Questions to Ask When Ordering Event Supplies from the United States

We know we’re not the only game in North America for event supplies but we’ve heard horror stories of our customer’s thinking they’re getting a good deal from the US only to find out it isn’t the fairy tale they initially thought. We’re all for trying to make our customer’s lives and businesses better so we thought it made sense to compile a list of questions based on hidden fees / costs that are often found when buying from United States event equipment suppliers.

Here are questions to make sure you ask / costs you are aware of so you have the all-in pricing to compare against Canadian event supply companies.

1. Do they have the items in stock?
2. Do they charge a credit card processing fee? What is it?
3. What is the exchange rate your credit card provider will charge to convert US Dollars to Canadian Dollars?
4. Is there any minimum order quantities required?
5. Do you have to pay for skids (if you are ordering skid volumes)?
6. Where is the product shipping from?
7. Do you have to pay shipping from their US warehouse to their Canadian warehouse and then from their Canadian warehouse to your location? Or do you only have to pay shipping from their US warehouse to your location?
8. What customs fees, brokerage fees and duties are associated with the products you’re buying? Most companies (ourselves included) know the duties and customs/brokerage fees associated with exporting products.
9. How long will it take for them to ship your order?
10. How long does it take once the order is shipped for the order to get to you?

Hopefully this list gives you the questions needed to ensure you get the products you need for your rental inventory. If we’re missing any questions – let us know so we can update the list!