Shipping a replacement to Canada so customer does not pay fees / taxes again

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

A US seller needs to ship a warranty replacement item (originally valued at $160) to a Canadian customer without the customer incurring duplicate customs fees and taxes.

Key Details:

  • The original item was defective; customer provided photo verification
  • Customer is keeping the defective item (not returning it)
  • Seller wants to properly complete USPS Priority Mail Customs Declaration

Current Status:

  • The seller specifically notes they believe declaring it as a gift or undervaluing it is NOT the correct approach
  • They’re seeking the proper procedure for marking warranty replacements on customs forms
  • No solution has been provided yet; another user has commented they face the same situation

The discussion remains unresolved with no answers about the correct customs declaration method for cross-border warranty replacements.

Summarized with AI on November 1. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I’m a US seller and sold an item to a customer in Canada. It turned out to be defective and he sent photos so I could verify. I told the customer to keep the item (not worth sending back to me) and I’d send a replacement. The original value was $160.

Customers are not supposed to have to pay fees / taxes on in-warranty repairs or in-warranty replacements.

How do I complete the USPS Priority Mail Customs Declaration so he does not have to pay fees / taxes again?

I’m 99% sure the correct answer is not to send as a gift, or simply declare some low ball value.

Anyone know the correct procedure?

1 Like
2

I don’t see that there was a response to this question. I’m in the same situation.