International orders, be aware...

[swill]

I paid $10 shipping to Canada and then got hit with $20 of customs fees on a $55 order. 

Don't buy directly from MK.com, get a US proxy and save your self $20.  Price went from $.50/switch to $.78/switch. 

[SpAmRaY]

ouch, honestly though until recently  $0.78/switch wasn't a bad price .........

[swill]

ouch, honestly though until recently  $0.78/switch wasn't a bad price .........

Ya, I was kind of expecting this, which is why I tried to buy them from someone on GH for a month or so first.  I should have just gotten a US proxy.  I have gotten 3 or 4 packages shipped from the US in the past couple months, I should have just had these shipped to them...

Whatever, another $20-$30 mistake.    Hopefully this will help other people avoid this...

[epzy]

Bought two Filcos from keyboardco and I had to pay up £82 tax/vat/custom fees or whatever it's called. Can't wait for the fees on my Realforce, probably gonna be similar...

[deSheol]

Bought two Filcos from keyboardco and I had to pay up £82 tax/vat/custom fees or whatever it's called. Can't wait for the fees on my Realforce, probably gonna be similar...

dem VATs tho.. 

[epzy]

It's a real pain in the ass! 

[stancato9]

I ordered clears from there to Canada and didn't get charged any customs. I was very worried I would be though. Being charged customs or not seems to be hit or miss for me :/

[Zeal]

It's really hit or miss... I ordered my YOTS off of MK.com and it arrived at my doorsteps without getting hit by customs fees. Only item that I've been charged customs so far is a package from UK that was shipped via UPS -- which is pretty much guaranteed customs charge+$10 UPS handling fee. Then again, I haven't ordered much items (yet).

-knocks on wood-

[stancato9]

I have also been charged fees on items where I wasn't supposed to be, so it still sucks.

People in the US really have it made for them in terms of shipping.

[Halverson]

I paid $10 shipping to Canada and then got hit with $20 of customs fees on a $55 order. 

Don't buy directly from MK.com, get a US proxy and save your self $20.  Price went from $.50/switch to $.78/switch. 

Was that USPS or another shipping company?

[Elrick]

People in the US really have it made for them in terms of shipping.

They really have no idea how lucky they are in this world now.  Everywhere else the borders have literally closed for so-called 'free trade' but the US still is open to it's citizens to buy and import anything on this planet.

It's a shame how our countries have all failed us completely.  Just so they can gouge what little money out of our pockets for their sick schemes.

[swill]

I paid $10 shipping to Canada and then got hit with $20 of customs fees on a $55 order. 

Don't buy directly from MK.com, get a US proxy and save your self $20.  Price went from $.50/switch to $.78/switch. 

Was that USPS or another shipping company?

USPS. It usually just depends on how it is labeled if you get dinged or not (in my experience). 

[BucklingSpring]

Fedex charges an extra fee if you don't have an account with them. Ask for USPS, UPS or DHL

[ShakeR]

I paid $10 shipping to Canada and then got hit with $20 of customs fees on a $55 order. 

Don't buy directly from MK.com, get a US proxy and save your self $20.  Price went from $.50/switch to $.78/switch. 

We try to ship all CA shipments through USPS, because (at least up until recently) anything under $200 wasn't assessed customs fees.

We can actually ship for around 20% less via FedEx to Canada, but they always charge customs fees.  So to help you guys save money, we try to ship everything through the post office to CA.  Talk about backfiring...  Has anyone else been hit with customs in CA on a small order like this?

[Zeal]

I paid $10 shipping to Canada and then got hit with $20 of customs fees on a $55 order. 

Don't buy directly from MK.com, get a US proxy and save your self $20.  Price went from $.50/switch to $.78/switch. 

We try to ship all CA shipments through USPS, because (at least up until recently) anything under $200 wasn't assessed customs fees.

We can actually ship for around 20% less via FedEx to Canada, but they always charge customs fees.  So to help you guys save money, we try to ship everything through the post office to CA.  Talk about backfiring...  Has anyone else been hit with customs in CA on a small order like this?

