USA player buys gear from Canadian player-shipping, NAFTA? Help!

[bassclef29]

I live in California, USA. I'm in contact with a Canadian bassist who's listed a bass on Craigslist there. The cost (not yet fully negotiated) is $1500-2000.

To figure out if this purchase and sale are feasible, we have to get a handle on shipping. customs, and tariffs to calculate the "out the door" price.

For a private party one-off sale to trigger customs duties and tariffs seems like a ripoff, but it does, I need to figure the amount.

The prospective seller doesn't live near the border, thus driving into the USA so an American friend can facilitate matters is not an option.

Does anyone have experience with such transactions? Your help is appreciated.

Thanks,
--Joe in San Diego

[Loel]

I've done numerous deals with Americans
check my feedback,never experinced someone
having to pay duties or any other fees cept maybe
taxes applied by your state,however brokerage fees
are levied, payed by the seller OR buyer..

OTOH when items come to Canada there is always
duties,taxes,brokerage fees,not so much entering
the US..

hope this helps

[Jonyak]

the law is, if it is built in the USA or Canada it is supposed to be covered under free trade, and not subject to duties.

taxes are a seperate issue.

the canadian border seems to be a bit more hardcore than the american.

[BluesWalker]

I have bought a bass from the UK and have sold/shipped several items from the US to Canada. The seller only has to worry about the amount of money he receives from you for the cost of the bass and for the shipping cost. All other fees (customs, tarifs, broker fees) will be billed directly to you the buyer.

He will ship it from Canada with a declared value. A broker, usually the shipper or a subsidary of the shipper, will get it cleared through customs. The broker will charge you a fee plus the customs fee. They will either send you a bill after delivery or expect a payment prior to delivery, it depends upon the broker's policies. It will be much less than you think. I bought a new bass from an UK manufacturer and had it shipped to my house in Michigan. The bass cost $2600 USD, the broker/custom fee was around $10 (the shipment was another matter, it was shipped international next day delivery which cost $160USD). You will also owe state sales taxes, I am not sure how they are collected for shipments coming into CA. However, again, this will be only your responsiblity, not the sellers.

Your best bet will be to have him ship it via FEDEX or UPS, they will take care of all of the above fees. I would contact the shipper ahead of time to see if they can tell you what the fees will be.

[iamlowsound]

Have him ship it Canada Post and you will have less brokerage fees.

lowsound

[bassclef29]

Thanks all for your help.
--Joe in "June Gloom" overcast San Diego

[Crabby]

Avoid UPS!!!! They have additional brokerage fees that the receiver pays upon delivery and they can be insanely expensive. I live in Canada and had a bass shipped to me last year with a declared value on the customs form of $400. I did not have to pay any taxes or duty but when the brown truck showed up at my door, he presented the bass and an $85 bill to my wife. She paid it otherwise UPS would take the bass back to their warehouse 1.5 hours away.

I called later and they explained that this is UPS's own fee that they charge to complete paperwork related to customs and they call it a brokerage fee. UPS confirmed that this fee is completely unique to them and that it has nothing to do with taxes, duty or customs fees. The guy on the phone also advised that if I attended the warehouse and picked up the bass, no fees would be charged.

Last week I had a bass shipped to me from New Jersey. I live on the other side of the continent in B.C> so thats well over 3000 miles away. The seller listed the value of the bass at $800 on the customs form and paid $63 to ship the bass via US Postal Service.

At my end, I had to pay taxes on the declared value which was $105 but no duty, customs or brokerage fees.

Hope that is of some help.

[Bting]

Use the postal service, agreed.
I got my bass off of EBay, from an american seller, and it cost me, i think $8 for all Customs fees
It was a US made product, so no duties.
Just sales tax and the Custom fees. Essentially that is a fee charged for facilitating the clearence of the item through customs.
If Duty is due, that and any applicable sales taxes will be additional.
But Postal service is the most straight forward and cheapest by far.

If the seller packs it well, its as safe as on a Fed Ex/UPS/Purolater, what have you truck. It's not like it's gonna get babied by them, right?

[BluesWalker]

The only problem with the Post Office is that you lose all ability to track the shipment and confirm delivery once it crosses the border. That is not a risk I ever want to take with an expensive item.

[bassclef29]

Originally Posted by BluesWalker

The only problem with the Post Office is that you lose all ability to track the shipment and confirm delivery once it crosses the border. That is not a risk I ever want to take with an expensive item.

But with (in this case) Canadian Post to the US the seller can still insure the item, is that right?
Thanks all,
--Joe

[BluesWalker]

It can be insured either way, but you as the seller will never have a record of its arrival. That makes it difficult to support a non-delivery insurance claims. I do not know how easy it is to go throught the insurance claim process in Canada, but I can tell you it is very difficult to get an insurance claim resolution from the USPS for items sent abroad.

[Jonyak]

Originally Posted by BluesWalker

The only problem with the Post Office is that you lose all ability to track the shipment and confirm delivery once it crosses the border. That is not a risk I ever want to take with an expensive item.

Thats is totaly false.

once it has crossed the border all you need to do it type the tracking number into USPS, or canada posts tracking site and you can track it right to your door.

I have done it multiple times.