Smuggling a Bass!

Willymountain · #1 06-08-2010, 04:12 PM

Hey everyone, I live in Canada, and I'll be leaving my igloo in the next few days and getting on my horse in my mounty getup and heading down the Amerkuh to pick up a bass that was shipped there.

I've never done this kind of thing, and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on the best way to go about doing this. I suppose what I'm asking is how do I not get owned by the border police... I don't think I'll have a problem, but has anyone done this before?

Thanks!

**Staccato** · #2 06-08-2010, 04:18 PM

First, make sure the Igloo is secure against unwanted intruders during your absence. The Main Thing is to ensure that you have a good place reserved for the bass to ride in comfort on the way home.

My guess after dealing with CN & US customs on numerous occasions as a pilot, is to tell them when you exit your lands, and enter Amerkuh-that you are visiting and will be auditioning some songs during your visit. And, upon your return, tell them that you had an audition and in case you forget to mention that the bass is new and not declared, well, that will be that...

Tags and 'bass' receipts should not be kept in the bass case or within easy reach in your luggage, etc.

Randall · #3 06-08-2010, 04:21 PM

Uh what? can you not afford to pay the gst on your new bass? Have you crossed the border recently? Its not like the good old days lol

Schlyder · #4 06-08-2010, 04:22 PM

Really...

Stereo Joe · #5 06-08-2010, 04:27 PM

Just declare your purchase and pay the taxes.

LowDown Hal · #6 06-08-2010, 04:30 PM

Out of curiosity..
How much are the taxes on, say for example, USD $1000.00

??

Willymountain · #7 06-08-2010, 04:30 PM

Yeah that's what I figured. Kinda felt stupid starting this thread. Anywho. Thanks for the uh... help.

pica · #8 06-08-2010, 04:35 PM

Why don't you just leave the bass in your trunk. The border agents aren't going to know you just bought it. They don't know how long you've had it.

irvinz · #9 06-08-2010, 04:45 PM

just drop it and tie it behind your car. that way, the border police won't think its new

BurningSkies · #10 06-08-2010, 04:48 PM

Back when I used to make trips across the border to play shows, we had to have a list of serial numbers/instruments to prove to both sides we weren't on the scam. At least one time we got really GRILLED by the border guards about our gear and the details of us having it while crossing the border.

pica · #11 06-08-2010, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Back when I used to make trips across the border to play shows, we had to have a list of serial numbers/instruments to prove to both sides we weren't on the scam. At least one time we got really GRILLED by the border guards about our gear and the details of us having it while crossing the border.

I live in Detroit, right across the river from Canada. I've been to Windsor a hundred times in the last couple years and have never experienced anything like BurningSkies is describing. Maybe the border guards are different where he lives. I guess it all depends who you get.

Richland123 · #12 06-08-2010, 05:10 PM

Several years ago, I had my bass in a gig bag behind my back seat in a minivan so that passersby would not see it if I stopped somewhere along my trip to Canada. I was taking my bass so I could jam at Jeff Healey's club in Toronto. The Canadian border patrol normally randomly pull vehicles over to search them and it just happened to be my day. I had to stand away from the van while the border patrol searched my entire van and luggage and saw my bass and said nothing at all. I did not have anything they would question anyway. I also had to go inside the border station and tell them why I was going to Toronto but I did not have to declare my bass. On the return trip, the U.S. border people did not do anything.

recreate.me · #13 06-08-2010, 05:11 PM

Hey Pica I'm in Windsor!

I would take all the tags off it and through that all out, or hide it nicely and just say thats your bass and you have always had, you just went to jam with friends or band audition or something... if they can't prove its new they can't charge you GST right?

on 1000 USD just convert it to CDN then take 13% of that...ugh

elzeder · #14 06-08-2010, 05:17 PM

Hi
I live in Europe and a friend brought a les paul guitar back from the US on the plane, back when you could actually take instruments with you

He just put an old cable in there and some other stuff that makes it look like you had it for a while, and bruised and relic'd the flightcase

ggunn · #15 06-08-2010, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willymountain

Hey everyone, I live in Canada, and I'll be leaving my igloo in the next few days and getting on my horse in my mounty getup and heading down the Amerkuh to pick up a bass that was shipped there.

I've never done this kind of thing, and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on the best way to go about doing this. I suppose what I'm asking is how do I not get owned by the border police... I don't think I'll have a problem, but has anyone done this before?

