a few questions.

[mikey007]

hey, so i  live in Canada.  And am saving up for a larrivee, but i would probably but used.  So how much duty and taxes do i have to pay, if i buy one from a larrivee member in the states?  is this an ok idea?  or is it better just to wait for someone in Canada, or save up more money?

Mike

[Denis]

hey, so i  live in Canada.  And am saving up for a larrivee, but i would probably but used.  So how much duty and taxes do i have to pay, if i buy one from a larrivee member in the states?  is this an ok idea?  or is it better just to wait for someone in Canada, or save up more money?

Mike

Hey Mike.

I've bought several Larrivees from more than one of the online dealers that post here on the forum.  The last guitar I bought, from Jim at Trinity, was an L-03.  He declared a value of $500US when he shipped by USPS because I believe that's the max that it can be insured for.  He told me the rest would be covered under his business insurance.  This means I paid taxes, duty and brokerage fees on that amount which was about $75-80CDN...if I remember correctly.  I still have the box with the customs form on it at home.  I could check the actual amount for you later if you like?  New or used, Larrivees are the best value out there.  MY L-03 I keep tuned down a semitone and strung with mediums, it's awesome.

[jimmy buffett]

I recently received an L09 from a fellow forum member, and had requested that he indicate on the shipping document something to this effect:

"I am returniung your guitar to you and it has been a pleasure to play.  I hope it makes the return journey and finds herself back in your tender care in good order".

No duty, no taxes, no customs stuff...

Receipts can always be emailed.

jimmy

[bogie]

I like the above idea for personal transactions!

However, if you are buying online from a dealer, I suggest that you get them to ship USPS. You will pay GST and PST no matter what. If it comes through USPS to Canada Post, the brokerage fee is only $5.00Cdn. If it comes by FedEx or UPS, they have carte blanche to charge you whatever brokerage fee they want, usually a minimum of $50 up to about $100.

[mikey007]

I recently received an L09 from a fellow forum member, and had requested that he indicate on the shipping document something to this effect:

"I am returniung your guitar to you and it has been a pleasure to play.  I hope it makes the return journey and finds herself back in your tender care in good order".

No duty, no taxes, no customs stuff...

Receipts can always be emailed.

jimmy

haha, i like that one.  So you ordered one from the u.s and you live in Canada, or vis versa?

[jimmy buffett]

haha, i like that one.  So you ordered one from the u.s and you live in Canada, or vis versa?

I live in Canada and the guitar was shipped from the U.S. of A.  As bogie has suggested, this will not work if you are ordering from a retailer  as he will find it necessary to document the transaction.  The selling price would be indicated on the shipping document, I believe.  However, if this is the return of your personal property, or even a gift from a friend, it would not be subject to taxes.

I know someone here who gifted a guitar to a friend who lives in Colorado, (he really did send it as a gift) and gifts are not taxable. It works both ways.  It's all about the paper trail...

jimmy

[mikey007]

sweet.  So i would just have to send the seller the money, and hope they agree to this "deal", and i pay the shipping, and thats it?  awesome

Mike

[prof_stack]

sounds like a topic for a high school ethics class... 

[Daysailer]

sounds like a topic for a high school ethics class... 

Lets see......

Larrivée 03, Built in Canada.  Taxes, or whatever they call them up there, were certianly paid for the raw materials, shop space, employees, etc.
                 Sold in USA.   I suppose there were import tarriffs/dutys of some sort collected by some government agency.
                 US dealer paid some sort of taxes on the sale of this guitar.   City, County, State, federal
                 US buyer paid some sort of sales tax, also to a one or more goverment agencys.  City, County, State, federal
                 US owner sells the guitar to  Someone up north of the border.  Seller pays taxes on the income from the sale to , city,county....
                 Buyer pays duty/royality to some kind of government agency to reimport the guitar. 

          Getting a bit dizzy here                                                                                                                
Is this what they call   "value added tax"      ?????

Maybe the collectors of these 'fees'   should check out the high school ethics class,   if they can spell ethics.           

Anybody else need a drink    ???   please feel    " FREE  "   to join me.




ds     

[Denis]

Lets see......

