Think it'd be worth it to import beer?

[corrupt123]

So heres the scenario. I'm in Barcelona, and there is some beer here that is ridiculously cheap. 18 cents Euro per can. It literally costs 1.60 for a sixpack - a little over $2 canadian. The kicker is that it's actually pretty good beer - I'd say easily at par/above the big canadian brewery stuff.

Based on this price, I figure buying a skid of the stuff would probably workout to a couple hundred canadian - maybe less if the supplier cuts a deal for the bulk order. Shipping will probably be expensive, but I have no idea what international shipping rates are.

Whats holding me back is canadian customs. First, I'm pretty sure ontario has among the highest possible taxes in Canada for liquor, so I figured having it land somewhere on the east coast and the just trucking it over would be the cheapest. Secondly, if the taxes are based on the cost of the alcohol, this might actually work out to be very cheap. I have to do some more homework on that subject though, I've read conflicting stories.

The last thing is that a skid of beer is over 40 liters - the limit for an individual to bring back into canada. I don't know if exceptions can be made or if a single use permit can be aquired or something. I'm not thinking of re-selling the beer, but I dont think that'll mean anything to CC anyway.

Thoughts? Opinions? Just an idea at the moment.

[Ebola]

So heres the scenario. I'm in Barcelona, and there is some beer here that is ridiculously cheap. 18 cents Euro per can. It literally costs 1.60 for a sixpack - a little over $2 canadian. The kicker is that it's actually pretty good beer - I'd say easily at par/above the big canadian brewery stuff.

Based on this price, I figure buying a skid of the stuff would probably workout to a couple hundred canadian - maybe less if the supplier cuts a deal for the bulk order. Shipping will probably be expensive, but I have no idea what international shipping rates are.

Whats holding me back is canadian customs. First, I'm pretty sure ontario has among the highest possible taxes in Canada for liquor, so I figured having it land somewhere on the east coast and the just trucking it over would be the cheapest. Secondly, if the taxes are based on the cost of the alcohol, this might actually work out to be very cheap. I have to do some more homework on that subject though, I've read conflicting stories.

The last thing is that a skid of beer is over 40 liters - the limit for an individual to bring back into canada. I don't know if exceptions can be made or if a single use permit can be aquired or something. I'm not thinking of re-selling the beer, but I dont think that'll mean anything to CC anyway.

Thoughts? Opinions? Just an idea at the moment.

I'll throw my knowledge into the ring for you.

First of all, the import taxes are not determined by what part of Canada you enter in, but on the province of your residency. CBSA has a national agreement to collect the appropriate provincial taxes at any port of entry.

The taxes are based off the volume, alcohol content and price of the beer.

I'll look it up, my ''instincts" tell me it is 45L before the LCBO import permit is needed, does that put you under?

[corrupt123]

Thanks for the reply.

I read that it was 40L, but 45L sounds reasonable too. Either way, 45 liters is only 136 cans of beer. I'm pretty sure a skid would be close to a thousand, maybe more. I'm totally ball-parking it.

Do you happen to know off hand if I could get a "quote" for the cost of customs? The price and alcohol content would both be low (~5% and I already posted the price) but the volume would be pretty high.

[alv077]

Hmm... in that case, couldn't you just get a person that lives in the East cost go back and forth across the border with exactly the limit each time?

[abu_sme]

Hmm... in that case, couldn't you just get a person that lives in the East cost go back and forth across the border with exactly the limit each time?

He is talking about importing it from Barcelona. I don't really know if it is worth it. I'm tempted myself being in the Netherlands, I can also get a can for about 6-12 cents.

[mlc2000]

If you need to save $ on a skid of beer, methinks you have bigger issues.

[boyoflondon]

From a biz analysis point of view, who would your target market be?

Yes, you were in Barcelona so you had no other choice but to try the beer that was offered there ... However, here, there are many beer loyalists and all kinds of different popular brands. How would you get people to even try the beer that you plan on importing? That would be the hardest mountain to get over if you know what I mean ...


Importing procedures should be the least of your "worries" ... :)

[corrupt123]

I wouldn't be importing to re-sell. That would be a whole lot more paperwork then I'm willing to invest my time in. I'd just be doing it on my own, for myself and perhaps my close circle of friends.

