Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

hello my name in Matt and I'm a ricoholic...haha but seriously I was wondering if any of you Canadian forumites ever imported a Rick into Canada? I'm gonna be in the market for a rick in the very near future (it will be my first one) and was wondering how much the border fees are. I ask because I am a university student on a budjet. I would prefer not to have to import one but canadian ricks are few and far between on the bay. oh and by the way this forum is great! been coming here for quite some time (even though this is my first post) and I have learned lots.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-new-Rickenbacker-Model-4003-bass-jetglo_W0QQitemZ7404503588QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Not sure how pricy that is, but there it is.

yeah I saw that one (I check ebay religiously) and I think it's a little bit out of my price range plus I would prefer a 4001. I don't have the cash to buy one right this second but I start work on april 20th and with my first paycheck I should be in rick heaven shortly there after depending what's on ebay.

I ordered mine about 6 months ago from Music123.com and got it within a week. The total was about $1,600 Cdn, which included tax and all border fees and shipping (about $200 I believe). Remember, Rics are made in the U.S.A. so they fall under NAFTA, which saves us several hundred dollars in duty. I would have paid $1,800 (and would have had to wait 6 months!) if I bought one in Ottawa. You sound like you're looking for a used one but, oddly enough, they seem to cost more than new ones. Good luck!

Welcome Matthew.

Good luck on your quest for your first Rickenbacker bass.

Here's a little of my "The White".

Matthew,

L and M here in Ottawa have fireglo with the last mojo`s on it and she is really pretty. Brand new at 1575$ canadian funds if I remember.

I ordered Rics from the USA too in the past and it is really easy also. ricpage.com and pickofthericks.com are really helpful.

With the rate exchange these days, it`s worth it to order from the USA.

OK, first of all, welcome to the forum, Matthew. I'll get this out of the way, I assume you are not the former "Friends" cast member, in which case you would have enough money to BUY Rickenbacker.
Secondly, since you are from Canada, we need to know where your hockey allegiances lie.
Thirdly, welcome, I'm just having a little fun with you, from the border town known as Detroit (10 Stanley Cups.)

Matthew - whether new or used, you will have to pay GST and probably PST on the declared value of the bass. There will also be a brokerage fee to process it through customs (usually around $50-70). If you can wait, I would suggest waiting for one to come up on Ebay that's already in Canada so you won't have to pay all the taxes and fees. Of course you could also find one in a store out of province and only have to pay GST and shipping.

first of all you can all call me matt...matthew is too formal. thanks for the info...I thought border fees were alot more than that so that's cool. I'm looking for a 4001 cause they have thinner neck profiles and I need that cause I got small hands and plus I actually like the "capped" sound. And no steve I am not the guy from friends...haha I was waiting for someone to say that and surprisingly I'm not much of a hockey fan (gasp!) I'm a baseball guy...a diehard Red Sox fan.

I ordered my 4003FG from Guitar Resurrection in Austin Texas. I paid $78.49 (Cdn) in brokerage fees (including $5.14 in GST ON the brokerage fees) plus GST on the total of the guitar (about $100) for a total of about $179 Cdn on top of the price of the guitar.

It was worth it... I got the guitar within 7 days of finding it online!

The 360-12 I bought in New York City two months ago ended up costing me about $1,600 Canadian. The guitar itself was listed at $1,299.00 U.S. I paid to have it shipped by air to Toronto.

That was on Thursday, January 12th at around 11:30 am est. By the time I got home the next day at around 5:00 pm est, there was already a bright yellow sticker on my front door announcing that a courier had attempted to deliver the guitar to me at noon.

Talk about fast service. I wandered into Rudy's (7th Avenue, just off Time's Square), just for a lark (Hey, they actually got Rickenbacker's for sale here - new one's! How novel)...saw the fireglo 360-12 and knew I had to grab it...and 32 hours later, I'm joyfully playing it in my living room.

So, someone else please do the conversion. Math, me no good at.

The main thing to take care of when buying from the US is getting the paperwork in order. You need a Certificate of Origin on anything over $1600CDN (that number mau have changed) otherwise you'll be hit with duty and higher taxes. The form can be downloaded from UPS' site (or most of the other major carriers). There is another form for lower value items. I've been dinged twice importing Rics without the correct paperwork, and it is a hassle to reclaim the funds.

I've bought several Rics from the states and had them shipped here to Toronto. Unfortunately, the twits at the border who assign duties and taxes don't always seem to be quite up on what qualifies for NAFTA and what doesn't. I had my 4002 come across and I was only charged about $150.00 in duty/taxes/brokerage fees... But when my '76 Aumtumn-Glo (sorry, sold it to Edmonton to help pay for the 4002) came across they wanted almost $350.00 - and I'd paid less than $600.00 for it because they applied taxes and duties on the "book value". I tried fighting them on that because of the NAFTA exemptions but their response was "tough, that's what we've determined to be your costs" and after weeks I just gave up and paid - it was still a good deal in the end!

But, Rics come available here in Canada all of the time. Long & McQuade is the dealer for Canada and they're everywhere. Used ones are always pooping up in pawn shops and vintage retailers all of the time so take try and scour the downtown pawn shops and vintage stores. You might get lucky - there was a post in the Dudepit a couple of weeks ago about someone who had found an '80s 4003 for $400 so the deals are out there...

Good luck!

Matt, I had a 4080 into Canada from Nebraska back in October, 2005 & it cost around $75 in brokerage fees, $195 for shipping, plus the tax on the purchase price. I got it for $3362 US & the tax was around $700 if I remember correctly. It took a little over a week of travelling, with a 3 day layover in Quebec while Customs pawed over it.
It was shipped through UPS (who won't insure if shipped from a residence: you have to get it shipped from the UPS store) & came by Sameday here in Canada.
Make sure you get the insurance, & have it clearly marked "Made in USA" on the box.

Also, get the driver to wait while someone checks for shipping damage before signing for it, since once you've signed for it it's your responsibility & no claim can be made on the transport company. The driver won't be happy to wait, but that's why you buy insurance, so check FIRST!

David, your case sounds like what happens when you don't have the NAFTA forms, a proper bill of sale (in triplicate), and a ***** for a customs officer. You can fight the charges by filing more forms, but it takes months to get a judgement. Fortunately, when I had to do it, the customs guy at the info center told me what needed to be submitted, and I got my refunds. UPS was of no help (big surprise).