Larrivée 03, Built in Canada.  Taxes, or whatever they call them up there, were certianly paid for the raw materials, shop space, employees, etc.
                 Sold in USA.   I suppose there were import tarriffs/dutys of some sort collected by some government agency.
                 US dealer paid some sort of taxes on the sale of this guitar.   City, County, State, federal
                 US buyer paid some sort of sales tax, also to a one or more goverment agencys.  City, County, State, federal
                 US owner sells the guitar to  Someone up north of the border.  Seller pays taxes on the income from the sale to , city,county....
                 Buyer pays duty/royality to some kind of government agency to reimport the guitar. 

          Getting a bit dizzy here                                                                                                                
Is this what they call   "value added tax"      ?????

Maybe the collectors of these 'fees'   should check out the high school ethics class,   if they can spell ethics.           

Anybody else need a drink    ???   please feel    " FREE  "   to join me.




ds     

Wow...too bad we can't buy them directly from the factory. 

[hatofthecat]

I remember looking up import taxes & rules a while back and one thing I found that was for the US if you are "re-importing" a US manufactured item you don't have to pay import tax on it as you are essentially repatriating the goods 

Does Canada have a similar rule ?     If so a Canadian factory Larrivee could be imported tax free from the US

Pete

[uke richard]

I am Canadian and I regularly purchase musical instruments from the States. I do pay the GST (goods and services tax) on the declared amount but there are never any duty.

There may be a small handling charge when shipped via USPS (and then handled by CanadaPost) and sometimes there is not. Don't ask me to explain the inconsistency, it beats me! If it is declared as a gift, nothing, but not all seller are ready to falsify a declaration (and you have to accept that some don't want to break the law).

When it comes to FedEx and UPS, they add brokerage fees (taxable, I think) that are not determined in advance. If they are, I don't get how they calculate them because they're never the same or the same percentage. You just don't know how much they'll charge you. My experience tells me that it is the worst with UPS.They once charged me $70 dollars for a baritone ukulele I had paid $75. This week, I had to lay $200 to get my Larrivee OM-50.

About shipping with USPS again, when it is smaller stuff, I don't have to pay anything, even if the value is high.

Still about shipping via USPS: another time, I had sheet music shipped via USPS global instead of USPS airmal. The Global service is faster and more expansive. Well, I had sheet music delivered via Airmail hundreds of times and never paid any C.O.D. charges. The one time I had the music shipped with Global, I had to pay an amount to get the  package.

[uke richard]

hey, so I live in Canada.  And am saving up for a larrivee, but i would probably but used.  So how much duty and taxes do i have to pay, if i buy one from a larrivee member in the states?  is this an ok idea?  or is it better just to wait for someone in Canada, or save up more money?

You know Mike, you don't have to save up more money if you buy in Canada. You may even get a better deal and shipping will cost less. Many American friends don't like to purchase from out of country, so it leaves better deals from Canadian sellers. However, there is a lot more choice when you buy from the States.

If you buy from a retailer, there are good chances that the best deal you'll get is with Notable Guitars. Then you have to add the shipping and the brokerage fees because I don't think he'll ship via USPS. After doing the math, check with 12th fret or Folkway Music (they both are in Ontario) and you may end up buying from them. After checking these options, you may want to check with a local dealer and try to work out a deal with them.

http://notableguitars.com/
http://12fret.com/
http://www.folkwaymusic.com/

Talk to them. Pricing is usually better than advertised.


Richard

[drathbun]

Why not just buy one from Long & McQuade or other Canadian dealer?

[Gordon]

If you buy from a retailer, there are good chances that the best deal you'll get is with Notable Guitars. Then you have to add the shipping and the brokerage fees because I don't think he'll ship via USPS. After doing the math, check with 12th fret or Folkway Music (they both are in Ontario) and you may end up buying from them. After checking these options, you may want to check with a local dealer and try to work out a deal with them.

Richard

And don't forget that you don't pay provincial sales tax if the guitar is shipped to another province, so depending on where you live, you can save a few bucks there.

[mikey007]

Thanks for all the input guys.  I was hoping to get a larrivee used, but im always scared of buying a guitar that i haven't played, i know larrivee is consistent, but i know what i am looking for in a guitar.  So maybe i'll just save up the extra cash, and buy from a dealer like long and mcquade where i can go try and buy, but we'll see what kinda deals i can find!

Mike