# Martin. US dealers no longer allowed to ship out of the US



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

This really sucks. I inquired about a new Martin from MFG in the states and Jon informed me he is no longer allowed to ship out of the country. I saved about 4k ordering my D-28 authentic from him 3 years ago. I checked every dealer in Canada an no one wanted to even try to come close to what I got it for in the US. I know there is a couple of us on this forum that took advantage of MFG's unadvertised 40% discount.
Maybe this is to make the playing field more fair for Canadian dealers but it just insures that I'm done with new guitars. I'll buy used.


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

That's a shame !

Some ten years ago, I tried to negotiate a used D-35 from a US dealer... He replied, "Why negotiate a used one while you could get a brand new if you add some bucks ?" I understood his trick and bought the new one directly. ;-)


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

guitarman2 said:


> This really sucks. I inquired about a new Martin from MFG in the states and Jon informed me he is no longer allowed to ship out of the country. I saved about 4k ordering my D-28 authentic from him 3 years ago. I checked every dealer in Canada an no one wanted to even try to come close to what I got it for in the US. I know there is a couple of us on this forum that took advantage of MFG's unadvertised 40% discount.
> Maybe this is to make the playing field more fair for Canadian dealers but it just insures that I'm done with new guitars. I'll buy used.


You're only an hour from the border. It shouldn't be a big deal. I would go a little further than that to save 4K.


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## Bradley (Dec 10, 2009)

I had to drive to Sweetgrass Montana to ship a guitar to Florida. Can't ship it from Alberta without the risk of having it seized at Customs. All rosewood species are Appendix II CITIES. You can get a permit from Environment Canada (gratis) takes 40 days. Brazillian is Appendix I and is a no go period. Makes it tricky to buy/sell anymore from U.S.
Long live Canada Guitar Forum.
Bradley in Canmore Alberta
www.thewardensmusic.com


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Bradley said:


> I had to drive to Sweetgrass Montana to ship a guitar to Florida. Can't ship it from Alberta without the risk of having it seized at Customs. All rosewood species are Appendix II CITIES. You can get a permit from Environment Canada (gratis) takes 40 days. Brazillian is Appendix I and is a no go period. Makes it tricky to buy/sell anymore from U.S.
> Long live Canada Guitar Forum.
> Bradley in Canmore Alberta
> www.thewardensmusic.com


Who did you use to ship down there? I might do this with a guitar or two. Did you not have to declare at the border?


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## harrym (Jan 19, 2010)

I have bought 3 Martins from Jon at My Favorite Guitars in the past. Can't buy them here in Canada at his prices. That's really too bad.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Steadfastly said:


> You're only an hour from the border. It shouldn't be a big deal. I would go a little further than that to save 4K.


Easier said than done. Yup I'm an hour from the border but My Favorite Guitars is in Pheonix. How close is that? I do not know any one I would trust to have it shipped to for pickup. From what I hear on the Martin forum the 40% discount thats offered by MFG and may a couple other Martin dealers in the US may be in jeopardy so with out that it really wouldn't be all that worth it anyway. I feel fortunate that I was able to get 2 of my dream guitars at a heavy discount. The next 2 acoustics I will be adding aren't as vital and I'll likely go with a boutique such as bourgeois and an early 70's Martin.
I had inquired to Jon as I was pondering the possibility of another new Martin but without the incentives I will pass on that.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

if you're saving 4K per guitar it may be in the budget to do a weekend trip from Buffalo to Phoenix and squeeze in a round of golf


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

guitarman2 said:


> I do not know any one I would trust to have it shipped to for pickup.


You can have anything shipped to a secure Kinek address stateside and they'll safely hold it for you until you can get to it. The kinek points are all bonded and insured afaik.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm sure central Canada has something as well, but for Alberta folks there is a place called "Montana Mailbox". They give you a US shipping address for things that don't ship to Canada. When it arrives, you have option of hopping across the border to pick it up yourself, or having them do the customs paperwork and send on to one of their depots at DYK Post. (Calgary/Edmonton/Red Deer) 
Based on weight, a little too expensive for anything that will ship to Canada, but it works great when dealing with places that refuse to ship here. Average 10lb package is approx $48 all said & done.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

How the hell is he offering a 40% discount?


