my package came!...... with an extra cost

Well I haven't blogged in a while because I have been waiting on my order from country kitchen to come in with all my cookie cutters for Christmas and otherwise as well as my disco dust and food colouring gels etc. I was so excited to get the package today I had been tracking it through UPS from the beginning and knew it was coming in today. Needless to say when it got it I jumped up to answer the door only to find an in a rush UPS man asking me for 63 dollars and some odd change.

63 dollars for what duties and taxes on a package certainly wouldn't cost almost as much as the package which was about 100 dollars. I come to find out that it is brokerage charges to export it through customs. I was more than willing to pay for duties and taxes as that's how it goes when shipping across borders. Being a previous employer of a courier company who ships internationally I know quite a bit about these fees but was not aware that UPS was among the highest charging me 43 dollars in brokerage. I had ordered several packages from the states before and used UPS with no brokerage or duties and taxes for that matter. So right away I email the company which has nothing on there site nor in the several emails me exchanged about brokerage fees.

It simply says you may incur custom charges which they cannot estimate which the man replying was eager to remind me of. Now I know brokerage is technically a customs charge but it is something they are agreeing to on my behalf without my consent as the package states in small writing. It is also something I believe should be told to customers seeing as the company would be able to somewhat estimate brokerage cost on package cost and tell the customer before shipping. I'm sure this isn't there first time shipping across borders to Canada or elsewhere but I am assuming telling customers you may pay half the cost of your package in brokerage may deter buyers.

I did some digging and also remembered I could have cleared this myself through customs or chose a different broker had I been given the option to saving me the 43 bucks. So I await my reply from the company which I am sure will be some nonsense about how they wont refund me and that its somehow my problem. So bakers beware as great as there products and prices are such as disco dust being 7-8 bucks at my local store to there cost of 4 dollars or less it will end up costing more in the customs fees. Should have gone with USPS hate to say it and had an undetermined delivery date with no brokerage charges :(. Hope this rant informs those ordering across borders at the extra costs you may end up paying while trying to save a buck...... now onto the goods!!!

Some gel colouring to add to my collection

Comfort grip cookie cutters from wilton amazing and among my fave.

mirengue powder and lemon extract a must have for royal icing and cookies

Disco dust have never used it before but cannot wait to make my cookies sparkle!

sugar pearls

before the unboxing

random Christmas and otherwise cutters

Princess cutters cannot wait to use these