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Canadians Buying Keyboards from the USA - Any Advice?


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Hi again everyone,

 

I initially began to look into buying a Nord Stage 3 from the USA after starting another post:

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2984847/Average_price_for_2nd_hand_Nor#Post2984847

 

I think I'm able to save a fair bit of money by ordering a Stage 3 from the USA. I understand I will have to pay 13% tax when it arrives, but I am a bit concerned about the vague term "duties" and/or any additional fees that I might incur.

 

Does anyone have any stories to share about receiving musical instruments in Canada from the USA? Will UPS charge a "handling Fee"?

(And will that be $50? $100?)

 

I want to be sure of the total amount before I order, but I don't know if there is any way to know that. It's a little unsettling pushing the "buy" button not knowing what the full amount will be in the end.

 

 

Electro 5, NI Kontrol S61/49, MX49, PC3, Rev2, Prologue, Pro3, Juno-DS, Mopho Keys, SE02, drums, tons of synth software, guitars, amps, and pedals...help me!!

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My experience with UPS is that they are the ONLY delivery company to deal with for Canadian folks that are buying something from the US. UPS knows the VAT for every Province in Canada, collects it on delivery, and its a done deal.

 

The only thing you have to watch out for is if a product is not made in North America, they would probably be an additional charge for a non North American product.

 

I suggest getting the final sale price and weight of the item, where it will ship from and to in Canada and either go to a UPS store or call them for a firm price including everything.

 

Whatever you do, avoid using the US Postal System. They were never consistent and depending on the location of the Post Office a product ships from will get you some unfortunate surprises.

 

I used UPS exclusively for a number of years shipping into Canada and never had a problem.

 

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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I'm in BC, and I just bought a keyboard from Sweetwater (which I returned, but that is a whole other thread).

 

Of course all the tax was charged, and also duty. The keyboard price was $3145 USD, and the duty ended up being $251.46 CAN. The only other thing was an "ROD" fee, which I assume is a processing fee, of $10. It was shipped via fedex.

 

Hope that helps.

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The only other thing was an "ROD" fee, which I assume is a processing fee, of $10.

 

Well if it's a ROD fee I sure haven't received any of it! :laugh:

 

Anyway, OP. I've discovered that more often than not, the CDN price from retailers here is about what you'd end up paying after exchange, shipping, duties and provincial taxes, plus remember you may also have to suck something up if you need to ship it back to your US retailer.

 

IMO, saving what turns out to be a minuscule amount is not worth it. I don't have a lot of extra cash to spend, but this preoccupation with saving money "at all costs" is where things have taken a wrong turn (not to get into politics or economics) on a great many levels and I do not begrudge spending a bit extra for peace of mind, if nothing else.

 

Surely you can find what you're looking for at a Canadian retailer (L&M, Tom Lee, Cosmo, Steve's, Axe...) and should you spend an extra (let's say) hundred bucks on a $4,000 keyboard, you'll be better off anyway.

 

And of course, you'll contribute mightily to corporate and personal taxes which in turn, pay for our highly touted, hugely expensive though appearing free, health care system.

 

My 1.49¢ (CDN).

 

Rod

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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Typically each manufacturer has a distributor that only handles the USA or Canada- not both. So there more than likely will be no warranty. Check with the manufacturer. If there's no warranty when you bring it across the border, you will need to get it to the states round trip to an authorized servicer at your expense for any warranty repairs. And hold onto the receipt also.
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Anyway, OP. I've discovered that more often than not, the CDN price from retailers here is about what you'd end up paying after exchange, shipping, duties and provincial taxes, plus remember you may also have to suck something up if you need to ship it back to your US retailer.

 

IMO, saving what turns out to be a minuscule amount is not worth it. I don't have a lot of extra cash to spend, but this preoccupation with saving money "at all costs" is where things have taken a wrong turn (not to get into politics or economics) on a great many levels and I do not begrudge spending a bit extra for peace of mind, if nothing else.

 

Surely you can find what you're looking for at a Canadian retailer (L&M, Tom Lee, Cosmo, Steve's, Axe...) and should you spend an extra (let's say) hundred bucks on a $4,000 keyboard, you'll be better off anyway.

