Hi,
I’ve ordered a new Marinoni Piuma from the builder in Montreal after visiting the factory. It was a great experience and I enjoyed my time both in the city and with the staff at Marinoni! However, I now have to get it shipped home to where I live in upstate New York. I can avoid paying the provincial and federal taxes by having it shipped instead of purchasing it and bringing it across the border myself. However, I still have to deal with duties at customs. The border crossing told me I need a broker, which is a pain to find somebody interested in this transaction, and I have to pay for it. I’m thinking about just having UPS (which Marinoni typically uses) ship it and be prepared for whatever happens upon delivery. Anybody have any experience in cross border shipping?
Thanks!

Did you consult with Marinoni about this? They have dealers in the US and should be familiar with costs and procedures

I met with the gentleman responsible for shipping. Their dealings with the couple dealers they have consist only of small parts. They are a Campagnolo supplier. They are recommending UPS and having them act as broker. However, what duties to expect might be a surprise, good or bad. Either way, I’ll avoid the Canadian and Quebec taxes (which are considerable) and there trip, but have to pay about $150 (Cdn) for shipping. And maybe NY taxes.

You are probably not going to save any money. This "broker" nonsense will add probably 10% to the cost of the item, in addition to the tariffs.

https://www.shipbikes.com/internatio...ing/index.html

https://www.bikeflights.com/internat...cycle_shipping

I would check with UPS as to their policy w.r.t. customs brokerage - I expect it will be fairly pricey, for what basically amounts to filling out a few forms.
I believe the duty on bicycles is 11%. If the bicycle was made in Canada the duty should be 0, under NAFTA. However NAFTA has complicated country of origin rules, which depend on how much of the item was manufactured in the country and how much was imported. I wouldn't be surprised if every part of the bike was imported. If they deem the bicycle to have originated in China, the duty may be even higher.

Going the other way, from US to Canada, I have imported several bikes over the years and I usually only get dinged for GST. I dont think they usually care enough about individual items to do more than just hit them with sales tax.

I had really poor luck with bike flights, they didn't appear to understand the tariff categories and couldn't be bothered to get back to me.

Canada Post only charges $10 for brokerage, but I don't know how much USPS charges, and a bike is probably too big to ship by mail.

Good luck.

For consumers...USPS will not take anything 700C wheel rim box size (approx 30inX30inx8in) or larger over the Canadian border. Ofc, corporate account policies are different.

I figured it was something like that.

Thanks for your replies. I think I’ll stick with UPS handling the shipping (which Marinoni uses).The customs people would rather not deal with the duty issue and actually recommended I use a different crossing (Champlain, NY vs Thousand Island), where they are supposedly better equipped to handle these cases. I assume that’s why they recommended using a broker, for their convenience!
From what I have heard the duties are somewhat arbitrary, depending on who is doing the calculations. I may connect with UPS about the brokerage fees, but again, it is going to be what it is going to be. I may be able to post my outcome in a few weeks!

You're in upstate NY? Ride it home. Heck, just ride it across the border. Pleasant ride from Montreal to Burlington.

If he does that, won't he have to pay GST and provincial sales tax? Interwebs say that would be 14.975%, if purchased in Quebec, 13% if bought in Ontario.

If you can, avoid avoid avoid UPS. They are highway bandits when it comes to charging fees. For me, I will actively avoid sellers than ship only by UPS. By the time the fees are added on, it just isn't worth it anymore. I hope you get your purchases home in good time with as little expense as possible.

That’s my understanding. Of course, if it got beat up enough between there and the border, it could probably be passed off as used and wouldn’t have to worry about duties! But then I’d have to buy a few meals and a few beers, have a buddy drive, spend a night or three on the road... And still be stuck with the sales tax. Which I may have to pay NY tax anyway. It would be easier to just buy a bike here in the US, but I have my reasons. And it’s a nice bike!

No way to know if the OP lives in Burlington. A ride from the south shore of the island to Burlington is pleasant, but Marinoni's warehouse is in Lachenaie, well to the northeast of Montreal, adding about 80 unpleasant kilometres to any ride to the US border across the cities of Laval and Montreal

I’m near Syracuse, so any ride would be an adventure. It’s enough of a trip by car! I visited the Marinoni a few weeks ago after a fitting at Fitwerx in Vermont. I met the owner briefly, but since I don’t speak Italian or French, we didn’t have much to talk about. But they took great care of me and re-educated me on the newer technology. I’d been riding a 1999 Bill Holland titanium frame bike that was always a little long for me.
They are building me a steel frame which I think will suit my needs well.

Good to know, which explains why you would travel to Montreal via the Thousand Islands border crossing. I am surprised that you were not able to communicate with anyone there speaking English, most of the people there I have dealt with were pretty comfortable with English speaking customers. One point: as a customer who does not reside in Canada, you are not required to pay GST or PST. You can apply to the government for a refund, just as any American tourist can do if they buy things when they visit us. Try looking into that, our government recognizes that you are not subject to many of our taxes. The assumption is that your local government will apply suitable taxes at your end. I am happy to know that the people at Marinoni took care of you, I have dealt with them many times mostly as an industry insider which gives me a good insight about them.

Is the above still true? I had thought that it was, but found this page when I went looking for details:

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...tion-tour.html

And in particular: "If you are a non-resident visitor to Canada, you cannot claim a rebate of the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) that you paid for all purchases made in Canada. ... The visitor rebate program for GST/HST was replaced on April 1, 2007, with the Foreign Convention and Tour Incentive Program. "

Yeah, I think that’s all gone now.
BTW, I meant the owner, Giuseppe, wasn’t comfortable speaking English. Everyone else was fluent!

Back in the day, I used to claim the rebate on the GST/HST at the duty-free shop at the border upon returning to the US, usually immediately converting it into beer/wine/chocolate. The Convention and Tour Incentive program doesn't look like it is geared to be used by the individual tourist. More's the pity....

Doesn't this bike cost a jillion dollars? Last time I tried to bike into Canada, they wouldn't let me in: I was too poor. There are places you can just walk across the border, right? I could've - I was in Glacier NP, could have just taken the adjacent trail.

That's what I remember being able to do. Never did though, because either I'd forget or the amount wouldn't be enough to stop for.

I miss the days when it was easy to hop over the border for a quick visit.

I miss it, too. It's not that far to the border crossings at the Niagara frontier from here. When I was a kid, my parents took quite a few vacations in Canada and the border crossing in consisted of "Do you have alcohol, cigarettes, or firearms?" Coming back into the States was mainly "Do you have fruit or vegetables?" It's a tad different now.