Need Tips: buying used rims from states
 

I just saw a good deal on a 04 Acura TSX alloys for 200USD from US online forum. But I have few questions regarding the payments as this is my 1st time buying used item through forums.

1. What is the safest way to make the payment?
2. Any extra tax/ charge for used items to enter Canada?

I did this for my rims.

Paypal.
Get him to ship through USPS to Point Roberts.
Pick it up from Point Roberts.
Go through. Pay tax.

Get the seller to type up an agreement with his contact info and stuff saying how much he's selling it to you for. Or a printed version of the sale ad/email with his info.
Unless it's from a company. Then they'll just send you the bill of lading and other forms along with the rims.

When I bought my rims, there were 2 huge boxes, and Fedex charged me $200?
Would've cost ~$100 if I did it myself.

Will there be a huge difference if the item shipped to my door (vancouver)? Do I need to pay extra fee for receiving those bulky item?
How much is the tax for those kind of item?

I don't remember how much it is for tax. But it's the tax+duty that you regularly pay for when buying stuff from the states.
I think you save a bit if it's made in the USA/Canada/Mexico or something.

You pay Fedex fees+ tax+duty

Assuming you live in Vancouver. It's only a 30 minute drive to Tsawassen, and Point Roberts is on the end of it. 1 hr of driving, maybe 5-10 minutes waiting in line at the border is way cheaper than whatever the fuck Fedex charges.

Spugen pretty much summed it up really good. If you're shipping to Point Roberts it doesn't matter what company you use as long as its relatively cheap and tracked you're good to go. If you ship to PR you're going to have to pay duties(for not being made in North America) + taxes (12%) when you cross the border. If you ship it to your house please for the love of god ship it ONLY with USPS. You'll only get nailed on duty + taxes + $5 processing fee. The negative to shipping to your door also is that it could take a few more days if not a week more. This added time is cause of customs clearing the package. This is where you have to compare the cost of paying slightly more for USPS to your door vs. say shipping UPS to PR as the difference can be quite the difference. IF for some reason you ship UPS/FedEx/DHL to your house from the US you'll pay duty + tax + brokerage (ridiculous processing fee) that could be like 40%+ of the item you're buying. All theyre doing is signing papers and clearing your package for customs. When you go thru USPS thats included for the $5 flat.

so which address should I put on Point Roberts? I don't have any relatives or friends at down there.

http://www.thelettercarrier.com/ win

i use http://www.tsbshipping.com/.

i've been using tsb forever and never had a problem. they even send you an email when it arrives in case you cant track your package.

So I'll just give either one of these two addresses as the shipping destination? Am I right?

well which ever 1 u wana use, i prefer tsb

Either one works.
It's all the same.

i know this probably wouldnt help you that much but one of my friends with a celica found some nice pair of volk ce28 for cheap in the states on his forum so he went to some local junk yard and put some piece of crap steely wheels on and went over the boarder and bought the ce28 put them on and threw the steelies away in he trash and drove back home with them on it was pretty cool :D

lol i wonder if i can get away with body kit then

^give it a shot :D

i might be getting some used parts from the US, im just wondering since its used cant u just get the seller to write u an agreement for a super low price to avoid tax? like i dunno 200, for body kit or a set of wheels?

^
Either printed Email or Receipt or written monetary argreement.
WITH his Contact info.
Email, Name, Address, phone number.

FULL NAME.

EIther have it printed out, and signed, or write it down on a piece of paper with all of the info.
If the number doesn't match, or if he doesn't pick up you're screwed.
Chances of them Calling? I don't know. You just need something to prove the value that you're declaring on the goods.

If you have a CBSA office reasonable close to you, than you can pay the duties and taxes your self and avoid the brokerage fee. Here is how:

A courier need your permission to represent you as a broker. The authority for this is found in D1-6-1 http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/d...d1-6-1-eng.pdf

"4. Any person who proposes to transact business with CBSA as the agent of another person is responsible for ensuring that the proper authority has been granted. The written authority is often referred to as an agency agreement or a power of attorney."

This means of course you always have the right to clear your goods yourself or using any broker you want. Generally couriers get permission to act as your broker when you sign for the goods, in fact the LVS (low value shipment) regulations specifically allow for them to do this, however they also give you the right to decline to use them.

