inlunulae

I'd like to double check if there are any other additional fees/taxes beyond the provincial GST/HST when receiving international orders above $20? Just checking because I'd like to figure out if it's worth making one big order to save on shipping. Right now splitting orders has the advantages of not having all eggs in one basket (the only "insurance" against occurances like this: Customs Destroyed My Package) and of having something to look forward to from the post twice. I once indulged myself in a lovely pair of boots ordered from a UK retailer and was smacked with a "so you think you can afford indulgences---think again" surcharge at the post office that was definitely a chunk more than just GST. I was probably too busy overcoming the irony of having saved up for these darling boots only to find that they would eat up even more of my budget to ask for clarification. Stupid of me, I know! But if anyone can share their experiences here, maybe I'd be able to plan my shopping more carefully! Thanks!

But since it looks like getting your parcel tagged for taxes is more or less random, I think if the predicted GST/HST/PST is less than than another $12.00 for splitting the shipment, it's still worth it to combine the order(s); after all, there is still the chance that you won't get taxed! It helps A LOT Farenath, =), thank you! I will do my best to avoid UPS and Fedex. Yikes! You know, before reading your prior post, I had thought that tariffs were the same as GST/HST. Heheh, good point about the tariffs being part of the price tag. For people like me who suffer from the dual afflictions of being numerically challenged and an impulsive shopper, having the "tax included" pricetags would definitely make me think twice before next splurging...not very practical for online cross-border shopping, I know! =P

Thank you! I think I've been lucky so far too, but then again, none of my orders have reached $50. Unfortunately, I'm not aiming for the free shipping mark (if I can spend $500+ in one go, I wouldn't have to stress out over the $12 saved from the next shipment...but I can dream on and keep up obsessive wishlists ). But since the $12.00 shipping is almost the size of a 5ml, I'd combined two orders if possible. And Farenath, thank you for the information. I just wish this kind of info would be made available more easily (or hey, why not scrap tariffs for consumers entirely?). Thank you. =)

I don't remember the random string after my name on the first mailing label or the confirmation (though might have been there). In fact, the label looked normal, except that the last part of my street address was snipped off. The recent CnS did not have any problems with a snipped address, so I think it will be fine this time. *fingers crosed*

Hi angharad, Glad to know that the weird strings are normal after all! Re snipping my address, I usually type in abbreviated form anyway, but where I'm at, addresses are usually like: 9 ABC St Wonderville NW (the last 2 letters indicate the part of the city) Last time, the last 2 letters got snipped off. They aren't that important, since the post people can probably figure things out with the rest of the address. I just found it curious since it didn't happen this time (and has never happened when I have shopped online with PayPal).

Has anyone experienced address issues with PayPal? I've been using PayPal for a while now, but only through online merchants with a store set up, like Etsy or ebay. Sending money through PayPal, the way we do it for BPAL (gaah, they rhyme) is relatively new to me. The first order I made, PayPal snipped off the end of my street address. Thankfully, it wasn't a problem, but this time my CnS showed a weird string of characters (numbers and letters) after my name. I don't think the post office people would seriously think someone has 7-7ZN123456 as part of their surname when we're still in 2010, with more humans than robots, and disappointingly, no flying cars, so it shouldn't be a problem, but still, this is a bit weird, and I'm curious. What if next time, PayPal snipped off half my street address?

Thanks for clearing it up for me~ Ugh, I hate coming up short. I'll be dropping them an email. Thanks again!

Hey there, Hope this is the right place to post this (I couldn't decide between this and the International Shipping Info+Questions). I placed $11 for shipping in my order, but just now when I checked their FAQ (scroll down to "Shipping Questions"), it says it shipping to Canada should be $12 instead of $11. It could be a typo so I figured I'd ask here instead of sending the busy lab staff yet another shipping question...does anyone know which is the right shipping cost? Did I go short with my order payment? Thanks in advance ♥