Drop + Dan Durston X-Mid 1P Tent Discussions | Drop

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Apr 16, 2019

Heads up Canadian buyers, just picked mine up at a Canada post office- $100.65 ($47.84 duties, $42.81 taxes, and $10 in “fees”)

Braedon

Apr 16, 2019

BraedonSome additional detail; this was Shipped to Ontario. DHL Paid the taxes and duties, Canada post in turn paid DHL the balance owing, I in turn paid Canada post. $10 fees seem to be DHL fees. No import document was included or provided.

dandurston

5116

Dan Durston

Apr 16, 2019

BraedonThat's strange there's no import documents. There's nothing that says the type of duties? Usually there is a duty/tariff code that shows why they added that, and you have an appeal form on the back for if you think it is wrong (which it probably is). Here's a post I just wrote on the same topic: I have heard from a few other Canadians over the past day about the same thing, so unfortunately it's not an isolated thing. I'm not sure if it's just Ontario that got hit or everyone. The shipping method Massdrop used starts with DHL but then gets handed over to Canada Post at the border which is normally a good thing because couriers charge tons of extra fees (handling fees, brokerage etc) whereas Canada Post charges a less painful $10 handing fee. In both cases you normally have to pay tax ("HST") which is same as the tax rate you'd pay if you bought something locally (~12%), but sometimes Canada Post doesn't bother with any of that which is sweet when it happens. I'm not sure exactly who did what at the border, but the $10 fee is consistent with what Canada Post normally charges so it looks more like they were handling the import side of if, but maybe they did it with DHL. Either way, there is a risk that are additional duties/tariffs applied, which can be a lot. It comes down to the individual processing it and whether they think certain duty/tariffs should apply. The rules for duty are extremely complicated, but basically Canada has a huge list of random stuff that gets taxed extra (e.g. wine is an extra 30%). Normally this doesn't get charged on consumer purchases because it's so complicated and most package processors can't possible keep track of it all, but occasionally you run into a keen border officer that slaps duty on. When this happens, they are usually wrong because often they don't even know what's in the box. Once I had a backpack arrive that got classified as "womens leather gloves" which is an extra 40% duty. In this case, it looks like the tents to Canada came through in one batch and the same keen person slapped about 20% ($50) extra duty on all of them (this is on top of the $10 handling fee and ~$40 in normal tax). I haven't heard from anyone as to what the specific tariff was that these were charged for, but as far as I can tell this is probably wrong because I'm pretty sure there's not supposed to be extra duty on tents (I can't find any record of this). Usually when you get a form saying that duty is owed, it will say the code for which tariff they applied and you can google that number and see what it is. Typically it'll be something bogus like "marine supplies", and if so, there is an appeal form on the back where you can attach your receipt to show the item isn't what they classified it as, so you get your money back (eventually). So yeah it sucks. Hopefully it's a mistake and you can get a lot of it back. I talked to Massdrop a few months ago about making sure these arrived via Canada Post instead of a courier to minimize the handling fees and lower the risk of getting duty. It looks like the handling fee is as low as possible, but these still got stung with duty.

(Edited)

Schubie

Apr 16, 2019

dandurstonI just got the delivery notice card left at my apartment. Same as Braedon, it says there is a $100.65 fee to pickup. That just seems crazy steep for a $200 item.

MattLeaker

Apr 16, 2019

BraedonI got the same thing... I talked to a friend of mine (also in Ontario) who also had to pay a little over $100 to pickup his tent. I can't wait to try it out!

(Edited)

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Braedon

Apr 16, 2019

MattLeaker @Schubie either of you get a CBSA import receipt number or import document? or just the waybill?

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Schubie

Apr 16, 2019

BraedonI haven't picked the item up yet, i just have the delivery notice that lists the pickup fee.

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Yeslets

Apr 17, 2019

BraedonAlso in Ontario and I got dinged $101.29 total: $48.15 duties, $43.14 taxes, $10 fee. Apparently the tariff on tents is 17% so it looks like they included the $15 Massdrop shipping charge in that amount. But $43 is 13% of about $330, so I'm still not clear how they came up with the amount in taxes. Unless we have to pay taxes on added duties too? And yeah, no import document at all, just the labels on the package. *EDIT: Apparently tariffs on tents 'of synthetic fibers' is 18%, so maybe they didn't include the shipping fee.

(Edited)

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Outdooralberta

Apr 17, 2019

YesletsI have also read that 18% is the tariff on tents. In January Canada entered into the CPTPP which is a free trade agreement which includes the country of Origin, Vietnam. This means the Tariff should be 0%. Australia is also in the CPTPP and shows the new and old tariff clearly on their website. Canada's information is not as easy to find. I'm wondering if either CBSA messed up or the courier or Massdrop had the wrong country of origin listed. I am by no means an expert on this so I could be wrong. I'm just hoping this get resolved before mine ships in May.

dandurston

5116

Dan Durston

Apr 17, 2019

OutdooralbertaVery interesting. Yes the CPTPP with Vietnam came into effect on January 14 of this year, so seemingly it should be free trade where this tariff on tents is eliminated (like it was already not in force for other free trade countries) but maybe they have some fine print somehow. I sent them a message to inquire but I'm not sure if the answer those. EDIT: I called them to inquire. The tariff code for tents is Chapter 63, code 63.06.22 which is an 18% tariff on tents. Indeed Canada has a new free trade agreement with Vietnam but that only applies for goods coming directly from Vietnam. That seems a bit lame to me, but if the Vietnam tents are imported via another country (e.g. USA) then there's still duty. So unfortunately it looks like they are applying the rules correctly here. On the upside for future customers, the border people are inconsistent in applying these tariffs because they're busy, so there's a chance the next ones slip through without the tariff.

(Edited)

MattLeaker

Apr 17, 2019

dandurstonSo, for me at least, my total actual expense for this tent (including shipping, but not tax) is: $343. Well, it's still better than anything else I could have got for that much - just a little disappointing when we get hit with unexpected costs. Looks like next time they'll be imported directly to Canada! And maybe by then we'll be buying them straight from Dan!

Braedon

Apr 17, 2019

dandurston

This checks out- I requested my import receipt from DHL and it is classified as "TENT, POLYESTER 85% OR MORE" with HS Code; 6306.22.00.40.  This is an 18% Duty, + 13% tax (applied to both the the tent value, and the duty).

all this mess aside- a damn nice tent Dan! can't wait to put some miles on it. Thanks for keeping so active on this forum, the support is second to none.

KyleG82

Apr 17, 2019

dandurstonThanks Dan, it all makes sense now.

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v8rumble

Apr 17, 2019

dandurstonThanks for investigating further! Very lame that the duty is on the tent because it came through the US.

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dandurston

5116

Dan Durston

Apr 17, 2019

v8rumbleYeah. Apparently Canada's rules are:

From Vietnam? No Duty
From USA? No Duty
From Vietnam via the USA? Duty

(Edited)

Yeslets

Apr 17, 2019

dandurstonThis has been a very educational experience, I have to say. Thanks for all the legwork you've done, looking forward to setting up the tent this weekend. And taking it on the GDT!

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