Shipping & Duty cost to Canada?

[shorty2434]

I am new to figure collecting, so I don't know much about it. I am very interested in buying the 1:6 Loki figure from Avengers (as well as some others), but I am worried that the cost of shipping and duty will drive up the price. The figure itself is $220, but I'm worried that the shipping costs, and what customs will charge me will nearly double the price.

Is there an estimate as to how much I could possibly pay, to have it shipped to Ontario, Canada, and the duty charges I could expect? Or is there anyone here who has ordered these figures and lives in Canada and can give me some numbers?

 

[Custo]

Shipping should be $25. At the door you'll be charged your provinces taxes and handling fee of $10. Fedex usually doesn't charge me duties but I recently had a statue have duty charges on it.

 

[shorty2434]

Do you mind me asking, how much was the duty they charged? And how much were your previous transactions? By my calculations, my total would come to around $288, based on the numbers you gave ($220 figure + $25 + $10 + 13% tax). This would be my first figure purchase.

 

[eaglerabbit89]

You live in Ontario? There is a place in Markham, Ontario that sells Hot Toys figures called Toy Square. I get my figures from there. Of course, I was charged the 13 percent tax. You wouldn't have to worry about duty and extra charges though since you are already within Ontario.

 

[Arctic Beast]

I was told that creating a fed-ex account and linking it to your Sideshow accounts helps with speed and keeping costs down. Like you I just got into the hobby and haven't ordered anything that's actually shipped yet. I did posts questions like this when I first joined the site a few weeks ago and that's what I was told.

 

[shorty2434]

@eaglerabbit89 I was looking at Toys2, have many people here bought from them? Their website looks pretty bare-bones (https://www.toys2.net) and has some typos (it says the items are available for pre-order Q4 2011...instead of 2012). Unless that's not the right website?? I've looked on the phonebook sites and no website is listed either. What is their customer service, etc. like? I do like that they're somewhat local, and I could possibly drive there if need be. Would it be better to go to the shop to pick it up? Or do they ship their items packed pretty well? There's nothing I hate more than buying something online, and then getting it in the mail with a dented corner, or scratches on the box....or loose items in the box. According to the Toys2 site though, it would cost me just under $248 with taxes and shipping for the Loki figure (which is at least $40 cheaper than SSC, maybe more depending on whether I'd have to pay duty fees or not). Oh, and are all the prices in US$? Like it would cost me $248 US? Or is it just the figure that's US$, but the shipping and taxes are CDN$?? I know the dollar is pretty much on-par with the US$, but credit cards usually up the exchange rate.

I've heard that the figures can also be really fragile, and parts sometimes easily break, and I'd like to make sure if something like that happens, I'm covered. So how easy are Toys2 to deal with, if something happens? Or would I have to contact Hot Toys directly to get it fixed? This will be my first figure of this kind of quality, and would obviously be devastated if it broke.

Oh and I have no problem paying the taxes...it's the duty fees that can be killer. I've heard of people who bought stuff from the US or other countries before, and when all was said and done, it cost them nearly twice the price of the original item, thanks to shipping costs and the duty fees. That's why I was originally worried, because I didn't want the price to balloon up to $400.

Sorry for all the questions, but this is kind of a big purchase, and I'd like to be as informed as possible.

 

[Custo]

If Toys2 is local for you I would suggest going through them if all you're after is Hot Toys. You'll save alot of money by not having to pay shipping.