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## Jimmy Fingers (Aug 17, 2017)

guitarman2 said:


> Easier said than done. Yup I'm an hour from the border but My Favorite Guitars is in Pheonix. How close is that? I do not know any one I would trust to have it shipped to for pickup. From what I hear on the Martin forum the 40% discount thats offered by MFG and may a couple other Martin dealers in the US may be in jeopardy so with out that it really wouldn't be all that worth it anyway. I feel fortunate that I was able to get 2 of my dream guitars at a heavy discount. The next 2 acoustics I will be adding aren't as vital and I'll likely go with a boutique such as bourgeois and an early 70's Martin.
> I had inquired to Jon as I was pondering the possibility of another new Martin but without the incentives I will pass on that.


I have had 3 of my guitars shipped to Bluewater Shipping Depot. They charge me $5.00 USD (as with any package we ship there) to receive and hold it. It's located in Port Huron Michigan. I then drive about an hour to pick it up. I declare it coming back, pay the 13% HST and be on my way. I have never had a problem with CITES. Actually I asked them about CITES and they didn't even care as long as I wasn't importing large amounts of raw restricted amounts for building etc. In other words, one guitar is not on their radar. I crossed an American Pro tele with solid rosewood neck, and a brand new Martin OM-28 (rosewood neck) and a Tele with maple neck. Never a question about any of them.

If you do some searching at the closest border to you, I'm sure there is more shipping options for Canadians on the American side.

What you should be aware though, is if you buy from a dealer and they ship, you are charged the state tax where it is landing, and it is added to your invoice from the dealer. I paid 6% Michigan state tax on my Martin.
Jim


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Jimmy Fingers said:


> I paid 6% Michigan state tax on my Martin.
> Jim


I wonder if New York state tax is lower.


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

Budda said:


> How the hell is he offering a 40% discount?


By making very little margin and (presumably) making it up on volume. Oddly, I'm not seeing discounts that big on the guitars listed on the MFG website- everything is 20-22% off. Probably can't show more than that due to MAP rules, maybe the big discounts are if you call.


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## Bradley (Dec 10, 2009)

Sneaky said:


> Who did you use to ship down there? I might do this with a guitar or two. Did you not have to declare at the border?


USPS in Sweetgrass. Customs agent asked "what are you doing in Montana", I said "Shipping a guitar to Florida". "Not a problem" says he.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

guitarman2 said:


> Easier said than done. Yup I'm an hour from the border but My Favorite Guitars is in Pheonix. How close is that? I do not know any one I would trust to have it shipped to for pickup. From what I hear on the Martin forum the 40% discount thats offered by MFG and may a couple other Martin dealers in the US may be in jeopardy so with out that it really wouldn't be all that worth it anyway. I feel fortunate that I was able to get 2 of my dream guitars at a heavy discount. The next 2 acoustics I will be adding aren't as vital and I'll likely go with a boutique such as bourgeois and an early 70's Martin.
> I had inquired to Jon as I was pondering the possibility of another new Martin but without the incentives I will pass on that.


I always had mine shipped to the UPS Depot at Porter and Parkard Rd. in N. Falls, NY. You don't need to worry about trust. If the guitar is damaged when you go to pick it up, you don't accept it. It is then the responsibility of the shipper. Even when having stuff shipped in your own country that is the safest way. You are never responsible if you refuse the shipment because of damage.

As for the 40% it is an unpublished rule. It happens all the time. If you doubt that, just ask on the AGF forum. It is mentioned there at least weekly if not more often. Several Martin dealers will give you 40% and some have been known to give a little more.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

gtrguy said:


> By making very little margin and (presumably) making it up on volume. Oddly, I'm not seeing discounts that big on the guitars listed on the MFG website- everything is 20-22% off. Probably can't show more than that due to MAP rules, maybe the big discounts are if you call.


Yes you have to call or email. I usually email. If you look at the used guitars on "My Favorite Guitars", website they all say "actual price" along with the listed price. All the new Martins just list the price with the 20% discount but don't say "actual price".


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Steadfastly said:


> I always had mine shipped to the UPS Depot at Porter and Parkard Rd. in N. Falls, NY. You don't need to worry about trust. If the guitar is damaged when you go to pick it up, you don't accept it. It is then the responsibility of the shipper. Even when having stuff shipped in your own country that is the safest way. You are never responsible if you refuse the shipment because of damage.
> 
> As for the 40% it is an unpublished rule. It happens all the time. If you doubt that, just ask on the AGF forum. It is mentioned there at least weekly if not more often. Several Martin dealers will give you 40% and some have been known to give a little more.


On the Martin forum they're saying there's only a small few dealers offering 40%. But what do they know about Martins. My experience is only with Jon at MFG.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

guitarman2 said:


> On the Martin forum they're saying theirs only a small few dealers offering 40%. But what do they know about Martins. My experience is only with Jon at MFG.


LA and Maury's are two I know of and I know there are more. One would be sufficient to get the 40%.

As for the Martin forum, saying there are only a few, I wonder if that is to protect themselves and their profits. That claim may have been from one of the Martin dealers. Who knows? An yes, I am a cynic.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

There are a ton of US mailbox places you can have something shipped to or shipped from. All between the Rainbow and the Peace Bridge. You can literally drive across the border hit your mailbox and back to the border crossing in less than 20 minutes. I have shipped a transmission from Can Am mailboxes to Texas. I have shipped tons of stuff to Can Am and picked up personally., including Cuban cigars via Switzerland. I preferred Can Am as I knew the guy and he rarely charged me the full price. There is always a fee of some kind, best is to shop around and see what is in your budget. Don't forget, you can bring personal items containing rosewood across the border. You cannot ship across the border without paperwork


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Bradley said:


> USPS in Sweetgrass. Customs agent asked "what are you doing in Montana", I said "Shipping a guitar to Florida". "Not a problem" says he.


So you can carry across a Brazilian rosewood guitar without CITES paperwork and ship it, but you cant ship it from here? That makes as much sense as... well, just about anything else in the US these days.


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## GetRhythm (May 18, 2012)

For a 4k savings I would Canonball it down to Phoenix and back on a weekend and happily pay the tax at the boarder! Do it in a fuel efficient car and not my minivan and I'd still be saving better than $3,500!


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

guitarman2 said:


> Easier said than done. Yup I'm an hour from the border but My Favorite Guitars is in Pheonix. How close is that? I do not know any one I would trust to have it shipped to for pickup.




I have a cousin in California so I could get it shipped to them, and then have them ship it to me.

I don't know how that Cites thing would affect all of this though.

And since acoustics are so personal in terms of sound, feel, etc. I am not sure I would be comfortable buying a high end one without trying it first.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

colchar said:


> I don't know how that Cites thing would affect all of this though.


It would affect it the same, which is a lot


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

colchar said:


> And since acoustics are so personal in terms of sound, feel, etc. I am not sure I would be comfortable buying a high end one without trying it first.


Well thats the chance you take. I've purchased 2 high end acoustics from Jon at MFG. A D-28 Authentic 1941 and a D-18 GE. The authentic I still have and is pretty much a life guitar unless I can someday soon afford the real 1941 currently at Folkway music. 
I knew I was taking a chance on the GE though as I wasn't sure if I'd like the 1 3/4 nut width and wider string spacing. Ends up I didn't. I sold it and put the money towards a D-18 Authentic 1939. Which is pretty much a life guitar for me as well.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

guitarman2 said:


> Well thats the chance you take. I've purchased 2 high end acoustics from Jon at MFG. A D-28 Authentic 1941 and a D-18 GE. The authentic I still have and is pretty much a life guitar unless I can someday soon afford the real 1941 currently at Folkway music.


Oh come on, do you _really_ need a roof over your head?

I got lucky ordering my R8 without playing it first. Might happen again with an acoustic.


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

I have a re-shipper in Washington State. I would think most border states have them. Free US shipping (usually) to the border, then I pay $18 to have it air cargo’d to my airport. I walk the paper work through Customs myself, pay the tax, and take my stuff home. That’s the easy part. It’s the weak Canadian Peso that’s fucking me over. I’ll check out MFG.


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