UPS warning to Canucks

[sparky]

Well they did it to me again.
I have had problems with UPS in the past buying things for the Avalanche and as a result have refused to use them for several years.

I bought hats from RSSRTOY (nice hats by the way)
There was reference to them being a present from my better half, true, she is paying for them. And there was a shipping value marked of $40.00.
The UPS guy shows up at the door (believe me I did not know it was them handling the shipping or I would not have ordered the items) and he wants $33.73 before leaving the parcel.
$33.73 for a gift shipment valued at $40.00 Of that charge $2.40 was GST, and $31.33 was brokerage fees for doing nothing. You got to be friggin kidding me.

In the last number of weeks I have had items come from the States by Fedex, Purolator and mail, NONE of this
As I typed at the beginning of my note this is not the first time I have had this type of experience with UPS, so please, if you can avoid them do so.

[DakotaDocMartin]

I've had some interesting experiences with all methods of shipping items. UPS doesn't have a corner on the market for package smashing. Most recently, I received decals from SonnyB sent via regular postal mail. Half of the envelope was missing and the remains were sealed in a plastic bag by the post office. They apparently chewed it up in the sorting machines.

I received a set of running boards from BYERS the other day. UPS had them all gouged up and ruined.

About the only thing a guy can do is to package your stuff extra well. That's what I do. Even if the box gets smashed the contents generally survive.

[sparky]

The package was in fine shape, they just hosed me another $34.00 for NOTHING, and if anyone else had been given the shipment it would not have happened. I know UPS is populer with many shippers, but they sure screw people over on the other end.
I believe part of their thinking is they know the receiver has already paid for the item and does not want to take a chance returning it and fighting for a refund, or be charged a restocking charge etc.
Like I said I have been around the track many times with these folks and one thing they can never explain is why it is only UPS that has these business practises.

I must admit I should have asked RSSRTOY how he was going to ship the items. If I had thought to ask I would not have ordered anything.

[REBEL]

YEP that sounds like UPS own brokers.
Summit in Ohio sent leather sole racing shoes, the broker and shipping cost more than the shoes.
I'm lucky I have a very special Fanatic in Mchigan that lets me use them as a drop off and I run over and get it ... which reminds me I have 4:56 gears and a grill sittng over there waiting for me.

[frankmp]

Originally Posted by sparky

The package was in fine shape, they just hosed me another $34.00 for NOTHING, and if anyone else had been given the shipment it would not have happened. I know UPS is populer with many shippers, but they sure screw people over on the other end.
I believe part of their thinking is they know the receiver has already paid for the item and does not want to take a chance returning it and fighting for a refund, or be charged a restocking charge etc.
Like I said I have been around the track many times with these folks and one thing they can never explain is why it is only UPS that has these business practises.

I must admit I should have asked RSSRTOY how he was going to ship the items. If I had thought to ask I would not have ordered anything.

I feel your pain and have experienced this same thing before I got a little smarter. Damn brokerage fees kick-in for anything valued over $20 Canadian. I bought an e-bay item once for like $16 US which converted to over $20 at the time and then when it arrived my brokerage fees were like $26

I've bought stuff from Ray a number of times and he's sent as a gift a few times (actually a birthday gift) with no issues......my birthday's been about 3 times this year so at this rate I should live to ~150

Frank

[DakotaDocMartin]

Originally Posted by sparky

The package was in fine shape, they just hosed me another $34.00 for NOTHING

I guess I got on to my own rant and forgot to address that. My friends from Winnipeg complain of such practices too. Or, should I say they used to. Now they just have everything mailed to me and they come down for a visit every 2-3 weeks. There is now an $800 exemption so now they don't have to wear and use the stuff as they used to before they could go home.

They tell me that nothing is free in Canada. They even have to pay for Notary services that we normally get for free at our bank. They are amazed that our post office will GIVE us labels and Priority Mail boxes and... are even open on Saturday!

[DakotaDocMartin]

..

[DOOPHUS]

Originally Posted by sparky

The package was in fine shape, they just hosed me another $34.00 for NOTHING, and if anyone else had been given the shipment it would not have happened. I know UPS is populer with many shippers, but they sure screw people over on the other end.
I believe part of their thinking is they know the receiver has already paid for the item and does not want to take a chance returning it and fighting for a refund, or be charged a restocking charge etc.
Like I said I have been around the track many times with these folks and one thing they can never explain is why it is only UPS that has these business practises.

I must admit I should have asked RSSRTOY how he was going to ship the items. If I had thought to ask I would not have ordered anything.

! ! ! ! 100%, Sparky.

I avoid UPS whenever and wherever possible.

! ! ! ! ! !

[xs-cash]

yup my $29 servo from greg cost me $78 by the time it got to my door, ups, hard lesson learned! you really have to watch how you ship stuff,it will cost you more to ship it than its value

[sparky]

Originally Posted by DOOPHUS

! ! ! ! 100%, Sparky.

I avoid UPS whenever and wherever possible.

! ! ! ! ! !

