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How much should brokerage cost?

sbal0906

Well Known Member
I'm getting ready to order the wings for the 9A. I contacted Van's to ask about shipping to Winnipeg and they said they just need to know who my customs broker is and they'll let whoever they pick for a shipper know who my broker is.

I don't have a problem using a broker because I'm busy enough during the day that I wouldn't have time to run around doing the paperwork myself, but I don't know who to use. Does anybody have suggestions? Also, how much should I expect to be a reasonable cost for the wings? I had stumbled on a website called ClearSmart.ca which at first seemed reasonable when I looked at their pricing page but scrolled down and they mention a 2.5% "disbursement fee". I'm thinking, "that can't be right!", could it?

Cheers,
 
You do not have to use a brokerage service. It is very expensive for what it is. The paper work is rather simple and should not take you more that a couple of hours of your time. You might also consider taking possession of your shipment at the border, which would simplify things even more and save on the shipping.
 
I tried to find out how brokerage fees are established with no luck. I asked at my brokerage firm a while back and the employee I was speaking to said that if I find out from the owner , to let her know because she has never been able to find out. From that I would say that it is established on a case by case system. They must try and figure how bad you want your merchandise and stick you for as much as they can.
With that said, I would get a quote before choosing , same as with freight. That way they know you're shopping around.
Ron
 
Do it yourself

I cleared all of my shipments myself. It was a pain dealing with the petty bureaucrats posing as customs agents, but eventually I got it done. Allow a day. On thing you will need is a "business license" which is a form from the customs agency that has a number they put on their forms. You can get one at customs on the day of the clearance, but it would be better to apply online before and have this ready. I think it's good for 5 years.

There is usually a self serve clearance kiosk at customs. All the truckers know how to use this but I didn't (embarrassing). Some customs agents will help you fill this out, others will not.

When you're done, you can spend the clearance fees (I'm guessing a couple of hundred dollars) on more airplane parts.
 
If you clear it through a business the customs agents may not help you they don't have to. If you clear it privately they will help you do all the paper work.
 
Stay away from brokers!

I don't know what other folks have been doing, but I have never had to complete any paperwork when I bring in any kit from the US. I explain very clearly at the border what I have, present the bills, pay the taxes and move on.

For all of my dealings with Van's and any other supplier, I ordered my kits/parts and had them shipped to a shipping/storage company just south of the border. I cross the border, pick up my kits, declare the value on the way back, and pay the taxes...that's it! No paperwork required at all.

It's worth the 2 hour drive for me not to deal with a broker and sometimes, the border guys are pretty good in giving you a break too!

Also, stay away from any shipments from the US using UPS. They send any package coming into Canada through their broker and the cost is outrageous. :mad:

Cheers,

Don
 
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Customs

I had my kit shipped just to South of the border, met the shipper (Partain's) at a Texaco station, loaded my kit in a U-Haul that I rented in Canada and drove across the border. I made sure I had my bill of sale to prove the value, declared it all, aircraft parts at the border. Went inside, a customs agent did the paperwork, I paid the tax and was done. Simple and relatively hassle free.

Another tip...
When shipping smaller and lighter parts into Canada, use US postal service, Canada Post clears the shipments for about 7 bucks plus the tax on the total value. Smaller shipments, sometimes there is no charge.
If using UPS or Fedex, you might as well use their 2 day Air service to avoid the huge brokerage charges they tack on. Sure it's more expensive but you'll pay it in brokerage anyway. They still add on some other fees though.
Postal service is always chapest but check weight limits.
 
Thanks for all the replies. It looks like there are 3 options:

1. Van's ships to me via shippers and customs brokers - could mean big bucks in brokerage fees
2. Van's ships using a shipper that can hold it in-bond in Winnipeg and I do the paperwork. If it has to be held at the border south of Winnipeg and I would have to drive down, I might as well do option 3.
3. Van's ships to a location in Pembina, ND, I rent a uHaul and pick it up. I checked prices on the truck big enough to hold the wing kit and it works out to about $100 (including kms) plus gas.

Option 2 would give me a compromise between convenience and cost. Option 3 makes sense if I stand to save a lot of money to have them ship to Pembina instead of Winnipeg. I'll have to see if Van's can give me a quote on both options.

It sounds like I'm over-analyzing... I do that a lot. :eek: I dread when it comes time to decide on my instruments. :eek:

Cheers,
 
Broker fees

Also in case you don't know..

There are no ''Duty'' on aircraft parts as per the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

You pay only ( Small word ) GST + PST if any..

