Question re: US dealers

[J-Nick]

Are US dealers allowed to ship to Canada? I know that they are not allowed to ship to Europe, but I thought that since US and Canda have a free trade agreement this rule might not apply to your favorite northern neighbours... just curious...

Thanks

 

[fogman]

Dealers can only ship within their own country.
As far as Free Trade, if you travelled to the US and wanted to bring a guitar back with you, you would still have to pay duty.
If the guitar was US made (which it is) but NOT available in Canada, then you would not have to pay duty.
Trust me when I say I've tried figuring this out to work a deal with Pete D., it is cheaper to actually buy in Canada.

 

[J-Nick]

Thanks Fogman,

My girlfriend lives in the US so I was wondering if I could get the guitar to be shipped to her and I would then bring it back to Canada... I wonder if that would void my warranty?

I'm exploring different options, one of which is to just buy from my local dealer... but it's always nice to get the most out of your hard earned money...

Cheers

 

[fogman]

You could do that, and yes it would void your warrantee from what I understand.

 

[jabba]

Dealers can only ship within their own country.
As far as Free Trade, if you travelled to the US and wanted to bring a guitar back with you, you would still have to pay duty.
If the guitar was US made (which it is) but NOT available in Canada, then you would not have to pay duty.
Trust me when I say I've tried figuring this out to work a deal with Pete D., it is cheaper to actually buy in Canada.

I thought if the guitar was made in the US, then you would not have to pay duty because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (no duty on US manufactured goods when imported into Canada)......but you would have to pay GST (7% tax) and PST (another 7% tax) when you declared the guitar at the border......so in the end you'd pay 14% tax on the price of the guitar (when coverted to Canadian funds), which basically kills any price advantage from buying from a US dealer.

Yes you read that right....we pay 14% sales tax up here in the land of good beer and cold winters (expect for the chosen few in Alberta who only have to pay the one tax 7%).

 

[fogman]

I thought if the guitar was made in the US, then you would not have to pay duty because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (no duty on US manufactured goods when imported into Canada)......but you would have to pay GST (7% tax) and PST (another 7% tax) when you declared the guitar at the border......so in the end you'd pay 14% tax on the price of the guitar (when coverted to Canadian funds), which basically kills any price advantage from buying from a US dealer.

Yes you read that right....we pay 14% sales tax up here in the land of good beer and cold winters (expect for the chosen few in Alberta who only have to pay the one tax 7%).

You are probably more correct than I. I quickly asked a good friend of mine a while back (he works at customs) what the deal was. He something similar to what you just said. Though he would have to double check since the specifics and percentages vary from item to item.
In the end (and I've calculated this many times) it's usually cheaper to buy here, if not the same.

As far as Taxes, I've got you beat here in Ontario!
GST (7% tax) and PST (another 8% tax) so you pay 15% tax

.

 

[J-Nick]

I'm pretty sure I beat both of you as a Quebec resident when it comes to paying taxes... I won't get into how much income tax I'm paying... let's just say that there is not much left for guitar purchases...

 

[beej]

If you're looking to buy in the US (read: tax free), best bet is cross the border in person and pick it up. I've done this with (literally) a dozen guitars and have never been given a hard time by customs. When asked, "it's a guitar. had a gig".

Yeah, it probably does void the warranty and for new guitars it's probably not the best bet. Used MM's, though, it's a better system- there just aren't enough floating around up here.

 

[J-Nick]

If you're looking to buy in the US (read: tax free), best bet is cross the border in person and pick it up. I've done this with (literally) a dozen guitars and have never been given a hard time by customs. When asked, "it's a guitar. had a gig".

Yeah, it probably does void the warranty and for new guitars it's probably not the best bet. Used MM's, though, it's a better system- there just aren't enough floating around up here.

That was my plan but since lefty EBMM are quite rare I got to order brand new to get what I want... I would not want to void my warranty on such an expensive instrument (even though I know EBMM quality is top notch!). I guess there is no escaping paying taxes...

 

[beej]

Yeah, thus the saying about death and taxes ...

Well fingers crossed for a used lefty. But worst-case scenario, you'll be buying a guitar that you'll probably never let go of!

 

[blackspy]

You do not pay any duties or tarrif, but you do pay the HST as has been said. There is also usually a customs fee attached that can range from $10-$60 depending on how you ship. Depending on the purchase, and your shipping choices, it often can be cheaper to buy from the US and pay the applicable taxes and whatnot. I've been doing a lot of price comparison on a couple of Soldano heads, and it, so far, has always been a cheaper option to buy from the US and ship it. The difference usually amounts to $300-$500 (with shipping/tax/customs).

 

[Spudmurphy]

I'm pretty sure I beat both of you as a Quebec resident when it comes to paying taxes... I won't get into how much income tax I'm paying... let's just say that there is not much left for guitar purchases...

In our country, you have to earn big to pay big (income) taxes - I know 'cos thats my profession
Spud

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

I have crossed the US/Canada border in a car a few times. They never searched our car. Can't see that they would notice if your shiny new guitar was hidden in your trunk.

 

[J-Nick]

I have crossed the US/Canada border in a car a few times. They never searched our car. Can't see that they would notice if your shiny new guitar was hidden in your trunk.

Crossing the border does not worry me, the Canadian custom agents a generally nice as long as your polite and courteous to them. I would be worried about about voiding the warranty on a brand new instrument worth a lot of money... Hence I'll probably just order from my local dealer... I guess that having the peace of mind that everything is done by the book has a price.

Spud: believe me I don't make that much money but I sure do pay of lot of taxes (close to 50% of my salary...). Paying taxes is part of being Canadian...


Cheers

 

[blackspy]

It's only a 1 year warranty anyway isn't it? Assuming the guitar is fine when you pick it up, whats the difference? Anything that might happen to it accidentally after that is likely not going to be covered by a warranty anyway.

I agree though about the taxes. Canadian taxes are way out of line. I wish I had half of what I pay in taxes back each year. I'd have a dozen MM guitars by now.

 

[glensterr]

Hey J nick,

If you are looking for Left handed Musicman Axis SS, or Silhouette Special there is a great store in Ontario called The Arts Music Store that has Left handed Musicman guitars. Great guys there,they know their stuff.
www.theartsmusicstore.com

G.

 

[J-Nick]

Hey J nick,

If you are looking for Left handed Musicman Axis SS, or Silhouette Special there is a great store in Ontario called The Arts Music Store that has Left handed Musicman guitars. Great guys there,they know their stuff.
www.theartsmusicstore.com

G.

Thanks! I'll contact them to see what they got...

 

[beej]

I believe there's someone from that store on this list.

I've heard great things about that store. Haven't been north of the city to check it out yet, but it's on my to-do list