Looks like I might not be getting these after all.
Just received an email from the seller/shipper. Sent me a Paypal refund of $4, as she found that UPS was cheaper than USPS. I paid for USPS shipping, and she thought that she was saving me some money. Sounds good so far, right?
Well, I have dealt with UPS before. And I have absolutely REFUSED to deal with them ever again about a two years ago. Simple reason. Absolutely outrageous "brokerage fees" that they charge to ship internationally. And no other carrier charges. First of all, $30 to do the "paperwork"? to get it into the country. Then Customs charges, which is would be collected anyway. The best part though, is when they charge you an additional "UPS tax" for apparently nothing. And not only that, but it is also based on the value of the package.
So on a $250 package arriving, the UPS charges could easily be $70, over and above the cost of shipping, Customs etc.
But it gets better. I have dealt with this before, and I will tell you what will happen.
I will refuse the package [ due to these outrageous fees ], and will ask to have it returned to sender. However, UPS wants its money. They will not ship back to the seller, until the seller pays for all these fees. When the seller refuses to pay these fees, the package will be marked as "abandoned", and will be shipped to "disposal" center. It will sit there for a month, at which stage, it will be destroyed. Literally, destroyed.
The ONLY way to stop this happening, is for these fees to be paid, by whoever.
No good outcome to this for either party.
I sent her an email, as soon as I got the refund notice. Here it is. I am sure she wouldn't mind. And I know she was only trying to help.
Hey,
I just got home and received your Paypal refund. For the 1/32 21 Century models I bought from you on Ebay.
DO NOT SEND THIS BY UPS!!!! This is very important.
UPS charges outrageous "brokerage fees" just to get this into Canada. And I REFUSE to deal with them. They will charge $30 just for "paperwork", which nobody else charges. And they also have a 'UPS tax" on top of all the Customs charges. And this is based on the value of the package.
No other carrier has any of these charges. It is basically highway robbery by UPS. And I will never use them for anything again. These "brokerage fees" will probably add up to $60 or $70, over and above shipping, and Customs. It is outrageous.
Do whatever you can to not have UPS ship this package.
If it has already been sent, we have a major problem. And I have dealt with this before. And it is not pretty.
I will refuse the package, and you would think that I could just return to sender. BUT, UPS will then require the shipper[ you] to pay all of these excess charges. If you refuse to pay these outrageous charges, then the package will be marked as "abandoned", and will be destroyed in about a month.
It is a really ugly situation, and they will not ship the package until these charges are paid. If not paid, they will destroy it.
I appreciate that you were only trying to save me some shipping costs, but I did pay for USPS shipping. And as you can see, a good reason why USPS was fine with me.
Again, do whatever you can to not have UPS ship this!
I have got hold of you as soon as I got your refund. Hopefully in time.
Very sorry to give you this news, but this is what will happen. I have been through this before, and it is a fiasco for both of us.
Jack