Canadian Customs (was Re: Zip Chapter 11 ... Not anymore)

[neufeld@helios.physics.utoronto.ca (Christopher Neufeld)]

In article <C0qKEu.JJ0@utstat.toronto.edu> philip@utstat.toronto.edu (Philip McDunnough) writes:
>
>The only difficulty I ever
>had returning a product to them was caused by the US border random checking.
>It turns out that they randomly check items heading into the country. Even
>if it is a returned defective item, as was the case recently (not with Zip),
>and the product was made and bought in the US, they will charge you a $10
>handling fee (even though no customs, duties, etc...are due).
>
   It's even worse than that for things which are taxable under the GST,
such as computer software. I ordered OOTW, PointLess, and assorted other
disks from Big Red. PointLess was held back because v2.0 was just coming
out and they didn't want to send me a product which would be out of date
before it arrived at my apartment, but the other disks were sent
immediately. The first package arrived with $8.50 GST due, which I had to
pay COD at the post office, plus a $5.00 handling fee by the folks at
customs. The second package came with $3.00 GST due, plus the $5.00
again! The fee they charge me for the privilege of paying the GST on my
purchase exceeds the GST itself! In fact, the handling fee was about an
11% surcharge on my purchase.
   There's surely a way around this. If Big Red gets a GST billing number
they can charge it to my credit card, mark it GST paid, and ship it
directly to me, I won't have to walk to the mall to pick up the package,
and pay outrageous money to get my software. I'm planning to notify Big
Red of this soon, because until then I really can't afford to buy things
from them. If I'd known about this wonderful customs rule I would have
asked them to hold my other purchases until PL2.0 came in, then I would
only have had to pay the $5.00 once.

-- 
 Christopher Neufeld....Just a graduate student  | Everyone talks about
 neufeld@helios.physics.utoronto.ca    Ad astra  | apathy, but no one does
 utzoo.utoronto.ca!generic!cneufeld              | anything about it.
 "Don't edit reality for the sake of simplicity" |