Bass Pro Shop Shipping

DanO · Post by **DanO** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:41 pm

I just got a rude surprise. I bought a nice set of camo waders for $99.00 and then paid $57.00 in shipping and handling. I should have checked but I never imagined the cost of shipping could be so high. The website makes it difficult to get a final total.

Somebody started a thread on here not too long ago about prices being higher on some items compared to local Ontario outlets. Don't forget to factor in shipping when you're looking through the BPS Wish Book!

By my calculations mark the catalogue priceup by about 50-60% and you're close to what you will pay.

Dan O.

DropTine · Post by **DropTine** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:52 pm

Yea, they always find a way to screw you!

Normous · Post by **Normous** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:57 pm

Figure on $13 for the tax and about $44 for the brokerage fees=$57.
I find the brokerage fees high. It's just what they charge you for the paperwork.

NewGuy · Post by **NewGuy** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 4:04 pm

If anything is shipped with UPS from the states, they are a rip-off. I never use UPS anymore. Stick with USPS and you only sometimes get dinged for PST and GST.

DanO · Post by **DanO** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 4:28 pm

Actually some of that cost is customs, GST and PST. What I find annoying is the lack of a FINAL total as you enter your credit card payment. Shouldn't they be forced to give you an accurate final amount so you know what you are going to be billed? I feel like I'm signing a blank cheque.

Dan O.

JRS · Post by **JRS** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:03 pm

I know that Bass Pro and Cabelas both have a customs SPAM! that is paid to handle all duty, GST, and PST collections. I know that when ordering online from Cabelas, before you do the final confirmation of the order, a final total is shown that includes all the fees and taxes you are being charged with, in US funds. My orders have never been billed more than this amount.

Was the item you purchased made in the US? If so, there should not have been any duty applicable. On the other hand, if the product was made outside the US, then sometimes the duty applied is a ridiculous amount. I once priced a Nikon range finder from BPS over the phone and asked about customs charges. Because it was made somewhere in Asia, the duty amounted to 50% of the original price! The moral of the story - I won't buy anything without knowing the full price, including duty, customs brokerage, and taxes due.

LondonDave · Post by **LondonDave** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:19 pm

Tip for all those Canucks out there if they haven't already figured it out...

STAY AWAY FROM UPS IF YOU'RE HAVING SOMETHING SHIPPED FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY!!!

"Brokerage fees" are a pure out and out rip off. These are fees charged by UPS, not by Bass Pro or wherever you've purchased your item from. BPS, or whomever, can only provide you what it costs them to ship it, UPS is then charging you the brokerage to compete the paperwork to get it across the border. USPS/Canada Post charges a flat rate of $8 no matter what the value of the item and then of course you will pay PST and GST. UPS brokeage is a mystery. I've heard of guys being charged $100s. I had a set of bicycle cranks sent to me from Tiawan. It was a 1 pound plastic envelope that I did not pay 1 cent for, they were sent to me to test. The shipper marked a value of $250 so UPS took it upon themselves to charge me $90 in brokerage.

I could go on and on and I'm sure there are lots of horror stories out there. Like someone else mentioned. I will not purchase anything from the US if the seller only ships UPS. Apparently FedEx isn't as bad but the safest and cheapest is definitely USPS, it just takes a little longer.

Dave

Stash · Post by **Stash** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:25 pm

In addition to the high brokerage fees by UPS that have been mentioned, I seem to recall hearing something about rubber and similar raw materials as used in waders are subject to an extremely high tariff when imported into Canada.

Check your invoice and maybe let us know how it breaks down into the actual shipping, taxes, duties and fees charged in addition to the actual cost of the item.

VixChix · Post by **VixChix** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 2:57 am

Brokerage fees - ARGH!

I refuse to purchase eBay items from buyers that won't promise NOT to ship UPS! Some have refused to ship regular post and they don't get my business.

Brampton Mike · Post by **Brampton Mike** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:59 am

NewGuy wrote:If anything is shipped with UPS from the states, they are a rip-off. I never use UPS anymore. Stick with USPS and you only sometimes get dinged for PST and GST.

New Guy is 100% right.....UPS will screw you royally and there is nothing you can do about it...when ordering from the US I always insist on them shipping with USPS or I will not order...over the last yeas I bet i've gotten 40 orders from the US via USPS and have only paid GST?PST twice...Brampton Mike

schonyuk · Post by **schonyuk** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:25 am

I am in the UK and I had a US guy send me an envelope with value $ 40 on it. When I got it UPS charged me £40GBP, thats almost $ 80 because it went over the minimum of $38
I rang and queried it but as you all know got absolutely nowhere and had to pay. Never again.

raydaughety · Post by **raydaughety** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:41 am

Please excuse my ignorance but you mean to tell me that if I purchased a range finder as a gift to sent to someone in Canada, I'd have to pay such outrageous charges? I don't understand how shipping to Canada works but I'd like to know.

NewGuy · Post by **NewGuy** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:39 am

Ray,
If you were to purchase someone a Rangefinder as a gift just don't send it UPS, if you ship it USPS the recipient will still pay our 13% in taxes. If the value is less than 60 bucks then no duty is paid. BTW my birthday was DEC 27th.

LondonDave · Post by **LondonDave** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:39 pm

raydaughety wrote:Please excuse my ignorance but you mean to tell me that if I purchased a range finder as a gift to sent to someone in Canada, I'd have to pay such outrageous charges? I don't understand how shipping to Canada works but I'd like to know.

Ray,

Like NewGuy said it's the poor Canuck that would have to pay the fees. There are acutally ways around it when private individuals ship via UPS. You have to mark the customs papers as a "gift" and you have to indicate the dollar value as "0". When a business ships you something they have to indicate the acutal value and they are not going to mark it as a gift. This is when we get screwed.

Dave

JRS · Post by **JRS** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:44 pm

raydaughety wrote:Please excuse my ignorance but you mean to tell me that if I purchased a range finder as a gift to sent to someone in Canada, I'd have to pay such outrageous charges? I don't understand how shipping to Canada works but I'd like to know.

Whenever anything crosses the international border into Canada, it has to clear customs, before it is released for delivery to the intended recipient. When using the postal service, they have a flat fee for doing this service (completing the customs paperwork), and this fee is passed onto the recipient when they pick up their package. Delivery companies such as UPS have a graduated fee schedule for doing this, based on the declared value of the package.

As mentioned, UPS is the grandaddy of outrageous brokerage fees. I avoid international shipments from them like the plague. Fedex is not nearly as bad, and the postal service is the best.

The ultimate way to avoid any fees is to declare the item being sent as a gift, with no declared value. When using this method with Fedex or the USPS, I have never been charged any customs fees. This works fine when shipping person to person, but businesses will not declare items as gifts when shipping. They disclose the actual value, and you pay accordingly.