Shipping from Canada to U.S.

[86kubicki]

Dave - for most shipping companies, the "declared" value is the same as the "insured" value. In other words you can't declare the value at $1000 for customs purposes and then insure it for $3000.
I've shipped many instruments back and forth using UPS, Fedex and Purolator. In my experience, Purolator has been very good, but I believe they used to hand off to Airborne Express/DHL in the states, so I'm not sure if that's still the case. Fedex was fine until I tried to ship a bass to the states with a value of $2000. Evidently there's additional paperwork for anything worth $2000 and up, but the kicker was that after a week or so of delays they came back to me and asked the social security number of the receiver ( ). Needless to say, I had them return the bass and I shipped in via UPS. I've never had a problem with UPS, but the receiver will incur brokerage charges based on the declared value. At one point UPS Canada had a policy that they would not insure a parcel over a certain amount unless they packed it (for a fee of course). Also keep in mind that insurance can add quite a bit to the cost.

[winston]

It seems you can't escape the clutches of UPS. I'll have to ask Ron Sodano if the bass I shipped him via Purolator arrived at his door courtesy of UPS.

Brian, the bass was delivered by UPS around 9:30 in the morning. It would have stayed on my front porch if my wife wasn't leaving for work the same time the UPS truck arrived.

Oh man! That was very fortunate that your wife was home Ron.

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

I would think that the simplest solution would be to leave all of the Rickenbacker's in Canada here...

Each time it goes back and forth the border across someone gets hit for customs and duty...

With the Canadian dollar so low again, instruments in Canada become quite attractive to US buyers.. (it is like getting a 20% discount)...

When the dollar was at par last year was when I bought my 620 / 12 from California... It is definitely a consideration when buying a big ticket item like a guitar.

Interestingly "Original Works of Art" are duty free. Perhaps John Hall could sign each guitar, and give it a work number...


Brian

[bosco64]

It seems you can't escape the clutches of UPS. I'll have to ask Ron Sodano if the bass I shipped him via Purolator arrived at his door courtesy of UPS.

Brian, the bass was delivered by UPS around 9:30 in the morning. It would have stayed on my front porch if my wife wasn't leaving for work the same time the UPS truck arrived.

Oh man! That was very fortunate that your wife was home Ron.

Speaking about fortunate, UPS left my 4001v63 on my front steps for over 7 hours. I was livid, to say the least.

[86kubicki]

As long as the shipment has the proper NAFTA paperwork, there shouldn't be any duty charges. Brokerage and taxes are another matter.

[tmossman]

Get in the car, drive to Buffalo, ship it, drive home.

[86kubicki]

Get in the car, drive to Buffalo, ship it, drive home.

Assuming that you're close to Buffalo...
This idea may not be quite as easy as it sounds - after bringing a number of guitars over the border last year for RIO, I can tell you that US customs is VERY interested in anything you may be bringing over for sale.
Also, I wonder if a UPS store in the states would let you ship a parcel if you had a Canadian address? This might lead to complications if there were any problems and you had to file a claim.

[Razorback]

Just called a guy at the closest UPS store and he's telling me that the fact it's an American made product going back to America is irrelevant to whether the buyer will have to pay duty or not..... check with U.S. customs he says. Right like anyone will answer the phone there.

[86kubicki]

Dave - once again, under Nafta the receiver shouldn't have any duty charges to pay upon receipt, (as long as the proper paperwork is included with the shipment - your shipper should be able to provide this).

[Razorback]

Oh I know this....the guy was just a jackass.

[tmossman]

Get in the car, drive to Buffalo, ship it, drive home.

Assuming that you're close to Buffalo...
This idea may not be quite as easy as it sounds - after bringing a number of guitars over the border last year for RIO, I can tell you that US customs is VERY interested in anything you may be bringing over for sale.
Also, I wonder if a UPS store in the states would let you ship a parcel if you had a Canadian address? This might lead to complications if there were any problems and you had to file a claim.

Brian references Burlington/Hamilton (craigslist) occasionally so I assumed he was relatively close to us. Don't most of you live within 90km of the US anyway?
I agree several guitars would be a problem, one should not be. I doubt the return address would be a problem at UPS, but possible I suppose. If the guitar got returned then he would have to pay import duties on his own guitar.

Worth a drive to see?

Edit: I just saw that this was Dave's (location unknown) thread not Brian's (obviously close to us) thread. Nevermind.

[wj350]

I bought a an AVRI Jag from a Canadian seller last Spring. He shipped via Canadian Post USA CA Exp USA.

I don't know if the seller shopped around for shipping options, but I assume he did based on the stories here about the larger freight carriers. The guitar arrived just fine, though it did take a bit longer than I've been accustomed to--I think it was about 10 days, IIRC. The only other issue was USPS didn't seem to be able to give me tracking info once the package crossed the border--but this is a USPS issue, not a CA Post issue.

There was no customs/duty on the instrument, which USPS brought to my door.

Bill

[Razorback]

Yes I looked at Xpresspost, but they'll only insure up to $1000. So UPS it is I guess. There's no FedEx depot within 100 km of me.

[kelly]

I sure don't live within 90 km of the US/Canada border - I think its about an 8 hour drive from Edmonton to the US border!

I worked for FedEx for 5 years, and brokerage fees were standard throughout the freight industry. FedEx used to broker items for free but everything was shipped air - they didn't have a ground service in Canada at that time. Basically the cost was included in the shipping price. UPS brokerage fees seem very high, but its still significantly easier than hiring your own customs broker and getting them to do all the paperwork. I've bought a lot of guitars from the US and I just accept paying the brokerage as part of the cost. Postal services are completely separate entities with their own set of rules regarding customs, importing and exporting. I always prefer to use the post office to keep costs down, but you can't always pull that off.

As for duties, you won't pay any under NAFTA if the item is manufactured in North America or Mexico.

[buchrob]

The LAST time I used UPS from the US to Canada a $10 DVD turned into a $85. COD at the door (plus the money I had already paid by Paypal!!!!).

Between the brokerage fees, customs charges etc. I resolved never to use UPS again for trans-border.

They are very reliable in the US, but so are USPS and FedEx.