My YOTS that I ordered from MK was well over $200, and it arrived at my doorsteps without any customs fee. Perhaps different provinces may have stricter customs officials? Or do they all enter through the same customs check point?

I'm waiting for MK to stock some MX White switches. Going to splurge a bit when it becomes available. 

[tbc]

i ordered a ducky keyset to vancouver and didn't get hit.

actually have never gotten hit for anything through usps.

[ShakeR]

I paid $10 shipping to Canada and then got hit with $20 of customs fees on a $55 order. 

Don't buy directly from MK.com, get a US proxy and save your self $20.  Price went from $.50/switch to $.78/switch. 

We try to ship all CA shipments through USPS, because (at least up until recently) anything under $200 wasn't assessed customs fees.

We can actually ship for around 20% less via FedEx to Canada, but they always charge customs fees.  So to help you guys save money, we try to ship everything through the post office to CA.  Talk about backfiring...  Has anyone else been hit with customs in CA on a small order like this?

My YOTS that I ordered from MK was well over $200, and it arrived at my doorsteps without any customs fee. Perhaps different provinces may have stricter customs officials? Or do they all enter through the same customs check point?

I'm waiting for MK to stock some MX White switches. Going to splurge a bit when it becomes available. 

The more we ship to CA, the more obvious it becomes that it's random.  That's why even our "International Shipping Agents" can't explain how it works.  It's basically the luck of the draw unless the vendor you're buying from is willing to lie and say it's a 'gift'.

[swill]

I paid $10 shipping to Canada and then got hit with $20 of customs fees on a $55 order. 

Don't buy directly from MK.com, get a US proxy and save your self $20.  Price went from $.50/switch to $.78/switch. 

We try to ship all CA shipments through USPS, because (at least up until recently) anything under $200 wasn't assessed customs fees.

We can actually ship for around 20% less via FedEx to Canada, but they always charge customs fees.  So to help you guys save money, we try to ship everything through the post office to CA.  Talk about backfiring...  Has anyone else been hit with customs in CA on a small order like this?

My YOTS that I ordered from MK was well over $200, and it arrived at my doorsteps without any customs fee. Perhaps different provinces may have stricter customs officials? Or do they all enter through the same customs check point?

I'm waiting for MK to stock some MX White switches. Going to splurge a bit when it becomes available. 

The more we ship to CA, the more obvious it becomes that it's random.  That's why even our "International Shipping Agents" can't explain how it works.  It's basically the luck of the draw unless the vendor you're buying from is willing to lie and say it's a 'gift'.

It must be pretty random because I got 5-10 packages during the Christmas rush via USPS and this one was the only one that I had to pay customs for.  I have also noticed that a lot of the ebay sellers put the value as what the goods cost them rather than what charged me.  Not sure how legitimate that is, but I find it often gets the packages through customs free.  I actually just got a whole bunch of silicon sheets from the US via USPS and it was marked with a value of ~$50 and it was pretty heavy and I didn't get charged.  It seems pretty random to me...

[ijprest]

The more we ship to CA, the more obvious it becomes that it's random.  That's why even our "International Shipping Agents" can't explain how it works.  It's basically the luck of the draw unless the vendor you're buying from is willing to lie and say it's a 'gift'.

It must be pretty random because I got 5-10 packages during the Christmas rush via USPS and this one was the only one that I had to pay customs for.

FYI:  I get 80+ packages a year from the U.S. (they're not *all* keyboard related).  Most are via USPS.  I got two today, in fact.  My postman and all of the front-line staff at the post-office know me by name.

I think they're *technically* supposed to collect on anything greater than $50 or so, but I've found that it's definitely quite random for low-value packages.

In my estimation, if the declared-value is less than $100, then you've got a roughly 5% chance of getting dinged for taxes (GST+PST or HST, plus a $10 handling charge).  If the value is between $100 and $200, it's more like a 20% chance of getting dinged... still pretty good odds.  Much more than that and the chances go up quickly.