A years supply of beer for a thousand bucks? (Or, maybe a half years supply hehe) sounds pretty good to me. Only downside is that one would likely get sick of the beer hahaha.

[Owbist]

You might want to check things out with the LCBO. I read somewhere a long time ago a person wanted to bring in some fine wines not available in Ontario. He found the LCBO had the right to bring it in for him and pass along the appropriate (probably not the right word here :) ) charges. You certainly would not want to be accused of trying to smuggle in cheap beer.

The LCBO is an entity unto itself.

[abu_sme]

I wouldn't be importing to re-sell. That would be a whole lot more paperwork then I'm willing to invest my time in. I'd just be doing it on my own, for myself and perhaps my close circle of friends.

A years supply of beer for a thousand bucks? (Or, maybe a half years supply hehe) sounds pretty good to me. Only downside is that one would likely get sick of the beer hahaha.

Even pasteurized/sterile filtered beer is only good for a few months. If you could keep the entire skid refrigerated the entire time including shipping you could go up to a year.

Just drink it all when you are there.!

[BornRuff]

You might want to check things out with the LCBO. I read somewhere a long time ago a person wanted to bring in some fine wines not available in Ontario. He found the LCBO had the right to bring it in for him and pass along the appropriate (probably not the right word here :) ) charges. You certainly would not want to be accused of trying to smuggle in cheap beer.

The LCBO is an entity unto itself.

The LCBO charges a lot of money for this though. They wont sell you anything they havn't tested, so they charge you the cost of running lab tests and junk on the product to make sure it's legal to sell in Canada, then they charge you some stupid shipping rate, and all these other charges. Bottom line is that getting the LCBO to import stuff for you is not a way to get cheap booze, it costs significantly more than buying stuff in canada no matter how cheap it sells in other countries. You do it if you really really want a certain brand that is not sold here.

Doing this legally will not be a money saver. I guess you could think up ways to smuggle it in, but even that will probably end up costing way more than it is worth. Getting a skid from Barcelona to Toronto is not a cheap or easy thing if you are trying to avoid athourities. If you want to smuggle cheap beer, you may as well head to the states and try to smuggle their beer back here, it's also much cheaper than in Canada.

[alv077]

Isn't it a BAD idea to smuggle liquids through the border?

You don't want to end up in guantanamo bay... big bob is scary...

[corrupt123]

The LCBO charges a lot of money for this though. They wont sell you anything they havn't tested, so they charge you the cost of running lab tests and junk on the product to make sure it's legal to sell in Canada, then they charge you some stupid shipping rate, and all these other charges. Bottom line is that getting the LCBO to import stuff for you is not a way to get cheap booze, it costs significantly more than buying stuff in canada no matter how cheap it sells in other countries. You do it if you really really want a certain brand that is not sold here.

Doing this legally will not be a money saver. I guess you could think up ways to smuggle it in, but even that will probably end up costing way more than it is worth. Getting a skid from Barcelona to Toronto is not a cheap or easy thing if you are trying to avoid athourities. If you want to smuggle cheap beer, you may as well head to the states and try to smuggle their beer back here, it's also much cheaper than in Canada.

At this point, I agree. Beer (and liquor in general for that matter) is ridiculously expensive in Toronto and Ontario, but unless you own a fast boat and have some international ties... it's still cheaper to just buy it.

Or brew it yourself :twisted:

[Ebola]

Thanks for the reply.

I read that it was 40L, but 45L sounds reasonable too. Either way, 45 liters is only 136 cans of beer. I'm pretty sure a skid would be close to a thousand, maybe more. I'm totally ball-parking it.

Do you happen to know off hand if I could get a "quote" for the cost of customs? The price and alcohol content would both be low (~5% and I already posted the price) but the volume would be pretty high.

You would be able to get an online rating done by one of us on duty at the moment if you phoned BIS, not to mention you could get all your other questions out of the way.

No matter where you import it, since you live in Ontario you are looking at GST(5%), Provincial Mark Up Tax (beer.. i want to say 30%), PST (12%), and Federal Excise tax (cant remember the percentage).