PLEASE don't use UPS for shipments to Canada
Hello: I know this is probably not something that can be done immediately, but please, PLEASE reconsider using UPS for shipments to Canada. UPS charges us "brokerage fees" which can be as high as $40-$50 on a package declared value of $200. It really, REALLY, is a very customer-unfriendly company to use for US-Canada shipments. Believe me, nothing is more frustrating than having UPS hold your shipments hostage until you pay their extortion racket. No other shipping company charges the brockerage fees, it’s only the UPS that’s so "special" (in a retarded way). Just send it USPS or FedEx, if you must, but avoid UPS for Canadian shipments like foot fungus.
|
|
|
|
|
I echo this concern. I was lucky on my $300 order because someone lied and declared the value at $35. My brokerage/GST fee was only $20 on top of the $17 shipping cost. I hate to think what it would have been if the full value had been declared. You are right about UPS, I can’ image why anyone would use them to ship to Canada
|
|
|
|
|
+1 on non-UPS shipping options.
Those that have used UPS in the past for cross border shopping know that the UPS brokerage fee is the deal breaker when deciding whether or not to make an online purchase. USPS/Canada Post only charges a flat rate of $5, which they sometimes don’t even charge. The sky’s the limit for UPS brokerage fees.
|
|
|
|
|
absolutely agree. UPS is great in the States and awful in Canada.
|
|
|
|
|
@xray: Yeah, I almost cancelled my plans to order our wedding book when I found out that Blurb uses UPS to ship to Canada. If UPS remains the only option available, it will definitely greatly affect my plans for this site. I really don’t wish to pay additional exorbitant fees on shipping, nor inflict this on fellow Canadians if I can avoid it.
|
|
|
|
|
I’ll chime in on this.As a fellow Canack,it is a WELL known fact,here,we live in Canada,,UPS SUCKS. ANYTHING ordered over $100 can NEVER come UPS. THEY steal a large fee from us. You offer no other choose(not nice,thanks). Along w what appears to be no customer service and this <cite>upgrade</cite> 1.9 whatever , I do have to question any large use of this service that is other wise good.Believe us up here,anyone that has had UPS steal from you NEVER uses again,period.
|
|
|
|
|
Why not avoid UPS for US shipments? Or at least give me USPS as an option? UPS is my very last choice of shipper, ever. US Priority Mail has it all over anything UPS offers. You actually get your packages, no random "signature required" one shipment, not required the next, no random misroutings, no exorbitant charges for shipments to AK and HI, service to PO boxes and APOs, moderate rates, the list goes on. The only thing I think UPS does well is deliver "free shipping" books and CDs from Amazon, and there is definitely no "free shipping" from Blurb.
|
|
|
|
|
Or offer UPS expedited services, no brokerage fee and a little cheaper than UPS Express. UPS Ground/regular is definitely a deal breaker.
|
|
|
|
|
I totally agree… but why not ask the following question: When can we expect a local, Canadian manufacturor of the books? As that would solve the mailing question, the brookerage fees, but also the long border waiting time. Dirk
|
|
|
|
|
Don’t have to ask, there are a few new start Canadian Blurb wannbe, but the page cost are rather high for now, give it a few months, it will be as cheap as Blurb…. competion is good!
|
|
|
|
|
Oh man, I was so excited about Blurb, then saw this. This may be a dealbreaker for me, a $30 book is great until it costs $110. I always avoid UPS shipping yeah, ugh ugh ugh. Has anyone written to Blurb and formally requested another option? Maybe we all should??
|
|
|
|
|
Is this just on big orders? I have done 2 books which cost me around $55 including the shipping and have never had to pay any extra charges to UPS here in Canada.
|
|
|
|
|
That’s very lucky for you Jill, nice! I know in the past, most things I have ordered through UPS are subject to the brutal fees, to the point where I stopped doing it. Actually, I just got curious on the exact fees, so I phoned UPS, and this is what they told me when I asked about having a $30 package and a $100 package sent: The border clearing fee for a $30 package would be $17.10, not including any applicable duty and taxes. In my experience, you at least get charged the GST as well, and I don’t know whether there is duty on books or not. The fee for a $100 package is $40, again not including any duty and fees. This is bad for me cause I want a very big book with a lot of pages, bah. I asked whether there were any exemptions or whatnot, and what they told me was that if the package is under $20 (canadian), or if the package is sent by air, then these fees do not apply. The air option is more expensive and I guess faster, and I think birdimages said something about it above. So, a 30 book costing 110 was an exegerration by me I guess hah, that was based on a guitar I bought on Ebay for $100 that ended up costing me almost double the price with shipping and this fee and taxes put in. But yeah, UPS is definintely the worst possible option that Blurb could provide, and it’s really making me wonder, I know of a competing service that does offer USPS, but just doesn’t look as good as Blurb otherwise, sigh.
|
|
|
|
|
You can find UPS customs brokerage fees here: http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html You can see all air services are fee free. The best alternative is US Postal Services. I don’t like UPS, they are usually incorrect in classifying the goods, and charged Duty on somehting that should have been duty free. The only way to get it back it to write Canada Customs and ask for a refund. For a $10 duty, I don’t think I want to pick a fight with the taxman… LOL
|
|
|
|
|
Hey birdimages, can you email andrewtest at gmail.com
with the address of the canadian alternative you mentioned?
