Import fee question: Canada -> USA

[Woody Sound]

I am in the US, considering buying a used instrument from Canada, shipped via FedEx Ground. Price w/shipping will probably be around $1300 ($US) give-or-take. I've never done this before. How much can I expect in fees, and how/when would they be billed/collected? I will probably have it sent to the local FedEx Print-and-Ship Center so I can pick it up there. Tnx all.

[wintermoon]

If the guitar was made in the US and is coming back from Canada there's no duty but make sure the shipper fills out the correct papers.
I've only bought 1 guitar from Canada and the shop neglected to fill out the forms. I subsequently got a bill for $400 from UPS that I fought until they gave up, the shop was no help.
There's probably folks here w a lot more experience though.

[Woody Sound]

If the guitar was made in the US and is coming back from Canada there's no duty but make sure the shipper fills out the correct papers.
I've only bought 1 guitar from Canada and the shop neglected to fill out the forms. I subsequently got a bill for $400 from UPS that I fought until they gave up, the shop was no help.
There's probably folks here w a lot more experience though.

Tnx. Yes it is a used instrument that was made in US. Seller is a private individual in Canada. He told me to "expect some fees," but he offered little else.

[Jabberwocky]

I bought a Westerly, RI GBAA which was sent from Toronto by CanadaPost. It was cleared by the Chicago ISC, handed over to USPS and went on its merry way to the PAC NW.

It was the cleanest parcel I have received to date and I have received many. Looked the way it left the seller's hands as he sent me photos of it before he shipped it out.

There were no fees extracted from me. I don't know if the seller had to fill out any forms as none came with my parcel.

I had another one sent from Vancouver years before that one by FedEx, if I recall. It was a repatriated Borys B120. No fees collected.

Seek out the CBP for the proper forms. Duty on imports of musical instruments (i.e., keyboard, piano, string, guitar, wind, percussion, drums, etc.)

(With the uncertainty of CITES hanging over rosewoods and bubinga since 2017 I don't know if things have changed. I had to pay £100 for a CITES export permit for a Brazilian RW guitar recently from the UK.)

[Woody Sound]

I bought a Westerly, RI GBAA which was sent from Toronto by CanadaPost. It was cleared by the Chicago ISC, handed over to USPS and went on its merry way to the PAC NW.

It was the cleanest parcel I have received to date and I have received many. Looked the way it left the seller's hands as he sent me photos of it before he shipped it out.

There were no fees extracted from me. I don't know if the seller had to fill out any forms as none came with my parcel.

I had another one sent from Vancouver years before that one by FedEx, if I recall. It was a repatriated Borys B120. No fees collected.

Seek out the CBP for the proper forms. Duty on imports of musical instruments (i.e., keyboard, piano, string, guitar, wind, percussion, drums, etc.)

(With the uncertainty of CITES hanging over rosewoods and bubinga since 2017 I don't know if things have changed. I had to pay £100 for a CITES export permit for a Brazilian RW guitar recently from the UK.)

Thanks for the link Jabbs, I send a very clear and specific question here. Let's see how long it takes to get an answer.

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[marcwhy]

Yep -- I purchased an American amp owned by a Canadian player; I paid nothing special, and it got here in good time (and in good condition!).

[ThatRhythmMan]

If the guitar was made in the US and is coming back from Canada there's no duty but make sure the shipper fills out the correct papers.
I've only bought 1 guitar from Canada and the shop neglected to fill out the forms. I subsequently got a bill for $400 from UPS that I fought until they gave up, the shop was no help.
There's probably folks here w a lot more experience though.

UPS always wants what they call a “brokerage fee” for international shipments. It actually has nothing to do with duties. If one is persistent (like you were) they seem to finally give up. I’ve had to do the same.

The really annoying thing about it is that their normal routine for this is to deliver the guitar without there being any mention of this fee anywhere and then a couple of weeks later a bill will show up in the mail. That seems shady to me.

[vinlander]

UPS has a history of screwing us up here when it comes to buying USA-->Canada, Fedex is also not really better.
When buying from USA I always make sure it comes from USPS --> Canada Post as imperfect as they can be, they are not as screwers, insurance limit is scheiße though, as long as one doesn't need it anyway...
I did pay the normal canadian sale taxes on my Tal Farlow, but at least the brokerage fees were minimal at 10$ thanks to the NAFTA still in place at the time and the box was looking like someone crossed the border with it on the backseat of his car...

[lammie200]

I bought a tube stereo hi-fi amp made in Canada and paid no fees to the US with UPS, but all shippers are hit or miss. I just recently bought some new pickups from Kinman. The FedEx envelope arrived empty and was signed for by someone I did not know. On top of that the delivery person just left the envelope at the door. Lucky for me, but unlucky for Kinman, they replaced the order with no hope of being reimbursed by FedEx. The envelope from FedEx arrived and it had been opened and taped back shut. Fortunately the pickups were inside this time.

[BigMikeinNJ]

Ive seen it both ways. Depends on how it's coming into the country. If it's UPS and you declared the value THEY prepay the Customs Duty and either charge you before they deliver it or send you an invoice later. FedEx does something similar, when I bought a couple guitars from Peter Farrell he used FedEx to ship from Sao Paulo and FedEx pays the duty based on the declared value, one time they billed me, the other they contacted me via email to pay first...

Now USPS from Japan or Canada it's the luck of the draw. I have way more experience buying from Japan. Actually only once in perhaps 15 transactions from Japan did Customs latch onto something of mine and they don't let you have it until you've paid. I had to get a Customs Broker to help me with the paperwors, but once I did it was here the next day, well worth it (the guitar was really worth it to me). Yet at the same time that Customs had my Yairi in holding a 7k Unity went flying right down the line and to me with nothing happening. Go figure.

[Hammertone]

...thanks to the NAFTA still in place at the time...

The NAFTA is still in place and will eventually be replaced by the USMCA, which will change nothing - there are NO duties between Canada/US/Mexico for musical instruments/amps/accessories produced in those three countries. Just costs/fees, which can easily be managed/minimized.

[Bach5G]

I’ve sold a few horns to Americans. A single item valued at up to about $2500 can enter duty free.

if the item - say, a bass trombone - is valued at more than $2500 a bond has to be posted, and forms need to be filled out setting out identification particulars of the purchaser, even if no duty is payable. The concept seems to be that, if duty is somehow payable, the gov’t has recourse under the bond, or, alternatively, against the importer. Crazy maybe for an amp or a guitar, but maybe if you were bringing in a truckload of lumber or a few railcars of steel..

the bond itself isn’t a huge deal, but the process/service will cost you something.