Cost when shipping a Carvin to Canada?

[TedEH]

Sorry if this is the wrong section to ask this in-

I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on an x64 bass- but I'm trying to figure out what kind of expectations I should have, cost- wise, to get the thing to Quebec. I got a quote via email, and it was mentioned in the top of the email that I'll need to deal with brokerage fees from UPS as well as local sales tax.

So what I'm thinking is this:
- The bass itself is going to end up being around $1600 with the options I picked.
- That's going to be in USD, but I'm paying in CAD so there's an exchange involved. Google says 1USD = 1.26CAD.
- Taxes in Quebec (GST and QST) work out to around ~15%.
- I have no idea what the UPS brokerage/etc is going to cost.

So if my original quoted price is $1645 the end result should be something like...
((1645 * 1.26) * 1.15) = $2383.60, plus whatever UPS throws on top of that.

Does this seem like I've got the right idea, or did I miss something?

 

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Sorry if this is the wrong section to ask this in-

I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on an x64 bass- but I'm trying to figure out what kind of expectations I should have, cost- wise, to get the thing to Quebec. I got a quote via email, and it was mentioned in the top of the email that I'll need to deal with brokerage fees from UPS as well as local sales tax.

So what I'm thinking is this:
- The bass itself is going to end up being around $1600 with the options I picked.
- That's going to be in USD, but I'm paying in CAD so there's an exchange involved. Google says 1USD = 1.26CAD.
- Taxes in Quebec (GST and QST) work out to around ~15%.
- I have no idea what the UPS brokerage/etc is going to cost.

So if my original quoted price is $1645 the end result should be something like...
((1645 * 1.26) * 1.15) = $2383.60, plus whatever UPS throws on top of that.

Does this seem like I've got the right idea, or did I miss something?

Personally, I'd wait for our dollar to bounce back a bit. Search on other forums about how they brokered their Carvin instruments across the border. If I remember correctly, there's a shipping company or two that might try to bone you on the price.

 

[ovlott]

Your calculations seem about right. Take into account that the taxes you pay will be in Canadian, where as the guitar plus shipping ($116 for Carvin) is USD. I ordered a TL70 that was around 1700 USD with shipping and I paid ~$340 CAD upon delivery from UPS as a C.O.D. You will likely pay a similar amount upon delivery. AFIK, UPS is the shipping company Carvin uses for all Canadian orders, but I am not sure if you can ask for a different courier. FedEx might not charge you as much for their C.O.D., but it will still be up there.

As ThatCanadianGuy said, you would be better off waiting until the Canadian Dollar goes back up a bit, then buy your bass! I bought both my carvins while the loonie was doing rather well, and I'm laughing because they've technically gone up in value because of it. i.e. I paid 1800 CAD then, but now the same guitar with same specs would cost over $2K CAD now. If you buy now, you will probably lose money should you choose to resell in the next couple years because you will be paying more now versus what it will cost then.

Something to consider since most custom instruments can be considered as investments with the possibility of profit IMO.

 

[TedEH]

I paid ~$340 CAD upon delivery from UPS

Good to know. I figured it'd be something like that.

Something to consider since most custom instruments can be considered as investments with the possibility of profit IMO.

It's not my intention to sell, but it's still a good point.

Sounds like I'll wait until the exchange is a bit better. Thanks for the input.