Heheh, that is really funny. The pool looks like it is filled with pee because of the yellow lining.

SSWCs look like a blast, inc. the burger joint :D

Had the dentist this morning, so had to ride out to Etobicoke (well, not as far as it sounds.. Royal York/Evans) and then into work, wind heading west sucked the big one, but coming back had a lovely tailwind across most of Queensway and hit 35mph (I rarely get over 30) which I just calculated out to 56km/h - not too shabby - only *just* beat a streetcar to Queen/Ronces that started off at the Park Lawn loop as I was passing so I know I was going a fair clip across eastbound, love the tailwinds, cruising on King after felt like a snails pace in comparison.

Holy testicles batman that's rough. What happens now? They return to sender and sender then asks you WTF and you re-organise shipping?

Fingers crossed my IRO frame won't be a major PITA with duties, I might ask Tony if he can send it USPS when the date gets nearer (1st week of March, woo).

So Wes that was your IRO you sent back? Insane duties. How do they calculate that?

I think that the duties would only apply if the frame was made outside of the USA but with NAFTA, the frame should be clear of duties, no? It would have just been the sales tax, likely just provincial. I think UPS just charges a brokerage fee based on some pie-in-the-sky calculations and charges you a premium based on the taxes that they paid at the border for you. In other words, it is bull****.

Nice little bianchi frame

http://toronto.craigslist.ca/bra/bik/550192539.html

This is about the 5th time he has listed it which is odd since I figured a celeste Bianchi frame would sell right away. Maybe something is wrong with it?

The dropouts look a little short, so my guess is that the fixed/ss crowd isn't jumping on it because of that. It is a little scuffed, but doesn't appear too bad.

IRO's are made in Taiwan not the U.S. so duties are going to happen. The thing about UPS is that they dont bother to use the proper duty and import codes on anything so you end up paying them waaaayyy more than it should be.

So if whoever in the US ships UPS you can/may not get screwed? As a consumer can you ask for a certain shipper to be used?

Did it come assembled, or as frame+fork? AFAIK, only assembled bikes and wheels are subject to duty. On the other hand, that doesn't stop UPS from adding arbitrary (and unregulated?) brokerage fees. Shipping USPS guarantees a $5 brokerage/border handling charge. And, of course, you need to pay tax on all purchases.

EDIT: UPS charges seem arbitrary, but apparently they're outlined here. Also note that if you're shipping something expensive and have to use UPS, it may be cheaper to ship with their Worldwide services, which I think include the customs clearance / brokerage charges.

I try to ask for USPS or FedEx whenever possible. UPS seems utterly incapable of finding my apartment building and their warehouse is way out in Milton or some other section of North Junga....

I got my build kit delivered duty-free from UPS, but I had to pay $90 (wayyyyy too much IMO) for my Aerohead rims (not even assembled wheels, just the f*(&ing rims) which I figure is because the rims were made in not-USA, but the kit components were, or grouped as USA-born perhaps?

Cesar from bicyclewheels.com shipped my wheelset up here via USPS, and I just had a Canada Post $15 charge on those - which seemed like a 'fair' fee for customs/tax. I would think it's upto the shipper what method they use, and unless there's some business reason why he can't do it, I'm sure Tony can use other means to send stuff out.

Not to mention UPS will charge you the duty PLUS a brokerage fee... My most recent bike from IRO saw a $112 duty / brokerage charge and Tony even devalued the bike on the forms for me... Worstever.

In my experience receiving stuff from the US it is best if the shipper uses USPS and not UPS or FedEx. My GT was shipped via UPS and I had to only pay some taxes on it because it was made in the USA. My Razesa came via USPS and I paid even less taxes on it and it was the full bike whereas the GT was only the frame/fork.

I think it also depends on the declared value. For some reason the guy who shipped me the GT put a declared value of $500 on it, so I paid taxes on that, which was a bummer as I paid far less than that for it. I think he declared it at that for the insurance, I dunno. The Razesa had a declared value of $150 which was great as I only paid the taxes on that amount. If you can get the seller to put a lower declared value then you pay less taxes but then if it is damaged, you are screwed.

Jeez, it is kind of a pain in the asss ordering stuff online but part of the fun is waiting for the package to arrive. I wish everybody was as good with shipping as ProBikeKit is.

It was actually a big order of various stuff from Swobo.. as far as I know it's all sewn in San Francisco. Hooray NAFTA.

I should have called them and asked if they would ship it using a method other than UPS, but apparently I had a brain fart and didn't think about the consequences when I ordered it via the web. I called Swobo a couple hours ago, but they haven't returned my call.

My last PBK order hit me with some fees. I think it was a total of $15 on a $70 order. It wasn't too bad, and was still a good deal, but it was a bit annoying. I've found if you can make a bunch of small orders from PBK and just use the free shipping deal.

icing on the cake:

"CONCORD, ON, CA 25/01/2008 13:52 THE RECEIVER DID NOT HAVE FUNDS AVAILABLE ON THE 1ST DELIVERY ATTEMPT. A 2ND DELIVERY ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE"

Did I see any ups guy? Nope.

that is what i did, i split an order into 2, both had free shipping anyways

and didn't get hit with anything

i hear they tend to mess up orders but haven't had any problems personally

I keep ordering a Sora Kit hoping they mess up and send Durace... nothing yet :)

Ha ha! That's exactly what happened to me. I finally checked online to find out where my order was and it was showing the third delivery attempt. Of course no notice on my mailbox etc. I called them and they promised next day so I stayed home all day. No show. I then checked the site and it showed third delivery attempt failed (this after putting notes specifically for the driver in the foyer of my apartment). I called them again, tore a strip, they called the driver and he pooched by a couple of hours later.....

You guys are getting me worried about the gentle bum caressing I'll get when my Mike Garcia wheels get here in a few days. They went via USPS and WERE made in the USA, but I'm still busting out the Phil's grease to let the tax man slide it in easier.

thanks for the visual.

USPS is at worst $5 handling fee + taxes. It's the couriers you have to be careful with.

I'm going to look into clearing the customs stuff myself, but since the goods have already gone through their broker, I'm afraid I may be too late. But, still holding out hope!

Also: this was a delivery to my office, so clearly there was nobody here. *eye-rolling* Reception didn't turn away any UPS dude.

I was being ups'd something a few months ago. I was in the kitchen doing dishes. The dog goes nuts when the mailman comes. So the dog goes bananas, I go to the front door and the UPS is driving away and a sticky on the mailbox, saying noone home. What!?!, bastid didn;t even try the door or the doorbell, both of which work.