$45 shipping total to ship from Vapor Kings via UPS

[Dusty_D]

Hey Can, first off, thanks for participating in this thread. It's cool to have a supplier share input on things like this.

I agree with a lot of what to say, I agree that not everything should be bought in bulk, and that for some items the savings are not really worth the hassle.

Unfortunately not everyone has a Costco membership. And if the choices for purchasing were simply vendor x or Costco, and vendor x knew you couldn't buy from Costco, there's no pressure on vendor x to have competitive pricing. That's how I feel about the Canadian/American discrepancy. I don't mind spending a couple bucks more on things here and there, but not everything all the time. I've said it before, I like supporting local folks, but my wallet is no patriot. I'll continue to buy the best deal I can find, and keep hoping that I'll see that best deal in Canada one day.

I don’t think you will see that change until regulations in Canada change.

The American companies that are selling at a discount are doing that because they have the volume.

The problem we have here is we cannot openly promote the product like they can down there. Combine that with the uncertainty of if or when the market will be shut down its too risky to expand into a operation that can offer discount products. Same principle as Wal-Mart, being huge allows them to offer products at a better discount. But what business can take the risk of an expansion in Canada with HC ready to do who knows what. Who wants to stock a warehouse of a year’s worth of goods, to get the lowest price possible from the manufactures, just to have HC kick the door down or close the market completely the next day.

For now what us Canadian vendors can do is continue to do what we hope we do well, which is supply the non-bulk market with the best service we can, getting the product to you as quick as possible and without hassles.

Sorry for the multi-quotes but both of these messages have very important points. Chinner, we all hope that someday Canadian suppliers are able to provide us with comparative pricing to the U.S. The reality of it is as Can_Supplier said, they can't afford to buy huge stocks knowing that HC could step all over their business at any time.

Let me use a fact as an example. I know suppliers here that buy their atty stocks in 100's from their source. When Vapor Kings bought his stock and advertised it, his note said 10,000 in stock, come and get them. See the difference. That being said, I come back to another point of yours. I'll continue to buy the best deal I can find, and keep hoping that I'll see that best deal in Canada one day.

 

[dopeh]

My workaround for UPS in general is to stiff them for the brokerage fees. I've done everything from writing a check and cancelling it to actually clearing my own goods. The way they do it is skirting the law, you have the right to clear your own shipment and not use their brokerage services, but they don't tell you that, it's nowhere on their site, and if you ask over the phone they LIE.

If you wanna clear your own, just refuse delivery and let them take it to the warehouse. Get your paperwork in order (not sure where to go in TO to get the form) and bring it to the UPS warehouse. It costs nothing, and they will have to release it to you regardless of whether they already "brokered" for you. Scamming fooks.

I don't order anything from people who use UPS, and with an answer like that, VK clearly doesn't care about the customer. USPS/CP is great, and the strike is over. If they expect us to pay all this just for better tracking, it just isn't worth it. Many US vendors ship to Canada for $6 or less and you get a delivery confirmation number, even though it's not tracked every step of the way.

 

[girlsaint]

When ordering small things, I use the least expensive shipping method possible. Know how many more things I can order when I save $15-$20 on EVERY order? If one order of $30 or so gets "lost"... I do not panic- I move on... it usually arrives eventually, and if it doesn't, I don't sweat it.

Half of this battle is having enough "on-hand" supplies to get you through. You know, like in case of a Canada Post Strike, or Customs delay, Nazi (er,,, I mean Conservative Government) Crackdown, or whatever else is delaying these parcels. You just don't want to have to overpay because waiting for slower shipping means you will go without.....

I also will not order anything from any company that uses UPS exclusively. I bought my step son a capacitor for his car stereo... $100.... when they brought it to the door they wanted more than half that again for fees. I paid it. Expensive lesson, but it won't ever cost me that again

 

[Switched]

When ordering small things, I use the least expensive shipping method possible. Know how many more things I can order when I save $15-$20 on EVERY order? If one order of $30 or so gets "lost"... I do not panic- I move on... it usually arrives eventually, and if it doesn't, I don't sweat it.

