm never gunna spend the time it takes to optimize my shipping costs (or my machining costs) that a business would. I'm just a farmer / hobbiest and it's just not worth the effort for just one deal at a time.

 

[Mcgyver]

Contrary to some posts here, I haven't found fedex to be any better. $48 in tax and $55 in Fedex fees is a recent example. Grrrr. Vendor would not provide a UPS option. I didn't bother last time, but I do have an account with a forwarder. you have the stuff shipped there. then they will ship it to you however you like (USPS) and you fill out the declaration.

 

[Tom Kitta]

Chinese companies shipping has some nice cleaver ideas including getting a great volume deal with Canada Post.

I.e. if you buy for around 12 CAD or so of eligible items they package them all together and send them to you using CP once in Canada.

CP charges Canadians many times more to ship - Chinese negotiated excellent deal.

This is a problem for Canadian small business as you cannot compete on shipping.

 

[slow-poke]

Shipping to Canada, I avoid UPS like the plague. Way too many times, some trivial package that costs next to nothing has brokerage fees that exceed the value of the actual item. I actually joined a class action against UPS and received multiple compensation cheques. It took me all of about two minutes to join the class action suit.

 

[DavidR8]

The only time I've ever had 'extra' charges from FedEx was for unpaid taxes.
My K40 laser shipped from Anaheim CA via UPS for free and I was pleasantly surprised that there were no additional charges as I was prepared to pay a whack more. I have no idea what that would be the case.

 

[DavidR8]

So in an unexplained twist I paid $20 in UPS fees (taxes and brokerage) for the Cloudray laser mirrors and head.

 

[DPittman]

So in an unexplained twist I paid $20 in UPS fees (taxes and brokerage) for the Cloudray laser mirrors and head.

UPS was reading your posts and thought you got off too easy!