I'm in Canada and never had to pay anything for all my carbon parts from China (frames, wheels, rims, ...). But paying in US $ makes up for that big time with currency change here.
I'm in Canada too and I find this hard to believe. I mean, no offence intended, but are you saying you never had to pay taxes and brockerage fees, if not duties, on expensive parts like frames and wheels? I know from personal experience that they don't charge you anything on cheap parts like seat post, handlebars or seats, but was sure they would not let a big price tag item slip by without getting their cut. If you can confirm that, that would be a game changing info for me. Thanks.
So far, I did 7 major orders from China.
1st: 2 carbon rims from Light Bicycle. No taxes or duties paid.
2nd: 1 Road bike frame with seat post, handlebar, stem, headset, 2 bottle cages, spare hanger and fork from Dengfu. No taxes or duties paid.
3rd: 1 pair of road wheels from Far Sports. No taxes or duties paid.
4th: 1 Carbon FS bike frame (IP-036) with headset, seat post, 4 bottle cages and a spare hanger from IPlay. No taxes or duties paid.
5th: 2 carbon rims from Carbonbicycle. No taxes or duties paid.
6th: 1 carbon rim from Carbonbicycle. No taxes or duties paid.
7th: 1 carbon rim and 2 bottle cages from XMCarbonSpeed. No taxes or duties paid.