 

And of course, you'll contribute mightily to corporate and personal taxes which in turn, pay for our highly touted, hugely expensive though appearing free, health care system.

 

My 1.49¢ (CDN).

 

Rod

 

Thanks so much for this reply - that is my concern, of course. I don't want to go through all this hassle for $200. I don't know if I'm aloud to talk numbers here or not, but I was looking at a savings of about $1,100 CAD. I just don't know any charges I'll get dinged with beyond HST (tax).

 

That is pretty significant to me. I would like to keep the sale local and in person...but that number! Sheesh.

 

Regardless, you have given me something to think about... Thank you.

Electro 5, NI Kontrol S61/49, MX49, PC3, Rev2, Prologue, Pro3, Juno-DS, Mopho Keys, SE02, drums, tons of synth software, guitars, amps, and pedals...help me!!

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If youre in Ontario, have you had a serious conversation with a local music store (thinking L&M)? It might reveal a few of these extra costs youre unsure of and maybe benefits you hadnt thought of (one of which is 30 day no questions asked returns on stock, or a restocking fee on special orders which you can probably squeeze out of). They really have to have their pricing figured out or they wouldnt compete.

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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I'm in BC, and I just bought a keyboard from Sweetwater...

 

Of course all the tax was charged, and also duty. The keyboard price was $3145 USD, and the duty ended up being $251.46 CAN. The only other thing was an "ROD" fee, which I assume is a processing fee, of $10. It was shipped via fedex.

 

Hope that helps.

 

That is helpful, thank you. I wonder if duty is charged as a percentage?

Electro 5, NI Kontrol S61/49, MX49, PC3, Rev2, Prologue, Pro3, Juno-DS, Mopho Keys, SE02, drums, tons of synth software, guitars, amps, and pedals...help me!!

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Do not ship UPS if you can help it. Their customs brokerage fee is so high it should be criminal. They recently charged me, IIRC, $77 to collect $11 worth of HST.

 

Every single other carrier I do business with is markedly cheaper. Fedex, DHL, USPS are all better in my experience. USPS transitions to Purolator at the border for parcels.

 

Note that most of this stuff has no duty on it -- only HST!

Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3

Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H

Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9

Roland: VR-09, RD-800

 

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If youre in Ontario, have you had a serious conversation with a local music store (thinking L&M)?

 

Thank you - yes, I did. I was hoping they would be able to do something for me as a very regular customer, but they didn't appear to want to move on the price at all. I even asked about extended financing (24 months instead of 12, but no) That is the only reason why I started to look elsewhere.

 

I do appreciate their 30 day return policy - I have used it before when I succumbed to impulse purchases, but this one purchase in particular I am considering carefully.

 

You bring up some very good points :)

Electro 5, NI Kontrol S61/49, MX49, PC3, Rev2, Prologue, Pro3, Juno-DS, Mopho Keys, SE02, drums, tons of synth software, guitars, amps, and pedals...help me!!

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Do not ship UPS if you can help it. Their customs brokerage fee is so high it should be criminal. They recently charged me, IIRC, $77 to collect $11 worth of HST.

 

Every single other carrier I do business with is markedly cheaper. Fedex, DHL, USPS are all better in my experience. USPS transitions to Purolator at the border for parcels.

 

Note that most of this stuff has no duty on it -- only HST!

 

Yikes! That is the kind of stuff I was worried about! I have heard of that term before..."brokerage fee". It sounds like a license to print cash...

Electro 5, NI Kontrol S61/49, MX49, PC3, Rev2, Prologue, Pro3, Juno-DS, Mopho Keys, SE02, drums, tons of synth software, guitars, amps, and pedals...help me!!

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I wonder if duty is charged as a percentage?

 

Customs brokerage can be charged either as a percentage of value, or flat rate per parcel, or both, depending on who does the customs clearance (usually the carrier, but you can drive to the border and clear it yourself if you want. Or hire a 3rd party broker)

 

Duty is always charged as a percentage of value in concert with country of origin (manufacture). Generally speaking, duty on keyboards falls under 9207.10.03, I think, which shows a 6% tariff for keyboards made in Most-Favoured-Nations without preferential trade agreements (e.g. NAFTA - where are Nords made?)

Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3

Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H

Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9

Roland: VR-09, RD-800

 

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It looks like we signed a free trade agreement with Europe last May. I'm not sure, but Swedish keyboards might be duty-free now.

 

If this is a private sale, I would ask the seller to use FedEx ground in your shoes. You'll pay HST, duty if required, and won't get boned on the brokerage.

Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3

Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H

Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9

Roland: VR-09, RD-800

 

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The only other thing was an "ROD" fee, which I assume is a processing fee, of $10.

 

Well if it's a ROD fee I sure haven't received any of it! :laugh:

 

Anyway, OP. I've discovered that more often than not, the CDN price from retailers here is about what you'd end up paying after exchange, shipping, duties and provincial taxes, plus remember you may also have to suck something up if you need to ship it back to your US retailer.

 

IMO, saving what turns out to be a minuscule amount is not worth it. I don't have a lot of extra cash to spend, but this preoccupation with saving money "at all costs" is where things have taken a wrong turn (not to get into politics or economics) on a great many levels and I do not begrudge spending a bit extra for peace of mind, if nothing else.

 

Surely you can find what you're looking for at a Canadian retailer (L&M, Tom Lee, Cosmo, Steve's, Axe...) and should you spend an extra (let's say) hundred bucks on a $4,000 keyboard, you'll be better off anyway.

 

And of course, you'll contribute mightily to corporate and personal taxes which in turn, pay for our highly touted, hugely expensive though appearing free, health care system.

 

My 1.49¢ (CDN).

 

Rod

 

+1000.

 

This.

Nord Stage 2 Compact, Yamaha MODX8

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Do not ship UPS if you can help it. Their customs brokerage fee is so high it should be criminal. They recently charged me, IIRC, $77 to collect $11 worth of HST.

 

Every single other carrier I do business with is markedly cheaper. Fedex, DHL, USPS are all better in my experience. USPS transitions to Purolator at the border for parcels.

...

Their fees are extortionate. I cant believe someone in this thread recommends them. As for USPS, it usually transitions to Canada Post in my experince.
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Geez, might need to be careful of FedEx, too -- although I have never had this problem:

 

Why am I being charged the Reimbursement on Delivery (ROD) Fee?

 

The ROD fee applies to recipients with no FedEx Express account number or poor payment history. This fee is collected from the recipient at the time of delivery, in addition to any duties and taxes that may be applicable. If the item is duty-free and tax-exempt, then this fee will not be charged. For more information on this fee, please visit fedex.ca/ancillary.

 

I'm not sure if that applies to FedEx Ground shipments or not. Express and Ground are mostly separate companies. I have never had anything other than great experiences with these guys. Call 1-800-GO-FEDEX and they can probably tell you how much it is. It's possible that the $10 noted above is typical.

 

Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3

Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H

Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9

Roland: VR-09, RD-800

 

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Their fees are extortionate. I cant believe someone in this thread recommends them. As for USPS, it usually transitions to Canada Post in my experince.

 

The person recommending UPS is an American who is shipping into Canada. He has most likely never had the brown-uniformed man f--- him in the ass.

 

Have you ever had a large parcel delivered USPS->CP? Doesn't really matter, both CP and Purolator are reliable enough.

 

Here's my recent invoice from UPS:

 

56492581_1208227582679033_4917854956851036160_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.xx&oh=0c00f7d050fb9ac4cfedd919a84602c7&oe=5D730DC2&ext=.jpg

Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3

Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H

Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9

Roland: VR-09, RD-800

 

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It seems like there isn't a rhyme or reason to the charges I might incur. Almost like whoever handles the shipment can add a "charge or fee" with any sort of name based on some vague rules or how they might be feeling...

 

I appreciate all of your replies!

Electro 5, NI Kontrol S61/49, MX49, PC3, Rev2, Prologue, Pro3, Juno-DS, Mopho Keys, SE02, drums, tons of synth software, guitars, amps, and pedals...help me!!