|
|
|
|
|
Only once did I make the mistake of ordering something from the US which was shipped by UPS Standard but that was enough for me. For their "service" of being able to figure out how much Canadian sales tax I owed, they tacked on an additional surcharge ("brokerage fee") of $45.65!! Oh yeah, they also had to figure out that a shipment from the US to Canada came under NAFTA and was therefore duty-free. That kind of "service" I can do without. Can you say "highway robbery"? If a US company does not offer the option of shipping by USPS, I simply move on to another one that does. My advice would be to check out Viovio. For an order in the $30 – $150 range, you can get international shipping for $4.99. A bit slower probably but at least you have the choice! For my book #2, I will probably check out Blurb again to see if they have figured it out but bye for now.
|
|
|
|
|
I had totally forgot about the UPS canadian money grab …. til now !!!! .... I’m waiting for a book …. looking at the on line tracking …i see …. a typical USP mess …. shipped to wrong address … re-directed …. waiting for re-direction ….. the list goes on …......... Why in the world does Blurb not respond to Canadian concerns over UPS and offer us the alternative of postal service …that is faster … cheaper …. relieble… etc. <cite>??</cite> Like
|
|
|
|
|
Unfortunately we don’t have a print partner that is able to ship via USPS. We understand the legitimate concerns you’ve expressed and USPS support is something we are working towards. That said, USPS support will not be in place for this holiday season.
|
|
|
|
|
I’m happy to see you working towards having USPS as an option for Canada, as I won’t be ordering until it is. Far to many horrendously expensive experiences with UPS. Thanks for listening.
|
|
|
|
|
Just don’t use UPS period.
What’s wrong with USPS Priority Air and Express. Fast, efficient, trackable and CHEAP!!!
|
|
|
|
|
timrock…reference my post above on this.
|
|
|
|
|
I agree 100% that UPS to Canada is the worst shipping solution because of all the extra charges. I really wished I had known this before I used Blurb to author my book. I was about to purchase a number of books as Christmas gifts. Now I need to find another solution because Blurb has said an alternative shipping solution will not be in place for Christmas orders. It’s very said that a company with a great product and book solution cannot offer a cost effective shiping solution to Canada. I have also had horrendous experience with UPS "additional" charges where the extra charges cost more than the original shipping quote and value of the product.
|
|
|
|
|
You gave the game away, you "don’t have a print partner…" You’re subcontracting, that’s why you’re having quality control problems, such as books with pages falling out. The subcontractor does not care. Nope, no, no, no install of Blurb, bye, bye.
|
|
|
|
|
Yes…partnering is quite standard in this industry. And I can assure you that we require each adhere to a strict set of Blurb defined standards and are held accountable for each book that falls short of these. Internally we have a team that meets to discuss reprint rates, which are very low, and SLA every afternoon. I hope this helps.
|
|
|
|
|
I just want to chime in that you would be hard pressed for find another printing option that don’t partner with someone for the printing. Those presses are capital intensive and do require trained personnel and lots of quality control.
|
|
|
|
|
UPS is the pits….dont even deserve to be a shipping company. Service is lousy, rates are through the roof and "brockage fees"....well enough said about the outrageous prices of UPS brockage fees. But there is one way to overcome this. Technically there is no taxes on books in Canada. All that Blurb has to do if they insist on shipping with UPS ( and thus loosing the Canadian market ) is to declare those books as "DOCUMENTS" and dont mark any monetary value This way UPS CANNOT CHARGE ANY BROCKAGE FEES ON THOSE BOOKS. If they do….then the goverment will get their * kicked. But i agree 100%....UPS sucks. USPS Global Priority is the best. Cheap, friendly and trackable. And Canada Post if they see it as books will not charge taxes or brockage fees.
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks for the Documents tip bablephotos…I’ll look into this. Few if any will be happier than me once we are able to support USPS. The message coming out of Canada has been loud and clear.
|
|
|
|
|
So what am I supposed to do now? I am ready to order my book, and 10 copies for Christmas gifts – about $300. Now I am told UPS has brokerage fees. I have put a lot of work into this book. I don’t want all this work for naught – what am I suppose to do. Order one book at a time?
|
|
|
|
|
From what I have seen, the hidden "brokerage fee" surcharge applies only to the UPS Standard service. By choosing one of their faster but more expensive options, you can avoid the surcharge and end up saving money in the long run. On larger orders, the shipping costs naturally become proportionately less important and the UPS rates are actually pretty good. It is for the small, one-book orders that UPS has priced themselves right out of the market.
|
|
|
|
|
This service looks very interesting, and I’m anxious to order a book, but I’m also in Canada and there is no way I will order anything UPS. I buy a ton of stuff online and UPS is a deal breaker for me. Let me know when you can put it in the mail.
|
|
|
|
|
Mr Lock Bite your lip and hope for the best or get ready to pay another 120.00 to the brown man.
