> For the benefit of the Canadian listmembers, could you give us an
> idea what type of duty charges we can expect when ordering. ie.)
> the % of the cost of item due upon receipt for these charges.
>

Unfortunately, I'm not too knowledgeable about what Canada's import duties
are, although I'm sure your local authorities could tell you.  I can tell
you that I usually ship via US air mail rather than UPS, because UPS charges
a brokerage fee (collected COD) on top of the import duty.  By comparison,
if shipped via mail, your Canadian postal authority charges a flat $5 CDN
fee for any parcel received from outside of Canada regardless of value (or
so my Canadian customers have told me), which is much better than an
undisclosed (and usually much higher) brokerage fee that UPS would assess.
Also, NAFTA may well have a positive impact on the duty issue regarding
those items that originate from (and are assumed to be made in) the U.S.  I
have heard, but cannot confirm, that when levying duties on parcels imported
via U.S. Mail, the Canadian customs authority assumes contents to be U.S.
made unless labeled otherwise.  By comparison, UPS requires that a statement
indicating country of origin be included with packages that they transport.

- Ron Salmon
 The Bus Depot
 http://www.busdepot.com