The shocking cost of a digital cross-border shopping lark
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| Good things can come from cross-border shopping, but sometimes the sticker shock outweighs delight in the purchase made |
Buying sixteen notecards for almost $130 (Canadian) was not on my bingo card for February 2026, but I landed on that square nonetheless.
I am not cheap: I don’t mind paying good money for good things, and I have a weakness for beautiful notecards, especially if they feature water-colour-painted cats by an independent artist.
So it was that I found myself, via social media, on a website of just such an independent artist, based in the US, who does watercolours of, amongst other things, cats. I was in an enthusiastic mood, so I explored the website, put a couple of 8-card collections into my basket, then asked about shipping to Canada. No problem, can do, came the reply. Throwing caution and fiscal prudence out the window, I ordered two sets of cards for a total of 16 individual cards — reproductions of original art. Lovely.
Then the invoice came through. Gulp.
The (horrible) exchange rate, I was expecting; we are used to that on this side of the border. But the shipping cost — sheesh, that added another $26 Canadian to the transaction. Oh well, I said to myself, You’re in this far, go for it. All good: money towards an independent artist making a living from their art. Carry on, I told myself: Canada has been a loyal decades-long trading partner with the US. So I went ahead, but put off adding it all up for the grand total of my investment in this cross-border shopping lark. Just enjoy the moment, I told myself, for the moment.
A few days passed, with me feeling happily anticipatory. Nothing like knowing something a bit frivolous and lovely is going to be delivered soon!
Then arrived an email from UPS informing me that my package had cleared Customs but had incurred import charges. Oh, okay. Really? On notecards? Yes, in fact, charges totalling $46 Canadian! Wow! My happy anticipation turned to shock. I had not been expecting this additional cost. The image to the right shows the breakdown, where you will note that the biggest chunk of this fee is for “UPS Customs Brokerage Charges” which translated loosely means, I believe, that UPS charges this amount for someone to assess the value of the package (notecards!) and to slap taxes and other things (possibly tariffs: “Other Government Charges”) onto the item. I prepaid this urgent sounding bill (“If you don’t pay in advance there may be additional charges levied.”) and was rewarded with an almost seven-dollar reduction in the total. Grateful for small mercies.
When the package finally landed on the front porch, I set it aside, as I needed to steel myself to open it. Would the contents be worth the, to me, outrageous total I had paid for the pleasure of it?
- Total cost for cards, including shipping charge: $89.61 Canadian
- Customs clearing total $39.70 Canadian
- Total cost for 16 cards: $129.31 Canadian
- Per card cost: $8.08 Canadian
Let’s just say this: While I’m happy to have ordered from, and thus supported, a social-media-met independent US artist, the cost and the logistics of getting the goods across the border have put me off. I am sorry, my dear American sisters and brothers, but I can’t do this again.
What I have gained (apart from 16 notecards) is a reminder of the expense and the hassle that small (tiny) businesses must be experiencing every single day, simply trying to sell their wares either way across the border.
I am not broke or bankrupt after this transaction, merely vexed and chagrined by it. But I am feeling a bit like Ronald Reagan in Berlin, way back in 1987, when he said, “tear down this wall.” I am not advocating for a dismantling of the border between our countries, mind you; that is a line I’m happy to have. But do let’s tear down the trade walls that stand between us.
Let us support those political and business leaders who are trying to keep the trade barriers reasonably and reliably loose and “free” between Canada and the US. After all, we are neighbours and friends, and we benefit when our creativity and ingenuity can flow easily and reliably across the border in both directions.
Vive la différence, but vive le tariff-free friendship more.
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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Amanda: Sadly, your kind attempt to support US artist fell afoul of the revoking of the long-held "de minimus" exemption trade policy in late August 2025 by the Trump admin. Parcels worth less than $800 weren't subject to duties. That being said, I find UPS the courier company that demands the buyer cough up these payments.
ReplyDeleteDuring the pandemic, I remember winning a book by a new-to-me American indie author. She sent the book via UPS int'l mail. I got a similar notice to pay them outstanding charges that were more than tte value if the book ($25 US for a $10 book). I refused to pay & told UPS & told them to return it to the sender. Thry did.and I sent her an email explaining what happened. She was shocked.
Grace -- I have known that shipping from the US to Canada is expensive, though I hadn't realized just HOW expensive til this transaction! And it's interesting what you say about UPS and the charges they pass on (that maybe other companies don't?). You were certainly smart to refuse that 'free' book!
DeleteWhat an awful experience Amanda. The comment from Grace is most interesting. I had a similar experience mailing a small package to my sister in the UK. The duty imposed was high enough that she refused the package which eventually returned to me!
ReplyDeleteBut I do wonder how Etsy vendors are handling this. I ordered fur hat from an Etsy vendor for my daughter. It arrived but was far to big, came down
Over her nose. When I tried to return it the vendor told me the cost of customs etc and so we kept the hat but I won't order from Etsy again without confirming the origin first.
Yes, the buyer must be VERY aware of all the background details these days, Celia!
DeleteI, too, had an experience with customs a couple of years ago and declined an order, it was expensive without the added costs but I just refuse. to pay it. I will not order anything from the US anymore. however they are getting very sneaky about hiding their origins.
ReplyDeleteSadly this is the response from so many of us: I won't buy from the US again. I'm thinking it's likely true from the other side as well. So, who wins in this game??????
DeleteThank you for sharing this important information. If a bit more of those outrageous fees went to supporting artists, the world would be richer for it.
ReplyDeleteSo right, dear Anonymous. So true. Artists live with slim margins at the best of times; it is beyond tough these days for them...
Delete"If you are unhappy about what is happening right now south of our border and feel there's not much you can do about it, here is something you can do. By joining the protest group - https://www.resistandunsubscribe.com/ and unsubscribing to big tech companies that support Trump, you can make a statement where it hurts them most - in their bottom line."
ReplyDeleteResist and Unsubscribe will not immediately fix the woes we individually feel when we try to support our neighbours' artistic and otherwise productive efforts, but it can, with sufficient support, start bending the arc on trade negotiations and other US Admin policy that negatively impacts consumers on both sides of the border---in their pockets and potentially their physical well-being.
Scott Galloway, a clinical professor of marketing at the New York University Stern School of Business, explains in the video at the Resist and Unsubscribe website what you and I can do to help bend that arc. Our complaining will not change anything. Hitting the pockets of the big tech companies that exert influence can.
More info on this topic, thanks to Anon via me:
DeleteFurther to my posting as Anonymous regarding Resist and Unsubscribe, the following link takes you to a YouTube video by The Daily Beast featuring Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty interviewing Scott Galloway who describes the multiplier effect of the unsubscribe action on the stock market. Note: Ten big tech companies represent 40% of the S&P. The first example he gives is as follows:
"If you unsubscribe to ChatGBT, that's $240. It's trading at 40 times revenues. That's a $10,000 hit to their market cap."
Galloway describes his own personal actions in subscribing and the things he discovered that he had lost sight of, especially subscriptions that are set up to automatically renew.
And here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25bE1WRrXLE
If sticker shock isn’t bad enough, UPS & Canada Post won’t send a parcel to (family) in US unless you provide recipient’s SIN number! That applies to personal things like Grandma’s baby outfits she spent a year knitting. Ordering gifts from Amazon circumvents “merchandise” but then one has to rethink one’s boycott of Amazon.
ReplyDeleteGood grief - their SIN: that's absurd!!
Delete