The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Even before any change to tariffs, items shipped from the U.S.A. to Canada using UPS were subject to a seemingly arbitrary clearing charge -- for example, a $300 purchase would result in a surprise $100 clearing charge to take delivery; this in addition to shipping charges already paid.

Lately I bought an item from the U.S. that cost around U.S. $250. Shipping added another $50. I instructed the shipper to use the United States Postal Service. Package arrived today with a surprise (to me) additional clearing charge of $150! Maybe part of it is a tariff -- I haven't had a chance to read the document yet.

Does anyone know any way around this? A hidden or unexpected charge that feels like piracy. And makes buying and shipping from one country to another absurdly expensive.

Anything above $20 in value shipped into Canada will (or rather can) get hit with customs, brokerage, and service fees, if you are using a postal service, either from the UK or the US. I say "can" because it doesn't always happen.

Thus many UK and US vendors (of talking machine parts and accessories anyway) put a declared value of $20 or less on a parcel however much more the contents cost. I have never asked them to do it, but they do so anyway.

However, if an item is shipped by a big name courier service which has their own in house brokerage service, the costs will be much less as brokerage fees will be included in the shipping cost.

So it is possible to get charged with a postal delivery:
....Brokerage Fees
....Customs Duty
....and
....A Cost Recovery Customs Processing Fee

And this was before tariffs.

I have a mail drop service in the US, a very short drive away; however, for various reasons, it would be extremely unwise to use it.

If you live near the border, get yourself a PO box at a border town, or get in touch with a mail receiving service on the US side. Shipping will be way less to a US address.

You still have to declare the value of what you're importing when you get back to Canada, but if all you have is 1 or 2 packages of low value, you may get away with not paying duties.

Also, look into Customs rules and see what items are not dutiable. For example, here in the USA, I know that books, stamps (both used and unused), and antiques (anything over 100 years old) have no import duties.

It's going to be a real mess, sorry to say, both in and out of USA.
The latest surprise is that "de minimis", which was supposed to phase out in 2027, is now eliminated on the 29th. This is already holding up parcels everywhere as there is absolutely no infrastructure or guidance in place to accommodate these sudden whims. Chaos is not good for business anywhere under any circumstances, but that's what we've got.

I am sure part of the issues with parcels going into Canada from the US is that this administration has sorely peeved off your government with the nonsense, and I cannot blame the Canadian govt. one bit for their position. They DO NOT WANT our products coming in at this point, and why should they?

I have had to talk myself down from being angry about all this as I do a TON of importing and exporting, but what's the point of getting angry, really. We'll all just need to wait this goofiness out and hope we don't lose our shirts in the meantime. The dollar was rising against the Euro in almost a straight line the last few days, and now it has directly reversed course. Then there are the markets. Unless there is another reversal, watch inflation skyrocket and the markets crash.

52089 wrote: Fri Aug 01, 2025 9:46 pm If you live near the border, get yourself a PO box at a border town, or get in touch with a mail receiving service on the US side. Shipping will be way less to a US address.

You still have to declare the value of what you're importing when you get back to Canada, but if all you have is 1 or 2 packages of low value, you may get away with not paying duties.

Yes. I had used this solution for years and years. But sadly, this option is no longer practical. And beyond impractical, it has become somewhat risky.

I live only 15 minutes from Canada and on more than one occasion opted to just drive over the border to pick up records. Not a big deal when I'm just heading to Montreal, but I could never purchase anything too far outside the corridor from my house to Quebec City, a trip I make once or twice a year. It's crazy how much it costs just shipping alone.