Well, here in Canada, my experience in buying items over the last 6+ years (started with my Av way back in 2001) is that UPS is the WORST for abusing the receiver on cross border items. I don't have these extreme charges with Fedex, Purolator, USPS, etc. Only UPS.

[DakotaDocMartin]

Originally Posted by sparky

Well, here in Canada, my experience in buying items over the last 6+ years (started with my Av way back in 2001) is that UPS is the WORST for abusing the receiver on cross border items. I don't have these extreme charges with Fedex, Purolator, USPS, etc. Only UPS.

I called one of my chums in Winnipeg that does a lot of business that requires shipping to and from his home. He said he paid a one-time brokerage fee to UPS of about $38 and then there are no further charges after that. I wonder if you paid something like that?

[FUZZY]

Originally Posted by sparky

Well, here in Canada, my experience in buying items over the last 6+ years (started with my Av way back in 2001) is that UPS is the WORST for abusing the receiver on cross border items. I don't have these extreme charges with Fedex, Purolator, USPS, etc. Only UPS.

I ordered the Stainless struts from LST. They arrived Via Purolator. Seemed normal at the time, but two weeks later I received a bill from purolator for Brokerage fees of half the cost of the Struts. WTF.

Everything was paid in advance before shippment.

Now they want half of what the parts cost as a fee for abosolutely nothing.

So UPS is not alone in these underhanded practices.

[grayfox]

I have been reading all the post in reguards to tariffs and how bad ups is , well gentlemen and ladies iwill make one statement and consider the matter closed.
the tariffs that you all have been paying going into canada are imposed by the canadian government not ups . UPS store owner

LT COLONEL USMC Retired

Grayfox:

[sparky]

Originally Posted by grayfox

I have been reading all the post in reguards to tariffs and how bad ups is , well gentlemen and ladies iwill make one statement and consider the matter closed.
the tariffs that you all have been paying going into canada are imposed by the canadian government not ups . UPS store owner

LT COLONEL USMC Retired

Grayfox:

The borkerage fees do not go to the government, the GST does. That was $2.40, the brokerage fees 31.33 which went to UPS. If the shipper, in this case RSSRTOY, had paid a higher rate for shipping.. for express or whatever, then UPS would not have charged a brokerage fee. Now that makes sense But since the shipper in most cases will keep their costs as low as possible the receiver gets stuck with the bill.
And to your comment.. I have brought somewhere between 70 and 100 items into the country since 2001. My experience (first hand) is that no one abuses the brokerage system to the extent UPS does. Not Fedex, not Purolator, not USPS or Canada post. I'm sorry but you can't argue with the bills I have actually had the pleasure of paying.

Here is a quote from UPS:
UPS Brokerage rates are competitive with that of other major brokerage firms. If you are comparing our rates to that of the Canada Post, then that is not a fair comparison. Canada Post is not a brokerage firm and the fee they charge you is only a processing fee. But guess what, my parcel still gets hereIf you are referring to FedEx, they do not charge a Brokerage fee for their air services. By using a UPS air service, such as Express, you would not pay a Brokerage fee either. UPS offers Standard ground service, which costs less for shipping, but a Brokerage fee is charged for customs clearance. UPS Standard service is similar to FedEx ground service

And here is another quote breaking down the charges... you can see from this how much goes to UPS and how much to the feds.
Here is the breakdown of the import charges on your brokerage invoice:

COD CHARGE $4.25
This is a UPS fee, to cover the cost of collecting the funds in this manner.
COD GST TAX $0.26
The Goods & Services Tax on the COD fee.
DISBURSEMENT $5.85
Disbursement fees are charges for UPS having to pay duty and/or taxes to the government on behalf of the importer.
ENTRY PREP FEE $19.45
Entry preparation charges are a fee for UPS processing the paperwork for a package to clear Customs
BROKERAGE GST $1.52
The Goods & Services Tax on the Brokerage charges.
CUSTOMS GST $2.40
The Goods & Services Tax on the Canadian value of the goods.

UPS brokerage charges apply if a shipment is sent via Standard service, and is valued at more than $20.00 in Canadian funds.

[Flassh]

Originally Posted by grayfox

I have been reading all the post in reguards to tariffs and how bad ups is , well gentlemen and ladies iwill make one statement and consider the matter closed.
the tariffs that you all have been paying going into canada are imposed by the canadian government not ups . UPS store owner

LT COLONEL USMC Retired

Grayfox:

I have been importing on an ongoing basis for 22 years. There are no tariffs on US manufactured goods, only GST, for which a business gets a 100% credit. So no importing costs, other than brokerage.

We DO NOT allow UPS to process our brokerage under any circumstances. Their rates are outrageous. Most shipments are delivered to a US address at the border, and brought through the border by our brokerage firm's own truck, at a significantly lower brokerage cost than UPS. If a shipment needs to come directly to Canada (ie hazrdous goods - gelcoat in our case) UPS will handle the delivery, but NOT THE BROKERAGE. That is still done by our broker.

