Just a heads-up to anyone using DHL to ship their DirtyPCBs.
My 10x10 PCBs were USD$17 + USD$19 shipping to Canada via DHL China (2-5 days).
Value for duty was USD$17 == CAD 23.02.
Import Tax (HST @ 13%) = CAD 2.99
DHL then added a "Processing Fee" and "Transaction Fee" of CAD 10.50 and CAD 4.25, plus HST on both: CAD 1.37 and .55 respectively.
So I had to pay an additional CAD $19.66 (USD $14.50) on delivery, making the total cost of my PCBs CAD $68.56 (USD $50.79). The total cost using the slow boat from China shipping would have been just USD 17 + 8 shipping == USD 25.
I'm very happy I got my boards (11 of them!) 9 days after submitting the gerbers, but that fast shipping effectively doubles the cost.
Regards,
HipFan75
Have you asked DHL what the extra fees were actually for? I assume these were billed to you by the local DHL after you'd received the goods?
DHL try this on in Australia except here they classify the additional fee as "Quarantine inspection fee" and/or "Customs processing fee" which is nice because if I check with the relevant Government departments (names keep changing) they say to ask DHL for copies of the relevant quarantine and/or customs documentation justifying the fees. When you ask DHL for this documentation, they can never find it and as "a matter of goodwill" forego the fee(s).
Yeah, it's a big scam. Just be glad it wasn't UPS or the "clearance fee" would be $60.
If you're not far from a CBSA office (usually the nearest international airport or border crossing) you can self clear. There's no duties on PCBs from China, so you just pay a few dollars for HST. This is a "Low Value Shipment" so they don't care very much about collecting fees which is why stuff sent through the mail has no duties or taxes. But it's a cash cow for the courier companies who now get paid twice.
I absolutely agree that this is a scheme by DHL (and other shipping companies) to generate outsize revenue relative to the effort involved. As soon as you call them on it, the cost to them skyrockets, so they just give you the money back. (I know UPS is quite firm on their fees though.)
I live less than an hour from Niagara Falls, and use a package-receiving service to receive packages from the US and import them myself to avoid these bogus fees from UPS and others. UPS once wanted $100 in handling fees (not tax/duty) for a power supply I bought from TEquipment. No thanks. The free shipping within the US made it even cheaper. Obviously you have to consider the value of your time, etc, but I can usually justify the occasional trip there for reasons other than cost savings.
I live fairly close to Pearson Airport, but I think the effort involved in self-clearing is probably not worth it. I should probably try it once though before passing judgment.
Regards,
HipFan75
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7970 (http://dangerousprototypes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7970)
Yep, me too.
A brief update:
I registered as an "importer" with CRA (cost nothing, used my name instead of a business name), posted $250 security with CBSA (I'll get it back, and it's possible to give them a bond instead so your $250 earns interest).
When my last package came DHL struggled for a week with all sorts of nonsense and BS. They even sent the package back to China, then stopped it and returned it to Canada. Eventually they gave up and put me in their system so packages will come straight to my door without any of this "additional fees" BS. Now I just need to figure out how to pay the taxes and send the paperwork to the CBSA each month without actually having to go to the CBSA office.