|
|
|
|
|
Just to kick this dead horse a bit more—we got our shipment of 5 wedding books, and UPS charged us $20 in brokerage fees.
|
|
|
|
|
Yiiii Haaa…. Brown just delivered my book, UPS Standard/ground, and Brown did not ask for fees and taxes!! Guess what, it is a single 120-page book, and the good people at Blurb declared a value of $5, therefore there is no extra brokerage, no taxes, nothing. On top of that, the book is sewed together rather than just glue, no pages are falling out. After the exchange, with the strong C buck, and a $8 off coupon (google Blurb coupons), the net cost came to C$42. Now this is a bargain! Thanks Blurb
|
|
|
|
|
Update to my last post: I do have problem with the binding, it is starting to fall apart after a few viewing…. but this is for other discussion thread
|
|
|
|
|
Just got my latest book today and no additional charges. This is my 3rd one and no additional charges on any of them. Thanks Blurb, A happy customer here!
|
|
|
|
|
I’ve ordered 4 books from Blurb and had them shipped to me in Toronto, Canada. All have arrived with UPS with NO extra fees. Blurb simply declared the value of the book to be at $5 USD on the UPS declaration form, and I trust there are no brokerage or extra fees invloved at that amount. Keep it up Blurb if that’s your workaround. I’ve been happy with the results.
|
|
|
|
|
I have to agree with this – I try to never us UPS for US/Canada shipments for the same reason of the exprbitant brokerage fees. Since I live close to the border in Vancouver I get my shipments sent to a mail drop just over the border in the US and go and pick them up myself. However, USPS is an acceptable alternative.
|
|
|
|
|
I’m about to start my few books but just discovered UPS charges. It’s a dealbuster for me. Reading few of the last replies, it seems like Blurb is now declaring value of the books as $5, So no extra UPS charges. Is it the case with all orders? Or should I mention it alongwith my order? If they do declare $5 value, I’d go with blurb OR I’d have to chose another provider.
|
|
|
|
|
I live in Alaska and UPS is the worst way to send things up here. I really wanted to order one of your books that cost $14.95, but your UPS shipping was going to be $35.00 – and that’s for ground service! Where I live everything comes by air or sea – there is no ground transportation. USPS would have been $4.60 for Priority Mail and would have arrived sooner. Please consider adding USPS services to your shipping department. UPS is lame.
|
|
|
|
|
Anyone know if they are now declaring all orders as $5 so there are no extra fees to the customers? I have a 10 book order ready, but dont know if I should pay the extra $10 or so dollars to have it express (and only maybe 1 day faster) or if they will claim the 10 books are only worth $5? Anyone know?<cite>??</cite>?????
|
|
|
|
|
Aside from the cost of shipping and the brokerage fees from UPS, here’s another reason to offer alternate shipping methods.
Order Number: XXXXX
Order Date: 07 Nov 2007 Tracking Number: 1Z0431856848353216
UPS picked up Nov 16/07 UPS scheduled delivery – Nov 28/07
= 9 days to print and 12 days to deliver
I don’t think Blurb helped the situation by printing the book back east, when I live on the west coast. The rationale was to save time due to the volume the west coast printers were handling.
During this time I will say that both the representatives from UPS and Blurb were great at getting back to me with answers. I didn’t particularly like the answers, but at least I was being provided with information.
Jack
|
|
|
|
|
Aside from the cost of shipping and the brokerage fees from UPS, here’s another reason to offer alternate shipping methods.
Order Number: XXXXX
Order Date: 07 Nov 2007 Tracking Number: 1Z0431856848353216
UPS picked up Nov 16/07 UPS scheduled delivery – Nov 28/07
= 9 days to print and 12 days to deliver
I don’t think Blurb helped the situation by printing the book back east, when I live on the west coast. The rationale was to save time due to the volume the west coast printers were handling.
During this time I will say that both the representatives from UPS and Blurb were great at getting back to me with answers. I didn’t particularly like the answers, but at least I was being provided with information.
Jack
|
|
|
|
|
As a fellow Canadian, I just want to echo the comments on using UPS to ship from the US to Canada. Just don’t do it. I too have been burned by the brown man for their bandit tax and will never use them again. I have had stuff shipped many times by USPS without incident. What is wrong with Fed Ex by the way?
|
|
|
|
|
Integrating USPS is a high priority for us in the coming year. Everyone’s repeated frustrations re: the "brown man" (good stuff) are valid and we are working with our print partners to come up with a solution. This is key as we are dependent on our print partners support of USPS before we can extend it to you. I will personally be the first to announce this, along with the international SYP program, once USPS is available.
|
|
|
|
|
$275 order headed my way now and I’m gritting my teeth waiting for the massive extortion fee at the door. Was really upset to learn blurb uses UPS for shipments to canada. Glad to hear that this problem is being solved, but it was a mistake to not figure it out before this cristmas season; guaranteed you’ve lost a lot of business as a result.
|
|
|
|
|
A Canadian law firm in Vancouver have initiated Class Action lawsuit agains UPS for their outragous brokerage fees. If you have been stung be sure to sign up here: http://www.poynerbaxter.com/UPS.htm Glen
|
|
