Tax/Fee on order and shipping options?

[JoshH]

Hey BRS, was working on my first order )) from you guys and had a couple questions...

First and foremost, is there another shipping option other than UPS? And second, what is this Tax/Fee showing on the pre checkout page? Is this a packing fee? Or something else... Given I live in Canada I didn't think I had to pay state tax... (BTW, LOVE your YouTube investigative vids!)

 

[Daltrey]

Wow, that is a 17% sales tax. Guess I will stop complaining about my states 7% tax rate, ha.

 

[daelie]

Hey BRS, was working on my first order )) from you guys and had a couple questions...

First and foremost, is there another shipping option other than UPS? And second, what is this Tax/Fee showing on the pre checkout page? Is this a packing fee? Or something else... Given I live in Canada I didn't think I had to pay state tax... (BTW, LOVE your YouTube investigative vids!)

That’s not state tax. You live in Canada, and you can’t just bring things across the border without paying your provincial sales tax and federal sales tax on top of it. They’re charging you so you don’t get dinged when the package shows up on your doorstep.

 

[JoshH]

I know I have to pay my countries taxes, in the 100s of packages I've ordered I've NEVER had a US business charge Canadian taxes and border fees. I have always been charged by the courier. If this is the case then it seems a little cheap for the two fees which is why I'm concerned.

 

[JoshH]

Wow, that is a 17% sales tax. Guess I will stop complaining about my states 7% tax rate, ha.

Ha ha tell me about it. Actually my province has no sales tax so our tax is only GST at 5% BUT because it's crossing the border they charge what's called Harmonized sales tax or HST which is 13%.

 

[Daltrey]

I wish our country would learn from yours and go to a standardized GST system.

 

[JoshH]

I think there are faults with every tax system regardless. And however we get taxed the government still can't seem to function and spend appropriately, most poorly run businesses in history lol

 

[daelie]

I know I have to pay my countries taxes, in the 100s of packages I've ordered I've NEVER had a US business charge Canadian taxes and border fees. I have always been charged by the courier. If this is the case then it seems a little cheap for the two fees which is why I'm concerned.

Amazon.com also charges you the fees at checkout. If the fees end up being more than they quote then amazon pays them and you win, and if the fees are less than they quote, then amazon refunds you the difference.

So perhaps you’re just ordering small things from small US businesses but it seems pretty common from larger ones to save the customer some hassle from getting charged at the door.

 

[JoshH]

Never ordered from Amazon so wouldn't know. And I've ordered from plenty other large businesses as well as $1000+ orders and still haven't experienced this. So perhaps you're just assuming every other business operates like Amazon does. Anyway this is getting off topic and I'd appreciate a response from a BRS staff member on the matter

 

[daelie]

Never ordered from Amazon so wouldn't know. And I've ordered from plenty other large businesses as well as $1000+ orders and still haven't experienced this. So perhaps you're just assuming every other business operates like Amazon does. Anyway this is getting off topic and I'd appreciate a response from a BRS staff member on the matter

Not really assuming every single business operates this way, no. Just gave a specific example since I assumed you had read the BRS shipping FAQ which completely answers your question, and my example is entirely similar.

 

[MnFish1]

BRS also has a free online chat - which is probably the best way to get a hold of them - rather than the forum. (on their website)

 

[WWIII]

Here's a recent discussion with BRS and another forum member that may shed some light until you get in touch with BRS...

https://www.reef2reef.com/posts/4343176/

I know you are in Canada and this person is in Washington, but there may be some crossover information relatable.

 

[JoshH]

I appreciate you posting that and I apologize if I came across a little short with my last post. When I had last checked I couldn't find anything on there policies on shipping to Canada. Although arguably the last time I checked was before they had the option to ship to Canada available on there site and you had to call your order in. In this case that does answer all my questions and is in line with your example. As I said, dealt with many larger companies than BRS who do not go this route with charging taxes and fees which had me hesitant on what they were for. UPS charges an arm and a leg as it is for fees the last thing I wanted was to be paying even more fees lol

 

[Bulk Reef Supply Verified Sponsor]

Sorry for the delay! Yes, the snippet @daelie shared from our website is accurate.

 

[JoshH]

No worries, and happy to hear that order already made, though wish it wasn't shipped with UPS ;Shifty lol

 

[alton]

Am I missing something what happened to the North American Free Trade Agreement? Or is that only for products coming from Canada to the United States?

 

[JoshH]

NAFTA only relates to products manufactured in North America and does not extend coverage to items produced elsewhere. Most products in our hobby aren't made in North America unfortunately so we pay the fees (not referring to taxes).