[turnheadz]

a year or two ago we ordered from chevymall.com and it was delivered here. Much to my surprise a few months later we recieved the bill. It was for about 30% of what the damn package was worth. Lesson learned. We never have things posted to us here if they are using a courier. USPS is fine, no fees to follow. The chevymall.com purchase was a fairly small one and a good one to learn from. Last month I ordered the Corsa cat-back system from tbyrne.com and they use UPS. I had to make special arrangements with my credit card company to have the package delivered to our Washington mailing address. I'm sure I saved at least $300 better in my pocket than UPS's

sparky, you'll just have to move closer to the border. Our drive is about half an hour to get to the mailbox place in Washington!!

[sparky]

Yes, UPS blew me a big kiss on my Corsa purchase as well. It came in Friday. They wanted a pound of flesh for that one too. I had a direct drop at the install shop so it got by me.
Not as stupid as the charges for the hats but still far more than can be justified by the work required.

Amazing how much of the fun these guys can suck out of a purchase.
I'm so fed up, with the small package in particular, I think I'll just quit buying stuff for a while.

[tickledpink]

they are in a parcel envelope with adequate postage on them - no one has had problems, and that is even for a dozen in one package.

Same price, postage and shipping included.

Sue

[sparky]

Originally Posted by tickledpink

they are in a parcel envelope with adequate postage on them - no one has had problems, and that is even for a dozen in one package.

Same price, postage and shipping included.

Sue

HI, not sure I really understand your post. We were 'talking' about the charges UPS nails Canadians with when they bring stuff across the boarder. Your shipment was within the US, no?

[tickledpink]

are sent to both US and Canada. My Northwest SSR Group is mostly those fabulous fun loving Canadians !! And, early on, we did worry about their pins getting to them - First Classs Postage from the US meant they had to wait at least TWO WEEKS, but they did get there with no other problem to the Canadaians who ordered them....... Thank heavens !!

Sue

[tickledpink]

I made arrangements with my NW SSRs for whomever wanted SSR Car Covers, to order them at Wholesale ($125.00 including shipping-reg $300). We tried to make sure that a price of $20 or so was included on the customs declaration - I know everyone got their car covers, but have no idea if there were difficulties with customs......... no one said there were problems, so I naively assume things went well - We always worry lest there be problems for our Northern SSR family ! Perhaps they were not sent UPS..

Sue

[sparky]

Originally Posted by tickledpink

I made arrangements with my NW SSRs for whomever wanted SSR Car Covers, to order them at Wholesale ($125.00 including shipping-reg $300). We tried to make sure that a price of $20 or so was included on the customs declaration - I know everyone got their car covers, but have no idea if there were difficulties with customs......... no one said there were problems, so I naively assume things went well - We always worry lest there be problems for our Northern SSR family ! Perhaps they were not sent UPS..

Sue

Well dang... I could really have used at least one of those car covers. Interior or exterior? Suspect I'm going to have to leave at least one in the driveway, but covering the ones in the garage would not be a bar idea either.

My guess would be UPS was not involved. Have never had problems with USPS or Canada Post.

[sparky]

I purchased a set of chrome seat hoops from Buyers. I CANNOT believe that I forgot to say 'do NOT ship UPS'. Just got excited in the moment I guess.

Well you know what's coming....
Buyers ships it out on the 15th... the tracking notice says that there was no commercial invoice, which means they opened the package and 'valued' it based on their own estimate.
The UPS driver shows up today while I'm at work and says he wants over $81.00 before he will leave the parcel. Now before anybody jumps in and says it is the Canadian gov's fault... of that $81, $22.00 were for taxes. The rest was all various charges made by UPS that are paid to UPS. They say they have to pay broker fees... they are their own broker... they are paying themselves.
If the same parcel had been shipped air through UPS air instead of ground, UPS would not have placed any of these charges, but of course that would have cost Buyers more.
If the parcel had been sent by USPS there would have been a $5.00 charge and maybe the tax.
Here are some interesting links about how common this abuse is. I hope the legal action gets some traction. It is sad how much joy they can suck out of a situation.

United Parcel Service Sucks

UPS

CBC Marketplace: Courier Feese

[Focks]

I am really sorry to hear about the Canadian woe's with shipping, so I would like to volunteer my address. If any of you all want to havve them ship the packages to me, I will be happy tohold them until you come by to pick them up. Don't worry, I have a large storage unit as well as a partial warehouse for the bigger items.

There may be a slight holding fee if the package contains;

Chocolate
Liquor
Drugs

Don't worry, I am here for you.

[frankmp]

Originally Posted by Focks

, I will be happy tohold them until you come by to pick them up.

Thanks for the kind offer But then coming by to pick the goodies up in Texas might be a tad more pricey than the cost of paying UPS brokerage But it's good to know.

Frank

ps- I find having items shipped out of the US via USPS most times gets under the brokerage charges radar

[sparky]

Yes, shipping USPS would have cost me $5.00 plus the tax, which I have no issue paying. But I did not tell Byers NOT to ship UPS, or to ship it UPS air.. that would have been far cheaper overall. They never have been able to explain why if the package comes by road they want an extra $50.00 but if the same package comes by air they don't.
I'm glad the lawsuits against them are getting some traction.
And I will file the complaint with the FTC.