Bob wrote:
BTW Before anyone says anything I do realize that I could have
prevented these
excessive charges by simply not dealing with this seller.


I bid $129 on a Sony ICF SW7600GR radio from a seller on Ebay.
The seller charged me $41 shipping. (I priced return
shipping via UPS, it is
$16.29)

The seller advertised shipping to Canada by Fed Ex. When asked
to ship by US Post Office
(because the brokerage fee is only $4.30) he failed to respond
and shipped the
item via UPS??.

When the package arrived I was faced with an additional $33.62
brokerage fee
from UPS for having collected $18.89 tax on the goods and $2.36
tax on the
tax ( total $54.87 )

My total cost was $224.87
($129+$41+$33.62+$18.89+$2.36)

Had I chosen a different seller my cost could have been $168.48
($129+$16.29+$18.89+$4.30)

You live and learn. (or) A fool and his money are soon parted.

Yeah, we learned a similar valuable lesson when buying a china platter
from a UK seller. We didn't ask the cost of shipping before pressing
the bid button and shipping almost doubled the price of a serving
platter.

It sounds like your seller expected more in the way of bids and is
compensating himself to a degree. Customs brokerage fees and duties
are just adding to the pain. I've heard similar stories from other
Canadians, and I think the best advice is to line up the cost of
shipping before pushing the bid button.

You can take some consolation in being the owner of one of the nicer
portables available. Enjoy it.