# Duty fees on bows purchased from US



## Enticer (Sep 6, 2005)

I have not used any service other than USPS for shipments from the US, I refuse to pay their brokerage fees. If it is identified as sporting goods then there is no Duty on it but most times you will have to pay taxes on it. Wish I was closer so I could have things shipped to a Depot.


----------



## Asterisk*35 (May 9, 2020)

I can tell you the costs for USPS and buying used: the couple of states I bought from involved US tracked postal fees for the seller of about $70 USD (about $100 CAN) so whatever share of that you can negotiate out of in your deal. USPS is relatively fast but the bow can be at the border several days. At the border they add a $10 CAN fee on top of HST (13% for Ontario) and you will likely get the bill for that before seeing the bow. Used archery gear is considered used sporting goods so there is no duty. The biggest hit is the exchange for the price of the bow, about 1/3 on top of the US price today. Most private sellers will also want PayPay fees covered and PayPal even charges you a small fee for the transaction. Maybe other buyers have a better option for you, but a bow would have to be a really good deal in USD or hard to find in Canada to make USPS work compared to buying used (no tax) from the bow owner or dealer in Canada. And buying local to you allows you to walk away with the bow the same day without risk of damage in shipping. That said I have found a deal or two on US bows that made sense. Maybe look at local dealers used inventory and bow sales to see if that works for you. I wouldn’t try bringing a bow across without declaring it at the border so I would pay the same HST, otherwise there could be more costs in penalties and future hassles in border crossings. I’m not sure how a new bow would be treated but I’m sure Customs would tell you if asked.


----------



## 1/2 Bubble Off (Dec 29, 2016)

I've shipped NEW bows to Canada... I honestly don't know what my customer paid to get it once it crossed the border.

My contribution to this thread is I shipped via UPS, it was cheaper than USPS and delivery was 3 days faster. I've also shipped 2 bows to Finland via UPS without issue.


----------



## JMacwest (5 mo ago)

Asterisk*35 said:


> I can tell you the costs for USPS and buying used: the couple of states I bought from involved US tracked postal fees for the seller of about $70 USD (about $100 CAN) so whatever share of that you can negotiate out of in your deal. USPS is relatively fast but the bow can be at the border several days. At the border they add a $10 CAN fee on top of HST (13% for Ontario) and you will likely get the bill for that before seeing the bow. Used archery gear is considered used sporting goods so there is no duty. The biggest hit is the exchange for the price of the bow, about 1/3 on top of the US price today. Most private sellers will also want PayPay fees covered and PayPal even charges you a small fee for the transaction. Maybe other buyers have a better option for you, but a bow would have to be a really good deal in USD or hard to find in Canada to make USPS work compared to buying used (no tax) from the bow owner or dealer in Canada. And buying local to you allows you to walk away with the bow the same day without risk of damage in shipping. That said I have found a deal or two on US bows that made sense. Maybe look at local dealers used inventory and bow sales to see if that works for you. I wouldn’t try bringing a bow across without declaring it at the border so I would pay the same HST, otherwise there could be more costs in penalties and future hassles in border crossings. I’m not sure how a new bow would be treated but I’m sure Customs would tell you if asked.


Thanks, that's really helpful. Is there a good way to find used bows that are from Canadian Vendors? That would definitely be preferable, though I'm sure it's a smaller pool of options.


----------



## Asterisk*35 (May 9, 2020)

JMacwest said:


> Thanks, that's really helpful. Is there a good way to find used bows that are from Canadian Vendors? That would definitely be preferable, though I'm sure it's a smaller pool of options.


Only a few of my local bow stores carry used bows. I check their websites every once in a while or when I’m in store (easier for me cause I only have to look at left handed bows). I’m not on Facebook but many say lots of deals there in brand specific forums. I have had no problems with AT sellers so far in US and Canada. I also check the Kijiji website which is hit and miss but got my first bow and deal that way, in my own neighbourhood. There are other buy/sell websites but I haven’t found one with more archery gear than AT.


----------



## 1/2 Bubble Off (Dec 29, 2016)

Asterisk*35 said:


> Only a few of my local bow stores carry used bows. I check their websites every once in a while or when I’m in store (easier for me cause I only have to look at *left handed bows*). I’m not on Facebook but many say lots of deals there in brand specific forums. I have had no problems with AT sellers so far in US and Canada. I also check the Kijiji website which is hit and miss but got my first bow and deal that way, in my own neighbourhood. There are other buy/sell websites but I haven’t found one with more archery gear than AT.


I sell a lot of bows (new and used) in a Facebook group for Lefty's:









Left Handed Archery | Facebook


A place where left handed archers can congregate, buy, sell, and/or trade their equipment.




www.facebook.com


----------



## Enticer (Sep 6, 2005)

There is a Maple leaf classified section in this forum but it is not very active.


----------



## Asterisk*35 (May 9, 2020)

1/2 Bubble Off said:


> I sell a lot of bows (new and used) in a Facebook group for Lefty's:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


AT is my only social media, but that’s tempting. Maybe will check in thru my spouse, thanks


----------



## bowleg (Feb 28, 2015)

If an Item is shipped and the shipping manifest indicats that the item being shipped is a gift and not a sale than there are no duties to be charged as there is no sale of an item. If you look at a shipping form provided by most curriers there is an option to ship an item as a gift not a sale. I encourage you to look further into this and I hope it works for you same as it does for me.


----------