Half of this battle is having enough "on-hand" supplies to get you through. You know, like in case of a Canada Post Strike, or Customs delay, Nazi (er,,, I mean Conservative Government) Crackdown, or whatever else is delaying these parcels. You just don't want to have to overpay because waiting for slower shipping means you will go without.....

I also will not order anything from any company that uses UPS exclusively. I bought my step son a capacitor for his car stereo... $100.... when they brought it to the door they wanted more than half that again for fees. I paid it. Expensive lesson, but it won't ever cost me that again

absolutely

 

[Dusty_D]

absolutely

I agree too. I always have enough of spares to keep me going for months. This deal would have ...... me off even more if I was only ordering 10 atties, but I was not. And, lesson learned. If Vapor Kings does not change or offer different shipping options, I will not be ordering from them. I have already made Rob aware of that. The question that is of import is whether he cares or not.

 

[Pipeous]

ups brokerage fees are on ground shipments, same with fedex etc. the brokerage fee is incl in the price when you use worldsaver air etc and you will get your package in 1-3 days across the border.

I had a battle with fedex a while back. they never used to charge a brokerage fee. I ordered from one of my fav shops in cali. fedex mailed me a bill many weeks after I got my package and I had ordered a second order before the bill came. they screwed up both my shipments (one took 7 weeks to get here). ends up they just billed the company i ordered from for the fees as they have it in their contracts. I then paid them as they are friends. since, they have taken fedex ground shipping off international orders

 

[Chinner]

You can avoid all taxes and fees through ups if you have items shipped as personal effects.

I personally don't have hate for ups. I hate waiting and and usually will bite the bullet for the fatestest shipping. I also think that you have less risk of seizure when shipping this way, because if you have a parcel over-nighted from the us, it doesn't have all that much time to sit around and be inspected.

I'm slowly building up my PV collection, slowly stocking accessories for said collection, and as it stands I have juice stocked for a year at least. I'm hoping to be in a position where if HC spoils our fun, I can tell them to kiss my ... and happily vape away! Yeah maybe I'll have some waste down the road, but that's by far preferable to having any kind of shortage.

Now if only they could invent some electronic device to help me quit buying everything I see off the classifieds lol...

 

[DevilFishPhil]

Now if only they could invent some electronic device to help me quit buying everything I see off the classifieds lol...

Keep telling yourself it's a long term investment

 

[Pipeous]

I have friends inside UPS here and they said the only way (and it's very specific) to beat the brokerage fee is to label the item as a gift and the value has to be exactly $1

I've been burned by ups far too many times. There is actually a class action suit against them ongoing, for these brokerage fees

 

[JayTheVapingGuy]

i too would prefer to order canadian... but when i just ordered 10 atties (5 - 510 and 5 - 306) all LR and 6 drip tips (half and half 510-306) for less than 60 dollars from outside of canada, but the equivalent in canada is over 100.00 i can't justify it...

will it take a few more days to get here... yeah, probably, but i just can't afford to spend tons of money when i can get stuff a lot cheaper. juice, well that will stay canadian for the most part... but it is what it is...

 

[WiηgC¤mmαηdεя]

i too would prefer to order canadian... but when i just ordered 10 atties (5 - 510 and 5 - 306) all LR and 6 drip tips (half and half 510-306) for less than 60 dollars from outside of canada, but the equivalent in canada is over 100.00 i can't justify it...

will it take a few more days to get here... yeah, probably, but i just can't afford to spend tons of money when i can get stuff a lot cheaper. juice, well that will stay canadian for the most part... but it is what it is...

Well said.

I really like our Canadian suppliers, and I do refer people interested in getting started in vaping to them.
I understand that they have additional costs and are trying to make a living, they may also have contracts with their suppliers for what a product can be sold for as well.
The hard part is when I can get a genuine Joye eGo-t(900mah) kit, spare LR attie, extra 5 pack of tanks, plus 10 replacement tank caps delivered for $61.00(after sale price and coupon).
Yes its a longer wait to receive them, and if something goes wrong its a bit of a pain to get corrected, but I am on a fixed income and like many others can't resist the savings.

