How is Black Dragon for shipping to Canada? Fast? Slow? Good? Bad?

 

I bought some stuff from Victoria british which is basically now Black Dragon, and shipping was pretty fast and they took care of all the Duty and taxes and stuff which was nice. So good experience with them.

 

I found the shipping was reasonable, no surprises. I thought the shipping was slightly high, but forget how much it was now.

I'd deal with them again.

 

Anything shipped from the states is going to gouge you for massive brokerage fees, taxes, etc... and take a few more days to get here than it would if you lived in the US or ordered froim Canada.

That being said, I've had good dealings with VB/Black Dragon and wouldn't hesitate in an instant to order from them again.

Though I get all my stuff shipped to Ogdensburg now and go pick it up, since it's quicker and cheaper.

Jon

 

well, not entirely true. if you are a company there are ways to ship things to customers (from US to Canada) and the customer does not have to pay any additional fees. i'm not quite sure if they company pays the fees or if it's just some special type of shipping.
Tigerdirect is one example i can think of. i've ordered lots of stuff from them, always shipped from the states, and never any customs.

 

If it is shipped with UPS without using "UPS Express" then UPS will show up at your door with the package and require you pay a "brokerage fee". The fee is based on the declared value of the package.

This fee is a lot in my experience. (I paid $30 USA for some 1980 parts and the brokerage fee was $17 CAN. This fee was in addition to pre-paying $37 USA to have the package shipped.) If you ship using "UPS Express" they don't charge you this fee.

I spoke with someone at Canada Customs and if any package has a declared value of $20.00 or more and it is coming into Canada "for the first time" (ie the part and/or car was not previously sold in Canada) you have to pay GST and "duty" on it. (In my case of $30 in parts GST and duty was about $5. I would not have had to pay this if I received two $15 packages in place of one $30 package.)

A while ago my employer looked into the brokerage fees and found that DHL was charging the lowest fee so we request anything we order from the states is shipped via DHL or USP Express.

On another note recently we had over $900 USA in parts arrive at work (UPS Express) and the delivery guy left it by the door, rang the door bell and ran off without asking for a signature. Later they phoned to say they would invoice us for GST and duty. Usually they make us sign and pay the GST/duty at the time of delivery. I don't understand how UPS works.

 

i experienced the UPS courier brokerage ripoff with a mazdatrix shortshifter last year ... never again.

i just got leatherseat.com covers for the vert and they arrived USPS ( us postal service) quickly and no additional fees. Thats the way to go

 

I prefer having anything I order from the states shipped via USPS. They turn it over to Canada Post at the border, and you don't have to pay duties. Sometimes if its a large item your post office will even deliver it to your door.

 

the above is true, if they tell them at the other end to mark the Item as a gift. if its not marked as a gift you still get charged for taxes