Importing Dell Laptop From US to Canada

Hi there,

Lately i have been spending much of my time doing research on laptops. I have found that the laptops i like are cheapest on Ebay.

What i would like to know is what sort of experiences or advice you can offer when it comes to shipping over the boarder (from US to Canada) in terms of additional fees (duties, taxes, etc.). Any advice you can give me is appreciated.

Please do not try to change my mind about buying off Ebay, all i want to know is whether or not you have had experience in the matter or could refer me to a helpful resource.

 

You should just move to the US

 

I heard that if you import it from US to Canada, you void the warranty.

 

You will have to pay duty on it...i learned the hard way by buying an lcd tv off of ebay before from a store in canada...after the duty costs, i didnt really save that much money. I believe anything over $200 has to be reported for duty unless they ship it marked as a gift which would be illegal for them to do.

 

As long as the laptop is assembled in Mexico, USA (or Canada) and your able to prove it - manufacturing label, it is covered under NAFTA. You would only need to pay GST and Provincial sales tax.

You could be subject to brokerage fees also depending how it is shipped to Canada - Fedex, UPS, etc. You would have to check with the seller and shipper as to how they handle custom declarations.

I recently ordered a TV online, and had it shipped to a US address (I live on a border town) and brought it back to Canada myself and was only subject to the taxes - no duties. The TV was made (assembled) in Mexico and I was able to prove it, this nullified the 5% duty that is applied to TV's made outside of North America. Not sure what the duty rate on computers are made outside of NA. You could call customs.

Hope this helps you.

 

My 700M was purchased off Ebay. The warranty is void as Dell will not accept or return your unit across border.

Dell specifically says that except for Next Bus Day 3 Year, all warranties are regional which means only valid in the country purchased.

You can get the above warranty and try the transfer but I know of atleast one refused case.

It becomes even more of a problem with Ebay because the person u buy from will have signed a paper not to export so you may run into difficulties transferring ownership, although they are reputable.

 

No, you don't 'void' the warranty. Simply use the International warranty transfer form on their website to 'transfer' the warranty. Or at least that's how it worked on my Latitude, and Dell has provided warranty service on it already (swapped out the Bluetooth module).

Export regulations are not a problem to Canada -- the US export regulations deal primarily with countries such as Iraq, North Korea, and other regimes that are under economic or technological embargo.

You'd owe 5% GST at the border. You might also owe provincial sales tax. But there shouldn't be any 'duty' per se. You may have to pay brokerage fees if you use the services of a broker to clear the package through Customs.

On some of the good Dell laptops, the savings by importing from the US is sizeable.

 

Yes you do void the warranty...explained above!

Take a look at the attachment...

You can transfer your ownership but the warranty is void.

 

In the old days, shipping from the US via UPS and possibly some other carriers would hit you with fees (taxes and/or brokerage, not sure). However, shipping via USPS would not. I had a few items shipped that way, never had a cent to pay upon receiving them (but don't tell anybody!).

 

Ive never had problems through shipping by any courier as it is not illegal for them to ship...

Fedex/UPS charge you a monstrous brokerage fee.

 

flamenko, I've obtained warranty service on this D830 after doing a US to Canada transfer without issues.

It might depend on the particular laptop model and/or the warranty purchased with the laptop. But I certainly would be cautious about generalizing such statements to all Dell laptops.

 

I didn't generalize statements whatsoever. I provided you with a copy of their written policy regarding warranty transfers.

You may want to make sure of what you have done though. You can fill out and transfer ownership for any system to and from any country. There is no problem with that. The warranty is void however in every circumstance except where the next business day was originally purchased.

What sort of warranty repair did you have completed?

 

Interestingly, if you pay a little more upfront and get an expedited service, brokerage fees are included. For example, with a standard UPS shipping, I was once charged 90$ in brokerage fees on a 500$ dollar camera. I was then informed about this issue and started paying an extra $20 or so for the expedited / express / 3-5 day service, on other cameras is purchased in the US. No more brokerage fees! I got the items faster and saved between $60 and $70.