Canadians buyig FWW Archive beware!!

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I ordered the FWW archive thumb drive late 2023; 30% off "special offer".
Anyway, Friday the package arrives with a bill from Canada Customs and the carrier of $25.00 for clearing and taxes. Why so expensive?
It turns out the customs declaration did NOT show what I actually paid, ($63.00), but the full retail price of $99.99 $USA.
This is for a memory stick (maybe $1.50 in bulk), a plastic case (generously perhaps $1.00), and postage to Canada. Yes, I understand, intellectual property, but that's been paid off years ago.
Customer service said I had to speak to Editorial. Naturally, as of this date nobody has contacted me.
Oh well, I guess in the future I can pick up a copy on the new stand if I find the issue interesting.

[Bill Howatt]

Is there a breakdown of the total price, i.e. duty, GST/PST, vs clearing charges. If it came courier, especially UPS, that's likely a good amount of the cost.
My Bing AI says:
"The value for duty of imported goods in Canada is based on the full price of the goods, regardless of whether they were purchased on sale or at a discounted price" The reference cited for this statement comes from CBSA document.
I had a similar situation years ago for a sax I bought off eBay from a US source. It was a real good price but I got dinged by customs based on the "market value" for the used instrument.

[mike stenson]

The IP clearly has value, or you wouldn't have bought it.

[Edwin Santos]

It's seems kind of archaic that they would sell this archive in the form of a physical thumb drive.
You would think it would be something you could buy and simply download to your computer for your personal use.

Which begs the question, does Canada customs levy duty against a downloaded purchase? I'm thinking not because a quick search talks about import duty on items received by mail. As a practical matter they probably have no way of monitoring online data and IP transactions.
If FWW got with the times, it would have save you postage and duty and you would have had your archive instantly.

[Bill Howatt]

No, however you may get charged with GST/PST best compared to a US state sales tax. It used to be that this tax was rarely charged but as time goes on it is more prevalent. I would guess that if a US company does enough business they get on "the list" and have to charge and remit the tax collected. Too complicated to really try and understand it.
I imagine that the tax above (and broker fees perhaps) is what he really got charged not duty. I say this because of the US Mexico Canada Agreement, things made in the US should be duty free.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

Thank you to all of your answers. Yes, it's correct I was charged a "clearing fee". plus the GST and PST - however, in the past items nominal in value were never cleared, thus never collected the levies.
The object of my ire however remains the same: If Taunton (or any other entity) routinely discounts the price of their product is the "real" price what was actually paid, or the inflated arbitrary price they put on as "retail"? Over a certain amount, Canada Customs "clears" the item. Had I known that, I would have sent the item to my mailbox in Point Roberts and not paid "clearance" and taxes.
Anyway, the money's gone unless I dispute the transaction, but for those of us within 50 Km of the border, I'll take the drive and get cheaper gas at the same time.

[mike stenson]

It's seems kind of archaic that they would sell this archive in the form of a physical thumb drive.
You would think it would be something you could buy and simply download to your computer for your personal use.

Which begs the question, does Canada customs levy duty against a downloaded purchase? I'm thinking not because a quick search talks about import duty on items received by mail. As a practical matter they probably have no way of monitoring online data and IP transactions.
If FWW got with the times, it would have save you postage and duty and you would have had your archive instantly.

You can indeed download pdfs from them with the complete access subscription. It's not as convenient IMO

[Chris Parks]

It's seems kind of archaic that they would sell this archive in the form of a physical thumb drive.
You would think it would be something you could buy and simply download to your computer for your personal use.

I am sure it is done in this way to prevent online theft. I don't know about these days but in the past FWW was freely available online in torrents for anyone who wanted it without charge if you were so inclined.

[Anuj Prateek]

I ordered the FWW archive thumb drive late 2023; 30% off "special offer".
Anyway, Friday the package arrives with a bill from Canada Customs and the carrier of $25.00 for clearing and taxes. Why so expensive?
It turns out the customs declaration did NOT show what I actually paid, ($63.00), but the full retail price of $99.99 $USA.
This is for a memory stick (maybe $1.50 in bulk), a plastic case (generously perhaps $1.00), and postage to Canada. Yes, I understand, intellectual property, but that's been paid off years ago.
Customer service said I had to speak to Editorial. Naturally, as of this date nobody has contacted me.
Oh well, I guess in the future I can pick up a copy on the new stand if I find the issue interesting.

IIRC for anything above CAD 40, we have to pay customs, GST/PST, and brokerage fees. Brokerage fees is around CAD 10-15 for items under CAD 100. This can go up based on postal service provider and shipment value. USPS/Canada Post combination is cheapest. UPS and DHL are the worst. Essentially, you ended up paying extra tax on some CAD 45 i.e. ~CAD 5. Brokerage fees would have more or less still applied. Also, if you live near border then you can clear the item yourself. You will have to call postal service and ask them to not clear the item on your behalf. Saves the brokerage fees.

I bought the USB several years ago, when I was in US. It has seen practically no use. I wish it was a digital book or pdf that could stay on my phone.