Experience shipping to Canada from US?

[landry.bass]

Does anybody out there have experience shipping a bass from the US to Canada? Having trouble finding information on this. JUst curious as to how much shipping from Us to Canada for a bass would cost. Thanks for any help.

[recreate.me]

I just bought a bass from MK1, he sent it from the US and got it in Canada, it was super fast like 3 days since he lives 4 hours from my city just in a different country haha

Not sure what he paid to send it, i think it was something like 75$, but i received it i owed 120$ for brokerage fees... I love the bass, it was totally worth it, even with these costs i still saved about 300$...

I wouldnt recommend buy international on a cheaper item cause the fees will end up equalling the cost of the bass...most likely anyway.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by landry.bass

Does anybody out there have experience shipping a bass from the US to Canada? Having trouble finding information on this. JUst curious as to how much shipping from Us to Canada for a bass would cost. Thanks for any help.

you can set yourself up as a customs broker....it's legal and saves the fees,and you can self broker,but the carriers make it a pain,but it can be done.....it will involve getting a tracking number and informing the carrier that you will be self brokering.....have the shipper write it on the bill,and the carton.....print or have the shipper print a copy of the original classified/ebay ad to show the customs guy you paid what you paid,and so he will not try to tax you on shipping charges or insured value....the carriers will make you wait until the goods arrive in canuckistan before they will accept you informing them you plan on self brokerage.....the say there is a reason,but i suspect it'ss to encourage all but the most determined to just give up and pay them the fees for shuffling a piece of paper.....

when it arrives you go to the carrier,get some forms,drive to customs and fill in the customs document,pay the gst/pst,return to the carrier and get your gear......be prepared for the customs guy to treat you like crap.....they seem to prefer hiring a particularly rude,ignorant type that think your music gear is full of 911 terrorists,and that you are the ring leader

ups just tried to charge me twenty six bucks to send an envelope to new brunswick that the post office does for sixty seven cents.....now that the big carriers have eliminated the competition for less than carload freight,they have become the devil

[yamaha]

Lately, My experience in crossborder shipping is 50/50. Some are reasonnable fees & brokerage fees, but some are CRAZY expensive. A while back, I was charged brokerage & Taxes based on used retail value of the item in Canada, and not what I paid for it. Result was 600.00$ Item (amp), + 280.00$ fees. Was supposed to be a great deal, turns out not so much, but still worth the transaction (barely).

I have had only good experience however when the seller (I have no idea how this is done) charges cost of customs in his selling price. Bought an Amp (Another one) brand new for 225$ last xmas from a retail seller. Amp was worth 500$+ easy. He charged me for shipping, taxes, and duty, (less than 50.00$) and the amp got to my home and I did not owe a cent. I believe in this case the seller had a broker that filled out all paperwork and stuff.

[bongomania]

Yep, overall as a seller it has cost me in the neighborhood of $75 to ship a bass to Canuckistan, and then the recipients owed their gov't. like twice that in customs and brokerage fees.

You can sometimes reduce both the cost and the fees by taking the neck off the bass. This allows you to ship in a smaller box, and it also allows you to write on the customs form that the contents are "parts for repair", which will often get charged lower import duties than something declared as a musical instrument. Of course any time you mess with the customs value claims you're hosed if the package gets lost or damaged.

[nato101010]

Lets see...

Got my SX fine.

Got my Bigsby fine.

Got a tom mic fine.

Yup. It's been fine.

[Xwolf Okami]

I've not shipped a bass, but on the receiving end of the deal, I've purchased a bass from the US and had it shipped to Canada. It cost me about $200 in customs.

For those wondering, my bass cannot be disassembled from the neck, and it was fine when it got here. Albeit, she was resting in her hard case.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Yep, overall as a seller it has cost me in the neighborhood of $75 to ship a bass to Canuckistan, and then the recipients owed their gov't. like twice that in customs and brokerage fees.

