importing into Canada

[Don Wallace]

I would like to try some of the different photographic papers out there, but I have no idea what the import duty would be. Talking to Customs is an extremely arduous process with lots of waiting on hold and listening to crappy elevator music, so I thought I would give the forum a try.

What is the duty on importing photographic materials to Canada?

[John Bartley]

My experience with bring almost anything into Canada is in buying from Lithuania, the UK and the USA. There has been no duty attached to anything I have bought, new or used. I have had to pay the appropriate taxes and I have paid the customs clearing charges as levied by whatever shipping company did the clearing for me. Canada Post is (so far), by a long shot the least expensive customs clearing facility at a per item charge of $5.00 + tax. UPS has been the most expensive.

cheers

[Nick_3536]

If you avoid UPS ground. AVOID UPS ground. NO REALLY AVOID UPS ground. You should be okay.

You'll pay the tax. Depending on the shipper. NOT UPS Ground. You'll pay some sort of brokerage fee.

Canada post isn't that quick and I don't like using it during the hot summer. But other then that it works fine.

[Fred L]

Without looking for old customs stickers, my recollection is that I usually paid pst and gst and a handling fee. Don't recall any special duties although there may have been some on used lenses. I had no probs getting stuff from Freestyle or J & C.

As long as you stay USPS, it's painless with no sudden surprises. Spring for Global Priority Mail as it gives a tracking number so you can see the hold up when it crosses the border ;) It's also faster and worth the extra toonie or two.

[tim atherton]

USPS to Canada Post is usually the best way to go. Generally reliable and best value for money - can be a bit slower, but not always.

You'll pay the $5.00 or so brokerage fee and GST (and PST if you have it). The other good thing is they seem to routinely miss about 30-35% of the packages so they come through with no fees at all....

Fedex and UPS you can end up paying $35.00 - $45.00 in "fees" on top of any taxes

[Andrew O'Neill]

Ya Tim...rub in that PST...bloody Albertans.

[tim atherton]

Ya Tim...rub in that PST...bloody Albertans.

hey - we never had it in the NWT all the years I lived there either...

now, remember, BC contributes far more to the arts than oil rich Alberta where the government puts more money into Race Horse breeding than it does into the arts :mad: