# Buying In USA



## deffjeff (Feb 17, 2011)

I am sure many of you have bought guitars from the USA in the past. Is it expensive for shipping fees, duties etc?


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## Jocko (May 17, 2010)

I don't know about importing into Canada but I regularly buy parts from the USA and import into the UK. So far I have never had to pay customs duty but I do have to pay local tax (VAT) of 20% plus an £8 handling fee. Also shipping can be quite substantial. A £21 tin of conductive paint cost £50 by the time I got it! Not good. I won't do that again.


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## rockinbluesfan (Mar 3, 2008)

Dunno how far you are from the border but I recently used this service Bluewater Shipping Depot - Serving Sarnia, Petrolia, Corunna, Mooretown, Sombra, Watford, Wyoming, Forest, Lambton County in Port Huron. The guitar I bought was free shipping in the U.S. but he didn't want to ship outside of the U.S. so he agreed to ship it there. I was notified when it arrived - handed the shipping depot $5 and I brought it across the border myself. I did declare it at the border paid my $87 taxes and good to go! Best of all no broker fee's.


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## coyoteblue (Feb 8, 2006)

Buying from the US is no problem if you you use USPS. I've bought a couple of guitars this way and basically all you pay is tax and a $7-8 processing fee for customs. This makes some US guitars a very good deal, especially with our dollar right now. If you use a private courier to ship expect to add another $50 or more on for their customs fees. There is no duty for guitars made in North America. I did have one problem a while back and that was when customs opened a well packed box and then just dumped the guitar back in without repacking it. It was an acoustic too. Fortunately there was not damage.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

buy in delaware, no sales tax there


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

USPS / Canada Post is definitely the way to go as stated in earlier posts. However, as we just found out with the Gibson's 60's Tribute guitars. It's cheaper to buy here with more and more Canadian websites becoming available. (Not to mention local music stores or forum users with something to sell) Forum users have come up with a quite a few online stores here in Canada that I didn't know about. Check here first, and only buy in the US if absolutely necessary.


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## washburned (Oct 13, 2006)

And remember, in many cases Canadian distributors do not have to honour warranties on instruments you import yourself. You will have to ship it back to the US for warranty work.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

It can be worth it under certain circumstances. If the guitar is made in the USA there is no duty. Shipping has always been relatively cheap in my experiences. Its when you start to play around with import and duty charges that it can get expensive. Always avoid anything to do with UPS as you will get stiffed one way or the other from them.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

GuitarsCanada said:


> It can be worth it under certain circumstances. If the guitar is made in the USA there is no duty. Shipping has always been relatively cheap in my experiences. Its when you start to play around with import and duty charges that it can get expensive. Always avoid anything to do with UPS as you will get stiffed one way or the other from them.


When I bought an Epi LP on Ebay a few years ago. I gave myself a big pat-on-the-back for "winning" the auction. Great price, shipping was reasonable. Good deal so I thought. . . . . 
When the UPS guy showed up at the door, he told me $90 brokerage fees would have to be paid. You have no choice and they know it, you've already paid for the guitar so you can't tell them to stuff it.
The great deal on Ebay wasn't so great after all. The words out though. More and more people are refusing to ship with UPS and that's ok with me.


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## Zman (Nov 20, 2010)

deffjeff said:


> I am sure many of you have bought guitars from the USA in the past. Is it expensive for shipping fees, duties etc?


If at all possible I try to buy when I am on a lengthy vacation in the US. I can try out the guitar and I bring it back. If you are out a week you get 750 duty free. I also have a US address and I have things sent to that address. Online dealers don't charge you tax and shipping is usually free. I then bring them back and declare them.. Havn't paid a nickel in duties or taxes. Now that the exchange rate is better it is a total win.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Whatever you do, DO NOT use UPS. 

Fed Ex or USPS, or Canada Post seems to be good. UPS will hose you severely on taxes and brokerage fees. I will never use them again. I paid $265. in fees for an amp I paid less than $1600. for and the shippinf was prepaid so it was more money in fees than in shipping charges.

It would have been cheaper for me to drive to Ohio and hand carry it back.


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## Alex Csank (Jul 22, 2010)

Sadly, I just bought a Strat-style "Parts-caster" from a Texas-based builder, and even though I asked that he ship it via USPS, he ended up shipping with UPS instead. So now the guitar is sitting in Lachine at the UPS depot as they figure out how much money they can squeeze out of me. NEVER use UPS or FedEx! Use the United States Postal Service. They are good and they cooperate with Canada Post.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Alex Csank said:


> Sadly, I just bought a Strat-style "Parts-caster" from a Texas-based builder, and even though I asked that he ship it via USPS, he ended up shipping with UPS instead. So now the guitar is sitting in Lachine at the UPS depot as they figure out how much money they can squeeze out of me. NEVER use UPS or FedEx! Use the United States Postal Service. They are good and they cooperate with Canada Post.


