"...Brokerage is nothing more than a surcharge for UPS processing your package through customs without customs ever having to lay their hands on it..."

I wish I had known about this a couple of years ago, when we were stuck in a motel in Prince George, BC for 17 days. Needed hydraulic parts which were shipped UPS, they got to the border, where they sat in customs for a week or so. Three different times! No way the brokerage could have been more expensive than a motel, with kitchenette, for that length of time...