Buying Vex from Canada

VEX V5 General Discussion General Forum
1

I ordered the Tank Tread Upgrade Kit on the 4th of March and it arrived in good time on the 10th. The item cost $24.99, shipping and handling was $13.99, and I had to pay the UPS delivery guy $21.15, most of which was a brokerage fee. The item was classified as computer parts, other, which likely attracted the brokerage fee.

Today I received a package of motors and electronics from New Zealand. The items cost $160, shipping was $10, there was not brokerage fee. The shipper was New Zealand Post. Order placed Feb 20, delivered March 12. The items were classified as hobby spare parts.

Is there a better way to get Vex products to Canada? Does Vex have retail representation in Canada?

2

http://www.vexrobotics.ca/ kinda does it

or just use ebay, you save money on the product.

Other than that, if your doing FTC, your regional corespondent may do it for you.

Yes, I am Canadian, and this is how I get VEX stuff.

3

thanks fredliu168, i wish i knew of that earlier

i spent $160 dollars on brokerage fees to Canada, it’s a huge ripoff, they are charging you because the mailman has to fill out a form at the border

if you go to a mail office and send something that crosses the border they will ask you to fill out a form, that is exactly what they are charging you for…filling out a form

4

I think thats dumb, i had no idea they charged you for crap like that.

If you have it air mailed doesn’t it fly over the border? If it does then wouldn’t that eliminate the need for the papers to be filled out.

Or you could ship it to someone in the U.S and then have them ship it to Canada.

That would seem like a dumb method but i think it would be cheaper in the end.

I can’t wait until you buy something and they teleport it to your house then i won’t have to wait.

5

yes, if you air mail it you do not get the brokerage (paperwork) just the GST which i guess is fair (stupid tax man!!!), so if you have a big order than you save money by using air mail

6

I know we are working on resolving this. We have many Vex customers in Canada, and want to provide them the best service possible.

-John

7

Just use Purolator or FedEx instead of UPS, I’ve ordered many packages from across the border (some of them $500+) and have never payed brokerage or GST with Purolator or FedEx

8

But air mail is expensive.

Sometimes you can get a good deal on the size/weight of your package and you can pay as little as $20 - $30 but if you have an overweight or oversized package it can be as much as $100 or more just for shipping.