[Jared Purdy]

After nearly a month, I finally received a pair of 2015+ Campy Record 11 speed shifters that I ordered from probikekit.com. After two weeks of tracking inactivity, they declared the item lost, and promptly issued a refund and bountiful apologies. It was never their fault.

Defiant until the end, however, Fed Ex Cross Border was adamant that the item was not lost, in spite of their tracking indicating that it was in Madrid, Spain, and unmoved for fourteen days. Things started to shake up a few days ago when out of the blue, I got an update that the bloody things had arrived with Canada Customs in Toronto! And then, today, delivered by Canada Post. Bust out the bubbly!!!

I've been on the up and up with probikekit in terms of these updates, and I told them that I'd notify them when the package arrived and payment would b made. I'm an honest bloke, and not apt to take advantage of the misfortune that has befallen both of us. What really shocked me though was what Canada Customs slapped me with in duty and taxes. To say that they are totally inconsistent would be an understatement. Their levying of duties is whimsical. The shifters cost $380CDN and I was slapped with $137CDN in duties!!! Like, holy sh*t!! I've ordered several items in that price range from a range of international sellers. In most cases I wasn't charged anything, and in one case I was charged $65CDN on a pair of $350CDN Deda RS Superlegerra bars.

In my back and forth with the folks at probikekit.com there's been some interesting and informative messaging on shippers and such. When I mentioned to "Stuart" what I got slapped with for the shifters, he said based on my experience and my honesty, they're going to deduct the duty from the price!!! Wow, that's generous.

A happy ending to an annoying experience.

 

[lhartle1]

You should be able to dispute the duties you payed , in Canada there is no duty on bike parts . You can be charged GST and PST if applicable . Here is a list of Tariff codes and percentage of duty payable for certain items.
If you can, get the seller to label things very specifically, ideally with the actual customs tariff item number. Here are the numbers and their tax rates all together:

• 8712.00.00 – Complete Bikes – 13%
• 8714.91.10 – Frame lugs, bottom bracket shells, forks, fork tubing sets, fork bearing assemblies, hydraulic shock absorbing cylinders, spring shock absorbers, rear pivots, cable stops, cable guides and back, chain and seat stays – 0%
• 8714.91.90 – Frames and forks and parts thereof, OTHER than the above – 5%
• 8714.92.00 – Wheel rims and spokes – 0%
• 8714.93.00 – Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes plus free-wheel sprocket wheels – 0%
• 8714.94.00 – Brakes, including coaster braking hubs and hub brakes plus parts thereof – 0%
• 8714.95.00 – Saddles – 0%
• 8714.96.00 – Pedals and crank-gear, and parts thereof (I’d put chainrings in here too) – 0%
• 8714.99.10 – Bicycle wheels (I’m assuming assembled) – 6.5%
• 8714.99.90 – OTHER bike parts – 0%

Remember customs officers are at work just like the rest of us and the more you do to make their job easier the better! Obviously they’re still going to check your package but if you save them the time of having to figure out what everything is and what particular category it should fall in to then you’ll probably find you can get things through customs with a lot less hassle.
OTHER TIPS
UPS and Fedex-type couriers all charge a fairly hefty ‘brokerage fee’ for processing your package through customs. This fee is usually $30 or more. The postal service however does NOT charge these fees. If at all possible get your items shipped via the regular postal service. Besides the shipping charge being way less that brokerage fee disappears.

 

[Peter P.]

Thanks for the update, and congratulations and thanks for your honesty.

 

[PBL450]

Wow, that’s great! Thanks for the update! That CDN fee is crazy, sorry for that additional PIA.

So, the second time I gave up on PBK and cancelled my order... I ordered the product in mid May. After 3 weeks with no contact I emailed them. Nothing. I went back and checked my old emails. I sent a second email asking about cancelling my order and getting a refund. They DID reply to that. They said, basically, they don’t actually have items, they are basically just a web-site. When they get an order they buy it and have it shipped to the customer. They told me I was slated to get my order around middle October. This was the 2nd week of June. They also told me how to cancel my order, which I did and it was easy and I got refunded almost immediately.

