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Posted By: chesseroo Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/25/09 07:28 PM
I was looking into buying some cables from Monoprice after adding another satellite receiver to the gear this past week. The new Bell unit has HDMI onboard (the old one i returned did not).
Of course, the Energy cable they wanted to sell me in the store was $126 for a 6 foot ($12 at Monoprice).

I was curious, has anyone shopped from Monoprice and had any crazy brokers fees on items shipped to Canada?
I know i bought something from them before, a long time ago, and i just don't recall if i was upset at a useless broker fee or whether there was none.
Posted By: chesseroo Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/25/09 07:30 PM
Incidentally i went to wiki to check out the HDMI spec comparison table only to notice the ver 1.4 specs are out, posted earlier this year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Definition_Multimedia_Interface#Version_Comparison
3D over HDMI.
I always thought the next logical step for home interaction wouldn't be better colours, bigger screens and higher resolutions but rather, 3 dimensional viewing.

I give it 20 or 30 years before it becomes a reality though.
Posted By: ClubNeon Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/25/09 08:02 PM
Someone, perhaps the studios, perhaps the equipment makers, don't think it is the end users; is pushing for 3D technology. It's probably going to happen in the next 5 years.

I guess I'll be a little thankful to get rid of those anaglyph red/green glasses. I watched 15 minutes of Coraline (selected scenes which I knew would have a good 3D effect), and even that limited viewing left me with a headache. Not to mention how awful the colors look.

Anaglyph is so bad that Pixar isn't going to release Up! that way. They're just going to wait until another presentation format is standardized.
Posted By: BlueJays1 Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/25/09 08:07 PM
Never been charged any additional fees when dealing with Monoprice (duty, brokerage, pst, gst).
Posted By: Adrian Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/25/09 08:18 PM
I've ordered a couple of subwoofer cables from Monoprice and there were no additional fees. We're not talking about a large purchase here though, I would suspect if there was a large enough sum of money involved, Canada Customs might raise an eyebrow.
Posted By: BlueJays1 Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/25/09 08:26 PM
Yeah! I orderded some analog cables, a spare HDMI cable and one of those antennas that pick up over the air hd stations. No extra fees were involed besides what Monoprice charged for shipping.

I researched this topic before and the concencus was that you usually do not get charged anything when the package crosses the border from Monoprice. From people that have purchased from them multiple times, there might be one case where they were charged additional fees, other people it has never happened to.
Posted By: chesseroo Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/25/09 08:55 PM
Thanks.
The info is appreciated.

More than once i got some brokerage charge as it came across the border and twice at least that charge was worth more than the damn item.
e.g. some small box of say a computer part that was $22 and the brokerage fee was $25 (from UPS)

I somehow recall that my last purchase with Monoprice was very positive, but i just couldn't recall if there was an extra fee.

I'll give it a go and nab that HDMI cable today because as you know, it "clearly" provides a better picture than component vid cables.
\:\/
Posted By: BlueJays1 Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/25/09 09:01 PM
UPS sucks! They are the worst shipping company to use when dealing with products coming from the united states. You are guaranteed to be charged extra fees and their brokerage fees are outrageous, the worst of any shipping company out there.

Anytime Canada Post and USPS has been involved with delivery, I never get charged any fees. I even had a package come directly from China and no fees, go figure!
Posted By: CV Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/26/09 03:50 AM
 Originally Posted By: ClubNeon
I guess I'll be a little thankful to get rid of those anaglyph red/green glasses. I watched 15 minutes of Coraline (selected scenes which I knew would have a good 3D effect), and even that limited viewing left me with a headache. Not to mention how awful the colors look.


I agree on that one. I also just watched a few scenes from Coraline and got the headache. I'm sure 3D will be pretty cool when it's done well, but I think I'll also be happy if it drives down prices of displays that are strictly 2D.
Posted By: FordPrefect Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/26/09 11:14 AM
I've ordered 3 times from Monoprice in the past, always used USPS, no taxes or fees.

I've got three cables on order, I'll update when they arrive. I suspect there are no fees as the amount of the orders has always been low, under $25.
Posted By: bridgman Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/26/09 09:07 PM
Yep, the key is to use mail not UPS.
Posted By: FordPrefect Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/28/09 03:07 PM
Cables just arrived, no gst/pst/brokerage fee.
Posted By: fredk Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/28/09 10:44 PM
No PST/GST?? I have always been charged one of those (can't remember which) on stuff from the US when using mail.
Posted By: Adrian Re: Monoprice Cdn broker fee - 08/28/09 10:47 PM
I didn't pay anything extra on my cable order from monoprice. Gst...nada....Pst...nada. Only shipping of course.
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