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I was thinking of ordering some stuff for 40k from Maelstrom Games soon, and its about 100 pounds worth of stuff (166 Canadian dollars).
Does anyone know if when you order stuff like this, do credit card companies charge for currency conversions? Also, there is the matter of customs fees I am worried about, because I don't really trust Canada's postal system to just hand it over to me without charging me. Another potential problem I see might be the charging of taxes by Canada as well, but once again, I have no idea if they do that because I haven't ordered anything from out of the country before.

Does anyone have the answers to any of these questions? (particularly with regards to Canada, if possible).

I can't really answer about Canada's postal service, but my credit card company charges a $4 conversion fee when I order from Maelstrom.

Credit Card fees would depend entirely on your credit card. You would need to check with your bank/credit provider.

Canada does charge customs duties on merchandise coming in. I don't know the specifics, but from memory they kick in at about the C$40 mark. Check with your customs office for information (they probably have a website).

ssREV wrote:I was thinking of ordering some stuff for 40k from Maelstrom Games soon, and its about 100 pounds worth of stuff (166 Canadian dollars).
Does anyone know if when you order stuff like this, do credit card companies charge for currency conversions? Also, there is the matter of customs fees I am worried about, because I don't really trust Canada's postal system to just hand it over to me without charging me. Another potential problem I see might be the charging of taxes by Canada as well, but once again, I have no idea if they do that because I haven't ordered anything from out of the country before.

Does anyone have the answers to any of these questions? (particularly with regards to Canada, if possible).

Hi , basically if the custom catches your shipment , they will tax you.
Expect them to tax around 20% of the value that is declared by the shipper ( thus some online stores change the decleration to
like $5 or $50 to make the tax lower , illegal i think ... but they are trying to help you )

And then expect to be hit with a $20- $40 custom handling fee. ( their way of saying "this is what happens when you didnt pay your tax and have us go through the trouble of writting this ")

90% of my orders that does cross customs ends up more expensive due to these charges , which is why i try to fight off the temptation of ordering from outside
canada as cheap as the price seems at first.

I see. That's quite a blow to my plan. In that case it would probably make my order over 200 dollars, which is just ridiculous. I guess I'll have to order from GCM again. I just didn't want to wait over a month again. Thanks for all the info, though. You saved me from making a huge mistake.

I don't think you should take what Luna said to be what happens 100% of the time though. For example, I've had 5 packages come in the last couple weeks (1 CanadaPost, 2 USPS, and 2 UPS) and I only got charged on ONE of the items (item was from the US), it was a ~$15 charge for a ~$120 item...

Eight Ball wrote:I don't think you should take what Luna said to be what happens 100% of the time though. For example, I've had 5 packages come in the last couple weeks (1 CanadaPost, 2 USPS, and 2 UPS) and I only got charged on ONE of the items (item was from the US), it was a ~$15 charge for a ~$120 item...

Due to NAFTA, stuff that is manufactured in the US is exempt from customs duties. I don't know if your stuff was manufactured there, or how they find out if it was or not, so it may not be 100%, but basically the US would be the exception, and not the rule. Of course I only read a little about it today, so I am not entirely sure.

Eight Ball wrote:I don't think you should take what Luna said to be what happens 100% of the time though. For example, I've had 5 packages come in the last couple weeks (1 CanadaPost, 2 USPS, and 2 UPS) and I only got charged on ONE of the items (item was from the US), it was a ~$15 charge for a ~$120 item...

Like i said , its not always , but you have to play the gambling game and luck wont always be on your side.

The last major order from USA ( ebay not inlcuded , customs dont waste their time on smaller packages )
i was hit with a $140 custom fee . And no im not kidding.

LunaHound wrote:

Eight Ball wrote:I don't think you should take what Luna said to be what happens 100% of the time though. For example, I've had 5 packages come in the last couple weeks (1 CanadaPost, 2 USPS, and 2 UPS) and I only got charged on ONE of the items (item was from the US), it was a ~$15 charge for a ~$120 item...

Like i said , its not always , but you have to play the gambling game and luck wont always be on your side.

The last major order from USA ( ebay not inlcuded , customs dont waste their time on smaller packages )
i was hit with a $140 custom fee . And no im not kidding.

Wow that's pretty brutal.

But yeah, it really depends on the amount of the purchase, as well as how much the company lists the value as (or marks it as a gift, which has surprised me how many of my packages from companies were marked gift) and then roll the dice to see if you pass your customs check...

Eight Ball wrote:

LunaHound wrote:

Eight Ball wrote:I don't think you should take what Luna said to be what happens 100% of the time though. For example, I've had 5 packages come in the last couple weeks (1 CanadaPost, 2 USPS, and 2 UPS) and I only got charged on ONE of the items (item was from the US), it was a ~$15 charge for a ~$120 item...

Like i said , its not always , but you have to play the gambling game and luck wont always be on your side.

The last major order from USA ( ebay not inlcuded , customs dont waste their time on smaller packages )
i was hit with a $140 custom fee . And no im not kidding.

Wow that's pretty brutal.

But yeah, it really depends on the amount of the purchase, as well as how much the company lists the value as (or marks it as a gift, which has surprised me how many of my packages from companies were marked gift) and then roll the dice to see if you pass your customs check...

Thing to remember: Ebay sellers are usually "stores" which means unlike online discounts , they actually have price label.

So off they go declaring the value as $5 , and the customs read the price tag on the boxes...

You are so in trouble lol

I meant non-ebay stores BTW. Like, for example, an order I created by a smaller company in the US (which makes custom products), I had an order of about $145 US, and they listed the value as $50 AND listed as a gift. Of course it's illegal to do that, but I'm not going to complain...

You can always get by if you spread your order out.

When I got my Sabol cases from TheWarStore I knew they'd be over the Australian import threshold (AUD$1000). So I did two different orders and asked Neal to send them a week apart. End result = no customs duty.

Does anyone know if when you order stuff like this, do credit card companies charge for currency conversions?

Yes, credit card companies charge for currency conversion. About 3% of the cost of the order is standard. I ordered some Forge World items last winter when the exchange rate was down to about $1.42 to the pound and I was assessed a 3% conversion fee for the order. Check with your credit card company ahead of time if you are concerned about it to be sure exactly what you will be paying. There should be no other "hidden" fees when ordering UK merchandise from the US. Personally, I found the conversion fee to be small and negligible enough to not be a problem, especially since I was getting free express shipping and the lowest exchange rate in years at the time. On small orders the conversion fee will be hardly noticeable. I've ordered other small items from the UK in the past with no problem and usually fast service. I got a Space Marine Hoodie from GW's Warp Artefacts a few years ago with no issues and the Eldar Bonesinger from the GW UK Online store also with no issues or hidden fees. Last year I ordered a Mechanicum T-shirt from Black Library in the UK also without problems or unforeseen charges.