Returning jewelry from Canada to USA ?

[anne_h]

Hi there,

Any Canuks here who have done this? I have a piece I bought from a vendor in California. I need to return it, and the seller is not clear on how to do so. I usually keep what I buy, so have not been through this before.

Questions:

- Any suggestions on who to ship with? I need to insure for ~2k.
- How to make sure the seller does not incur fees with US customs?
- I paid duty/tax to Canada customs to receive the piece; how do I get that back?
- Any other tips?

Thanks to anyone with experience!

Anne

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 6/17/2008 10:19:24 AM
Author:anne_h
Hi there,

Any Canuks here who have done this? I have a piece I bought from a vendor in California. I need to return it, and the seller is not clear on how to do so. I usually keep what I buy, so have not been through this before.

Questions:

- Any suggestions on who to ship with? I need to insure for ~2k.
- How to make sure the seller does not incur fees with US customs?
- I paid duty/tax to Canada customs to receive the piece; how do I get that back?
- Any other tips?

Thanks to anyone with experience!

Anne

HI:

I returned a piece I bought from Signed Pieces--and used the same FedEx box they shipped it to me. It was convenient with the same labels and all. I beleive the value was just under 2K.

On the label it was clearly stated it was a "return" and therefore there didn''t seem to be any issue with Customs--as you were retuning it for credit. I never heard otherwide from SP that they encountered any problem on the receiving end.

There is a form on the Canadain Gov''t website (duties/border...something like that) that you can print off; it took me q phone call to find it tho....if in doubt, call the Customs offfice and they will give you the form number. I enclosed copies of my receipts (sending and receiving) and I got my refund very quickly (for the gov''t......).

Hope this helps.

cheers--Sharon

 

[anne_h]

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply.

Anne

 

[anne_h]

Okay, I need help again... I just called FedEx in Canada and they say they will only insure (okay, they call it "liability") for up to $500.00 !! I don''t get it. I believe Canada Post is similar, they cap out at $200.00 or something if I recall correctly.

Has anyone run into this? I don''t know which other shippers to investigate...

Sharon, if you see this, how did you get FedEx to ensure your SP piece for 2k? Did you tell them it was something other than jewelry? FedEx did say the "liability" cap varies depending on what the item is. The cap for jewelry is $500.00.

Help!

Anne

 

[anne_h]

Okay, more bad news. I just checked with UPS, same as FedEx... for jewelry going to the US, the insurance cap is $500.00. BTW, I double-checked on Canada Post and for Can-US shipping of any type, there is NO insurance, not even $100.00

What is up with this??

Frustrated,

Anne

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 6/17/2008 5:25:56 PM
Author: anne_h
Okay, I need help again... I just called FedEx in Canada and they say they will only insure (okay, they call it ''liability'') for up to $500.00 !! I don''t get it. I believe Canada Post is similar, they cap out at $200.00 or something if I recall correctly.

Has anyone run into this? I don''t know which other shippers to investigate...

Sharon, if you see this, how did you get FedEx to ensure your SP piece for 2k? Did you tell them it was something other than jewelry? FedEx did say the ''liability'' cap varies depending on what the item is. The cap for jewelry is $500.00.

Help!

Anne

HI:

Gosh Anne, I honestly don''t know what I said or did--maybe it wasn''t insured? I know SP has their own insurance thing, but that was one way. I know I''ve heard of this dilemma before--what about your homeowner''s policy??

. Sorry!

cheers--Sharon

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/17/2008 7:39:29 PM
Author: canuk-gal

Date: 6/17/2008 5:25:56 PM

Author: anne_h

Okay, I need help again... I just called FedEx in Canada and they say they will only insure (okay, they call it ''liability'') for up to $500.00 !! I don''t get it. I believe Canada Post is similar, they cap out at $200.00 or something if I recall correctly.


Has anyone run into this? I don''t know which other shippers to investigate...


Sharon, if you see this, how did you get FedEx to ensure your SP piece for 2k? Did you tell them it was something other than jewelry? FedEx did say the ''liability'' cap varies depending on what the item is. The cap for jewelry is $500.00.


Help!


Anne

HI:


Gosh Anne, I honestly don''t know what I said or did--maybe it wasn''t insured? I know SP has their own insurance thing, but that was one way. I know I''ve heard of this dilemma before--what about your homeowner''s policy??

. Sorry!


cheers--Sharon

My guess is that SP let you send it UPS through their vendor account. If you can get the vendor to do this, they WILL insure it as vendors own insurance policies will then cover the item.

 

[anne_h]

Thanks Sharon and neatfreak for your comments.

I''ve now also checked with Purolater - the Canadian call center said I could ship Can-US insured up to 5k... but when I contacted the actual local storefront I planned to use, it was the same old... but worse: they wouldn''t even accept the piece to ship at all because it contained diamonds. Grrr!

The seller does not have insurance I can use.

The last 2 options I can think of:

- I will investigate DHL (I assume they will be same as others)
- I will contact a few people I know in the business to see if they can recommend anything

Otherwise, will have no choice but to ship under-insured and hope for the best.

Thanks everyone.

Anne