[hill_climb]

Recently moved to Toronto from the UK. When in the UK I used Wiggle, Merlin and Evans for on-line purchases and found all three great to deal with. Wondering if there is anyone on here who has ordered stuff online for delivery to Toronto? I tried Wiggle during the winter and ordered a Sportful Bodyfit Jersey since they were advertising free shipping to Canada and they had a sale on at the time. The service from Wiggle was good but unfortunately you get handed a pretty hefty bill on pickup to cover the various import fees and handling charges (nothing to do with Wiggle). I had to come up with $73 for example.

I know I can order online from some of the stores but wondered if there is an equivalent to Wiggle etc. over here?

thanks.

Topic

[artm]

Borderlinx getting some mixed
Borderlinx getting some mixed reviews so check it out to see if it’s right for you. I know from Ottawa a fair amount of people get stuff shipped to the UPS store in Ogdensburg, NY which charges a nominal amount to hold the delivery until you can drive down to get it- I think about an hour drive or so. Then you bring it back across the border. Helpful for US shipments and particularly helpful if you’re staying in the US for a few days as that increases your tax free, duty free allowance. Situation may exist for other places in Canada that are close to the border.

[jayme]

I use a website called
I use a website called borderlinx that you can pay the correct duties before shipping which negates the Canada Post surcharge.
http://www.borderlinx.com/CA/en

[hill_climb]

JB, that’s a great reply.
JB, that’s a great reply. Interesting, most things other than frame and wheels are exempt. OK so I’m going to try out an order with Merlin Cycles and see what happens this time.

regards

[drbracken]

I’ve ordered a bunch of stuff
I’ve ordered a bunch of stuff from the UK and have only had to pay PST, GST, and duty on a few items. It’s just not possible for customs to interdict every package so it’s pretty random.

Here are the tariff numbers:

8712.00.00 – Complete Bikes – 13%
8714.91.10 – Frame lugs, bottom bracket shells, forks, fork tubing sets, fork bearing assemblies, hydraulic shock absorbing cylinders, spring shock absorbers, rear pivots, cable stops, cable guides and back, chain and seat stays – 0%
8714.91.90 – Frames and forks and parts thereof, OTHER than the above – 5%
8714.92.00 – Wheel rims and spokes – 0%
8714.93.00 – Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes plus free-wheel sprocket wheels – 0%
8714.94.00 – Brakes, including coaster braking hubs and hub brakes plus parts thereof – 0%
8714.95.00 – Saddles – 0%
8714.96.00 – Pedals and crank-gear, and parts thereof – 0%
8714.99.10 – Bicycle wheels – 6.5%
8714.99.90 – OTHER bike parts – 0%

The agency has a lot of latitude in the application of these, but remember you will not likely get to plead your case in person, they will just tariff it as they see fit leaving you to dispute it later…. if you have the time and energy!

Cheers

JB

[hill_climb]

thanks everyone, some good
thanks everyone, some good information here. So Ontario taxes will have to be paid (13%) plus handling charges from Canada Post (~$10). Its the Canada Customs duty that I see as not clear. If there really is no duty on PARTS then great, but I don’t see how parts are classified as exempt. I did some reading and the categories of goods that are exempt doesn’t seem to cover parts. I’ll keep searching in the internet and see what comes up.

thanks again.

[Mike T.]

I have LOTS of experience
I have LOTS of experience with ordering bike parts from the UK and the USA (ok, only 41 years!). I don’t shop at any Canadian LBS.
Poster “artm” is correct. Bike PARTS are Duty-free. Clothing & bikes are normally Dutyable. Only Canada Customs can give you the definitive info. Call ’em.
I’m not sure what the lower $ limit is but all packages (over the minimum $ value) are subject to local taxes (13% in Ont) and whatever Brokerage fee is imposed by the shipper. For-profit companies (FedEx etc) charge hefty fees and Canada Post charges a flat fee of (I think) $10.
Make sure all packages are shipped via Brit post to Canada Post. Do not accept any other shipper. Ask before you buy to prevent costly surprises. Only CanPost collects at your door – the others send you a bill weeks later. So you think you don’t have to pay and then the bill arrives in the mail. Then it’s too late to refuse the shipment. They’re not stupid.
Many times, packages arrive at your door without any charges and this is dependent on the whim of Canada Post. It probably runs about 70% of not having to pay. But never rely on this as there is no clear-cut way of knowing. Always assume that taxes and Brokerage will have to be paid.

[artm]

It’s my understanding that
It’s my understanding that bicycle parts being sent into Canada are not subject to duty. I say that based on personal experience and after reading a lot of posts on the subject on various forums. However, there are duties on cycling clothing and probably other cycling products as well. You can check that with some searches revolving around “Canadian Duties” or something similar. However, you are subject to provincial taxes which in ON are 13% HST. In my experience, shipments of small value haven’t been taxed. I don’t know where the threshold is and it may be completely discretionary. One thing I have found out is that mistakes by Canadian customs do happen. For instance, I had a $78 CAD order from Ribble that was clearly marked as $78 but was interpreted by customs as ₤ 78 so they charged me tax on the CAD equivalent which was roughly twice as much. On top of that I had to pay Canada Post to process the payment. I was able to get the excess refunded after filling out a form and waiting 2 months and spending $1.20 for a stamp. What’s really irritating is that I suspect if they had read the customs declaration correctly as $78, they probably wouldn’t have bothered to collect tax at all. I do know that it’s much cheaper to make sure that the shipper is Royal Mail (UK) or USPS (USA) because then it’s Canada Post who collects the duty/tax and their surcharge is much cheaper than shippers like DHL, UPS, FedX, etc. I’m no expert on all of this but having lived in the UK and US, it just seems so arcane.

[Namasteve]

I’ve ordered from Chain
I’ve ordered from Chain Reaction to Calgary, Canada and not had any duties/taxes added on. They used a very discreet box. 🙂

[Namasteve]

I’ve ordered from Chain
I’ve ordered from Chain Reaction to Calgary, Canada and not had any duties/taxes added on. They used a very discreet box. 🙂

[JonD]

Hmm.not exactly, but from my
Hmm.not exactly, but from my younger days of reading mtbr, nashbar.com ?
Best pick up some road/mtb magazines and browse the ads..find some Canada bike forums ?

(Probably the last thing you want to do is import from the uk, USD <> £ prices are often 1:1, ie the US is cheaper. Daresay you’ll be hit with some sort of import tax in Canada shipping from the US but the prices will be lower.)

[nwardill]

if you have friends in uk who
if you have friends in uk who can order stuff and get it sent to themselves and then send it to you using royal mail with gift wrote on package then you could avoid charges,or you order it using their address as delivery address and then get them to post it using royal mail,

[Author]

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