You can... but the sender then has to pay the return shipping and often won't refund what you paid for the item.
I've seen CanadaPost / USPS get increasingly sticky about this. It used to be a $5 handling fee, so they probably only routed things that way if it made sense to them... now it's $10, so they're routing more there.
It also might depend on the port of entry and destination. In Alberta, we're less likely to get dinged for it as it's only 5% GST. Other places where there's 12%+ HST are more of an opportunity to generate revenue.
As for the question about not knowing the price -- we can make some good guesses. Local sales tax (varies by province) + (rarely) duty at a couple percent + handling/brokerage fee. The handling/brokerage fee depends on carrier -- cheapest is USPS/CanadaPost - $10. I've seen $50 from FedEx in the past and $75 from UPS.
Consider this another nod towards Amazon.ca (I think you can do FBA in Canada), and also the main HA vendor here seems to be aartech.ca with whom I've had good dealings.
Bought my 2nd hub just last week (wanted the USB dongle free version) to Vancouver, BC. Purchased from Hubitat.com and payed using Paypal for a total of $147.19. I didn't encounter any additional fees on this one or the first one I purchased.
This is what we would do. But, it's not at all simple. Need to become a licensed importer, need to file taxes in Canada, need to have a physical location in Canada for returns to be sent, etc. Lawyers, accountants, mail agents, customs agents, bank accounts, on and on... Good thing is that I personally really enjoy coming to Canada and have previously done each of the above while being a seasonal resident in Victoria. Ah, but we left all of that a few years ago, so it means starting pretty much from scratch.
Anazo would be my preference too . However as an interim solution why not just provide international shipping with pre-paid brokerage fees? Most carriers offer this and your agent should be able to sort it out quickly, some even offer web plugins to automate the calculations.
I abandoned buying a Hubitat for this simple reason, as have been burnt by fees in the past.
The vast majority of our Canadian customers have not had to pay any duty at all on their purchase, when shipped by USPS/Canada Post. With UPS, FedEx, or DHL, it is a certainty that duty and fees will be collected. I am aware of only one or two cases where duty was collected by Canada Post upon delivery.
So if the choice is between paying more for certain, versus running a very small risk and paying less, which makes more sense?
Make that three in this thread: AaronJ, Wounded, and me.
In my experience of ordering from companies where the border charges are pre-negotiated, there is rarely anything charged as a "handling / brokerage" fee -- I have no problem paying my share of local taxes, but it really irks me to pay someone extra just to pick up a box, take one step across a border, and set it down.
One of my hubs sneaked through without any charges. For the other one I was charged sales tax (13%) + $10 handling fee. There is no customs duty on computers. I think people just have to be aware that they will probably get charged.
The latter of course! Two hubs delivered to Toronto via USPS/Canada Post, and no duty payment was required. Almost seems like these edge cases are a mistake on the part of the Canadian customs agent.
Here's what I see from Amazon .com when I try to order something they're willing to ship to Canada. Note, they charge a little bit extra for shipping ($6.22) and a bit for "Import Fees". While that "Import Fees" line is higher than the $2.56 I'd pay for GST, it's still lower than the $12.56 I'd pay if CanadaPost got their mitts on the shipment.
Also, I've had cases where Amazon has refunded part of it once they reconcile their accounts.
An intermediate step for Hubitat may be to look at using Amazon.com FBA but enabling shipping to Canada via the AmazonGlobal process...
We are already shipping by Amazon FBA, and FBA Export is enabled. You can order Hubitat Elevation from amazon.com in Canada, or most anywhere in the world. Of course, we only sell the North America version on amazon.com.
Interesting. I don't recall that being possible when I ordered about a month ago. Given that I paid Hubitat US$16 for shipping, in addition to the CanadaPost import fees of CA$15.97, it would have certainly been better to just pay Amazon US$21.06 for both... not to mention the fact that it then would have been delivered to my mailbox, rather than having to go pick it up at the Post Office.
One other interesting anomaly -- I've been ordering from Amazon.ca and when I track the shipment, it originated in the US. These are items sold by "Amazon.com.ca" like this: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000OD15CU -- not sure if that's something else that might be available and reduce your red tape...
But then there was also the possibility that you would have only had to $99.95 US + shipping, or if you ordered during the Easter weekend sale, you might have only had to pay $89.95 US + shipping.
It's a gamble, and the point is, you're free to not accept it and just pay more for sure if you wish.
With our current government, I think it's going to become less and less likely that things pass through without being ding'd for taxes. Heck, before long Trudeau will be taxing farts as they release greenhouse gasses.
Regardless, promoting Amazon.com as a solution for ordering to Canada might not be a bad idea for Hubitat's "where to buy".
