I don't know how long that RockAuto has been implementing this, but I just discovered yesterday that RockAuto now collects any taxes/duty required at their end prior to shipping.

This is great news, as it eliminates all the BS fees that the private carriers love to gouge Canadians with when we buy goods online from the States. Read the following from This page...

quote Will I need to pay duty or tax when my package is delivered? If tax is identified by name (GST/HST in Canada, VAT in the EU, etc.) on your order, we will collect it (and any import duties, brokerage fees, and carrier shipping charges) for that package. The carrier will deliver that package with no additional charges.

RockAuto's prices are usually pretty good... but in the past, if I wasn't offered the option of having the goods mailed (using USPS/Canada Post), I wouldn't follow through with the order. This is no longer a problem.

Choose whatever shipping option you desire (cheapest or fastest), and any/all charges are plainly laid out for you to see. So even if you choose FedEx for shipping... no more exorbitant "brokerage" fee surprises when the package arrives. RockAuto has already taken care of everything. Hallelujah!

I placed an order yesterday. Here's a copy of the invoice and of the shipping confirmation. Notice there are no ridiculous fees or charges... and best of all, look at what my red arrow is pointing at!





(If these images aren't showing up for you, have a look for the reason/solution Here.)

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 04-02-2021).]

Not just good news for Canada by the looks. Thanks for info.

They have been doing this for a while now, I never have any surprises when I order. It has probably been like this for about 2 years if not more. It's pretty helpful when you consider that we can't really ship to our POBOX's for the time being.

I have often wondered what would happen if I (as a US citizen) received a bill for a brokerage fee, for something I purchased from a Canadian vendor, and ignored it.
I have speculated that they couldn't come get me, since I'm not in their country. Probably they would just refuse to deliver to me any more, or hold any future shipments "hostage".

Does anyone know for certain?

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 04-02-2021).]

quote Originally posted by Raydar: I have often wondered what would happen if I (as a US citizen) received a bill for a brokerage fee, for something I purchased from a Canadian vendor, and ignored it. I have speculated that they couldn't come get me, since I'm not in their country. Probably they would just refuse to deliver to me any more, or hold any future shipments "hostage". Does anyone know for certain?

I don't see how it makes a difference. You're not receiving a bill from Canada you are receiving a bill from a company in your country so I would assume they would send your bill to collections. If you have a shipment from FedEX Canada, FedEX USA takes over at the border and they take care of clearing customs and adding on their fee for doing it for you. I don't think the fact that you are a us citizen makes any difference.

Here they will keep the parcel hostage until the made up fees are paid...normally if not sent USPS this involves "handling fees" as well as normal customs charges.

I thought maybe "handling" was a necessity of the postage costs but it seems not.

quote Originally posted by PK: Not just good news for Canada by the looks. Thanks for info.

Hey... you're welcome, PK.

I was thinking of PFF members who reside elsewhere on the planet (besides Canada) when I created this thread, but I wasn't 100% certain that the UK and Australia etc were covered under these progressive tax/duty changes at RockAuto. I hope you're also able to benefit from them.

When I posted this thread, I was reminded of a thread from 2012 here that I'd been quite involved with. It wasn't as positive.

Something About RockAuto You May Not Already Know!

I was ticked off that RockAuto at that time was totally ripping off customers outside of the US with often exorbitant shipping fees. I let the RockAuto employee who had started that thread know how I felt, and the rest is history. It's a fun thread to read all these years later, as it's interesting to observe how some people seem to purposely twist (or at least ignore) the facts in a discussion.

Now that RockAuto has made changes to their shipping and taxation collection methods, we've come full circle... and I'm pleased to spread the word that RockAuto orders from outside of the US are currently being handled in a much fairer manner.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 04-02-2021).]

It was before 2012 that I last ordered.

I had some used/junk/crossthreaded balljoints delivered from them. A simple check in the box before they posted thousands of miles would have prevented this.

It wouldn't be a massive problem for a USA'er who could reasonably easily return... But with the shipping and handling charges it wasn't financially viable to return them and encounter yet another round of shipping/handling charges!

Maybe 10 years on I will give it another go. (•‿•)