[wh33lman]

I just got raped by AMES and UPS shipping rates to Toronto on a parts order.

AMES charged 3X their published US rate, and UPS added another 18% in import charges and Tax.

My order was for $286.00 US ($393.13 CAN)
AMES Shipping Charge was $93.00 US ($128.00 CAN) (US listed rate is $32)
UPS collected another $71.00 CAN in brokerage/import fees

That amounts to a 50% markup on shipping alone.

What is everyone else using, since AMES forces you to use UPS? Cross-border mailbox? Local suppliers? Can you send your own shipper to pickup from AMES?

[AMES-TECH]

If you PM me your customer number and or invoice number I could break this down for you as not all orders are shipped the same way to Canada due to size and or weight of the package.

[nas t eh]

If/when you buy smaller items that can fit in the US postal service boxes the cost is very reasonable.
Both UPS and Fed-Ex are very poor cost wise, but I find UPS to be the most expensive at the border.
Having a US shipping point and picking up from there and bringing across yourself saves a lot of money, if you can do it.

[wh33lman]

Originally Posted by AMES-TECH

If you PM me your customer number and or invoice number I could break this down for you as not all orders are shipped the same way to Canada due to size and or weight of the package.

The package was only 10lbs.
I already contacted Ames support and they replied with an offer to negotiate a rate with another carrier prior to placing future orders. I just wish this option had been specified on the website...where it states UPS only.

[694.1]

If it make you feel any better, they bone us pretty good if we want to fish or hunt up there.

[Carl S]

Never ever use UPS to ship to Canada. It's never a good experience. Thankfully I was warned years ago but the nightmare stories of the fees are endless.

And on the flip side, shipping to Canada via post office (USPS/Canada Post) is great. Brokerage fee had never been more than $10 Canadian for me, and often they don't even charge me any brokerage. Plus the actual freight costs are a fraction.

[Lemans64]

Won't buy stuff if UPS is the only way they ship.
Got Hosed by UPS more than once and won't happen again. USPS is ok. Appears UPS is good just going from state to state but once it crosses that line, look out.

[Gordon Church]

My experience has been to ship the package to an acceptance warehouse near the border and drive down and pickup your own packages. Unless the item is small and can be sent USPS its just not worth the troubles with UPS. You can refuse the UPS shipment at your door and broker it your self from their bonded warehouse the next day, still a big hassle.

[wh33lman]

USPS is great. If I miss a delivery, I can pick it up at the local Post Office around the corner later in the day.
With UPS, everyone in the city has to go to their one distribution center several miles away. You can only go after 9:00PM, after the truck (which never even went to your address) returns. Then you line-up with dozens of others trying to get their "missed" delivery. At 10:00PM they close up, usually without getting your package, and the entire cycle repeats the next day.

[Graham Lloyd]

I have no idea why, but a lot of suppliers refuse to send stuff to Canada by the post office. Lots of excuses. The customs documents seem to be an issue. Sometimes an extra charge for filling them out. (One page. Big deal) Then there is the claim that everything always gets lost and if so, they sit for hours on the phone with post office claims. I've never had a lost parcel from the post office yet. Damage claims always settle fast and easy.

Like I say. Lots of excuses.

UPS isn't the only one that rapes customers for brokerage. I had the need for a part for my 62 Tempest. Rebuilt pitman arm from Rare Parts. When I sent it via the post office, it arrived with no issues. DHL return shipment. Utter disaster. Rare Parts charged overnight/expedited shipping when I asked for regular ground. DHL used wrong tariffs, held the shipment for payment even though they initially told me the duties would be COD. When I complained to Rare Parts, basically told it sucked to be me.

Never again will I deal with either of them.

If you have the ability to get a mailing address at a US borer town, do that. Save yourself a lot of grief. And money.

[north]

I gave up on shipping my orders into Canada years ago, UPS is a disaster and in fairness to everyone the real problem is Canadian customs, which unlike security oriented US CPB, is just there to collect every possible cent they can from everyone and everything crossing the border. What is extra annoying is that there is the typical anti-American bias you see in everything the Canadian government does; buy a $100 item from any country in the world except the USA it arrives in my mailbox with no tax or duty to pay even from countries that are defacto at war with us but buy a $10 item from our friends in the USA and canada customs tags you with sales tax, duties, fees etc.

And of course they also slow the whole process down in classic bureaucratic molasses.

My solution is (luckily I live close to the border) is to use a mail depot right across the border in upstate New York. They charge $3-5 a box and my orders (between Ames and eBay I'm 10-20 items a month) arrive super fast and I save ten times that in shipping costs etc