# Ordering from Musiciansfriend



## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

I'm curious to hear anyone else's experience in shipping something across the border with Musician's Friend. 

I'm a little irritated right now because I'm trying to order some mics and they have "free shipping" all over the items but because I'm in Canada they want to charge almost $40 for shipping. Also, they'll only send UPS to Canada which gives me chills because UPS is a nightmare when you go across the border (they nail the crap out of you with hidden brokerage fees). I just don't want to end up paying $100 to ship $200 worth of gear.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Ok, replying to my own thread. I have a friend in the USA who is going to receive the shipment for me and then take it over to a post office and drop it in the USPS regular mail. Problem solved. Now I get the free shipping from MF and it'll cost about half to ship to Canada and also only $5 brokerage fees from Canada Post when it gets here.


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## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

I bought this guitar from MF when it was on sale and UPS only charged me an extra $108 CAD and change... I was impressed.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

2 years ago i bought a recumbent bike from a guy in ohio, and had it shipped here to toronto via ups. i'll never make that mistake again. not only did i still have to pay a bunch of crappy taxes and dUty fees, but then there was the brokerage fees. so on top of the cost of the bike there was an extra $280.
as if that wasn't anough, because the seller shipped the wheels in a separate box, even though they were marked 1 of 2 and 2 of 2, they wanted to charge me the fees twice. i very nearly ended up getting arrested because i refused to give them the wheels back, and wouldn't pay their fee. i had to re-straighten out this mess at least 5 times over a 1 year period. everytime someone told me it was settled, i got a threatening letter from ups a short time later. i will never, ever, ever, EVER ship with them *EVER AGAIN *


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

There isn't much in the USA that can't be found in the Great White North these days. Why bother with the hassles?


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## puckhead (Sep 8, 2008)

I buy most of my stuff from the US, including from Musician's Friend (wwbw.com has some good deals sometimes too).

my trick is, I ship to an address just across the border, so I can take advantage of all the free shipping offers. So basically I just have to take a trip accross the border, and generally just pay GST when I bring the item back across (if it is expensive enough).

Winnipeg is about an hour away from the border? check if there is someplace like this http://www.thelettercarrier.com/ in the nearest town across the line.


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

*And some more bad news*

If the mics aren't north american (Nafta Made ) then you are going to have to pay some more tax's and if you read their ad's they state the shipping is for the ConUS.Ship............good luck, I would have just bought from here unless it's something not avavilable here in Canada, not costs are about the same without the hassle of warranty and stuff.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

puckhead said:


> I buy most of my stuff from the US, including from Musician's Friend (wwbw.com has some good deals sometimes too).
> 
> my trick is, I ship to an address just across the border, so I can take advantage of all the free shipping offers. So basically I just have to take a trip accross the border, and generally just pay GST when I bring the item back across (if it is expensive enough).
> 
> Winnipeg is about an hour away from the border? check if there is someplace like this http://www.thelettercarrier.com/ in the nearest town across the line.


I've heard of a few people who live in Pembina, ND (which is just across the border) who will act as a broker and receive packages for Canadians. It probably works out cheaper in the long run to have my friend receive it and mail it to me, but if I were to buy something oversized (like a guitar or amp) I would probably seek out a broker and drive across to get it.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

cheezyridr said:


> 2 years ago i bought a recumbent bike from a guy in ohio, and had it shipped here to toronto via ups. i'll never make that mistake again. not only did i still have to pay a bunch of crappy taxes and dUty fees, but then there was the brokerage fees. so on top of the cost of the bike there was an extra $280.
> as if that wasn't anough, because the seller shipped the wheels in a separate box, even though they were marked 1 of 2 and 2 of 2, they wanted to charge me the fees twice. i very nearly ended up getting arrested because i refused to give them the wheels back, and wouldn't pay their fee. i had to re-straighten out this mess at least 5 times over a 1 year period. everytime someone told me it was settled, i got a threatening letter from ups a short time later. i will never, ever, ever, EVER ship with them *EVER AGAIN *


I had a fairly similar experience with them except not quite as bad. I bought a pair of used pickups off ebay for $100 USD. The seller went and insured the package for $200 USD (thinking he was doing me a favour in case they got lost that would probably be what they'd cost to replace). Anyway, UPS shows up and I find a parcel note on my door and it says I owe them over $80 in fees and taxes! This is AFTER I already paid about $20 to ship it! So it was going to cost me 100% of the value of the item to have it delivered! I actually thought it was a mistake and they meant $8.00 so I phoned and nope, that was their brokerage fee that they calculated based on the insured value of the package! Long story short: I called them back a few times and after I'd had time to think the conversation went something like this:
Me: "What happens if I refuse delivery of the package?"
UPS: "It would have to be shipped back to the sender at their cost."
Me: "Ok, and would the sender have to pay you a brokerage fee?"
UPS: "Yes, they would have to pay this charge, plus whatever brokerage charges to send it back."
Me: "I see. And what if the sender ALSO refuses delivery of the package?"
UPS:"...Umm..."
Me: "So what does UPS do with the package? Throw it in the garbage?"
UPS: "Umm... I actually don't know. I'd have to check. Do you mind waiting while I find out?"
Me: "Sure." *I hear keyboard clacking*
UPS: "So... ARE you refusing delivery of this package?"
Me: "I haven't decided yet. I'm just considering my options."
UPS: "Why are you refusing it?"
Me: "Because of the obscene fees."
UPS: "Oh. Well, maybe there's something I can do about that."

So this agent on the phone ended up waiving the brokerage fees and all I was responsible for was the taxes (about $15). It was interesting and I would never ever ship via UPS again either.


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Thats to bad, was just on the fence about a great deal on an amp they had, think I will call them and see what they say before I pull the trigger.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Bevo said:


> Thats to bad, was just on the fence about a great deal on an amp they had, think I will call them and see what they say before I pull the trigger.


Yeah, I would do what people recommend above and ship to an address in the USA and then either pick it up yourself or have them forward it to you via USPS. I talked to a support person at MF and asked if there were any other shipping options for Canada and they said no, just UPS.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

This is why places like Mouser and Digikey now have Canadian outlets. They send a huge order to themselves on this side of the border, and then you get to skip the brokerage fees when you get sent your part of the order from them.

I assume that at some point, one of these mail-order houses will wise up and have a Canadian outlet.


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