I haven't lived in Canada for a while, but what typically happened to me when living in Canada and ordering things from the US from private sellers or small com

I haven't lived in Canada for a while, but what typically happened to me when living in Canada and ordering things from the US from private sellers or small companies was: 1. I chose the cheapest shipping option and would be hit by "customs fees" which was actually reasonable taxes or even no taxes for a small item, but with a brokerage fee added upon delivery. Small text was added to the invoice to make it plausibly seem like all fees were taxes to be blamed on the government, not on UPS or Fedex. 2. After realizing what brokerage fees were and doing research, I chose shipping which was a bit more expensive but included the paperwork and fees. 3. I would get hit with brokerage fees anyway because ebay shippers and small companies unilaterally changed shipping to the cheaper option for their own benefit to pocket the difference or for a perceived benefit to me. 4. As an added bonus, sometimes a private seller helpfully shipped without an invoice for the goods, or even put and inflated value in the shipping documents "just in case for insurance" and I would get hit with tax on the inflated value. People using ebay or online shopping a lot back then (approx 2000-2012) would figure things out and know the blame was with sellers, UPS and Fedex. But I remember for years people around me placing the blame only on the Canadian government.