You can sometimes reduce both the cost and the fees by taking the neck off the bass. This allows you to ship in a smaller box, and it also allows you to write on the customs form that the contents are "parts for repair", which will often get charged lower import duties than something declared as a musical instrument. Of course any time you mess with the customs value claims you're hosed if the package gets lost or damaged.

that reminds me that goods made in nafta countries go duty free,but a mij fender does not qualify,and duties will apply

you can recover damage claims from the carrier,but the carrier will only deal with the guy who paid the freight,or has the account....if he wont help you,you're out of luck.....

[recreate.me]

Yeah it depends on the weight and size and what the seller writes on the slip. If you say its a gift, or its broken, or parts for repair the cost is usually less for the buyer. Lots of people refuse to do this, as its 'lying' and they dont want to be caught.
Also if you write "broken" on it they treat your item like its broken and it tends to arrive in a banged up box haha so its iffy at best.

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Brokerage fees are exorbitant and try figuring out what they'll be before shipping is next to impossible!! Certain shipping methods have it included in the shipping price and at least that way you know up front. Otherwise, you just get a bill about 5-6 weeks later (FedEx Ground) or COD (UPS Ground). I think the air shipments include the fees, but are more expensive.

When possible, I try to request USPS (which will come through Canada Post) that have reasonable charges. I don't think they do anything as large as basses though and getting tracking info may be tricky.

If it was made in Canada or the USA, there should be no customs charges, only the applicable taxes. Be sure to indicate that on the shipping documents.

[purfektstranger]

For the buyer's sake I wouldn't ship it FEDEX or UPS because they absolutely rape you on customs clearance fees. US Postal service (with tracking) is the way to go. All you do is declare the purchase price on the slip you fill out and if there are any duties to be paid on the other end...it is between the buyer and Canada Post. I have purchased 10 basses from the U.S. that were shipped U.S. postal and have never had a hassle. Not sure if they changed size regulations but none of the basses I bought were disassembled.... Just my 2cents....

[ErikW]

I shipped a steering column through usps to canada and it wasn't so bad.

[nervous]

Very timely topic for me. I am awaiting a Boss GT-8 guitar unit that shipped a couple weeks ago from just across the border and it's now been 7 days since the US took it into their system but with crappy tracking there's no way to know where it is, when or if it will arrive. I don't know how the customs fees work though and I am hoping that I don't get surprised. ON the other side I did learn that for smaller items you can ship "first class" to Canada up to 4 pounds (vs our normal 13oz) for what I would say is a very reasonable rate. But once you move to a 'premium' service like priority all bets are off.

[murphy]

I have been very happy using USPS and Canada Post

I hate UPS and their ripoff brokerage fees.....I avoid at all cost.

Had to send a bass stateside by UPS and it was a very difficult and expensive process.
Never again!!!

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by Smallmouth_Bass

Brokerage fees are exorbitant and try figuring out what they'll be before shipping is next to impossible!! Certain shipping methods have it included in the shipping price and at least that way you know up front. Otherwise, you just get a bill about 5-6 weeks later (FedEx Ground) or COD (UPS Ground). I think the air shipments include the fees, but are more expensive.

When possible, I try to request USPS (which will come through Canada Post) that have reasonable charges. I don't think they do anything as large as basses though and getting tracking info may be tricky.

If it was made in Canada or the USA, there should be no customs charges, only the applicable taxes. Be sure to indicate that on the shipping documents.

you do not have to pay broker fees.....but if you leave it up to ups they will charge them

[Mrdak]

USPS is the only way to go if you're shipping to Canada.

[emjazz]

Originally Posted by Mrdak

USPS is the only way to go if you're shipping to Canada.

+1

[awall]

I bought a bass from The Perfect Bass in Baton Rouge. It shipped in a hard shell case for $75.00. I did get a bill from Fed Ex a few weeks later asking me to reimburse them for the GST they paid at the border for me. I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Al