USPS is still your best bet, IMO.  Nobody else charges a handling fee that is any lower (and UPS/FedEx usually charge much more!), and the couriers *always* collect taxes.  If you average the charges out over all the stuff you have delivered, you'll probably see that you come out way ahead with USPS/Canada-Post.  Plus, if you're not at home during business hours, the couriers make you drive out to their warehouses in far-off industrial parks... Canada Post locations tend to be a lot more convenient.

Some other random US-to-Canada shipping tips:

• "UPS Mail Innovations" is usually OK; they just ship to the border, then hand-off to USPS/Canada-Post to actually cross the border and do the delivery.
• "DHL GlobalMail" relies on Canada Post to do the delivery, but they (always!) collect the taxes themselves, plus a $10 handling fee... and they do it via C.O.D., so it takes a long time to process the paperwork at the post-office (since they have to remit the fee as a money order).
• If you absolutely *have* to ship by UPS or FedEx, don't choose the cheapest method... choose one of the more expensive options where "brokerage" is included in the price.  For example, if you ship a $50 declared-value package via "UPS Standard to Canada", they'll charge you a $35 "brokerage" fee, plus $7 or so in tax (plus whatever shipping fee you paid in the first place!).  Their next tier up ("UPS Worldwide Expedited") includes brokerage, so you won't pay the $35 fee (though you'll still pay the $7 in tax).  The difference in price between the two tiers of service is usually much less than $35, and Worldwide Expedited is generally faster.

Edit:  This is all just *my* experience, of course... maybe some customs agents at different border crossings are stricter than others.  But anecdotally, I've heard similar reports from friends in BC as well.

[tbc]

^ you have made more friends in BC

[ShakeR]

The more we ship to CA, the more obvious it becomes that it's random.  That's why even our "International Shipping Agents" can't explain how it works.  It's basically the luck of the draw unless the vendor you're buying from is willing to lie and say it's a 'gift'.

It must be pretty random because I got 5-10 packages during the Christmas rush via USPS and this one was the only one that I had to pay customs for.

FYI:  I get 80+ packages a year from the U.S. (they're not *all* keyboard related).  Most are via USPS.  I got two today, in fact.  My postman and all of the front-line staff at the post-office know me by name.

I think they're *technically* supposed to collect on anything greater than $50 or so, but I've found that it's definitely quite random for low-value packages.

In my estimation, if the declared-value is less than $100, then you've got a roughly 5% chance of getting dinged for taxes (GST+PST or HST, plus a $10 handling charge).  If the value is between $100 and $200, it's more like a 20% chance of getting dinged... still pretty good odds.  Much more than that and the chances go up quickly.

USPS is still your best bet, IMO.  Nobody else charges a handling fee that is any lower (and UPS/FedEx usually charge much more!), and the couriers *always* collect taxes.  If you average the charges out over all the stuff you have delivered, you'll probably see that you come out way ahead with USPS/Canada-Post.  Plus, if you're not at home during business hours, the couriers make you drive out to their warehouses in far-off industrial parks... Canada Post locations tend to be a lot more convenient.

Some other random US-to-Canada shipping tips:

• "UPS Mail Innovations" is usually OK; they just ship to the border, then hand-off to USPS/Canada-Post to actually cross the border and do the delivery.
• "DHL GlobalMail" relies on Canada Post to do the delivery, but they (always!) collect the taxes themselves, plus a $10 handling fee... and they do it via C.O.D., so it takes a long time to process the paperwork at the post-office (since they have to remit the fee as a money order).
• If you absolutely *have* to ship by UPS or FedEx, don't choose the cheapest method... choose one of the more expensive options where "brokerage" is included in the price.  For example, if you ship a $50 declared-value package via "UPS Standard to Canada", they'll charge you a $35 "brokerage" fee, plus $7 or so in tax (plus whatever shipping fee you paid in the first place!).  Their next tier up ("UPS Worldwide Expedited") includes brokerage, so you won't pay the $35 fee (though you'll still pay the $7 in tax).  The difference in price between the two tiers of service is usually much less than $35, and Worldwide Expedited is generally faster.

Edit:  This is all just *my* experience, of course... maybe some customs agents at different border crossings are stricter than others.  But anecdotally, I've heard similar reports from friends in BC as well.

Awesome post.  Thank you.