Has anyone in the States bought from MEC?

[owlice]

I'm looking for lights, and see that Mountain Equipment Co-op in Canada has really excellent prices on the Planet Bike lights I want and on a pump I'd like to have, too. Even with the high shipping, the cost of these products is better than Amazon's or other online retailers.

But having never ordered from a Canadian company before, I don't know what the duty situation is. Would there be customs duty due? If so, how is it calculated?

[SadieKate]

I have ordered from MEC. They were most excellent to deal with, and we had a complicated situation.

I can't answer the customs question but I will tell you you need to investigate whether MEC can send those items to the US. The reason we ordered from MEC was that they had the last known pair of a certain model and size of Salomon ski boots, the last on the planet. It took special dispensation from the Pope for a Salomon product to be shipped from Canada to the US (in order to protect distributors in each country).

I don't remember if we had to pay any extra duty or customs fees. You will have to join the co-op for $5 or whatever the current fee is.

[kelownagirl]

I'm in Canada and I have ordered stuff from the States. It just arrives like anything else - no duty paid. I'm guessing it's the same thing the other way but I don't really know for sure.

I love MEC and go in there every time I'm in Vancouver...

[crazycanuck]

MEC is one coolio co..

Reminds me i have to order some stuff....

[Grog]

What SK said is true, but you'll find out quickly if you can't get a specific item cannot be shipped to the USA from Canada by MEC.

KG is lucky never to have paid duty! I pay duty pretty regularly on packages, maybe 50% of the time. I do not know about the duty schedule in the USA though. You'd have to check with the revenue agency. You can also take a chance and experiment. It probably is not a fortune...

[kelownagirl]

What SK said is true, but you'll find out quickly if you can't get a specific item cannot be shipped to the USA from Canada by MEC.

KG is lucky never to have paid duty! I pay duty pretty regularly on packages, maybe 50% of the time. I do not know about the duty schedule in the USA though. You'd have to check with the revenue agency. You can also take a chance and experiment. It probably is not a fortune...

Wow really? When do you pay the duty? I haven't bought that much stuff, maybe only 3-4 times, but never have paid anything. Do you think it depends on the item?

[Biciclista]

I bought something from them, they were great to do business with.

[Possegal]

Yes, it depends on the item. It isn't the fact that it is shipped from the US that causes the duty, it is where it is manufactured. If it was both made and then shipped from the US, there should be no duty. But not everything being shipped from here was manufactured here.

http://canadaonline.about.com/cs/cus...shipcanada.htm

My family has had to pay taxes (I assume it was taxes) on things I've sent them, until I finally learned that if I value it at $20 or less then they are fine. Once I sent 2 T-shirts, that I paid probably 20 each for, and like an idiot put that on the forms. I think my cousins paid another 20 just to get the dang things.