overthemoon
Paddler
I’m considering ordering a kokatat suit online thru the states. Canada has no stock on the one I want. Does anyone know if you pay duty on this drysuit?
-
We apologize for the somewhat convoluted sign-up process. Due to ever-more sophisticated attacks by chatbots, we had to increase our filtering in order to weed out AI while letting humans through. It's a nuisance, but a necessary one in order to keep the level of discourse on the forums authentic and useful. From the actual humans using WCP, thanks for your understanding!
Ordering thru the states
- Thread starter overthemoon
- Start date
SeanWeijand
Paddler
You will probably get charged an outrageous amount by your frieght company. Since you are in Abbotsford I would ship to a PO box in Sumas and drive it back over the border. You may have to pay GST depending on the whim of the border officer and perhaps a duty but you will not have the fees charged by fedex et al. Plus you can fill up on cheaper gas. I have done this with auto parts for years and only once did they make me pay GST, though that purchase was over $3,000.00.
JohnAbercrombie
Paddler
I've mail ordered stuff, including a drysuit, from George Gronseth (Kayak Academy) in Washington. Made in USA items like Kokatat suits are duty-free into Canada, as far as I know. (Not the same case with an Estonian-made Hilleberg tent coming frm HIlleberg USA....I know that for sure...
) People confuse duty with sales taxes sometimes - you will have to pay PST and GST, the same as if you bought a suit in Canada. If you have the suit sent by mail (USPS and CanadaPost) the handling/service/brokerage fee is $9.95 CAD. If you make the mistake of having an item sent by FedEx Ground or UPS Ground, you will be charged $50+ for 'brokerage'. Most of the 'Air' options from couriers include the brokerage charge in the freight fee, but you should check. I generally insist on USPS for items from the States.overthemoon
Paddler
Thanks for your replies, appreciate your help. I’m fairly certain kokatat is made in the US. So my understanding is with the NAFTA agreement there would be no duty. But I’m not positive. Yes I could send to Sumas but the shipping charge is $50 to there or $50 to abbotsford. That’s no problem. I just would like to know if there is duty and how much prior to ordering.
Mowog73
Paddler
A courier companies brokerage fee should be in the order of $20+tx on the fee. Having it sent by USPS is the cheapest option in terms of brokerage fees as stated above.
If your only option is to ship by courier and you're not keen on overpaying for something that Canada Post only charges $9.95 to do, then you can avoid the brokerage fees by self-clearing the package yourself at your nearby CBSA office. There's plenty of info available online on how to do this. Some couriers, like DHL, make it easy to gather the required documentation, Fedex and UPS make you work a bit for it.
Last edited:
UPS Standard and Fedex Ground both charge on a sliding scale for customs clearance. Taking a declared value of ~$1000 for example, you're looking at $72.10 with UPS and $60.10 with Fedex. UPS Express and Expedited have free customs clearance, Fedex Express looks to be free as well (but don't quote me on that!).
Both couriers seem to have a whole laundry list of extra fees that I'm sure they like to add on.
I agree, USPS/Canada Post is always the winner when it comes to brokerage fees.
Last edited:
overthemoon
Paddler
Thanks everyone. I went ahead and ordered. I was able to get a coupon code for free shipping. This was by fedex. Made in the US so no duty, thanks to NAFTA. Charge for pst/gst as expected. FedEx fee of only $10.
Ordered late Monday night and delivery is Thursday to Canada. Fast turnaround.
Ready for safer winter paddling!
Ordered late Monday night and delivery is Thursday to Canada. Fast turnaround.
Ready for safer winter paddling!
pryaker
Paddler
a side comment about taxes. I was surprised to recently receive an invoice from Fe ex for GST that they supposedly paid on a package containing my drysuit which was returned to me by Kokotat after repair. I guess services outside of Canada are taxable for Canadain residents? News to me. I wish there were an easy way to check to see if they really paid the the GST to CRA.
I totally forgot to ask Kokotat to use Canada Post.
I totally forgot to ask Kokotat to use Canada Post.
JohnAbercrombie
Paddler
How did you do that?overthemoon
Paddler
I googled Kokatat coupon codes. When you find one, copy the code and paste it in during checkout. There is a window that says something like, any coupon codes? Some codes are expired, but you can paste in other codes and hopefully one works.