The SpyderZone

Shipping Across the Border


Canadian, eh?

Living in Canada is great! We have more than twice the landmass of the continental United States and 1/10th the population. To a paintball player this means we have lots of places to play paintball – as long as you like playing in sub-Arctic tundra! But seriously, the sport of paintball is really growing up here. But for all our great and vast outdoors we host the world’s largest ‘indoor’ paintball tournament – Skyball – in Toronto, our most densely populated city! So go figure, with all that free Crown Land to play on we still flock to the city to play paintball.

Another great reason to celebrate living in Canada is the simple fact that our closest neighbor, United States, has lots more paintball players and therefore, many more opportunities to grab some truly fine deals on guns and equipment. The problem seems to be getting all these goodies back home across the border. Canada Customs is getting much more vigilant in their pursuit of dangerous and harmful things entering Canada since the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Paintball guns aren’t more dangerous or scary; it is just certain people’s perception of what is harmful.

Hopefully this article will help two groups of paintballers; the American sellers who are wary of shipping to a foreign country and Canadian buyers who want the latest and greatest products at a reasonable price.

“Badges!? We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges!”

Let me say to our American friends, there is no problem in shipping to Canada – if it is done correctly. In the States one of the best and cheapest ways to ship is by Fed-Ex. However, it is very expensive to ship by Fed-Ex or UPS or any other courier service to Canada. They seem to triple the normal local price and then they have the gall to charge the receiver ‘brokerage fees’. Essentially, brokerage fees are service charges that courier companies take for collecting the required Canadian taxes. This fee goes up exponentially with the amount of the item shipped.

For example, I purchased a 16-ounce Chromoly C02 tank for $16.95 (US) from a retailer in Pennsylvania. I ended up paying $75 Canadian for that tank once all the money was exchanged and fees paid! The retailer insisted on using only Fed-Ex and I paid dearly. So, if a retailer informs you that the only way he will ship is by Fed-Ex either say ‘goodbye’ or be ready to pay big bucks for your stuff.

The best, quickest and cheapest way to ship items across the Canadian/American border is by the good old-fashioned Postal Service. A small parcel weighing less than 2 pounds will cost about $5.00 US or less to ship to Canada. That is a lot less than courier companies will charge! Now when the American shipper is at the Post Office he will be asked; ‘what are you shipping, how much is it worth and is it a gift?’ This information will be entered onto a small green-colored sticker that the Postal-worker places on the parcel. This information is crucial in determining how quickly you will receive the item and how much it will cost you to pick it up at the Canada Post office. The wrong information will slow the shipping time and end up costing you big bucks. I am not encouraging you to trick the shipper into lying - heaven forbid! You may have to ‘coach’ the American shipper, though. When they enter the value of the goods please inform them that this should NOT include the amount you have paid them to ship the stuff; only the actual cost of the items.

It says on the Canada Post website that all “gifts” having a value of less than $50 Canadian ‘should’ not be taxed. I stressed ‘gifts’ and ‘should’ for a reason. Sometimes Canada Post will charge for gifts of less than an expressed value of $50 and you may want to pursue this as a complaint after you have possession of your goodies. Sometimes, when the sticker says ‘gift’ and ‘$0.00’ the ever-suspicious Customs people will open the package and examine the contents. If they find a packing slip with an amount they will make you pay the appropriate tax, in converted Canadian dollars.

By the way, they have the right to open and inspect every package that crosses the border, so beware! If you were fortunate enough to convince your American shipper to put a value of $0.00 make darn sure they know enough to NOT include any paperwork. I am not encouraging any one to lie; this is just a friendly warning. They don’t need your permission, they have the Government of Canada on their side and justice is their goal.

If you live close to the border, and cross frequently for shopping anyway, simply get a post office mailbox in the States. Have the goods shipped there and then you merely pick the package up and drive across the border. Of course you will have to deal with Canada Customs on the ride home but that is nothing new. Some US brokerage outfits will allow you to ship stuff to them where you can pick it up and head home at no charge to you! Rebes’s mentioned ‘Jensen’s Brokerage’ in Portal, North Dakota as one such Company. The trick is that they will receive only UPS or Fed-ex packages and you are on the hook for getting the items across the border.

“How Much is that Doggie in the Window?”

If you are like me you’ll love to scan and peruse all the paintball on-line sites and especially Ebay. Those prices are so cheap – right? Well, yes and no. They are cheap if you live in Ohio or New Mexico or somewhere south of the 49th Parallel but hang onto your Loonies and get the ‘real’ price first. Face it, our dollar really sucks compared to the US dollar. It is worth about 65 cents American. To find the current exchange rate go to a local bank or even the Post Office. A good on-line international exchange site is http://xe.com/ .

So you get a price from an American paintball website, flip over to XE.com to get the converted cost in Canadian money and you then sit slack-jawed, staring blankly at your computer screen. Holy cow, what a difference, eh? That much-coveted ‘Mako Storm’ grip that is ‘on sale’ for $150 US will cost well over $230 Canadian. But that’s not all! You have to also add into this equation the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the Canadian dollar amount. There is still more! Don’t forget the cost of shipping. Remember that if they ship by United States Postal Service (USPS) it will be the most economical method, but still not free. Hold on to your calculators because we are not done yet! Even if your parcel arrives at Canada Post you have to pay a ‘handling fee’ of $5.00.

Remember, if the American shipper used UPS or Fed-Ex get ready to pay $20 or more for ‘brokerage’ or ‘handling’ fees. Also if you originally paid by money order you will have paid up to $5.00 Canadian for the money order. The Post Office now charges less than banks for money orders in American funds and I have never heard a complaint about cashing them.

I don’t want anyone to feel so disheartened about all this money talk that they won’t buy from the States, there are some good deals to be found! I just want you to be aware of the whole expense and ordeal of cross border buying and shipping.

The Sum Of All Fears

Canadians, don’t be afraid to buy paintball things from the States. American’s, don’t be afraid to sell to a Canadian customer. There are some terrific deals waiting for us out there! Done correctly, wisely and legally you can safely move paintball items from retailer to customer over the border. But now that you are armed with all this helpful information you too can make realistic and fairly accurate decisions regarding cross-border purchases and shipping. I would be remiss if I did not also encourage players to support their local paintball retailer whenever possible. They have to make a living too.

Have fun, enjoy the game and save a little cash for paintballs and air-fills!

Jeff Scott (Sarge)

(This article is written as friendly information only. The “Spyderzone.net” and the author are not liable for facts or figures that may prove to be erroneous due to changes in laws, situations and the policies of governments.)