jannusguy2 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I have a customs question I'm hoping someone might have the answer to.. I'm looking at purchasing a 2016 Collings from a chap in Quebec. Since the guitar was made in the U.S. and would be returning to the U.S. would it be exempt from any customs fees , taxes or levies of any kind on this end? Appreciate any input. Thx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Disregard. I found the answer (which is- no fees- for anyone curious). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 How ever... No customs fees.. you are correct... just make sure you dont get hit with a broker fee... Via UPS or fed X.. they have been known to do that .. even though its a U.S made instrument.. they say due to paperwork.. Ive encountered that a few times in the past shipping out of Canada to the U.S.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 How ever... No customs fees.. you are correct... just make sure you dont get hit with a broker fee... Via UPS or fed X.. they have been known to do that .. even though its a U.S made instrument.. they say due to paperwork.. Ive encountered that a few times in the past shipping out of Canada to the U.S.. I will look into that! Thx for the heads up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I will look into that! Thx for the heads up! your seller should be able to send this via Canadapost expidited.. its ground shipping but very efficient.. I use that all the time.. Ive never had a issue Canadapost will take a proper acoustic Guitar shipping box.. 46" tall. 8" deep 22" wide.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-1854Me Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 If it has any MoP or rosewood on it, expect a delay due to your F&W people. The guitar may end up with a prolonged sleepover in Memphis. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Broker fee ( UPS) was $85 for my recent Guild M20 purchase. Make sure the seller specifies (proves) to the shipper the guitar was made in the US or it will wait in storage at a rate of $20/day. Tundra Music in Toronto scribbled 'Made in USA' on the invoice which wasn't enough for the broker. It took me an hour and a half tracking the broker down by phone on the Fri before Labor Day. My verbal assurance was enough to get it moving. The freekin' box said Guild USA right on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 your seller should be able to send this via Canadapost expidited.. its ground shipping but very efficient.. I use that all the time.. Ive never had a issue Canadapost will take a proper acoustic Guitar shipping box.. 46" tall. 8" deep 22" wide.. How do their fees compare to Fedex? Fedex are their own broker so that's not an issue. I have a quote for about $90.00 including everything to get it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Broker fee ( UPS) was $85 for my recent Guild M20 purchase. Make sure the seller specifies (proves) to the shipper the guitar was made in the US or it will wait in storage at a rate of $20/day. Tundra Music in Toronto scribbled 'Made in USA' on the invoice which wasn't enough for the broker. It took me an hour and a half tracking the broker down by phone on the Fri before Labor Day. My verbal assurance was enough to get it moving. The freekin' box said Guild USA right on it. I have a Customs Form 3311- ( U.S. goods returning to U.S.) that Fedex has supplied. Hoping that will be sufficient. Thx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I still think you'll be hit with the broker fee. In my case it was a standard charge (on $1,050 purchase), not related to proof of origin. That would have been extra if it had been held up in storage awaiting origin determination. You'll just have to check with FedEx. Hope it's a freebie, bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Ups and fed x broker there own items. They have a fee regardless of origin made Thats why i posted. Paperwork and swift movement of product cost money. If you see the waybill it will say duties. But in reality its paper work broker fee. Canadapost is the less of those other evils Now with what j185 said. Im wondering the same thing concerning wood and pearls F&w and customs make it difficult to understand there meanings of this all with the fancy page after page of no nos .clarifaction woyld be nice. Canadapost expidited is 125.00 CDN it should go to Montreal then through the U.S to its destination.. Us in Calgary see items go to Vancouver then south.. the routes they use are pending the type of weather the U.S states are having.. expidited is trackable.. usually about 7 working days.. there is no broker fees, No issues.. the insurance is the same as ups or fed x.. 1000.00 tops. unless you are a business or have a account with either one to get higher insurance.. any items that are sent here via ups or fed x. More UPS though.. we get bent over the barrel everytime.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 You had the best option, Slim, expedited Canada post. Maybe the seller can be swayed Jannus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 I still think you'll be hit with the broker fee. In my case it was a standard charge (on $1,050 purchase), not related to proof of origin. That would have been extra if it had been held up in storage awaiting origin determination. You'll just have to check with FedEx. Hope it's a freebie, bro. Fedex indicated that the $90.00 quote included their broker fees. The shipping via international ground was just $55.00 which I thought was a **** deal from Montreal to Fla.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Fedex indicated that the $90.00 quote included their broker fees. The shipping via international ground was just $55.00 which I thought was a **** deal from Montreal to Fla.! I think this is more of just a heads up.. past shipping experiances from here to there.. Not saying you will encounter the same issues.. order your guitar and post pictures.. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 All sounds like the normal rate of palm greasing. Make sure it's slack tuned. Damn cold up there right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-1854Me Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Just to add to my earlier post.... I sent an early '00s SJ "back to the States" (its country of origin/manufacture), and F&W snagged the thing. Thought it was because of the rosewood fingerboard, which might have been brazilian, but no -- they needed to know about the pearl inlay on it, and process it because of that. It ended up costing a couple of weeks of time (no biggie), and a bunch of paperwork needed filling in, and some fees had to be paid. It's kind of fuzzy in my memory now, but it was on the order of between $75 and $150, IIRC. I think F&W was located in the Fedex hub in Memphis, so the guitar visited there for a spell. That was then (i.e., like 7-8 years ago...?); today, I would imagine the chances are higher that it would be snagged if MoP/abalone adorns the instrument or any r/w comprises parts such as f-board, bridge, back-sides. I hope that is NOT the case for this guitar, but anecdotally, that was my experience on that one instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Just to add to my earlier post.... I sent an early '00s SJ "back to the States" (its country of origin/manufacture), and F&W snagged the thing. Thought it was because of the rosewood fingerboard, which might have been brazilian, but