While many of you probably already know all this, the clarification helped me to decide to buy locally.
Spoke with the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) here in Vancouver and got a refresher on cross-border duties and taxes for, specifically, latex mattresses.
If an item is clearly marked as being Made in the USA, there is no duty – you just pay provincial taxes GST/PST (BTW, Arizona has no state tax).
Personal exemptions would apply for stays of 48 hours or more, but would only nullify taxes owing if the total value of your purchases do not exceed the personal exemption amount – otherwise, you pay tax on the whole thing.
If you transport an item yourself, there are, obviously, no “brokerage fees”.
Offshore electronics are also exempt from duty, but I don’t know if that would apply to adjustable beds.
With the current exchange rate, my personal valuation is that I’m better off financially to buy locally, with the added (significant) bonus of being able to try the mattress before I buy it.
thanks for the links, and the correction Started this thread after I tried the forum search box and couldn’t find anything newer than 2013 on Canada shipping – should have tried “US shipping”, duh.
Here’s what I read regarding exemptions:
"After each absence of 24 hours or more
You can claim up to CAN$200 worth of goods without paying any duties. This is your personal exemption. You must have the goods with you when you arrive in Canada and you cannot include tobacco products or alcoholic beverages in this exemption. If the goods you bring in are worth more than CAN$200 in total, you cannot claim this exemption. Instead, you have to pay full duties on all goods you bring in."
If something is made in the US, duties are irrelevant. So I was still wrong, on more than one point – obviously, I need a good nights sleep! Only four weeks away…
