Hi mamas

I have been ordering items in from the US and still haven't seemed to figure out how parcels are processed. I can't seem to find it outline in a readable form either.

If I am buying used cloth diapers from the US, most mamas offer to put gift on it. I ususally ask them not to do that because I don't want anyone to get in trouble over a few diapers. Those that do it anyway get delived to my mailbox. No fees associated.

I ordered one diaper from a company in the states (new) and she did not put gift on it, and it came directly to my mailbox - no assoc. fees.

I ordered a dozen used diapers from a mama recently and asked her to put them into two small envelopes for me to break down the value on each one. One package arrived yesterday. The other one hasn't shown up yet. The one I received yesterday had gone to customs. It didn't have any duty on it, but it was charged GST/HST and of course a handling fee. The diapers were made in the US originally. I had her right USED diapers on the customs form.

Is there a method to this that I'm not getting? Is it determined by weight what goes to customs (I think this package yesterday was lighter than the one that came to my mailbox). Is it by value? By luck? Should there be tax on a used item? Where does the free trade part kick in?

Does anyone have any tips on this?

Thanks so much

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Mr. Peabody's Wool Soakers

Welcome to the board.

In my honest opinion and in my experience...they shoot a dart and wherever it lands, that's what you get charged. Seriously, it doesn't seem to make any sense. I always try and buy Canadian, and that's one of the reasons why.

And what REALLY bites, is that it costs almost double to ship within Canada than it does to the US. For DH's snowmachine message board, he is sending out hats that he had made up. It cost him less to send one to Finland than it does to send to the next province. So very stupid.

Thanks for the welcome I just find it so crazy that no one - not even the PO has a set of "rules" that seems to determine what gets sent to customs. I can use the site to figure out what will get charged duty or not, but it seems like if it goes through customs at all it gets charged tax.

I bought a diaper from a store in Alberta a month ago. I bought the same brand/size diaper from a woman in the states who was selling hers. It was never used. She only reduced the price by a dollar or two. I paid over $10 less to buy the diaper from the US because of shipping. I would rather buy from Canada too, but shipping is so crazy that I take my chances on the duty/tax game. I wish it didn't have to be that way

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Mr. Peabody's Wool Soakers

Well, you won't find information about customs on the postal site. It is on the cbsa site. You don't ever get charged duties on items comming from the US but you will get charged taxes if the items are over... I can't for the life of me remember the amount If they are under that amount then they are delivered to you, over that amount and you are paying taxes and a fee from the post office. You probably weren't charged PST because it is a childrens item.

Now, the logic behind marking it as a gift is that gifts are exempt from taxes if they are under $60 CAD.

Let me know if this makes it a little clearer. I will try to think about that dollar value

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Co-Host of the Canada Board

Momtokeegan said everything I knew

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Here is a link to some info.... LINK TO CBSA

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Co-Host of the Canada Board

You need to find someone that offers free shipping. (Hi Krista!!)

PS. No, you should not be charged tax on used items. You can send a claim in for this but it is a real PITA to get the money back. It can, however, be done!

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Tamara, WAHMommy to Rayne (03/03/05)
Parenting By Nature ~ The natural choice for your family!
What do the hippest and happenin' moms use to carry their babies?