Buying a guitar from the USA or Canada

[Facemask93]

I really need some input here , i've been trying to buy a Godin XTSA  , and i just cannot afford the new price , £1200 , i've seen the prices in the states and they are much lower , but ,the music store's are dictated to by the manufacturers , in saying what country's they can sell to , the only way i am going to do this is to buy a used guitar , can anyone tell me what the the import tax , duties and brokerage might come to , i can get a used Godin for around $799.00 in Musicians Friend , i've just been told a store called Long & McQuade stock Godin , and a friend of mine has just been left some land on Vancouver Island , and will be going over next month , i'm thinking of possibly asking her to collect one if i see one online , any thoughts on this subject would be very helpful

Rob

[tom r]

Is this what your looking for? this is on ebay from London

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Godin-xtSA-Synth-Access-Electric-Guitar-/200590616602?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2eb421e81a

T

[Facemask93]

Yes , but sadly i've spoken to the guy and not only has it been gigged , its three years old , and he expects the buy it now price will be met , i just wont pay that kind of money for a very used guitar

Thanks anyway Tom

Good try

Rob

[StevieM]

Hey Rob,
How 'bout if you know someone over there, get them to buy it, then ship it to you.
They'll need to put a customs slip on it, but if it's marked 'Gift' ( there's a little box to tick), there shouldn't be any import duty or anything to pay.

I've had a couple of small things sent over from there, and one didn't have that box ticked, it cost me £12 to get it from the PO, but the other was fine. Also, I send quite a lot of stuff all over the place, wooden fishing priests and stuff that I make,----USA/Canada/Australia etc etc etc, and if that's done right, no import duty anywhere.

Don't know what the shipping would be, but should still be worth it???
Hope that helps??

Errrrrr------ maybe there's even a kind soul on a forum somewhere that'd do it, mentioning none in particular, of course Just a thought

[64Guitars]

Here's one in Reading that's only 4 months old.

http://reading.gumtree.com/reading/68/71320968.html

It was posted two months ago so I don't know if it's still available. The guy's selling it with an AXON AX50 USB guitar-to-midi converter for £900. You probably don't want the AXON since you already have a GR-55. But maybe you could talk him into selling you just the guitar for a reasonable price. An AXON AX50 sold on eBay yesterday for £295, so maybe you could offer him £600.00 for the guitar.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TerraTec-AXON-AX-50-USB-MIDI-Guitar-MIDI-converter-/170617181190?pt=Midi_Controllers&hash=item27b9939406

On the other hand, a brand new xtSA is $998 at Musician's Friend and Sweetwater. At today's exchange rate, that's £623.64. So maybe the gumtree offer isn't so good even if you can talk him into selling just the guitar. It might cost as much as buying a new one from the US (except for shipping, etc). And the used one at Musician's Friend is £498.91 at today's exchange rate.

Long & McQuade is a very good music chain. I bought a Cry Baby wah there in 1970 and have bought many things since then. I bought my xtSA there several years ago. But all Canadian retailers charge more than the American retailers, even after the exchange rate is factored in. That's just the way it is in Canada. We get screwed by greedy retailers who price everything much higher than they should. Long & McQuade's current price is $1,075.

http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/4644/Guitars/Electric/Godin/XTSA_in_Lightburst_with_Gigbag.htm

At today's rate, that's $1,097.68 US or £685.93. So a Canadian-made guitar is $100 cheaper in the U.S. than it is in Canada. That pisses me off!     If you're looking at getting an xtSA from overseas, you'd probably be better off getting it from the U.S. than from Canada. The difference in price might almost pay for the shipping.

[Tony W]

Personally I wouldn't buy an SA guitar second hand without testing it out. That being said, I've looked locally and can't find a damn godin SA to get my hands on. I was leaning more towards the Nylon string variety, mainly because I find finger picking on the GR-20 yielded the best results.

I'm sure you know that Bluesberry has an XTSa right? I'll let him float the love boat for that model, but if I were wanting an electric version... that would be it my choice.

So If you figure out that it's cheaper to buy and pick up here in the states, then ship to you, I'd be willing to help you out. I would find it hard to believe that the Canadians wouldn't get a better deal on the guitar though. The other question is, how patient are you? Given a little time, and a sale here or there you could get a new one for about the same price as a used one.

[Facemask93]

Hey Rob,
How 'bout if you know someone over there, get them to buy it, then ship it to you.

Thanks Steve , i was thinking along those lines , but thought best to wait for someone to offer first ( TonyW ) kindly has done

Here's one in Reading that's only 4 months old.

64 , i've emailed this guy three times this week , still no answer

So If you figure out that it's cheaper to buy and pick up here in the states, then ship to you, I'd be willing to help you out.

Thanks Tony , trouble is , Musicians Friend is in Medford, probably nowhere near you , if you let me know where you are located , i'll look closer to you

Thanks

Rob






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[Gnasty]

Wish i could help you out to know shipping costs to where you are from Canada Rob. I have 3 long & McQuades in my vicinity although i still don`t go there.

Hope you get a guitar you want. Although my advice is look around and take your time a little more. I could never buy a guitar without playing it. I`d hate to see you get it and not be happy with it.. I hope you do though!!

[Facemask93]

Thanks Eric , i've basically done my research , and played a few with a Gr-55 connected , and i love them , just getting the right price

Rob

[T.C. Elliott]

A lot of times Musician Friend has free shipping on orders over $299... might be able to ship to a kind soul who then ships to you.