Yup UPS will kill any merit to buying from the US. Sorry about tha man. Once bitten, twice shy. I make it abundently clear to anyone I deal with that using UPS will kill the deal.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

I've bought several guitars and amps in the US. Once via the UPS method with their massive self-imposed brokerage fee, and all the rest by other methods. One thing to note - USPS is getting very pricey now after the last round of price hikes, particularly on larger/heavier pieces of gear. So shipping an average well-packed electric in a case for what used to be around $70 will now be closer to $100, depending on location, etc.

Like Milkman, I insist on non-UPS shipping methods - a deal-breaker every time!

Also, there can be some great deals on used gear state-side (especially with the current economic situation), but the much of the cost difference of new gear is reduced or completely eliminated as others have pointed out.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I have another option available to me if I really want something and I'm worried abut the cost of shipping and / or customs and taxes. I have the good fortune to have a couple of plants in the US and in Mexico and we have milkrun trucks traavelling back and forth. I can easily have an item shipped to one of those locations and they'll forward it to me at no charge. The trucks are going anyway and the brokerage isn't impacted by a guitar, amp or pedal. 

I try to avoid it but I did use this option to get a Greco Zemaitis guitar shipped to me from Texas.


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## Bruiser74 (Jan 29, 2010)

USPS=Good
UPS=BAD

But...when you get stiffed by UPS, dont be afraid to call them and try and get some money back.
I did that and it worked, they took 75% of the customs fee off and refunded it to my credit card.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Alex Csank said:


> Sadly, I just bought a Strat-style "Parts-caster" from a Texas-based builder, and even though I asked that he ship it via USPS, he ended up shipping with UPS instead. So now the guitar is sitting in Lachine at the UPS depot as they figure out how much money they can squeeze out of me. NEVER use UPS or FedEx! Use the United States Postal Service. They are good and they cooperate with Canada Post.





Bruiser74 said:


> USPS=Good
> UPS=BAD
> 
> But...when you get stiffed by UPS, dont be afraid to call them and try and get some money back.
> I did that and it worked, they took 75% of the customs fee off and refunded it to my credit card.


Yes - this. I had purchased a set of used pickups from a seller in the USA and he sent them to me UPS (not knowing any better). The price I paid for the pickups was $100, but the seller put down the insured value at $200 (he thought he was doing me a favour since they would cost about $200 to replace as "new" if something happened). Well, I got home one day and there was the UPS sticky on my door. Under amount due, it said something like "$82.70". I thought this has to be a mistake so I phoned UPS. It turned out that no, it was not an error, they wanted over $60 for their brokerage fee, plus the GST and PST. I was mad and hung up. It occured to me that I might be better off just refusing the package and cutting my losses. I called back and asked, "what happens if I refuse delivery?" They said they'd return it to the sender. I hung up. I thought about it some more and called them back again. I asked, "So, if I refuse delivery, and you return the package to sender, does the sender have to pay these fees?" The UPS lady on the phone said, "Yes, they would be responsible for the customs fees to have it returned." Then I asked, "Ok, let's say I refuse delivery, and you send it back, but then the sender refuses delivery too - what happens?" This was met with, "...uuuuhhhh..." I said, "So, what does UPS do with the package then? Keep it? Throw it away?" She said, "I'll actually have to check on that sir, can you wait a moment?" I said "sure" and she was clacking away on her keyboard. Then, she asked, "ARE you refusing delivery?" I told her I was thinking about it and still considering my options. She asked why, and I explained that the brokerage fees were "obscene". She then said, "maybe I can do something about that." I waited a bit longer and she came back and told me that she could waive the brokerage fees entirely but I'd still be responsible for the taxes. I agreed and when the package was redelivered, all I owed was about $15 in GST/PST. 

I know we're all bashing UPS (for good reason) but FedEx isn't great either. They're just sneakier about it. They deliver your package and just walk away. Then, about a week later, you get a bill in the mail for their obscene brokerage fees.

Not to mention that UPS has a reputation for absolutely demolishing gear in transit. There's a very recent story over on the TDPRI where they had a contest to win a custom built Tele and when the winner received the guitar from UPS, it was completely destroyed (unplayable and unrepairable). Not to mention, the shipping insurance underwriter denied the claim for the damage saying that they believe it was caused by the owner of the guitar by dropping it.

Just to add, if I find some gear in the USA that only ships UPS, and the price is low enough for me to justify the trip, I have it shipped to a parcel pickup service just across the border. Then, I drive down and pick it up myself. I'm only an hour from the border, so it's feasible for me to do it.