 

[JayTheVapingGuy]

My atties took 9 days to arrive... So yeah, 3-4 days to arrive is better and if there's a problem you KNOW our Canadian vendors will bend over backwards to help you out...but if you don't need quick and you're willing to take the risk of a delayed order or a problem( haven't experienced it yet) out of country is the clear choice... For now!!

Like the previous posters, I continue to watch the Canadian forums and continue to wait for prices to come in line with the US and foreign vendors.

 

[Switched]

My atties took 9 days to arrive... So yeah, 3-4 days to arrive is better and if there's a problem you KNOW our Canadian vendors will bend over backwards to help you out...but if you don't need quick and you're willing to take the risk of a delayed order or a problem( haven't experienced it yet) out of country is the clear choice... For now!!

Like the previous posters, I continue to watch the Canadian forums and continue to wait for prices to come in line with the US and foreign vendors.

You are never going to see that Jay, OTOH a reasonable mark up is not too much to ask

 

[dopeh]

Didn't they stop shipping to Canada? Guess they saw this thread

 

[SSRob]

Hello my Northern friends!

I'd love to ship to Canada for free if I could. The other problem we encounter, which wasn't addressed here, is my liability.

As an online retailer, if a customer files a chargeback, for pretty much any reason, I generally automatically lose because the credit card was not present at the sale. With USPS' poor (pretty much non-existent) tracking, I have absolutely no way to even begin to prove my case because I can't even prove the package was delivered. This is where UPS came about. The cost I was given was about 2-5 USD higher than USPS International. I initially was not aware of the outrageous customs broker fees that UPS charges you guys up there. Unfortunately I have no control over that.

Secondly, if I have to fudge the documentation to export the product to Canada, I'm putting my tail on the line. I don't know if they would ever do anything, but I'm risking my UPS account and unknown legal issues if they did. This is something I've been uncomfortable with, but have done, from day one.

The only way I'd be willing to re-open USPS International shipping is if I have a signed agreement from each customer stating that if the package is lost, stolen, seized, driven over, hit by a jet plane, etc, that I am not responsible and they waive their "right" to file a chargeback against me.

I -want- to do business with Canada. It isn't that I don't care, but as a business owner I have to cover my rear before I become concerned with what everyone else wants. It's just that plain and simple.

I welcome your comments/suggestions.

Thanks
Rob

 

[4mehealth]

Hi Rob, thanks for your input. I'd sign for that. Well, I'd say the cost of shipping would be worth a "gamble".

If I bought some bulk atty's, and it gets returned. I'm willing to swallow the cost of shipping. (I vaguely recall shipping being somewhere between 10-15, I may be wrong). That's not too bad a pill to swallow. Would you be willing to return the cost of the atty's? I'd sign that.

 

[Bdbodger]

Hello my Northern friends!

I'd love to ship to Canada for free if I could. The other problem we encounter, which wasn't addressed here, is my liability.

As an online retailer, if a customer files a chargeback, for pretty much any reason, I generally automatically lose because the credit card was not present at the sale. With USPS' poor (pretty much non-existent) tracking, I have absolutely no way to even begin to prove my case because I can't even prove the package was delivered. This is where UPS came about. The cost I was given was about 2-5 USD higher than USPS International. I initially was not aware of the outrageous customs broker fees that UPS charges you guys up there. Unfortunately I have no control over that.

Secondly, if I have to fudge the documentation to export the product to Canada, I'm putting my tail on the line. I don't know if they would ever do anything, but I'm risking my UPS account and unknown legal issues if they did. This is something I've been uncomfortable with, but have done, from day one.

The only way I'd be willing to re-open USPS International shipping is if I have a signed agreement from each customer stating that if the package is lost, stolen, seized, driven over, hit by a jet plane, etc, that I am not responsible and they waive their "right" to file a chargeback against me.

I -want- to do business with Canada. It isn't that I don't care, but as a business owner I have to cover my rear before I become concerned with what everyone else wants. It's just that plain and simple.

I welcome your comments/suggestions.

