Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Does anyone know a Canadian parts place? I got completely screwed by U.S. customs yesterday on my latest mammoth order. The brokerage and duty was more than the dang package?!?!> I have ordered a bunch of stuff from them and its like rolling the dice. Sometimes it comes through fine no fee , other times it gets held and I am charged huge by UPS. It would be AWESOME if I could avoid this in the future.

I hear you on this......

Got some orders from Mammoth or Small Bear that i did'nt have any dutie fees on it...and some that it's just ridiculous, also the random time it sometime takes at the border...

I found out that i was getting fees or waiting time with order over 100$....

I tried to find good suppliers in Canada...but have'nt...so i order alot from Tayda and other Asian suppliers..the only way i can skip the f**k ups.....

Some time it's just plain stupid....you order stuff from Thailand with economy shipping, it arrives in 4-5 days, you order stuff from US with standard usps service........3 weeks and more......

End of rant...with no solutions...sorry....

I try and keep my orders around $50 from Mammoth and have always used the cheapest USPS shipping and have never had a problem.

Yeah...that's what i did most of the time..always get screwed up by UPS at the border..with their Broker Fees...

And keeping order under 50$ is the trick....i tought of making separate orders, having them smaller...but then you have more shipping $$$....Awww....

So does that mean that its cheaper for you to order from tayda? I am gonna give them a shot I think. How have your orders been? Like did you get all correct orders or are there screw-ups? The reason I order from Mammoth is because I they never screw my order up, which is more than I can say for the other places I have tried

It's too bad there is nowhere here , there is definitely demand for them........ Just think GrindCustoms/Electronics

I will keep searching and if I find anywhere , I will post on this thread. I heard there are some good places in Toronto and maybe london, I am gonna look into doing some phone orders

Hahaha! Grind Customs Electronics..........i will never enter into that kind of buisness..

But yeah for most of the part, I've never have any issue with Tayda, i also order from many other ebay store...Thaishopetc, TheSequoiaGroup, CAPRO, IC Touch.

For huge parts kit, check out Eric Chang on ebay, killer deals when you buy big...can't be beaten!

Another thing that can help is having a steady look in the buy/sell section, there's couple guys that makes awesome parts lot sell.

Where are you in Ontario?

I am way out in the boondocks in a Village called Mount Elgin, about 30 minutes east of London just off the 401. I would make the drive to London or Toronto no problem if I could find a decent supplier , or even do phone order.Thanks for all the tips appreciate it.

I lived in Oshawa and Oakville for a while....is'nt there a Digi-Key warehouse close to Toronto?

Gonna chack out a few places in that area very soon.

There are a few good places in Toronto/Scarborough that I sometimes use, but Tayda has been my go to place lately. I placed a huge order there a while back and had zero problems.

That said I always avoid UPS or FedEx ground no matter where I'm buying.

Tayda just left out some trimmers on me but I emailed them and they said they would refund me the $2 or give me a $5 credit...I took the credit. Don't worry about a mistake here and there as they normally make it right. Don't go with futurelec. It might take a year to get your parts

Hey man, I'm in London.

Ordering USPS is best. If you're going for non-pedal specific stuff Newark Electronics / Premier Farnell is great. It comes UPS but they charge $12 flat and you pay the Canadian tax up front. It comes the next morning too, super fast, no holdups at the border.

Other than that USPS. Any large order I've ever made gets the $5 opening fee and taxes. Never buy from places that only use UPS or Fedex (except Newark! ).

I had the exact thing happen except mine was 10 resistors ( @.01 each= $.10 ) and they offered $1 refund or $3 credit. Took the credit, will be making another order soon.
I only order simple things (resistors/caps) or things I can't find at Mammoth/Small Bear (40106, CDE4049 etc) from Tayda. Things like enclosures, knobs, pots still come from Mam/SB. I prefer to keep my money in the US (sorry Can and Asia), but at $.01 per piece for Resistors and only a few cents for caps, I really can't justify the $.20 each the US suppliers charge.
-P

Thinking about it.....a member here, DuctTapeRiot, seems to have a real good place to source is stuff in BC......I'll send him a PM to have some pointers.