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Yeah...and if you get caught smuggling stuff over the border...let's just say you won't get caught twice.

 

Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3

Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H

Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9

Roland: VR-09, RD-800

 

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If buying a Nord they are a Swedish company have you check prices and etc if you purchased from a European music store? Nord in US is expensive. I've looked at Thomann prices and quite a bit different.

 

A very interesting exercise. A quick look at the Thomann UK (and Thomann USA) site listed their regular price as the same special one I had to ask for from ProAudioStar on their chat line.

Electro 5, NI Kontrol S61/49, MX49, PC3, Rev2, Prologue, Pro3, Juno-DS, Mopho Keys, SE02, drums, tons of synth software, guitars, amps, and pedals...help me!!

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You can negotiate with ProAudioStar. I have read some bad reports with buying open box equipment from them, but I guess that's to be expected. Display models are usually a lot less money.

 

On a personal note, I bought a Digitech Vocalist Pro for PAS year ago, it was new in the box, everything was perfect, no problems. They were competitively priced too.

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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If buying a Nord they are a Swedish company have you check prices and etc if you purchased from a European music store? Nord in US is expensive. I've looked at Thomann prices and quite a bit different.

 

A very interesting exercise. A quick look at the Thomann UK (and Thomann USA) site listed their regular price as the same special one I had to ask for from ProAudioStar on their chat line.

 

When I buy from Thomann I go to the German site and set it to English and USD. But I've only purchased smaller items (guitars) from them not keyboards.

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If youre in Ontario, can you just drive over? Then again, i dont know where to drive to to buy a Nord here, so dont know where youd go either. Have you looked at Thomann vs a US shipper.

 

Im surprised online doesnt calculate all the fees for you at checkout.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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If youre in Ontario, can you just drive over? Then again, i dont know where to drive to to buy a Nord here, so dont know where youd go either. Have you looked at Thomann vs a US shipper.

 

Im surprised online doesnt calculate all the fees for you at checkout.

 

I did briefly look into driving to New York, but it was 7 1/2 hours each way. Ugh.

 

All the retailers say on their shipping/policies webpage is that they are not responsible for brokerage, customs, duties, or fees.

 

It seems no one (including the retailers) have a concrete idea what will happen when an item reaches Canadian Customs or when it is handled through a carrier. At any point is seems charges can be added...I have always suspected this (working in a small business for almost 20 years) but I was hoping to find otherwise.

 

I've almost given up on the idea of mail ordering something so large and expensive. I can't keep track of the many variables in terms of final amount, warranty, (a few people mentioned store bad-reviews which I also saw on the 'net) It might not be worth the headaches. But I will keep an eye out for deals.

 

I really appreciate everyone's input on this topic. I discovered a few new retailers and have learned a bit more about pricing and what might happen if I tried mail-order. The CAD price vs. everyone else was a real eye-opener! :)

Electro 5, NI Kontrol S61/49, MX49, PC3, Rev2, Prologue, Pro3, Juno-DS, Mopho Keys, SE02, drums, tons of synth software, guitars, amps, and pedals...help me!!

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I bought a used Electro 2 on EBay a few years ago. The seller was in New York State; Im in the Toronto area. The price was good and the board, when it arrived, was as advertised. But the customs bill contained an unexpected surprise: an extra hundred bucks or so in import duties because of the boards country of origin: Sweden. I could have found a comparable board in Canada for what I wound up paying for my supposed deal.

“True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

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Something else to bear in mind is what your exchange rate is going to end up to be when you see your Visa statement. I believe its set depending on when your lender got their funds, not necessarily what todays posted rate is. Plus I think there will be a fee involved although I dont have direct info on this. Im not an economist, but I went to Murphys Law School.

 

I still believe buying within national borders is your best option. You may think youre saving 1k by getting something from Florida but there has to be a reckoning somewhere. Plus youve already spent maybe a day on this - and I dont know what your time is worth - but I like to put a dollar figure on stuff like this to see what else its costing me, and double it for horseshit & hassle.

 

Again, I may be totally off course with my information, but its the way I do it. YMMV and I wish you luck!

 

 

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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