I sold a guitar pedalboard to a guy in Canada about 2 months ago. I shipped it via Fedex. I just got a letter in the mail from Fedex stating that the Consignee (buyer) hasn't paid the clearance charges and that Fedex policy is to bill the shipper for the charges if not paid by the buyer. Fedex is going to make a second attempt at billing the buyer and if the fees remain unpaid, they are going to bill me! What kind of crap is that? What if I decline to pay? How can Fedex bill me if it's the responsibility of the buyer to pay the duty, taxes & brokerage fees?
Canada Brokerage Fees - Fed Ex
Just thought I would share this. I had an item shipped from the US worth $50 and I paid just $18.50 brokerage fees to Fed Ex. (This is on top of the shipping charges).
This brokerage fee was just to pay roughly $3 worth of canadian tax. The brokerage fee amounts to roughly a 600% mark up for handling these duties(service includes a letter sent to me, processing my check and paying the customs duty and any costs incurred for non payments by others)
Here are Fed Ex brokerage rates for clearing customs to Canada;
Value for Duty ($); Fees
$0 - 20; No Charge
$20 - 40; $6.50
$40 - 75; $18.50
$75 - 100; $19.00
$100 - 200; $28.00
$200 - 350, $36.00
$350 - 500, $40.50
$500 - 750, $46.25
$750 - 1000, $52.25
$1000 - 1250, $57.50
$1250 - 1600, $60.25
$1600 - 5000, $64.25
As can be seen the threshold above $40 Canadian is where it starts to become a very high fee in relation to the duties/value of the item shipped.
At $40 the fee is 46% of the value of the item shipped.
At $1600 the fee is 4% of value of the item shipped.
According to the above table and value of your item shipped, you should consider whether to use Fed Ex or not and advise the sender accordingly.
This brokerage fee was just to pay roughly $3 worth of canadian tax. The brokerage fee amounts to roughly a 600% mark up for handling these duties(service includes a letter sent to me, processing my check and paying the customs duty and any costs incurred for non payments by others)
Here are Fed Ex brokerage rates for clearing customs to Canada;
Value for Duty ($); Fees
$0 - 20; No Charge
$20 - 40; $6.50
$40 - 75; $18.50
$75 - 100; $19.00
$100 - 200; $28.00
$200 - 350, $36.00
$350 - 500, $40.50
$500 - 750, $46.25
$750 - 1000, $52.25
$1000 - 1250, $57.50
$1250 - 1600, $60.25
$1600 - 5000, $64.25
As can be seen the threshold above $40 Canadian is where it starts to become a very high fee in relation to the duties/value of the item shipped.
At $40 the fee is 46% of the value of the item shipped.
At $1600 the fee is 4% of value of the item shipped.
According to the above table and value of your item shipped, you should consider whether to use Fed Ex or not and advise the sender accordingly.