Randy Rhoads RR1 black, Canada

[Mush]

I am decided to buy that guitar. The problem is that I will have to buy online or order one from a BM store because I live in a northern region of the québec province. Not one in stock nears 800 miles around.

Do you know some good, reputable dealers that carry them in stock, I would have to trust them on the quality of the guitar to be shipped. I would like them to be Canadian bizness in case that something goes wrong.

Mush

[paulbag]

Contact Matt from Matts Music...his link is at the top of this page...

[Mush]

Thanks Pulbag. Any other good canadian online dealer or north ontario dealers...


Thanks all


Mush

[Leo Chang]

I am in Vancouver, B.C., and just bought my RR24 from Matt's Music Centre not too long ago, great guy to deal with.

Or call up the Ontario Long and McQuade or Tom Lee, see if they can ship guitars to you even if they don't have a store near your location.

For online, the only online Canadian music retailer I have found is this:

http://www.axemusic.com/

They don't carry Jacksons, but you might see other things that you like.

[Mush]

I am in Vancouver, B.C., and just bought my RR24 from Matt's Music Centre not too long ago, great guy to deal with.

How much to make the guitar cross the border. What were your duties fees. Thanks


Mush

[neilli]

I think I paid $290 CDN on a guitar valued at $3000 US....

[Ahrimanius]

How much to make the guitar cross the border. What were your duties fees. Thanks


Mush

I'm in Manitoba and have imported a number of guitars, including used USA and import models and a couple of new USA Jacksons. Your importing fees are going to vary depending on the value of the guitar and the carrier used. All of my cross-border invoices have been for PST, GST and brokerage fees only. I have never paid any duty on a guitar shipped from the U.S., even when they are imports that don't qualify for zero duty under NAFTA. Here are some examples for you:

USA Jackson (Custom shop NAMM piece): Valued at USD$2335 on shipper's customs invoice. Shipped USPS. My cross border fees: CAD$357 based on GST, PST and an $8 brokerage fee.

Monson Custom guitar: Valued at USD$1300 on shipper's customs invoice. Shipped UPS. My cross border fees: CAD$282 based on GST, PST and a $73 brokerage fee.

USA Jackson RR1T: Valued at USD$1500 on shipper's customs invoice. Shipped UPS. From memory, my cross border fees: CAD$320 based on GST, PST and a similar brokerage fee to that above.

As you can see, post office shipments charge a minimal brokerage fee (the $8 was the most I've ever paid; for lower value items it's usually $5), while UPS charges significantly more (see breakdown at http://ups.com/content/ca/en/shippin...clearance.html). From experience with FedEx (but not with any higher value guitars), they too charge a relatively steep brokerage fee on ground services.

[Ahrimanius]

Oh yeah....the UPS shipments above were both ground. UPS (and I think FedEx too) include the brokerage fee in the shipment cost for express services, but you would still end up paying taxes at your end.

[Leo Chang]

Ahrimanius' figures are in line with me own experiences.

If you want to eliminate the brokerage fee, once you know you have a package coming, call the carrier, tell them that when it arrives at your local carrier depot, don't do the brokerage / customs for you, you'll do it yourself.

I have only done this with UPS, and it's very simple. I go to the UPS depot first, get the paperwork from them, hop over to the Customs office (just next block), wait in line for anywhere from instantaneous to 1 hour (depending on how busy they are), answer the Customs officer's questions about what kind of package it is, and maybe pay a nominal import / customs fee.

If I remember correctly, the actual customs fee is actually very cheap. (in the low double digits) And THIS is what UPS and Fedex charges you hundreds to do.

If you don't count the time spent waiting in line, the actual process takes only 5 minutes. If including waiting time at the UPS depot + waiting time at Customs office, then the total time expenditure is about an hour.

When I was importing a lot of guitars from the US, my UPS driver told me to do this if I don't want to keep on paying their outrageous brokerage fees

[Mush]

Thank you all for your answers. I will find the hundreds $ missing for the guitar and call Matt to see what we can arrange.


Mush