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Importing to Canada

awilkie84

awilkie84

Jul 16, 2011
7,429
1,868
Edmonton, AB, Canada
#1
Hey,

So I'm looking to buy a bass from a member on here and I'm trying to figure out what the overall cost is going to be to me.

It's a Korean bass, so it's not covered under NAFTA. I'm in BC, so I know they're going to charge me GST/PST (despite the bass manufacturer not being available to me through local sources). I know that most shippers charge brokerage, so I'm hoping to avoid using FedEx or UPS. What I don't know is what my duty charges will be. There are ZERO sites that will give me a definitive for importing a musical instrument. Even the Canadian government neglects to list musical instruments in their duty calculator online. -_-

Say I pay $450 USD, what will my duty charges be?
 
#2
If you can have the shipper send it via USPS you'll pay approx. $5.00 -$10.00 for brokerage, plus HST. As for duty, ask the shipper to state that the item is used and manufactured in USA and you'll pay none. Just a suggestion.

TD
 
#3
There was a .pdf of all the duties and exemptions on the CBSA website just a couple of years ago...can't seem to find it now, but it must still be there. :/

EDIT: Here...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

from this page:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#4
NEVER USE UPS.

Honestly. Never. Ever. Their clearing fees and brokerage are a joke. Could be 40-60% of the value. I have honestly walked from great deals if the seller was adamant to use UPS.

It is used? Have the seller state USA bass guitar on the waybill and happily pay your 13% tax.

I wouldn't raise a flag about where it is made. Not to avoid tax, just to avoid a potential pain in the @$$.

USPS works the best in my many dealings with US TBers.
 
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#5
Fedex brokerage fees on a ground shipment usually dont exceed $20, plus whatever the HST is. I prefer the trackability and ease of clearance by Fedex to any other service.

If this is a personal shipment of an older used bass, from one TBer to another, just put the value of the bass as a $1 gift and USPS it. If anyone asks questions, just say that the shipper is sending you your own bass after damaging yours when you were at their place.
 
#6
First off, as others have stated, use USPS/Canada Post for the shipment. Do not use couriers, and for the love of all that is good, never ever use UPS. They are unethical crooks. I've been charged more in brokerage fees by them than a used pedal was worth, and this was after they held it at their facility for nearly 2 weeks. FedEx is *slightly* better if you need to use a courier, but not much.

The seller will have to declare a value on the item, and describe the contents on the shipping manifest. An important note is that if it has to be insured or if you want it insured, it can only be done for as much as the declared value is, so keep that in mind when there are those who suggest valuing it at $1. In a case like that, forget about any insurance on it, if that is important to you. A nice and easy way to help out with this is to have the shipper include a copy of something like the PayPal invoice in the package.

You'll pay GST/PST on the declared value, and then depending upon whether or not the item is described or otherwise identified as being from somewhere outside of NAFTA, you may have to pay a duty charge. I know they vary, but for me I usually make a rough estimate in my mind of duty being roughly equivalent to the GST.

Be aware that any package could be scrutinized by customs on either side, and if anything is amiss, you and the seller would risk the item being seized. For a pedal, that may not be a big deal. For a $2000 bass, I wouldn't want to have someone value it at $1 or say it was from a country other than where it was from (say, Germany as an example) and then run the risk of having it seized or being shipped uninsured.

Having said that, it has amazed me over the years the number of packages with clear markings, identification, and declarations that show up at my house with no GST or duty charges whatsoever. Who knows how or why.

So, bottom line - if your negotiated price is $450, that's roughly $500 CDN (you didn't forget about the exchange rate, right?), so if tax is 13% and duty is guessed at 5%...let's guess that 590 loonies will need to exist your wallet to buy that bass, and that of course is not counting shipping costs or any PayPal or other payment related fees. As an aside, I usually ask (and think it is appropriate and ethical) shippers to not include the shipping cost in the declared value of the instrument - no way I am paying tax and duty on that!

It all sounds like a big headache, but I've bought and sold a number of basses across the border, and in general things go smoothly. I find it is always worth scouring the local Canadian markets really, really well for whatever it is you want to buy to save the hassles, but there definitely are deals to be had out there even when taking all of this into account.

Good luck with everything!
 
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#8
Baird6869 said:
NEVER USE UPS.

Honestly. Never. Ever. Their clearing fees and brokerage are a joke. Could be 40-60% of the value. I have honestly walked from great deals if the seller was adamant to use UPS.
Click to expand...

I don't think that this can be repeated enough. I will also walk from a deal if UPS is involved, you lose on fees every time. I concur with everyone else: USPS is the best option and just pay the duty and be done with it, no point raising red flags.
 
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#9
Where in BC are you?

I'm in Vancouver & use a shipping address 2 mins across the border in Blaine.

On the way back I always declare what I picked up & how much it cost me. Even with items costing several hundred dollars, I've never been asked to pay tax or duty. Obviously no brokerage fees involved at all doing it this way.

Combine it with a weekend away & you could maybe included it in your tax free allowance?
 
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#11
I've never had an entire bass come from the States, just bass parts. In my experience stay away from UPS! If you can get it sent USPS to your address/post office in Canada, That's the only way to go without un expected extra charges on your purchase.
 
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#15
canuckshort said:
Haha. Nice catch, I should have started with "Will". Shouldn't be much of a debate though.
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised...pop into the Rickenbacker threads sometime and you'll find more ridiculous and groundless political debate than would ever be considered appropriate for a politics forum, let alone a bass one! ;)

That aside, it is silly to see GST on used items bought and sold privately, but I guess the same thing applies to used cars when bought from a dealer.
 
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#16
blindrabbit said:
You'd be surprised...pop into the Rickenbacker threads sometime and you'll find more ridiculous and groundless political debate than would ever be considered appropriate for a politics forum, let alone a bass one! ;)

That aside, it is silly to see GST on used items bought and sold privately, but I guess the same thing applies to used cars when bought from a dealer.
Click to expand...
What's so 'political' and 'groundless' about saving money? You must be a UPS employee trying to justify outrageous fees and lousy service! If you don't like what's written in a forum, quit reading, O.K.!?!
 
#17
I've had 2 experiences with buying and shipping a bass from Canada to me here in California. Both worked out in the end and both used UPS on my end. The first one got here in like 5 days and I got stuck with a surprise broker fee of $80. Man was I pissed! The second took about 10 days and dropped off the tracking page altogether, but this time I expected the broker fee and there was none! No idea why each one was so different.
 

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