Delivered cost
Shipping, duties, and the true delivered cost
Build a complete cross-border price from the part, currency conversion, freight, tax, duty, carrier charges, and return exposure.
Key takeaways
- Delivered cost is the amount required to receive the usable, correct part—not just the checkout subtotal.
- Duty and sales tax are different charges; duty can depend on tariff classification and country of origin.
- Unknown brokerage, return freight, or core-charge terms should be treated as costs or risks before ordering.
Build the cost in layers
Start with the item price for the complete compatible quantity. Add any mandatory hardware, core charge, environmental fee, and seller tax. Convert foreign-currency amounts using the rate you realistically expect to pay, including any card or payment-provider markup.
Then add shipping, insurance, duties, GST/HST/PST or other applicable sales tax, carrier brokerage or handling, pickup costs, and any fee collected on delivery. Keep uncertain amounts in a separate column instead of silently treating them as zero.
- Parts and required quantity
- Currency conversion and payment fees
- Freight, insurance, and remote-area charges
- Duty, taxes, brokerage, and handling
- Core deposit, return freight, and possible restocking
Separate duty from tax
For goods entering Canada, the CBSA determines applicable duty and taxes using information that can include the value in Canadian dollars, the type of good, its country of origin, the transport channel, and the destination. Sales tax may still apply when customs duty is zero. A free-trade agreement does not make every item sold by a retailer in a partner country automatically duty-free.
For qualifying courier shipments imported from the U.S. or Mexico, Canada currently applies different low-value thresholds for duty and tax. Mail shipments follow a different rule. Confirm the current threshold and the shipping method on the CBSA website before relying on an estimate.
Understand carrier and delivery terms
Ask whether the offer is delivered duty paid or delivered with charges still due. A seller can collect an import estimate at checkout, while another shipment may arrive with tax, duty, and a carrier service fee payable before delivery. Read the carrier service level—not only the promised date.
Canadian casual importers using an approved courier may have a self-accounting option through the CBSA, but the process and practical availability depend on the shipment and timing. Investigate it before delivery if a courier’s brokerage charge is material; do not refuse or delay a needed part based on an assumed saving.
Price the failure case
A comparison is incomplete until you know what happens if the part is wrong, damaged, delayed, or not accepted by the installer. Heavy return freight can erase the original saving. Duties or carrier fees may require a separate refund process, and a core return may have its own country, deadline, and shipping rules.
Before ordering, save the listing, fitment note, seller confirmation, checkout breakdown, tracking terms, and return policy. Those records make a dispute or reassessment easier than trying to reconstruct the offer after the page changes.
References
Sources and published site policy
- CBSA — Estimate duty and taxesOfficial Canadian estimator for personal-use imports, with a warning that the final assessment can differ.
- CBSA — Paying duty and taxes on mailed goodsOfficial explanation of valuation, GST, and how duty varies by goods and origin for items mailed to Canada.
- CBSA — Importing casual goods by courierOfficial information on casual courier imports and the importer’s option to self-account in eligible cases.