Now I should mention the information I am referencing for this post is only LVS courier casual goods. That means the goods have to be valued at under $1600 Canadian and not be controlled, prohibited or regulated by an act of Parliament. To qualify as Casual the goods have to be for the personal use of an individual and not be commercial goods.

We find the regulations for LVS courier goods in D 17-4-0

http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/d...17-4-0-eng.pdf

"1. The Courier Low Value Shipment (LVS) Program streamlines the reporting, release and accounting procedures for certain goods imported by courier. Couriers authorized by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to participate in the program may have qualifying goods released by presenting a cargo/release list to the CBSA. To qualify under this program the goods must:
(a) be valued at less than CAN$1,600; and
(b) not be controlled, prohibited or regulated by an Act of Parliament"

So what does LVS mean?

from D17-4-0 again

"11. The cargo/release list for authorized participants of the Courier LVS Program is to be used in place of individual cargo control and release documents for goods valued under CAN$1,600. The list must be presented to the CBSA by the courier before or as soon as the shipments arrive in Canada. It must contain a concise description of the LVS qualifying goods so that the border services officer can determine the admissibility of the goods."

So the courier gives customs information on the goods they are bringing in to Canada.

Next if the goods are not being released at the office they enter Canada at they can move inbond to the office of release. This is important to note because UPS will often argue that the goods have to be released at the office of arrival but this is not true and we know it is not true because the LVS regulations tell us so.

Again from D-17-4-0

"16. When Courier LVS goods arrive in Canada at an office other than the office of release, the in-bond movement of the shipments to the office of release is permitted, provided that the entire container or load is moved inland."

So the courier following these regulations moves your LVS parcel in bond eventually to a distribution centre near the importer. At this point the goods have not been accounted for, that is no duties and taxes have been paid yet, and the courier can not release them to the importer until they have.

So now the goods are in the UPS warehouse near your house and they bring them to your door. Lets see what the D 17-4-0 says about what happens next.

"Release and Accounting
54. Once the CBSA releases the casual goods, the courier delivers the shipment to the importer. The duties and taxes owing are paid by the importer to the courier. Afterwards, the courier or its agent accounts for the goods on an “F” type entry which is presented to the CBSA before the 24th day of the next month, with the duties and taxes payable by the end of that month."

Ah so you pay the courier your duties and taxes (and brokerage fee), receive your goods and then the courier goes ahead and acts as your broker and pays the duties and taxes with an F type entry the next month.

So what happens if you decide you don't want to pay the duties and taxes and brokerage fee to the courier? Surely the regulations state that the goods have to go back to the office of arrival right? and you have to pay the duties and taxes at that office right?That's what UPS told my friend. Wrong.

D 17-4-0

"56. If an importer wishes to account for the goods himself or herself, the courier does not release the shipment to the importer but holds the goods until the importer presents satisfactory proof that the appropriate duties and taxes have been paid directly to the CBSA. The importer must note the unique shipment identifier number and contact the courier to determine where the goods are held in a bonded warehouse until the release is effected."

So the courier hangs on to the goods which are still in-bond at their warehouse. The courier must provide the importer with information as to where the goods are, what the unique shipment identifier number is (they would have provided this to customs earlier as part of the cargo/release list noted in section 11). Now you the importer can take that information along with a bill or invoice from the shipper to your nearest customs office and get a B15 done for free. Customs will do all the work. Take that back to UPS and then as noted in section 56 of D17-4-0 they must release the goods to you.

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Now simply put if a courier, say UPS, arrives at your door and you refuse to pay the duties and taxes, you want to do this:

Ask them where the goods are going now, which will be the nearby warehouse. (they may threaten to take them back to the border warehouse but this does not make sense from a economical sense on their part, is not supported by the LVS regulations and even if they do you can still clear your goods at the office closest to you)

Next ask for the unique shipment identifier number.

Print out a copy of the invoice from the shipper (most online shippers email this to you if not request a copy after you place your order)

Take these three pieces of information with you to your nearest CBSA office and ask for a B15.

Return to UPS with your B15, which will show you paid your duties and taxes and receive your goods.

If they give you any kind of hassle print out a copy of D 17-4-0 to support your right to clear the goods yourself and show that the goods do not have to be accounted for at the border entry office.

Armed with this information my friend was able to get a number from UPS that he brought to customs and was able to get UPS to accept a B15 and release his goods.

Hope folks that are forced to use a courier find this useful. Knowledge is power. By the way all the customs regulations can be found on the CBS