Buying from Canada!

I’ve never had any fees taxes or anything like that from Canada. Usually just longer to ship things, but just like buying here in the USA. 

I bought a pair of Focal 926 speakers (made in France) last year, shipped to US from Ontario.  UPS clearing fees (on top of shipping) were $26 and some change. The seller clearly labeled on the customs form the content/value and that they were used. I had previously bought some 906’s from a fellow in Montreal under the old NAFTA agreement and had paid no clearing charges.  I have no clue how the fees are calculated, just relaying my experience. 

I bought some speakers from Canada last April 2021.  Took a year but I got a bill from the IRS asking me for $250 March 2022.  Just because you didnt get hit up for taxes on delivery dont think you dodged a bullet. Big brother is watching...and collecting.

Years ago I purchased Focal speakers from a distributor (not Focal itself) in Canada.  Years later the California Board of Equalization caught up with me and I had to pay a couple hundred in customs.  Recently I purchased two items from Bryston and two items from Focal (its Canadian office) and there were no charges. Go figure!

I had a recent experience with something like this. It depends on the value of the item. If it is over $3000 , the package will be held up by customs at the shipping company level. The end buyer will have to fill out a form, provide personal information, and declare intention for the product shipped (or, personal use, resale, etc). My wife ordered a timepiece for me from Switzerland, the watch took 3 months to make, then shipped via fedex. All the paperwork was in order with the manufacturer. Us customs held up the package for 3 weeks at fedex with no notice to me whatsoever. After many long discussions, I finally had to fill out the customs form and the package was delivered. There were no additional taxes or fees applied. 
  My advice with any shipping from outside the us is to follow the progress of the package carefully. It’s possible you might get lucky and all will go fine. If the item is over 3k, it probably will get caught. Pay the fees and keep records and receipts in case of a charge later on. 
  Until this instance I never had a problem with shipping from overseas. Just a sign of the times I guess. Hopefully you won’t have the experience I did. Enjoy your new speakers.