Hi, I'm also in Canada, and I'm thinking of ordering something from
DigiKey, so I'd like to know more about your experiences with
ordering from DigiKey and Mouser, and with UPS and USPS.
(1) Did you have to Email Mouser first in order to get them to ship
via USPS instead of courier to Canada?
No, I just selected first class mail (or something to that effect) for
shipping method.
Did Revenue Canada
charge you any customs handling fees (not counting GST and PST)?
Yes. C$5. plus 1.50 for GST, and it was held up for 2 days out of the
3 weeks it took from order to arrival. My company is PST exempt. If it
is anything urgent I would gladly pay 4 FedEx. UPS to Canada is just
terrible, never use them if there is any way to avoid it. I'm glad
Mouser will ship by USPS, at least the Canada Post is a flat fee, even
if you order $500 worth of stuff the charge is only 5.00 for handling.
How much?
(2) Is DigiKey shipping to Canada via UPS or via Purolator?
Purolator (which is owned by Canada Post)
Did you have to pay any customs brokerage fees? [It's been my bad
experiences that every time some company sends me something via
UPS, UPS charges me a disproportionate amount of customs
brokerage fees.]
No, it's all inclusive. Any taxes are remitted by Digikey/Purolator.
No surprises and it's not held up to collect a few dollars. You get a
tracking number (which has been a bit dodgy, but seems to be getting
better). VERY good service for C$8 on a minimum 32.50 order. Their
price tend to be a bit high, but I've found them cheaper than Mouser
on some stuff, and even competitive with big distributors for some
items in small/medium quantities.