25 customs/tax fee to ship audio to Canada ??


Hi folks:
I sold my Sonic Frontiers Line 3 to a buyer in Canada about three weeks ago. I'm located in California and the buyer is in Ontario, Canada. I find that Canadian customs are holding the preamp, and want about $700CDN in customs/fees/tax before relinquishing the used preamp, which was declared and insured for $2,500USD. To me this excessive charge has been very surprising. Have others had the same experience? Are there ways to contest or overcome this problem? It would seem to make prohibitive any Canadian purchase of gear from the US. The whole problem is particularly disturbing given that one would think that there is such a thing as NAFTA. Also, the Line 3 is manufactured in Canada, and marked clearly as such on the paperwork. FedEx Ground was the shipper in this instance. Anyway, any advice would be welcome. Thanks!!!
128x128outlier

Showing 1 response by unsound

I won't do international trades. Just imagine if you had a dispute! Years ago I invested in a Canadian company that provided equipment to the mining trade. I made a quick fortune. That is until I tried to collect. The Canadian goverment decide to nationalize the firm and sized their assests. I ended up with less than I started with. This is Canada, not some third world South American regime victim to a coupd'e'tat. Or so I thought. Not to get too political, but I was against NAFTA then, and I still am.