Thanks!

Dirty up the case a bit, remove any hang tags, throw a well-worn strap with a couple of rags and a beat up tuner in the case, put the receipt elsewhere, break a string, stow it in the trunk with some other gear.

Moogeddy · #16 06-08-2010, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggunn

Dirty up the case a bit, remove any hang tags, throw a well-worn strap with a couple of rags and a beat up tuner in the case, put the receipt elsewhere, break a string, stow it in the trunk with some other gear.

+1

IMO this is your best bet looking at your guys previous experience with taking basses over the border.

Sadly enough it does really depend on which Border Officer you get and what kind of mood he or she is in at that particular moment. Sad but true.

bass12 · #17 06-08-2010, 06:12 PM

Well, let me tell you a little story. A couple of weeks ago I headed down to New York from Montreal to pick up a bass I'd had made. I'd spoken with the luthier about the possibility of giving me a phony receipt for roughly half the value of the instrument. He said he could do this no problem. The total cost of the bass was $4400 U.S. and the phony receipt I had made up was for roughly $1900. I arrived at Canada customs feeling pretty confident - after all, I had my receipt and I was kind of doing a good thing by at least declaring the instrument (even if I was lying about its real value). What could possibly go wrong? As I went inside the customs building I was met by two officers who asked to see my receipt. I gave them the phony receipt and they immediately asked how I had paid for the instrument. Stupidly, I told them I had used my Visa card. Big mistake. Visa transactions, unlike cash transactions, are traceable. Suddenly I found myself trying to explain why I didn't have a Visa slip from the transaction in question (I actually didn't have a Visa slip). At this point, one of the customs officers noticed the luthier's phone number on the phony receipt. They grilled me for a bit and then called up the man who had built the bass and asked that he send a fax of the Visa slip. At the same time that this is going on, I'm trying to explain why the Visa bill they're about to receive is for $3400 and not $1900 (I'd prepaid $1000 when I ordered the bass). It was a disaster. After I'd explained that I had paid for two basses (but hadn't picked the other one up) they got a completely different story from the well-meaning luthier. After over an hour of this nonsense (with me swearing that I was being honest the whole time) I realised that I was trapped. The officers had repeatedly asked if I was ready to tell them what I really paid for the bass and finally I gave in and told them I was full of BS. It was not a good feeling. I felt like a jerk and I was scared because I had no idea what was going to happen to me and my bass (not to mention my car - were they going to impound it?!). So, here's what the upshot of the whole deal was: After I admitted to making a false declaration on the value of the bass the instrument was seized. To "buy back" the bass I had to pay 55% of the value that I'd failed to declare. This amounted to roughly $1,300 Canadian. On top of that I had to pay the tax on the full value of the instrument (this amounted to almost $600). On top of that, I am now on file for smuggling. This isn't such a big deal, but it means that I'm more likely to get searched in the future and if I'm caught smuggling again the fines could be heftier.

As someone whose family has property in the U.S. I've crossed the border countless times and only been searched once or twice. It was very tempting to not declare the bass at all (chances are I could have put it in the trunk and just been waved through). I decided that a foolproof plan to save some dough would be to go the route of the fake receipt but even that blew up in my face. If you don't declare your bass at customs chances are pretty good that you'll get away with it, but you never know. All it takes is one rotten little twist of fate for your carefree little jaunt Stateside to quickly turn into a stress-ridden hell-trip. Good luck, whatever you decide.

SurferJoe46 · #18 06-08-2010, 06:14 PM

Maybe you should get road worn bass. Nobody would even think to question that.

bass12 · #19 06-08-2010, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggunn

Dirty up the case a bit, remove any hang tags, throw a well-worn strap with a couple of rags and a beat up tuner in the case, put the receipt elsewhere, break a string, stow it in the trunk with some other gear.

It is your responsibility to register any expensive gear with customs before you leave your country (unless you decide to carry a receipt/receipts with you). Many of the customs officers out there are less naive than you might think and with access to the internet it can be even more difficult to pull the wool over their eyes.

Jonyak · #20 06-08-2010, 06:20 PM

I did it and did not declare. noone said anything.

if they did I would have just told them I left the bass int he trunk from a gig I played 2 days ago.

I got rid of all the packing materials and anything that would make it look like a new to me bass.