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## BRXM (Nov 25, 2010)

Hi. I'm actually a customs broker in Canada and I can sympathize with everyone who has been burned, because its even happened to me when something unexpectedly showed up by UPS instead of USPS. All the couriers suck in this regard, the cheapest courier to use is usually DHL for customs fees, but their brokerage department is so incompetent that you usually up paying more in duty and tax than you should have because they don't know what they are doing. The easiest way, if you live anywhere near the border is to drive down and buy it and declare it on the way back. That's what I usually do and its definitely the fastest, least stressful way to do it. 
Here's what I usually recommend people do if they insist on ordering from the USA. Not something I recommend you do. Keep in mind, if you don't deal with imports regularly, you are asking for trouble. It can be more complicated (and expensive) than it seems, but you won't find that out, until you screw up.
1. If you really want to order something, do not let places like Guitar Center or Musicians Friend send it to you "duty and tax paid", one way or another, you will pay too much. Besides, they ship UPS.
2. Don't use any couriers . If everything you read above doesn't convince you of that. Knock yourself out and have fun.
3. Always use USPS whenever possible. Canada customs doesn't charge brokerage charges on mail shipments. 
4. If you plan on buying in the US on a regular basis, you might want to setup a US address at a UPS or other depot that accept deliveries for people, as most companies ship free by UPS inside the USA. Then you can arrange to have it forwarded to you or pick it up as you desire. Remember, inside the USA, UPS is actually efficient and useful, just when they come to Canada do they become the Useless Parcel Service. 
Its been my experience, that most things are the same price in Canada as they are in the USA these days. At the most things are about 10-20 bucks difference maximum and when you take into account shipping or gas for driving. There is no savings. Unless the item isn't available in Canada, there is little reason to do it.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

BRXM said:


> 1. If you really want to order something, do not let places like Guitar Center or Musicians Friend send it to you "duty and tax paid", one way or another, you will pay too much. Besides, they ship UPS.


All good points, however. I ordered a branded Epiphone LP case from Guitar Center a few months ago because I couldn't get one here in Canada. I liked the fact that all charges were displayed up front and they did ship it to me using USPS / Canada Post. I think Guitar Center recently changed their shipping practices. Why the musics stores here couldn't get one for me is a mystery to me. They drove me to purchase outside the country, which I really did not want to do.


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

rockinbluesfan said:


> Dunno how far you are from the border but I recently used this service Bluewater Shipping Depot - Serving Sarnia, Petrolia, Corunna, Mooretown, Sombra, Watford, Wyoming, Forest, Lambton County in Port Huron. The guitar I bought was free shipping in the U.S. but he didn't want to ship outside of the U.S. so he agreed to ship it there. I was notified when it arrived - handed the shipping depot $5 and I brought it across the border myself. I did declare it at the border paid my $87 taxes and good to go! Best of all no broker fee's.


Thanks for the heads up. My brother lives in the Sarnia area, so will try this place next time. 

To answer the original poster's question, I have bought a few guitars in the states. I get nailed for the normal taxes and brokerage fees, but the store that I deal with will put the wholesale price of the item on the declaration so I save a few bucks.

I have received a couple of high priced used guitars from private sellers via USPS and not been charged any taxes or fees for some reason.


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## deffjeff (Feb 17, 2011)

Is it worthwhile buying a new guitar from the U.S. saving a couple hundred dollars? I was just worried about the warranty aspect. Anyone know about Gibson's warranty? If I buy from the U.S. and something is wrong do I have to send it back there or can I get the work done here?


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

Canadian Retailers should be paying attention to this from MF. It is a GAME CHANGER. And they do sell used gear as well, "returns", and so forth:


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

The Gibson warranty in Canada is one year as they use Yorkville Sound as the distributor.

In the USA US residents get a lifetime warranty.

I cannot imagine anyone buying a new Gibson for thousands of dollars and accepting a one year warranty


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## Tim Plains (Apr 14, 2009)

I didn't read all the posts. Maybe someone mentioned this...and I've probably posted this 5 times on this forum. There are no brokerage fees if you ship by air. Brokerage fees are only on ground shipments. I've had a few guitars shipped to me from US dealers and never paid more than $150 for air shipping and never paid any brokerage fees. The cheapest I've paid for an air shipment was $100 US with UPS. That's a lot of money for shipping if you're buying a cheap guitar but not so much when you're buying a Gibson Custom Shop guitar.

deffjeff, Canadians only get a one year warranty on Gibson guitars. If you buy from the US you get a lifetime warranty but you do have to take the guitar to an authorized Gibson service center in the US. There's one in Buffalo just a few miles past Guitar Center (if you know where GC is). Gibson warranties are basically useless anyways. Any modifications void the warranty. I don't think you really have anything to worry about anyways. Just make sure there's nothing wrong with the guitar when you buy it and you shouldn't ever have any issues that require a warranty repair.



cheezyridr said:


> buy in delaware, no sales tax there


Actually, no sales tax from any state. If you buy from any US State and it's exported out of that state, you do not pay any state tax. For us Canucks, you pay for shipping plus whatever sales tax is in your specific province.


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