Lala said

Online companies selling Mariage Freres that will ship to Canada/North America?

I know there are quite a few threads on this topic, but there is way to much to wade through.

I would like to make a fairly large order of Mariage Freres tea. However, I do not seem to be able to find an online site that is appropriate to order from.

www.mariagefreres.com will ship to Canada via UPS but duty will be charged at the border. In my experience this is quite expensive on top of the tea you order (I have had to pay $40 on a $50 order once).

www.deandeluca.com This is a US based site. There is no info on the site about international shipping of any kind. I sent an email to customer service inquiring about this.
EDIT: Dean and Deluca have responded to me saying they only ship to the 50 US states.

Has anyone in North America made an order from an online company for Mariages Freres?

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I am of course now obsessed with figuring this out so I can but more tea.

26 Replies
cookies said

US based Market Hall Foods has a selection of Mariage Freres teas. They’re having a Cyber Monday sale of 20% off orders $75+. I don’t know whether or not the ship to Canada, but it can’t hurt to ask.

Lala said

Thanks. They have quite a large selection but they unfortunately do not ship outside of the US.

cookies said

Oh, bummer, I’m sorry. If you can’t find anywhere, I’d be happy to have it shipped to me and send it back out to you. Shipping from the US to Canada can be pricey though.

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http://porterouge.biz/

might ship to Canada.. Their shipping info mentions that if orders are to be shipped outside of the continental US, that a message to the store is required.

darby select said

This is where I order mine from.

I called for a log in twice, never heard back.

darby select said

Sad! Try emailing them, that’s how I’ve always dealt with them. I think a lot of time they are only open by appointment.

Lala said

I sent an email, will see what happens. I find it very odd that you need a password to access the teas for sale, but you can access the pages for all the other products without needing a password.

It’s strange, yeah. I’ve been a customer of theirs for a long, long time – before you needed a login. So, I never had to ask for one. I am really not sure how the process works for new customers. If there are specific MF teas that you are looking for, I can see if they are on the site for you, in the meantime.

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Jillian said

I know the Williams-Sonoma carried a few in the past at their Vancouver store – I don’t know if they still do.

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AnnaEA select said

I’m really interested in making a Mariage Freres order too — maybe we should do a group thing, and then one who it’s easiest to get to could repack and reship to the rest of us?

I would be in!

Lala said

My only concern is that we would have to pay duty/customs if ordered directly from marriage frères website. So the actual amount being paid could be quite huge.

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Dustin said

Do you still have to pay duty if the tea comes from somewhere else? Like if you have it shipped to a friend in the states, can they put it in another box, mail it and have it go under the duty radar? Know anyone in the US who is planning a trip up to CA and can drive it up for you?

cookies said

The sender fills out the custom forms, so technically you can claim it’s worth less than it actually is. Gifts under a certain amount (I think $100 in the US) are exempt from duties.

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OMGsrsly said

Tea shouldn’t have duty added. It’s some trade regulation thing, so it might be different when it’s shipped from different companies, but tea shouldn’t have duty added. (Tea ware? Yes.)

Lala said

I’ve had to pay duty on tea that was shipped from internationally before.

Dexter said

I’m not sure if this is what you are talking about, but international packages delivered by companies like UPS and FedEx (UPS being the worst offender) can arrive with monies owed. They might even generically call it duty and fees but what it really is – brokerage fees. They charge you to expedite packages through customs so that they can meet their delivery guarantee (as far as I’m concerned this is their problem and should be worked into the shipping price, but quite often it’s added on after to the receiver). This money does not go to the gov’t (it’s not duty) it goes to UPS. You should NEVER pay duty on tea – it’s considered a food item and there’s no duty on food.
Lala if you’ve really paid duty on tea (not these fees), I would fight it – that’s not right.
Please disregard if this is off topic….

Lala said

That might be what it is. And you make a good point, it is often called duties. Marriage Freres website states that the received is responsible for all duties, they also ship UPS so that may be why. I have never had success fighting UPS over their “duty charges”, their answer back is always that the seller clearly stated the receiver would be responsible for any additional fees.

Dexter said

I will NEVER order from an international vendor that ships UPS – you never know how much the bill will be when you get it. I really hesitate if it’s another private company – it would have to be REALLY CHEAP for me to even consider it. I always prefer packages to come through the postal system (China Post, USPS, etc). Don’t get me wrong I’ve had huge issues/problems with delivery with the postal system, but they’ve never added random fees for delivering the package. :))

There is a special tax on French luxury goods – mustard, etc.

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yyz said

Lala, this company was willing to ship to Canada when I asked them but if I remember the shipping quote was quite expensive.
http://www.theculturedcup.com

Lala said

Thanks. I have checked their site but it said they wouldn’t ship to Canada. I didn’t ask though. I will check it out.

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Did anyone ever settle on the best way to do this with a U.S. address? I’ve seen so many recommendations for their teas that I thought I might try some. But their lowest shipping rate seems to be 25 €, which is more than my order would have been…

Market Hall Foods seems to charge a premium for their teas, pricing some of the company’s cheaper teas (less than 5 €/100 g) at $13.50. I’d like the option of paying for the teas at roughly what they cost, without paying an enormous shipping fee. Maybe there is no good way to do this, and in that case, I’ll stop fawning over their site and be happy with the many good options that are accessible in the U.S.

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Excelsior said

They are my favorite retailer yet the challenges of purchasing their teas.

1. UPS labels it as handling fees, brokerage fees, customs clearance costs, whatever. I normally get charged over $35 or more plus their standard shipping fee of 25 Euros. Wish there was some other way but it is what it is.
2. I purchased teas from Mariage Freres Japan when I lived in Japan. Their prices are 2x, 3x higher than the prices from Mariage Freres France. I asked them why this is and their reply was, many Japanese consumers purchase based on the brand image. If they lowered their prices, it would decrease the brand image. Also, they have no problems of selling teas at expensive prices.
3. Many of their best and newest teas are not offered by US retailers selling Mariage Freres teas. Fresh Darjeeling First Flush is one example.
4. I always consolidate my orders and each purchase ends up costing over $350, which puts a strain on my finances.

If anyone has any ideas of getting around these challenges, I am all ears!

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Cwyn said

Wow this is all great information. I really love some of their tea ware. But it sounds like with the potential UPS charges, ordering tea ware is not a great idea for me.

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