My wife bought me the 2 pack of diamond drag bits for Christmas. Shipping was free. Yeah, right. In actual fact, Fedex dropped the package at the door - no signature, no invoice, not even a knock on the door. Now, more than a month later, Fedex mails an invoice for more than the cost of the bits. We were never given the opportunity to refuse the order - as we would have. We were not told of these exorbitant charges ahead of time. We knew, of course about these rip off practices by couriers, but in the past, the courier would call before having the goods released by Canada Customs. We had to the choice to refuse delivery. Now, Fedex, at least can’t be bothered.
We have no recourse since fighting Fedex with their lawyers would cost more than we could possibly win. Fedex makes it very plain that refusal to pay will mean collection agencies and bad credit reports.
I have read in some posts here that Carbide is considering using USPS for small stuff. That will save Canadians big time. Until then, we won’t be back.
This is unfortunately SOP for FedEx and it’s subsidiaries.
In my case (UK) they delivered, no invoice, no mention of import duty, a few months later the “debt” was passed to a “collection agency” which is actually owned by FedEx demanding money with menaces whilst still refusing to provide an invoice against which I could pay.
They have literally made incompetence their business model.
For Canadians shopping for products from Carbide3d, it may do you better to try and source your shopping needs from robotshop.ca. They are based in Montreal and carry an extensive amount of the products Carbide3d sells. If you spend over $100.00 CAD you can get free shipping as well, to most places in Canada. If they are sold out of a particular product, they will give you an estimated restocking date, which is cool.
I live close to the border and am able to have things drop shipped in the U.S. and import them myself, but find ordering from robotshop.ca to be much easier.
Others have done the arithmetic to see which way is cheaper vis a vis buying from the states or buying here in Canada and have said the cost works out to be roughly the same.
As far as shipping anything from the U.S. by private shipping companies like UPS or FedEx it can be cheaper to buy upper level tier shipping charges as they sometimes fold in the cost of customs brokerage fees. Something to check out on their websites before choosing your shipping option.
I don’t work for robotshop.ca. I am just one of their customers who has found a way to avoid all the grief you endured with trying to import Carbide3d products directly from the United States.
I have seen stories that people in Canada that buy form the US face the same issues. I thought that Canada, Mexico and the US had trade agreements. I guess that only applies to big business and not the little guy. Personally I dont use FedEx when possible. They are bad at everything they do.
Sounds a lot like Hertz Rental Car company. If you extend your rental and then turn your car in they issue stolen car reports and people get arrested for stealing a Hertz car that was paid for and turned in. Buyer beware.
If the seller promised free shipping have you gone back to them and complained?
We are not naive in this regard. Generally, we refuse to deal with US shippers who will not use USPS/Canada Post. However, my wife wanted to surprise me with these bits and did not find a Canadian source. In the past, when these situations have come up, the courier calls before clearing the goods and tells us the costs. At that point, we refuse the shipment and get a refund from the shipper. That did not happen this time. Under the Customs rules, the courier is supposed to give the importer the right to self clear, avoiding the rip-off charges. Simply put, the couriers can’t be bothered and Canada Customs does not care.
The key things to keep in mind when we’re shipping internationally is that you will be responsible for all customs/tariffs/duties or whatever else those taxes might be called where you are, but that our freight fee DOES include shipping insurance
Please contact us at sales@carbide3d.com and we’ll see if there’s anything which we can do at our end.
Thanks, Will. The “customs/tariffs. duties or whatever else those taxes might be called …” are not the issue. The almost $50 fees imposed by FedEx are the issue. Live and learn.
I’ll pass along your offer to contact your sales address. My wife did call, but was told that there was nothing Carbide could do. It’s a FedEx issue. Clearly, this is not HUGE. It’s simply something Canadians placing orders should be aware of.
Hi Grant, my comment was to call Fedex for a credit refund not Carbide3D. Fedex offered us the credit as their “sorry” for trying to over charge. Fedex also stated this was a one-time offer, worth a try. They knocked it back to just the taxes, but for Candians seeing the tax amount is large enough.
FYI, Stephen. I just finished a long conversation with 3 agents at Fedex. The resolution is that they are waiving about half. Much better than nothing. They, of course, put all the onus on Carbide 3D. In this, they are not wrong. Carbide 3D gave authority to Fedex Customs Brokers to clear the package through Customs. We never gave Carbide 3D the authority to do that. In fact, we would not have done so. Under Canadian Customs law, we have the right to self clear. If we wanted to buy the bits, we would have done that. It is a simple process and free. However, Carbide 3D would have had to contact us before shipping the goods to ask if we wanted to do that. I don’t expect that Carbide 3D is even aware that they are to do that. There is no malice here, I am sure.
So, in short, live and learn. I am not asking or expecting Carbide 3D to change their processes. It would be time consuming and expensive.
I also had a similar issue, and to make it worst my order was slit into two orders as they came from different warehouses, But like said above I called and guess got the right agent and got a one time credit
IMHO FedEx ooped as they did not give you a right to refuse . Or the right to self declare. You can take the paper work in and declare it yourself and then send them a copy of the release and they will release it. I can only assume they don’t like to do this as they don’t get to charge their ridiculous admin fees
One thing C3D could look into is to not split orders ( put it all in one box) as FedEx charges per shipment and value of package, Not sure if this is possible with multiple warehouse locations.
This is disappointing to hear. I just ordered the VFD Spindle (arriving tomorrow) and a few weeks ago I ordered a couple bits. It is quite clear when you are checking out that shipping is free - If I get a bill for GST I wouldn’t complain, but I suspect what you are seeing are “brokerage fees” I did see this once before but a long time ago and I don’t remember the circumstances
It wasn’t Fedex who ooped. It was Carbide. On the Customs invoice that they created, they said that the shipment was to be cleared by Fedex brokers. (Of course, we didn’t see this invoice until Fedex sent it to us with their bill.) No one at Carbide asked us if that was we wanted. I hate making excuses for Fedex but they only followed the instructions they were given.
Normally, we refuse to do business with any US shipper that will not use USPS for this very reason. In this case, my wife really wanted to get me these bits for Christmas. She has learned her lesson, though. Never again.
Yes, Fedex broker charges to prepare and file the entry. Then, get this, they charge for paying the HST on our behalf. Then, they charge HST on their charges - sort of like tax on tax.
I recently went through this with FedEx also with a package from Carbide 3d.
The solution is as follows:
When you get shipping notification, take that tracking number and contact FedEx. Tell them you want to “self declare”.
They are supposed to hold your package once it enters Canada and wait for you to declare it yourself.
Now, you have to get your receipts and bring them to CBSA office. I happen to live right near one. If I did not I wouldn’t do this!
Go the CBSA and pay your taxes, then you are supposed to contact FedEx withe proof of the taxes being paid and they should then deliver your package with out the stupid brokerage fees.
Now what ACTUALLY happened for me was that they never held my package for delivery. They just delivered it, but I had records (emails) of me asking them to hold it until I could declare it myself. So I was able to have them cancel their bill after I could prove I paid my taxes myself.
Again, this is only feasible if you happen to be close enough to a CBSA office to make the effort worthwhile. I do.
but they only followed the instructions they were given.