Thanks
Rob

I won't buy from any USA company that ships UPS ground . The extra brokerage fee is a rip off and doubles the cost of shipping in some cases . I can send packages from Canada and buy extra insurance if needed . Also packages have a free $100 worth of insurance on parcel post . I have never had to pay duty from a package sent USPS . I don't order high cost items though . Tracking may not be great but it does have tracking . I have gotten packages from Avid vapor and Provape that have arrived in 10 days although Madvapes seems to take over two weeks . I know if I order from the USA that I could end up waiting for an item to arrive but I accept that .

 

[Bdbodger]

I just want to add that I don't have a lot of time so I tend to shop online alot . I have never not gotten a package that was sent though the USPS .

 

[Switched]

Hi Rob, thanks for your input. I'd sign for that. Well, I'd say the cost of shipping would be worth a "gamble".

If I bought some bulk atty's, and it gets returned. I'm willing to swallow the cost of shipping. (I vaguely recall shipping being somewhere between 10-15, I may be wrong). That's not too bad a pill to swallow. Would you be willing to return the cost of the atty's? I'd sign that.

... key word here is if it gets returned to sender. You can't ask a merchant to re-ship goods not received or lost in the mail. Most do out of courtesy but are not required to do so. Most will re-ship on their dime but will discontinue to do so if it becomes cost prohibitive or package are routinely returned. I can't blame them.

 

[Switched]

Hello my Northern friends!

I'd love to ship to Canada for free if I could. The other problem we encounter, which wasn't addressed here, is my liability.

As an online retailer, if a customer files a chargeback, for pretty much any reason, I generally automatically lose because the credit card was not present at the sale. With USPS' poor (pretty much non-existent) tracking, I have absolutely no way to even begin to prove my case because I can't even prove the package was delivered. This is where UPS came about. The cost I was given was about 2-5 USD higher than USPS International. I initially was not aware of the outrageous customs broker fees that UPS charges you guys up there. Unfortunately I have no control over that.

Secondly, if I have to fudge the documentation to export the product to Canada, I'm putting my tail on the line. I don't know if they would ever do anything, but I'm risking my UPS account and unknown legal issues if they did. This is something I've been uncomfortable with, but have done, from day one.

The only way I'd be willing to re-open USPS International shipping is if I have a signed agreement from each customer stating that if the package is lost, stolen, seized, driven over, hit by a jet plane, etc, that I am not responsible and they waive their "right" to file a chargeback against me.

I -want- to do business with Canada. It isn't that I don't care, but as a business owner I have to cover my rear before I become concerned with what everyone else wants. It's just that plain and simple.

I welcome your comments/suggestions.

Thanks
Rob

Rob,

I feel for your plight / dilemma and support your position. I would like to know how you vendors ship because here is a classic example that USPS does indeed track to a T

Detailed Results:

Bullet Delivered, August 06, 2011, 10:02 am, CANADA
Bullet Attempted Delivery - Item being held, addressee being notified, August 05, 2011, 3:18 pm, CANADA
Bullet Attempted Delivery - Item being held, addressee being notified, August 05, 2011, 2:33 pm, CANADA
Bullet Addressee not available - Addressee advised to pick up the item, August 05, 2011, 2:28 pm, CANADA
Bullet Arrival at Post Office, August 05, 2011, 9:36 am, CANADA
Bullet Customs clearance processing complete, August 03, 2011, 1:43 pm, CANADA
Bullet Customs Clearance, August 02, 2011, 10:53 am, CANADA
Bullet Processed Through Sort Facility, August 02, 2011, 10:53 am, CANADA
Bullet Processed Through Sort Facility, July 30, 2011, 5:55 am, ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)
Bullet Arrived at Sort Facility, July 30, 2011, 5:44 am, ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)
Bullet Processed through Sort Facility, July 30, 2011, 1:24 am, BETHPAGE, NY 11714
Bullet Electronic Shipping Info Received, July 29, 2011

Albeit this is not ecig related (machine shop equip) all my orders from them tracked in this fashion. Packages from other sources don't seem to track so well. Is it because customer's signature is req'd? All I know is that a CJ prefix tracks well whilst an LJ not so well or not at all.