Ordering computer from the U.S. - typical border fees?
 

I've been looking to purchase a new PC, probably from ibuypower.com. The PC I have configured right now is running around $1700 US. Anyone know what I can expect to pay when this crosses the border into Ontario?

Not sure how they calculate that. In the past it seems to be all over the place depending on what I order. Obviously I will have to pay PST and GST, but what can I expect for broker fees? The company appears to use UPS for shipping.

You will pay GST and PST, and then if UPS expect to pay 100 or so for their "brokerage fee" and if using fedex it would be about 35 bucks for the brokerage fee.

Their computers dont seem anything special, why not order it local?

Why not just have someone bring it to you on a flight or something as though it is theirs, and "opps, I lost my laptop".

Here are the rates for Canadians

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...clearance.html

just buy the parts and build it yourself. Buy from
http://www.ncix.com (only pay gst, no pst unless you are from BC)
http://www.tigerdirect.ca (also Canadian, but you pay both taxes)

and what exactly do you get for $1700 USD?

I like the customization they offer right on their site, plus they offer some neat cases I haven't seen anywhere else. I built my last computer myself but frankly I don't have the time or the patience anymore. It's going to take me long enough to get my data transferred over, I'd rather not piss around with the hardware as well.

Here is basically what I ordered:

Nzxt Apollo Gaming Tower Case Black - Hero w/ Axe Man
Cold Cathode Neon Light
Thermaltake Purepower 700 Watt Power Supply [SLI Ready]
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6600 (2x 2.4GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1066FSB)
Free Game - [World of Warcraft ]
Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink + 2 Extra Color Lighting Case Fans
NVIDIA NForce 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 Dual PCI-E MB
1024MB [512MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module
Nvidia Geforce 7300 GT 512 MB w DVI / TV out
200 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 8M Cache]
16X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive
MS Windows XP Media Center 2005 Edition w/ Free Upgrade Coupon for Windows Vista? Home Premium
Rounded Cables for Floppy/HDD/CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW Drives
Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower
IEEE-1394 Firewire PCI Card w/Cable + Software

that comes to $1593, plus $95 shipping is $1688.

Nothing special, but it is a lot better than the 2.53 GHz P4 I am using right now. Seems to me this site has better prices and far better customization than places like alienware or dell, etc.

I don't game on it anymore, so I wasn't going to blow the money on SLI cards, although I can go that route in the future if I want to since the power supply and motherboard support it.