[Amps] Off topic - help with eHam.net

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2017 21:05:48 -0500
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <k8ri at rogerhalstead.com>
To: amps at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [Amps] Off topic - help with eHam.net

$475 to ship a Palstar Auto-tuner?  How much did it weigh?


Some companies have outrageous shipping and handling charges.

73, Roger (K8RI)

##  heres the problem with UPS, FEDEX, etc,  when  shipping  FROM the USA
TO the rest of the world.   UPS, FEDEX, etc, etc, in Canada, charge stupid amounts of money
for... brokerage fees when the item arrives in Canada.  Its already bad enough as is,
as the 1st thing that happens is the USA value is converted into Canadian funds. 
So if the item being shipped is say $1000.00  US funds, its actually  $1300.00  in 
canadian funds.   Next up is the 12 % sales tax on the cdn value, so 12%  of  $1300.00
=   $156.00   12% sales tax consists of 5%  fed sales tax +  7% provincial sales tax. 
Total cost of the item is now $1456.00   Well not quite, since we also
have to pay UPS, FEDEX, USPS,  etc,  in US dollars, for the initial costs of shipping the item. 

##  That will depend on weight, volume etc.  Lets say the shipping cost is $100.00    Thats $130.00
in cdn funds.  So now the total cost is  1450 + 130 =   $1580.00  cdn.   And thats ONLY if the item
was shipped via USPS.    IF its shipped via  FEDEX, UPS  etc, then  the cdn UPS, FEDEX  tacks
on the stupid brokerage fees on top of all that.   Which is why nobody outside of the USA  
ever wants  items shipped via UPS, FEDEX or any other courier. 

##  EG  I buy a $5.00  item from the usa...and they ship it UPS.    UPS will charge a minimum of a $25.00
brokerage fee, on top of all the other crap.   On a yagi or big amplifier, it could easily be $100- $300. 

##  Before the NAFTA free trade agreement, we also had to pay cdn Fed excise and import duty tax on top of
everything else.  Before NAFTA came about, ham gear was exempt from federal excise and import duty. 

##  Now if the item bought was damaged  during shipping, have a nice day in hell.  The americans will say it was damaged
on the cdn side, and the cdns will say it was damaged on the USA side, and neither will pay out  the claim.   So the extra
bucks you spent on all the above is wasted $$, as you will never collect in a million years.   Typ they will say it was not packed
with 2 ft of foam on all  6 x sides, and triple boxed, when clearly you can see tire tracks through the box. 

##  Item missing or stolen, good luck with that.  UPS will typ leave an expensive box at my front door step, and never notify me.
Business run into this all the time, if UPS delivers when the business is closed, leaving expensive items sitting at the front door of
a business,  ripe for the taking by anybody.  They do the same in the usa.  A business buddy in san fransisco has over $100K
in missing items, in dispute with UPS.   Art Bell,  W6OBB  found his brand new, 100 lb  FT-9000 had been literally tossed over his
4 ft tall steel chain link front fence, into his garden.   He discovered it at 10 pm one night, while going outside to get something from 
his vehicle. 

##  USPS on the other hand, sails right through to my front door, no brokerage fees.  If Im not at home, they take the item back with
them, and leave a delivery notice.   I have to go and pick it up.  UPS, fedex, sometimes does the same.   Sure  you can declare the $1000
item as having a value of $100,  problem is, you can then only insure it for $100.     Now if the item is defective, and has to be returned for
replacement, or has to be repaired, either in warranty or out of warranty, good luck.   You have to keep all the original paperwork, proving you
just paid all the silly fees, other wise you will get screwed really good, having to 1st initially  pay to ship the item back to the usa, then having
to pay all the taxes and fees when the repaired item arrives  the 2nd time around.   If you cant repair the stuff you buy, you are dead in the water.  

##  so now you know why the usa has a massive trade deficit  with the rest of the world.  Nobody can afford to buy their products.   In countries
where the US dollar is really expensive to buy, it just gets worse.  Now its great for the usa to buy other countries stuff, its a bargain.  They get it for
cheaper to begin with, then they save a 2nd time on the exchange rate.  $1.00  cdn funds is  74 cents us funds.   Now you know why China devalues
its currency intentionally, its good for business, since they are mainly an exporter. 

##  I gave up trying to explain any of this stuff to US retailers.  Just ship the item USPS.  It either functions, or I repair it myself.  If I cant repair it,
it goes into the junk box.  

Jim  VE7RF