Shipping to Canada

[canadiangecko]

I think i speak for a lot of herp keepers up here in the great white north that a lot of breeders seem to able to ship to Europe (that's across an entire ocean) and still they seemingly can't ship just across the border to their neighbors in Canada :main_angry: it really has started to upset me now. Also the shipping rates are almost the same as shipping to europe


(sorry if i offended any of you all of you people on this forum are good people but it really has started to bug me )

 

[Nigel4less]

One Word.... U.S. Customs.

 

[Pepper]

Yeah, up here in Alaska no breeders will ship and Leo's...unless its an added 100 or 200 dollars...and even buying supplies the shipping can be an extra 100.

 

[Haligren]

Ha, Nigel, I think that's two words.

And, I agree. It's very frustrating.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

For most of you that don't know, it requires an export permit to ship geckos out of the country, and it takes an import permit to receive geckos from the USA. Most of us that ship pre-sold geckos to Hamm, Germany go through someone here is the US with an export permit, and we have an agent in Germany that handles the importation. The agent in Germany charges a commission from us for each gecko we send through him for delivery to the Hamm, Germany shows.

A veterinary certificate is required to ship geckos outside the country, as well as large import taxes and duties from the country the gecko go to. For example, Germany charges 19% taxes and duties... which is paid by the receiver. We breeders lose about $25-30 for each gecko sold outside the USA.

In many cases, I can ship geckos to the nearest border city to Canada to be held for customer pick-up at the UPS Customer Center. Then legally, a Canadian citizen would be responsible for the duties and taxes when they bring the geckos back over the border to Canada, as well as reimburse the seller/shipper for the veterinarian health certificate.

I hope this helps explain why it is so difficult to ship geckos out of the USA.

 

[Lady_Kiya]

No matter what the reasoning is behind it.
It is very frustrating to Canadian gecko lovers to meet a closed door at every turn when it comes to buying a gecko from a breeder in the States.
There is one pet store in my city that sells geckos and they not only over price, but they also do not take good enough care of their geckos. Nor do they get the designer morphs I am looking for.
Most of the breeders in Canada are also too over priced, from the ones I have seen. Or they charge too much for shipping.

 

[PacHerp]

There is one pet store in my city that sells geckos and they not only over price, but they also do not take good enough care of their geckos. Nor do they get the designer morphs I am looking for.
Most of the breeders in Canada are also too over priced, from the ones I have seen. Or they charge too much for shipping.

Thanks Marcia for detailing how difficult it can be to export geckos from the U.S.

I lived in Canada for a while myself, and totally understand how difficult the 'monopoly' type of situation can be with Leopard Geckos. I would recommend connecting with some canadian websites or forums and getting in touch with reliable breeders who are within driving distance from you... that will at least cut the shipping costs.

Unfortunately, when the demand for these animals outweighs the 'local' supply, those who supply the animals can charge whatever they want to their customers... that does seem to be the norm somewhat in Canada, or at least BC, where I was living.

I can sympathize with your frustration... I too wish it was easier to ship animals over the border to my friends in Canada....

 

[Gregg M]

We breeders lose about $25-30 for each gecko sold outside the USA.

No we dont Marcia... Selling animals outside of the USA is a money maker... If we lost money exporting, we would not do it....

In many cases, I can ship geckos to the nearest border city to Canada to be held for customer pick-up at the UPS Customer Center. Then legally, a Canadian citizen would be responsible for the duties and taxes when they bring the geckos back over the border to Canada, as well as reimburse the seller/shipper for the veterinarian health certificate.

An animal can be legally taken into Canada from the USA without any documentation or veterinarian health certificate as long as the animal is not listed on a CITES appendix... The same goes for the opposite...

 

[Gregg M]

You do need a US inspection which can run about $50 USD... That is what the person bringing it over the border pays when picking it up and going through a US port location, not the shipper...

So an import/export permit is not needed to get geckos into Canada from the USA and the transaction is 100% legal...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

No we dont Marcia... Selling animals outside of the USA is a money maker... If we lost money exporting, we would not do it....

Gredd, many of us use an agent in Hamm, Germany who charges us a commission for his services, and the 19% duties, taxes, and vet certificates required.

 

[Gregg M]

Gredd, many of us use an agent in Hamm, Germany who charges us a commission for his services, and the 19% duties, taxes, and vet certificates required.

I did not take into consideration the fact that some go through a middle man so to speak... Marcia, do you have an import/export license??? If not, you should get one... Its cheap and very easy to aquire... It will save you some cash in the long run... I am willing to bet that whoever is exporting for you is the one getting the $25 you are losing on each animal...

I know through personal experience that you do not need to go through all that to get geckos into Canada legally... It is quite easy to do... Most of the time, US customs will just flag you through without inspection if the animal is not CITES and its the same on the Canadian side...
Out of about 60 leos I sold to our Canadian friends, I can only recall maybe 5 people that had to pay the 50 dollar inspection fee... No one was ever asked for vet certificates...

 

[Gregg M]

I am willing to bet that whoever is exporting for you is the one getting the $25 you are losing on each animal...

Let me correct that... Who ever is IMPORTING is the one whos pocket it is going in...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Who ever is IMPORTING is the one whos pocket it is going in...

Yup! For Hamm, it is required to have someone with an Import Permit to handle the paperwork and duties for animals brought in from the USA.