no -- they needed to know about the pearl inlay on it, and process it because of that. It ended up costing a couple of weeks of time (no biggie), and a bunch of paperwork needed filling in, and some fees had to be paid. It's kind of fuzzy in my memory now, but it was on the order of between $75 and $150, IIRC. I think F&W was located in the Fedex hub in Memphis, so the guitar visited there for a spell. That was then (i.e., like 7-8 years ago...?); today, I would imagine the chances are higher that it would be snagged if MoP/abalone adorns the instrument or any r/w comprises parts such as f-board, bridge, back-sides. I hope that is NOT the case for this guitar, but anecdotally, that was my experience on that one instrument. Good to know... now that being said.. sorry to do this here.. but.. via ebay, Global shipping program will seize guitars and not ship those out of there center. Ive had two standard rosewood guitars disappear.. . thats anything bought through eBay with that programed shipping method.. standard USPS shipping is the least hassle.. Never UPS or Fed X.... By the way.. Gold Lip abalone is a no no.. as well as brazilian.. , No tortoise of any kind.. No ivory buttons or Binding.. or bridges.. thats been around for along time.. it would be nice to know the new stuff thats not movable between countries.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 heres a start i guess.. A new regulation takes effect on January 2, 2017 that calls for documentation when shipping instruments internationally that contain any amount of any kind of rosewood or certain types of bubinga. It does not apply to instruments shipped within the borders of your country or instruments carried for personal use while traveling internationally [unless they contain more than 22 lbs. (10 kg) of the regulated woods]. This is a developing story, with details emerging as government agencies figure out how to create processes around the new requirements. To what degree they are enforced remains to be seen. Here’s what we know so far. The New Regulation on Rosewood and Bubinga The Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) held a conference from September 24 - October 4 this year in Johannesburg, South Africa where it was decided that all species of rosewood under the genus Dalbergia and three bubinga species (Guibourtia demeusei, Guibourtia pellegriniana, and Guibourtia tessmannii) will be protected under CITES Appendix II. Kosso - sometimes called African rosewood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) - will also be protected. While Brazilian Rosewood is currently under CITES protection (those laws will stay in place), this move places all the other nearly 300 species of rosewood under similar regulation. This includes the East Indian rosewood and Honduran rosewood - as well as woods like cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa) and African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon) - that are widely used in the manufacturing of stringed instruments, marimbas and some woodwinds. What This Means For manufacturers: When importing any species of Dalbergia or the other woods mentioned, there must be an accompanying CITES certificate from the country it came from if it arrives after January 2, 2017. Manufacturers who currently have stockpiles of the newly regulated wood must document their inventory and apply for pre-convention certificates. For dealers and sellers: When shipping musical instruments that include any amount (i.e. fingerboard, back, sides, binding) of Dalbergia or the other newly regulated woods out of your country as part of a commercial transaction, each one must be accompanied by a CITES re-export certificate. Even if the instrument was made with Dalbergia or the other regulated woods that were acquired before January 2, 2017 - such as a used or vintage instrument - it still must be accompanied by a CITES certificate and marked pre-convention when shipping internationally. For example, a seller in Nashville looking to ship her 2013 Martin 000-28 with East Indian rosewood back and sides to a buyer in Canada must apply for a re-export certificate, pay the application fee, receive the certificate, and include that document with the guitar when shipping. For sellers in the United States, CITES re-export certificates must be applied for through the US Fish and Wildlife Service. You can download the application here. Representatives of the agency have said that initial turnaround times on certificate application may be on the order of months. For more information, you can contact their office at (703) 358-2104 or at managementauthority@fws.gov. You can read the official letter from US Fish and Wildlife here. If you contact US Fish and Wildlife, please keep in mind that they did not suggest or create this regulation - the parties of the international CITES conference did. The employees of US Fish and Wildlife are trying to work with manufacturers and sellers to develop streamlined processes around this. Each country has its own CITES Management Authority. If you live outside the United States, you can look up the CITES contact in your country here. RELATED ARTICLE Guitaronomics: The Rising Cost of Tonewood The traditional woods used to make guitars are dwindling in supply. What does this mean for the future of our industry? Read More ›› Why This Happened CITES is an international agreement that has been in effect since 1975. Its goal is to ensure that international trade of wildlife does not threaten the survival of species or the health of ecosystems. Nations participate in and adhere to CITES regulations voluntarily, but it is legally binding for those opting in. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, rosewood accounted for the highest percentage of illicit wildlife seizures by value from 2005 to 2014. The reason for the billion-dollar demand for rosewood - and the subsequent trafficking - has less to do with musical instruments and much more to do with furniture. In particular, China’s high-end furniture market created enormous demand that led to severe deforestation of several Dalbergia species in Thailand, Vietnam, and several other countries. Not all Dalbergia species are threatened by the furniture boom. But rather than train border officials across the world how to identify the nuanced differences between them - something that even experts struggle with at times - the participants of the CITES conference decided to create a blanket regulation on the entire genus of Dalbergia wood. What This Will Look Like In Reality The number of musical instruments containing some amount of rosewood, cocobolo, bubinga or kosso that cross international borders each day is staggering. To put it mildly, the new regulation creates a lot of new work on very short notice for government agencies around certificate approval and issuance. Instruments sold to buyers outside your country will be subject to CITES enforcement by the receiving countries. The consistency and vigilance in checking for documentation is something that remains to be seen. As this is a developing story with emerging details from CITES and US Fish and Wildlife, please stay tuned for updates and new information. I guess I better start applying.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 Thanks for all the info folks. I got lucky and found one on this side of the fence. Much easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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