It's Time to Stop Using UPS--(we did! USPS inside)

Well, I can't answer you, I'm afraid. From what little I know about shipments from the US by anyone the brokerage, etc will be a little hit and miss. Sometimes you could get charged and sometimes not. All I DO know is if UPS is used anything above $20 WILL be charged...

Yes, terenceyan, but additionally - and most importantly - MOST times UPS will NOT charge brokerage either, thus having nothing to pay at the door.

Right, let's clear up some misconceptions and questions about the UPS brokerage fees. Bear in mind that this is from a purely Canadian point of view.

1) It is NOT import duty or tax. It is NOT levied by the government. It is a fee that UPS charges.

2) The reason they charge this fee is: paperwork. When a parcel's total value is over $20, it is subject to import taxes. In the case that your package incurs import taxes, UPS acts on your behalf - as a 'broker' - signing the papers and paying the taxes. For this 'service', they charge you not only the taxes they paid, but a brokerage fee on top of it.

3) For shipments by air, the brokerage fee is always $10.

4) For shipments by ground, the brokerage appears to always be $6 - however, there is also a $7 'entry prep fee' that is applied to ground that is not applied to air.

5) GST is also applied to the brokerage fee.

6) UPS will ALWAYS CHARGE brokerage if your package is over $20. Always.

I've attached two typical brokerage invoices from my brokerage account with UPS - one air, one ground.



So, how does that differ with USPS? Firstly, there is no brokerage fee. You pay any applicable taxes or duties upon receipt of the package, plus a small handling fee that varies with the size and weight. This happens occasionally. Canada Post will not ALWAYS charge import taxes - they do so randomly.

I agree with everything you said there, except on point number 4. My brokerage forms from UPS are different to yours. They don't indicate how shipped. I had to call UPS just to find out where the extra charges were coming from and THAT is when I was told the packages were now being shipped by Ground. The rep explained the Brokerage fees are MUCH greater on Ground parcels - more than you stated. The only way I can tell how it was shipped is to check the Point of Entry - if it's the airport that gives me a big clue!

One of my recent forms shows this: Value for Duty $20.56 - Brokerage Fee $17.25 !! PLUS taxes, etc bringing the total COD charges to $22.16 for a product that cost $20.56!!

EDIT: Which only goes to show that - as usual when dealing with UPS - NO CHARGES seem to be applied exactly the same anywhere!

Do you have a brokerage account? The forms I uploaded are the format you get when you do so. I got one so I wouldn't have to pay at the door - I'm invoiced every two weeks I believe.

It could be that phone support just didn't distinguish between the 'Bond Fee' and 'Entry Prep Fee', just choosing to call it all 'Brokerage'. $17.25 on a $20.56 package is more or less in line with the numbers I laid out.

Not that it's at all reasonable !@#$@APPLSAUCE@#%&^*^$PIGS

I'm sure folks will chime in with more details on the blog, but we just went live with a far better shipping solution to Canada using USPS that will avoid brokerage fees: https://www.shapeways.com/support/shipping

You know that music from Indiana Jones as they open the Ark of the Covenant? That's playing in my head as I'm clicking that link.

Talk about timing!

That's awesome! Thank you Shapeways

Sweet merciful lord, we thank you for this bounty....

Can't remember that last time I've been happier with Shapeways

Oh wow. Thank you for bearing with us.

Yes, great news!

WELL ALY beat me to it, but he's actually Canadian so that's ok.

Here's some more details....on no more UPS to Canada!

That's right, you made it loud and clear that UPS and the resultant brokerage fees were a huge problem so now we're shipping to Canada exclusively through the United States Postal Service.

What does this mean for you? It means that you'll now be paying an upfront fee of $11.50 but that you won't be paying those expensive and unpredictable brokerage fees that many of you have been hit with in the past. Keep in mind that although the upfront price of USPS is a little bit higher than UPS, you'll be saving $30+ in brokerage fees. We know that many of you have been asking for this for a while and hope it makes your Shapeways experience ten times better!

We're working hard to make sure that Canadian Shapies have the best shipping options in time for the holidays. So keep on 3D Printing and let us know what else we can do to make your lives easier!

- Natalia

I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO TELL YOU THIS FOR DAYS NOW!! Do you know how hard it was to keep this secret?! But we had to implement a WHOLE new shipping provider into our system so that took some time as you can imagine. Now it's here YAY!!

Thank you so much Natalia!

Oh I didn't do this - besides convey how important it was - all the hard work was a true team effort!

YAY!

First order placed!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

"... no more UPS to Canada!"

Bless your blessed, collective hearts! I don't mind the slightly slower service if it means I can escape UPS brokerage fees.

UPS has actually been pretty good in delivering quickly. (NY to Edmonton overnight? Wow!) The latest shipments, however, have been substantially slower. This last shipment is now in "limbo" bouncing between truck and depot in Edmonton for two days now. They claim the "buisiness was closed" and couldn't deliver yesterday. Big. Fat. Lie. It was to be delivered to my workplace, to the receiving department. They were rather expressly OPEN at the time UPS claims they were closed. Yes, I intend to call them out on it tomorrow, as they didn't manage to deliver today either.

YESSSSSSS!

I can't tell you how pleased I am that we can offer you this now Also, I hope it goes to show that we DO listen to you and no, we don't get annoyed if you keep repeating your complaints. On the contrary - bring them on, this gives us more leverage to improve things!



+1

That's great news... for canadians.
Any plans to have USPS as an option to other countries as well? I am particularly concerned with Brazil...
For us, besides the brokerage fee (around 10 dollars), taxes are higher when importing goods through a carrier rather than the post office.
Brazilian import taxes are 60% over the item price plus shipping. When importing through UPS they add another 18% on top of that for a state tax. When you add all this, in the end, it costs us twice the price to get the item in our hands.
Because of that, I am pretty sure Shapeways currently does not have many brazilian customers...

Regards,
Luis