| Several years ago a friend bought me a Tele at an Ishibashi store in Tokyo, brought it through customs as his personal instrument and left it with me as a gift. So, no I didn't pay customs duties. You, however, will if you buy from Ishibashi. I don't remember clearly, but I believe it is about 10%. The Guitar Gai and his stock is located here in the US. When you pay his price, the duties are already in it along with his profit, which, after 30 years of self employment, I think is reasonable. The quality and workmanship of my Tele is superb, although I did replace the US pickups with Rio Grandes. I have a Japanese Strat that I bought used and it is also a fantastic guitar. The guy before me replaced the US pickups with Fralins. I have not found any problems with the pots or switches. Nor with the pickups, I just prefer a different tone. If I were going to buy a Fender bass, I would give very serious consideration to buying from Ishibashi directly, and maybe from the Guitar Gai. You can call or email Ishibashi for information on US sales. They have English speaking staff to help with International sales.
__________________
Florentino Ariza tenía la respuesta preparada desde hacía cincuenta y tres años, siete meses y once días con sus noches. –Toda la vida –dijo. El amor en los tiempos del cólera | 