Just my $0.02

Bruno
 
Hi Shamit:

I'd bet you a beer that there will be a receiving company that you can ship to just inside the US border, perhaps in Pembina. We have a UPS store in Michigan that I have shipped all my kits through. The fees are minimal, $4.00 on small packages and $25.00 on my larger kit crates. (Ask around, someone in Winnipeg will know)

Once your stuff has arrived, you can go over and pick it up yourself. You will just need the bill at the border to pay the HST on. Really a non event, 20 minutes and you'd be done.

All of my kits fit in the back of my half ton truck, the longer wing kit box will fit on a small boat trailer.


I'll collect the beer in Oshkosh someday, Terry.
 
Hi Terry,

Way ahead of you, but I'll buy you that beer anyway :). I had been talking to a friend who does a lot of cross-border shopping and he gets his stuff shipped to a company in Pembina and goes down periodically to pick up his stuff. He's now tempted with the notion that if I have my crates sent there, we can split the cost of a large uHaul and he can order things that won't fit in his family's mini-van. (I'm sure his wife won't be too pleased.)

By the way, I did get one brokerage quote for $104 if I were to ship directly to Winnipeg.

Cheers,
 
Keep your receipts

Hi Shamit:

One other point, when I was building my boat I had an experience that I think will happen again with the plane.

About 8 months after I registered my boat I got a nasty letter from the Ontario government asking me why I registered a boat with out paying the provincial sales tax. I had to call and explain that I had built the boat and had paid the PST on the materials as I bought them.

They wanted photo copies of all the receipts to prove it, I suspect the same will happen with my plane. So I have dutifully been keeping all my receipts.


Good luck, Terry.
 
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Not sure why others think it is so expensive. I have brought 3 kits across now. About 160 bucks is all it cost on the last one. You have to remember you pay them the taxes to, but you have to pay that if you did it yourself to.
 
Terry, I agree and I always keep invoices for anything I purchase as rule. But I also happened to look through the information package I got when I sent in my Letter of Intent and one of the items on the inspection checklist is if I've kept my invoices.

Troy, the concern is when we have someone else, such as the shipper, do the paperwork to bring the shipment over the border. For example, the $104 that I got as a quote would be in addition to the tax I would have to pay. Some brokerage firms may charge much more. If you paid $160 total including tax to a customs broker then that is pretty good.

Cheers,
 
I just got my quick build wings and fuselage. I used Near North customs brokers and was charged a flat fee of $150 for the whole shipment. It was simple and the service paid for itself because it didn't end up incurring extra fees in bond.

Contrast that to UPS which was used to ship my tunnel access panel from Airward. I was charged $20 for shipping by Airward and UPS demanded an extra $35 for brokerage on a $70 part.
 
As Ron said, contact a local broker. Let him know that you will be getting a number of packages over the next year, or years.
I deal with buckland Customs brokers. Fees are not terrible
For example for an expensive panel the brokerage fees were around $100 Can.
Of course you have to pay the HST as well but that price is the same.
For that $100 I do not have to do ANY paperwork other then write a cheque.
This is stuff delivered directly to my door, I do not have to drive to the border which costs a lot of building time and gas.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES LET UPS DO THE BROKERAGE!!!!!!
 
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Does anyone have experience in crossing the border with a kit loaded on his semi truck or trailer? Obviously with the proper documents fron Van's. Is it easy or hard or even not possible?
 
Had my kits shipped progressively to a terminal in Detroit, loaded the crates in my truck and crossed the border, declared their value and paid the tax. Only paperwork I had was Van's invoice to confirm value. Super easy.
 
You should have no problem as long as the kits are yours, not sure how you would make out clearing for a friend.
 
brokerage

you sure can broker it yourself as I did years ago now!? Most kits were straight forward but the "finishing kit" as I recall was more of an issue because of how Van's listed the contents of the kit (I don't have the paperwork in front of me....pm me if you want more details). Customs was going to charge me a LOT of money for the import (GST,PST and duty). As I recall I had to prove that the parts were not available in Canada and that the kit did not contain all fiberglass which for some reason cost more to import/ship.
I guess what I am trying to say is that the cost saving might be substantial ($800-$125) in my case, which you may not be able to contest if a certified broker does the paperwork or at least would be as much hassle as doing it yourself in the first place.
 
Ditto, as Tom says re:UPS doing the brokerage..!


And just in case the message isn't getting across, do NOT, under any circumstances, let UPS do the brokerage. They were horribly expensive (and useless!) when I was building my RV-8 15 years ago, and they haven't gotten any better now that I'm building my Bearhawk.
 
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