My first order was a proprietary Scott seatpost that was not widely used even by Scott. In retrospect I think they couldn’t find one. Being a thinly veiled middleman supplier without actual products will cause this I guess. I did manage to find what I needed. I payed $150 for a freakin CF seatpost.

PBK may as well be Alibaba. They are OK unless you expect them to have products they advertise, or you expect your order to arrive in around 6 months.

If you are patient enough, I suspect they will come through eventually, at least 50% of the time IME.

 

[Jared Purdy]

You should be able to dispute the duties you payed , in Canada there is no duty on bike parts . You can be charged GST and PST if applicable . Here is a list of Tariff codes and percentage of duty payable for certain items.
If you can, get the seller to label things very specifically, ideally with the actual customs tariff item number. Here are the numbers and their tax rates all together:

• 8712.00.00 – Complete Bikes – 13%
• 8714.91.10 – Frame lugs, bottom bracket shells, forks, fork tubing sets, fork bearing assemblies, hydraulic shock absorbing cylinders, spring shock absorbers, rear pivots, cable stops, cable guides and back, chain and seat stays – 0%
• 8714.91.90 – Frames and forks and parts thereof, OTHER than the above – 5%
• 8714.92.00 – Wheel rims and spokes – 0%
• 8714.93.00 – Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes plus free-wheel sprocket wheels – 0%
• 8714.94.00 – Brakes, including coaster braking hubs and hub brakes plus parts thereof – 0%
• 8714.95.00 – Saddles – 0%
• 8714.96.00 – Pedals and crank-gear, and parts thereof (I’d put chainrings in here too) – 0%
• 8714.99.10 – Bicycle wheels (I’m assuming assembled) – 6.5%
• 8714.99.90 – OTHER bike parts – 0%

Remember customs officers are at work just like the rest of us and the more you do to make their job easier the better! Obviously they’re still going to check your package but if you save them the time of having to figure out what everything is and what particular category it should fall in to then you’ll probably find you can get things through customs with a lot less hassle.
OTHER TIPS
UPS and Fedex-type couriers all charge a fairly hefty ‘brokerage fee’ for processing your package through customs. This fee is usually $30 or more. The postal service however does NOT charge these fees. If at all possible get your items shipped via the regular postal service. Besides the shipping charge being way less that brokerage fee disappears.

Thanks for that. I'm going to contact Canada Customs today. The postal guy that delivered them told me it wasn't a Canada Post levy, which I knew it wasn't. Outrageous.

 

[Jared Purdy]

Wow, that’s great! Thanks for the update! That CDN fee is crazy, sorry for that additional PIA.

So, the second time I gave up on PBK and cancelled my order... I ordered the product in mid May. After 3 weeks with no contact I emailed them. Nothing. I went back and checked my old emails. I sent a second email asking about cancelling my order and getting a refund. They DID reply to that. They said, basically, they don’t actually have items, they are basically just a web-site. When they get an order they buy it and have it shipped to the customer. They told me I was slated to get my order around middle October. This was the 2nd week of June. They also told me how to cancel my order, which I did and it was easy and I got refunded almost immediately.

My first order was a proprietary Scott seatpost that was not widely used even by Scott. In retrospect I think they couldn’t find one. Being a thinly veiled middleman supplier without actual products will cause this I guess. I did manage to find what I needed. I payed $150 for a freakin CF seatpost.

PBK may as well be Alibaba. They are OK unless you expect them to have products they advertise, or you expect your order to arrive in around 6 months.

If you are patient enough, I suspect they will come through eventually, at least 50% of the time IME.

When I ordered those shifters, they were listed as in stock. Now, when you click on the item, it's listed as being out of stock. I'm not entirely sure what they are, as a business, I mean? Do you know what HUB is? They're involved, somehow.

 

[Lombard]

In my back and forth with the folks at probate kit.......

You need to turn off that auto correct!

Anyway, glad this story had a happy ending.

