Guide
What you actually pay importing research peptides from the US
Duty is waived under CAD $150, but sales tax starts at CAD $40 and carrier brokerage is charged on top. The full cost stack of a cross-border order, and the parts that are not money.
Published August 25, 2026
Importing research peptides from a US supplier costs more than the sticker price, and the extra is rarely duty. Duty is waived on courier shipments valued at CAD $150 or less. Sales tax starts much lower, at CAD $40, and the carrier's own fees sit on top of both.
The cost stack, in order
| Order value from a US courier | What you pay |
|---|---|
| CAD $40 or less | No duty, no tax |
| $40.01 to $150 | No duty, but GST/HST applies |
| Over $150 | Duty and tax on the full value |
Two things people miss reading that table.
Above $150 the charges apply to the whole shipment value, not the portion above the threshold. And the thresholds are per shipment, so splitting an order into several parcels changes the arithmetic, usually while adding shipping cost.
The fees that are not in the table
The carrier charges a brokerage fee to prepare the customs entry. It is set by the carrier, not the government, and tends to be higher on ground shipments than air. On top of that sits a disbursement fee, commonly around 2.5 per cent, for paying the duty and tax on your behalf before collecting from you.
On a single-vial order these routinely exceed the tax they accompany. They also arrive after the fact, which is why cross-border orders so often cost more than the checkout page implied.
What we charge instead
| Peptide | Vial sizes | From |
|---|---|---|
| BPC157 + TB500 Blend | 5mg + 5mg, 10mg + 10mg | $89.99 CAD |
| GHK-Cu | 50mg | $54.99 CAD |
| Ipamorelin | 5mg | $59.99 CAD |
Free shipping to every Canadian address. No import assessment, no brokerage, no disbursement fee. See all peptides
A domestic parcel is not assessed at import, so none of the stack above applies. The price you see is the price.
The costs that are not money
Duty and fees are the predictable part. The rest is not.
A parcel entering Canada may be examined, delayed or refused by the Canada Border Services Agency, and research chemicals are a category that attracts scrutiny. As the receiver you are the importer of record, so the obligations sit with you rather than the sender. Material that is refused entry is generally not replaced, because most supplier terms exclude customs outcomes.
If something arrives wrong, recourse also differs. A dispute with a Canadian supplier runs under Canadian consumer protection law. A dispute with a foreign seller over a parcel that never cleared is, practically speaking, not a dispute you win.
Windsor and Abbotsford cover this from the two border cities where US suppliers look closest.
Verifying what arrives, wherever it came from
Every vial we ship carries a QR code opening the third-party lab report for the exact batch it was filled from: HPLC purity, mass-spec identity, appearance, testing lab and date. Different production runs open different reports, because they are different material. Scan a sample at /track before ordering anything, and see buying research peptides in Canada for the domestic picture.
Research use only. These are laboratory research materials, not drugs, supplements or foods. They are not approved by Health Canada or the FDA and are not for human or animal consumption. We publish no dosing guidance.
Frequently asked questions
What is Canada's de minimis threshold for courier shipments from the US?+
CAD $40 for taxes and CAD $150 for duty. At or under $40 a courier shipment is free of both. Between $40.01 and $150 duty is waived but GST/HST applies. Above $150 both duty and tax apply to the full value of the shipment, not just the amount above the threshold.
Do I pay tax on a small research peptide order from the US?+
Yes, once the shipment exceeds CAD $40. Most single-vial orders clear that threshold, so sales tax applies even though duty does not. A domestic order has no import assessment at all.
What is a customs brokerage fee?+
A charge from the carrier for preparing the customs entry on your behalf. It is separate from duty and tax, is set by the carrier rather than the government, and is often higher on ground shipments. A disbursement fee of roughly 2.5 per cent is usually added for fronting the charges.
Who is responsible if CBSA holds a shipment of research chemicals?+
You are. The receiver is the importer of record, which means the obligations and the costs rest with you rather than the sender. Most suppliers exclude customs outcomes from their terms, so material that is refused entry is generally not replaced.
Does ordering domestically avoid all of this?+
Yes. A parcel that never crosses a border is not assessed for duty or tax at import, incurs no brokerage or disbursement fee, and cannot be held by CBSA. Disputes also fall under Canadian consumer protection law rather than a cross-border claim.
Related articles
- Why Windsor researchers should not order from DetroitThe border is a legal threshold, not a distance. A parcel crossing the Ambassador Bridge is processed like one arriving from anywhere. What that costs you and who absorbs the loss.
- Do the new tariffs change what research peptides cost in Canada?No. Research peptides are not on Canada's counter-tariff list, which covers steel, dairy, appliances, electronics and similar goods. What does cost you when ordering from a US supplier, and why domestic is still the cheaper route.
- Shipping to Regina: the surcharges to check before you orderSmaller markets get worse terms through defaults. Rural surcharges, postal code exclusions, and return-freight policies that catch Regina and rural Saskatchewan addresses.
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