[quote=deema]
Originally Posted by oma66
Originally Posted by deema
The UPS guy just came to deliver my new sewing machine (xmas gift from hubby), but there were duty fees that could only be paid by cheque or credit card...well, hubby is at work and the cheque book and plastic are with him, I only have cash and my debit card for our joint account...I had to turn the man away and tell him I'd pick it up later at the depot. I closed the door and shed a few tears...I wanna play!!! :([/quote
I can understand shedding a few tears. Let me ask you this, if someone were to send you a box of fabric, would you have to pay duty on it as well? If you order fabric from a store in the USA, must you pay duty on it also?
It depends on the price of what's coming across the border - there's a number where you don't have to pay duty fees until you exceed it (don't know what that is, lol). Also it depends if it is a gift or a purchase. Typically, when I purchase fabric online, the store includes duty fees in the total purchase price, so it's taken care of, and if (for example) a friend sent me a huge box of fabric as a gift, I wouldn't be charged duties.
Even still, buying fabric online, paying for shipping AND duty fees is cheaper than buying locally, sadly.
I have never had a store add duty when I buy things from the US. I have found though that anything smaller than the medium flat rate box usually gets through without any charges. On larger boxes there is a $5 charge from the PO for customs and then 5% GST on the total price marked on the customs forms. On fabric I have never paid any duty charges. I only deal with places that will ship by USPS because UPS and Fedex charge outrageous amounts for brokerage fees. I do agree though that buying from the US and paying the shipping and customs fees and GST it is still much cheaper than buying here. I don't understand how I can buy a fabric and pay retail prices, have it shipped to me and pay any additional charges and still pay less than 1/3 of what a LQS is charging for the same fabric and they are able to buy at wholesale prices. Must be because they have theirs shipped by UPS! LOL Have fun when you finally get your new machine!