He gets some pots and knob and many other stuff at killer price, I also buy my vero from a Canadian supplier on Ebay...that is located in BC, i'll check into my pile of bills to dig it out

I know its been said a bunch above, but use USPS only when getting stuff from the states. Takes a bit longer but no crazy fees. For the most part I have been ordering everything online from the usual suspects. I try to batch my orders as much as possible, usually about 8-10 pedals at a time. I also triple check everything so I don't wind up having to make a smaller order.

I have been talking to a place called Interior Electronics which is a industrial supplier with stores in BC and Alberta. I go there for stuff like solder, wire, vero, and they have Hammond enclosures which are more expensive than say Mammoth, but if you only need one or two it is still cheaper after you figure in the shipping. I was talking to the guy there and he is going to let me order as an industrial customer from the Newark catalog at mostly catalog prices, for a flat rate $3 shipping fee, if the order is big enough. I just emailed him a list of stuff to get some price info, I am still trying to figure out if it is cheaper. I think for some things it will make sense and for others not. Resistors and caps will probably still be cheaper at Mouser or Tayda, but it might work out for stuff like jacks, sockets, pots, switches.

Anybody have experience with Newark?

It sure would be nice to have a supplier in Canada. Do you guys thing people would order from a Canadian supplier that focused on stuff like enclosures, hardware, jacks, switches, pots, but didn't sell stuff like passives, ICs, Transistors?

I'd be all in for ordering pots, jacks and switch(including toggle switch and what not) from Canada if i could..in fact everything that is hardware. Those pieces being the most heavy are always the one that cost the most to get shipped...and apparently always get stuck at the border.

Definitely!

It sure would be nice to have a supplier in Canada. Do you guys thing people would order from a Canadian supplier that focused on stuff like enclosures, hardware, jacks, switches, pots, but didn't sell stuff like passives, ICs, Transistors?[/quote]

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Yep! I also built pedals in my spare time and I would really appreciate to have a supplier in Canada. Stores like Addison, maddison and Addtronic have some parts but they are not really suitable for pedals building, like 3pdt switches or potentiometers.

+10,000,000!

While UPS offers more security, accuracy in delivery times, and less confusion with failed scans, etc., it comes with a hefty price. They're linked in with actual brokers in other countries that carry out their shipments in a reliable (yet expensive) way, whereas USPS just drops it into the hands of the local carrier (whoever it may be, and however unreliable they may be), and wipes their hands clean. I still would recommend USPS, as UPS fees are outlandish (although justified... there's a reason USPS is neck-deep in debt while UPS can take good care of their employees), but it depends on how precious/valuable those contents are.

For anyone who does not already know, we offer USPS as well as UPS methods for all countries. USPS methods are found under the dropdown menu defaulted to 'UPS', and it's titled 'more carriers'.

Alright, I'm finished plugging. I just hate to see it and have to lend a hand when customers are taken off guard with shipping hassles.

Thanks Blake.

The only time I ever have a problem with UPS is when it's standard service. If it's something like their Worldwide Express etc. it's always been quick, pretty cheap and no hassle at the door. They have a chart somewhere on their site that lists the options that don't incur extra costs crossing the border.

That said, I still usually stick with the USPS/Canada Post combo. I think I've had 1 package go missing total.

Invaluable perspective from a dude that knows from experience! Love that. Yeah, Canada Post does a great job dealing with USPS. Some of the South American countries and Overseas countries are a lot less integrated with USPS, for various understandable reasons.

i would LOVE it if there was a reliable and cheap parts source in canada. just like PBrose said, I like keeping my money in my own country, nothing against anywhere else thats just how shit goes nowadays.

i like tayda, they havent screwed up any of my orders yet, only 5 or so, knock on wood. Ive been dinged by fedex and UPS, i wish there was a way around paying duty, its like rolling the dice, sometimes you get thru okay, other times they want money at the door.

I finally realized that Hammond Canada is a 15 minute drive from me, so im going to start getting all the boxes locally, they are cheaper when buying direct and i save shipping.

anyways, yeah. one of you canadian guys should open up a parts store hahaha