 

[Jared Purdy]

You should be able to dispute the duties you payed , in Canada there is no duty on bike parts . You can be charged GST and PST if applicable . Here is a list of Tariff codes and percentage of duty payable for certain items.
If you can, get the seller to label things very specifically, ideally with the actual customs tariff item number. Here are the numbers and their tax rates all together:

• 8712.00.00 – Complete Bikes – 13%
• 8714.91.10 – Frame lugs, bottom bracket shells, forks, fork tubing sets, fork bearing assemblies, hydraulic shock absorbing cylinders, spring shock absorbers, rear pivots, cable stops, cable guides and back, chain and seat stays – 0%
• 8714.91.90 – Frames and forks and parts thereof, OTHER than the above – 5%
• 8714.92.00 – Wheel rims and spokes – 0%
• 8714.93.00 – Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes plus free-wheel sprocket wheels – 0%
• 8714.94.00 – Brakes, including coaster braking hubs and hub brakes plus parts thereof – 0%
• 8714.95.00 – Saddles – 0%
• 8714.96.00 – Pedals and crank-gear, and parts thereof (I’d put chainrings in here too) – 0%
• 8714.99.10 – Bicycle wheels (I’m assuming assembled) – 6.5%
• 8714.99.90 – OTHER bike parts – 0%

Remember customs officers are at work just like the rest of us and the more you do to make their job easier the better! Obviously they’re still going to check your package but if you save them the time of having to figure out what everything is and what particular category it should fall in to then you’ll probably find you can get things through customs with a lot less hassle.
OTHER TIPS
UPS and Fedex-type couriers all charge a fairly hefty ‘brokerage fee’ for processing your package through customs. This fee is usually $30 or more. The postal service however does NOT charge these fees. If at all possible get your items shipped via the regular postal service. Besides the shipping charge being way less that brokerage fee disappears.

I just used the duty/tax calculator on the Canada Customs web site for importing personal items. They don't have a specific listing for brakes or components, just "bikes". I entered $380 and duty was calculated at $49.40 (13%) and taxes were calculated at $55.82 (13%). I'm going to see if I can't speak to someone. Where did you find those figures?

 

[lhartle1]

I just used the duty/tax calculator on the Canada Customs web site for importing personal items. They don't have a specific listing for brakes or components, just "bikes". I entered $380 and duty was calculated at $49.40 (13%) and taxes were calculated at $55.82 (13%). I'm going to see if I can't speak to someone. Where did you find those figures?

The tariff codes came from a long article written by a organization in Vancouver . I have ordered quite a few parts and frames and had the shipper add the tariff code and I have never been over charged on customs fees. Have been dinged by the cartage company a number of times though . Here is the link .terminalcityriders.ca/articles/importing-bikes-and-parts-to-canada

 

[Jared Purdy]

The tariff codes came from a long article written by a organization in Vancouver . I have ordered quite a few parts and frames and had the shipper add the tariff code and I have never been over charged on customs fees. Have been dinged by the cartage company a number of times though . Here is the link .terminalcityriders.ca/articles/importing-bikes-and-parts-to-canada

I will be sure to include those codes in the future!! Thanks!

 

[Jared Purdy]

I just used the duty/tax calculator on the Canada Customs web site for importing personal items. They don't have a specific listing for brakes or components, just "bikes". I entered $380 and duty was calculated at $49.40 (13%) and taxes were calculated at $55.82 (13%). I'm going to see if I can't speak to someone. Where did you find those figures?

I just contacted CBSA, and after pressing "0", by god, I got through!!! The agent I spoke to seems to be under the impression that unless it was made in the US or Mexico, it's subject to duty and taxes. That has always been my impression as well.

However, after inspecting the declaration form that was filled out by Canada Customs, it's clear they made a massive mistake. They labelled the item as women's clothing, which has a 18% tax rate. I have no idea how they could have made that error as the box had clearly been opened and the invoice from the retailer clearly states "Campagnolo 11 speed Ergopower shifters".

The agent I spoke to told me what form I need to fill out and send to the local "casual dispute office", which thankfully is in the GTA. I listed the tariff code for brakes that you sent, so we'll see what comes of this.

 

[lhartle1]

Continue updating us , I am interested in how this all turns out .

 

[Jared Purdy]

Continue updating us , I am interested in how this all turns out .

Will do. The form has been filled out, and mailed. The agent said I should hear back in two weeks.

 

[No Time Toulouse]

Will do. The form has been filled out, and mailed. The agent said I should hear back in two weeks.

Good luck with that! My experience dealing with Canada Customs is that you'll need the patience of a saint...