3 ms·

The problem is AmazonGlobal. There's extremely little competition in this space. If I order from abroad (I am in Canada) then the courier will charge me a ridic

by chx 11y ago

The problem is AmazonGlobal. There's extremely little competition in this space. If I order from abroad (I am in Canada) then the courier will charge me a ridiculous amounts of money to process customs (http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs... twenty percent, easily!). If I order from amazon.com / .de / whatever then at checkout I will pay all the necessary import fees and taxes (very low usually) and no customs processing fees. As far as I am aware, only eBay has a similar Global Shipping program.

apricot 11y ago
I found that by asking the seller to use the USPS instead of a courier company, I could avoid brokerage fees and sometimes even duty/import fees as well. Not all sellers will agree to use USPS, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
- chx 11y ago
  Canada Post will also charge a fee.