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Duty Fees / Taxes at border
- Thread starter waloshin
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Only of the Zune sniffing dogs find you.
Question: what if it breaks once you're back home?
Only of the Zune sniffing dogs find you.
Question: what if it breaks once you're back home?
Good Question I would have to drive back lol. And theres a Zune sniffing dog?
Nah, they don't care about small/inexpensive stuff. To the poster who mentioned about it breaking.. well I'm sure the warranty is applicable globally, and it would cover it.
If the device is not available in Canada, direct, locally represented service would be an issue. Of course you can always pop it into a shipping box, but I prefer a local outlet which has a counter you can reach over.
Your choice.
But a cross-border spot inspection that reveals boxes and receipts for electronic goods will usually end up costing you.
Yes. Apparently the iPod sniffing dogs aren't capable of being trained to sniff out more than one type of media player, so they had to train other dogs to sniff out the new Zune.
At a minimum, it should cost you the GST. I don't think there would be duty, but that is just a guess. Having lived in a border town for many years the common experience was:
1) Never lie to the border officials. They are trained to detect lies. If you get caught in a lie the consequences are usually serious enough to make you wish you hadn't lied.
2) Never volunteer information. Answer the question, and nothing else. If they want to know more, they will ask.
3) Keep your answers minimalist. For e.g. When you are asked what you are bringing back, declare the MP3 player. If they want to believe its a cheap version, then don't enlighten them. If they want more details, then you can mention its a Zune.
4) They probably don't want to do the paperwork either. If you tell them up front what it is, they have no choice - its the rules. If they want to get to coffee early, then they can choose to leave it at "MP3" player. If they want to follow the rules, then they will ask more questions and you'll be OK because you did declare it.
People who brag about what they smuggled across the border are playing with fire. Once you are caught, your name is often flagged for future searches.
I knew a fellow who bought a very small portable TV, when portable TVs were still rare, and put it in the engine compartment when he crossed back from Buffalo. The agent asked what he had to declare, and my friend answered that he had a TV duct-taped to the inside of the hood. The agent thought he was joking, and passed him through. If he had looked, my friend would have been perfectly fine, and would have explained he was worried that someone might have broken into his car so he was hiding it.
Good Luck.
1) Never lie to the border officials. They are trained to detect lies. If you get caught in a lie the consequences are usually serious enough to make you wish you hadn't lied.
2) Never volunteer information. Answer the question, and nothing else. If they want to know more, they will ask.
3) Keep your answers minimalist. For e.g. When you are asked what you are bringing back, declare the MP3 player. If they want to believe its a cheap version, then don't enlighten them. If they want more details, then you can mention its a Zune.
4) They probably don't want to do the paperwork either. If you tell them up front what it is, they have no choice - its the rules. If they want to get to coffee early, then they can choose to leave it at "MP3" player. If they want to follow the rules, then they will ask more questions and you'll be OK because you did declare it.
People who brag about what they smuggled across the border are playing with fire. Once you are caught, your name is often flagged for future searches.
I knew a fellow who bought a very small portable TV, when portable TVs were still rare, and put it in the engine compartment when he crossed back from Buffalo. The agent asked what he had to declare, and my friend answered that he had a TV duct-taped to the inside of the hood. The agent thought he was joking, and passed him through. If he had looked, my friend would have been perfectly fine, and would have explained he was worried that someone might have broken into his car so he was hiding it.
Good Luck.
They're probably trained to sniff out a combination of: Starbucks, BC Bud, and burning electronics.
Just ditch the box at the mall before you cross back over the border. Or, if you really want the box that badly, go to a post-office and mail the empty box to yourself before you leave the US.
Put the Zune HD in your pocket, and if they ask, tell them you had it before you crossed into the US.
I bought my MacBook in Buffalo, NY while I was still living in Toronto. I ditched the box, put the MacBook into the laptop bag I brought with, and that was that. I saved around $300-400 because I bought it in the US because of the tax-savings and on the exchange rate (at the time, the Canadian dollar was worth more than the US dollar).
Put the Zune HD in your pocket, and if they ask, tell them you had it before you crossed into the US.
I bought my MacBook in Buffalo, NY while I was still living in Toronto. I ditched the box, put the MacBook into the laptop bag I brought with, and that was that. I saved around $300-400 because I bought it in the US because of the tax-savings and on the exchange rate (at the time, the Canadian dollar was worth more than the US dollar).
Toss the box and mail the receipt back home.
If your car has an AUX input, hook the Zune up to it and they'll be none the wiser, you wouldn't be the first person crossing the border with a media player connected to their car stereo.
If your car has an AUX input, hook the Zune up to it and they'll be none the wiser, you wouldn't be the first person crossing the border with a media player connected to their car stereo.
Music, eh?
Video, eh?
Photos, eh?
Podcasts, eh?
Extras, eh?
Shuffle songs, eh?
Settings, eh?
Aboot, eh?
Now Playing, eh?
I also hear Canadian iPods refuse to play anything besides Celine Dion and The Tragically Hip.
I've heard they also give better and more accurate directions to the nearest Timmy Ho's than even Google Maps.
I've heard they also give better and more accurate directions to the nearest Timmy Ho's than even Google Maps.
That's easy. Just look for the line-up at the busy shop across the street from the Starbucks.
I've heard they also give better and more accurate directions to the nearest Timmy Ho's than even Google Maps.
Yeah, it's under a secret menu named "Take off!".
Aaaand, I now have that song stuck in my head.
Nah, the newer models also have Rush and the Barenaked Ladies. Too many suicides after listening to all that Celine Dion.
QFT. My mother-in-law passed away last spring. Two weeks ago a Purolater delivery guy knock on my door, with a package and a customs bill for $15. It's for my wife, who is at the office, so I pay for it, assuming it's something she's bought from LL Bean, et al.
No.
A friend of hers in New Brunswick, just hearing about my M-I-L's death, orders a bereavement basket online from an American firm, consisting of a book on personal loss and a scented candle. Has it directly shipped to us in Ontario.
It's a sweet gesture, but I was still on the hook for the PST and GST.
Death and taxes, my friends. Death and taxes.
