Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from USA?

[princesultan]

I'm considering purchasing a diamond from ERD at which point they'll ship to Canada using Fedex. I know there is sales tax I need to pay, but what about brokerage fees??? Have any of you experienced this? I don't think there is any duty, but I'm worried about brokerage and/or other costs!!!

 

[Enerchi]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

I have ordered from the US and have picked up in the states while on vacation and I have had delivered to my home. I only paid GST and the brokerage was included in the international shipping costs. I did have an extra charge from either FEDEX or UPS (and I'm sorry, but I've forgotten which one...) but it came to approx $200 with exchange, etc., per each $1000 spent.

 

[princesultan]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

200$ of brokerage for each 1000$ spent? yikes. i'm looking to spend 6700$....

weird how you were only charged gst though.

 

[shimmer]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

UPS charges a brokerage fee, FEDEX does not (not for recipient at least). You should only pay GST and PST.

 

[princesultan]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

excellent. that's the answer i like to hear.

 

[Begonia]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

I didn't order a loose diamond.

Well I started out that way, and then had the vendor set the stone in a setting for me.

Taxes and shipping with FEDEX. All in all, was easy peasey.

 

[Enerchi]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

200$ of brokerage for each 1000$ spent? yikes. i'm looking to spend 6700$....

weird how you were only charged gst though.

TYPO! It was HST (Ontario resident) sorry about that!!
The total cost for 1 purchase was $1100 US and it came to $1313 with the us/cdn exchange + taxes + international shipping (read: brokerage) charges.

Sorry about that error!!

You can contact CRA directly and get an estimate of your costs for that purchase. I know I searched thru google and found a cost estimator on some web site. Sorry I can't be more helpful - you know how one web leads to another to another....

 

[princesultan]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

so no brokerage for you then?

 

[Enerchi]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

It was part of the 'international shipping charges' and I never paid anything further than that.

 

[princesultan]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

i see. so the total was only 200$ more than the sales price. that includes shipping & taxes. makes sense.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

FedEx might charge $12 brokerage, or nothing. I have ordered many things from the US. It is not something to concern yourself with.

 

[princesultan]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

what about returning a diamond? anyone have experience with that? seeing as they're quite expensive and that some shipping companies have maximum insurance limits, was it difficult & expensive to return?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

what about returning a diamond? anyone have experience with that? seeing as they're quite expensive and that some shipping companies have maximum insurance limits, was it difficult & expensive to return?

If you return then you need to ask the vendor to send you a FedEx shipping label, and they allow you to use their insurance too. You pay them for this, usually under $75 though it depends on value. You then submit a form to Canada Customs to get your taxes back. Keep all customs forms from FedEx especially those that show what you paid in taxes.

FYI all companies have international shipping limits from Canada to the US of $500 to $1000. It is a real issue which is why you need the vendor to help.

 

[princesultan]

Re: Canadians! Have any of you purchased loose diamond from

great, thanks!