Bringing stuff back from the US?

disgruntled

Im heading over to the states in the summer and Ive been thinking about bringing back a guitar after seeing the prices of stuff over there. I know it would still work out cheaper than here even if I had to pay vat but... I was wondering does anyone know how liklely you are to get stopped by customs? Also someone said something to me before about secondhand goods being exempt????? Is that right???

SheroN

In the unlikely event of being stopped just say you brought it over with you when you came from ireland. As long as it's not stll in it's wrapper (clearly been bought in the states) there'll be no problem.

NeMiSiS

Get yerself a load of stickers and take em with ya. So when you buy yer geetar and a hardcase, stick all the stickers on the case.. so it looks.. aged. Thats what I did .. and customs stopped me.. I was thinking '**** im ****ed now' then he says 'are you carrying and food or dairy products?' was a relief.

Tom

Eoin Madsen

Technically speaking (according to an email I received when making an inquiry) when travelling abroad with instruments or musical gear, you're supposed to obtain a special permit which exempts you from paying customs on your return. This means that unless you have the correct paperwork it's assumed that what you're carrying is being imported, and you have to pay customs on it. In practice, I would guess that unless you're carrying enough gear on your own for an entire band or the floor or a small shop they aren't going to go to all the trouble of checking if you're telling the truth. I've heard of four or five people that bought a guitar and carried it home as hand luggage, and none had any problem.

bovril

I've brought a guitar home from the states before, I never knew about the customs thing at the time. I wasn't allowed bring it as hand luggage (it's an acoustic with a hard case). I ended up checking it in. It arrived back in dublin good as new and I walked out of the airport with it no bother.

disgruntled

I think Ill take a chance especially if the dollar stays the way it is. I just have to save up the cash now.

bovril

where in the states are you heading... if it's new york check out sam ash music (http://www.samash.com/home/) and mannys (http://www.mannysmusic.com/), they are near times square and are dirt cheap... they're both accross the street from each other.

feylya

Be careful. Manny's is owned by Sam Ash so they're gonna be getting your money. Be careful of the prices they charge. When I was in america, I bought my Ltd, tokk it apart and put it into seperate bags and into the hold. No Problems.

disgruntled

Originally posted by bovril
where in the states are you heading... if it's new york check out sam ash music (http://www.samash.com/home/) and mannys (http://www.mannysmusic.com/), they are near times square and are dirt cheap... they're both accross the street from each other.

Im heading to Orlando, La, San diego, and then Vegas. Ive been looking at samash , zzounds and musicians friend . They have stores in the cities Ill be in.

feylya

I got mine from Sam Ash. Really nice actually. Got 50% off the guitar cos it was on display and missing a couple of things (which they replaced) and 30% off everything else I bought that day.

rob1891

A friend of mine, in a band ... they have got so much gear over in the states. First visit I think 3 guitars: a rickenbacker, jag and something else (bass perhaps), and a digital mixing desk between 3 of them. Second trip just recently two more guitars: 60ies casino and 50ies Gibson jazz guitar, a very expensive compressor (name escapes me) and 3 or 4 mics between 2 guys.

They didn't have trouble either time and they were coming back with multiple thousands of euro worth of gear, so if you were to be stopped over carrying just one guitar you'd be very unlucky


edit: w.r.t. second hand goods, they are not exempt in my experience, I bought a camera lens from canada on ebay, s/h, fairly old, thought it would be exempt but had to pay vat.

Eoin Madsen

Customs I could understand, but I didn't think there was VAT on second hand goods - sales tax or VAT having been paid on it the first time it was bought?

rob1891

I know, the first thing I said when the dhl guy called up looking for the cash was that it was second hand. He seemed to accept that (it wasn't written on the customs declaration though) and found a slightly lower duty because it could be classified differently (collectable, antique ... obsolete! I dont know), but he said the VAT still applied.

I wasn't too bothered because it had been valued in canadian dollars, but paid for in us, so I was paying a good bit less than I was supposed to be.

Quatre Mains

- I've done this a couple of times, never been stopped. If you have a receipt saying the guitar is 2nd hand, they can do nowt as far as I know. Buy a receipt book and fill in the details. Put in a US-dwelling friend's phone number, and hey even if they call (which they won't) its all verified and above board, you bought it in a garage sale.
Take it out of the wrapping 1st!!!!

You'd be nuts not to try, the price difference is unreal and the choice much greater.
I got a '94 handmade PRS CE24 for $900, which worked out about 750 Euro at the time, about 710 if I bought it now. WTF would that money get you here?

Cheers
Neil

disgruntled

Its too good an oppertunity too pass up. Ive bought from from music 123 in the past and that was way cheaper than here even after paying shipping, vat and duty. My girlfriend is looking at bringing back a snare, cymbals and other bits a pieces aswell. We'll probably try to buy it all together and try to get a bit of a discount.

Doctor J

Just go for it, "create" a receipt for a stupidly low price so even if you get nabbed (hugely unlikely) you'll pay pittance.

fitz

If the gear comes with a hardcase, plaster stickers on the case, rip them and dirty it up...make it look like it isn't new...
Or buy second hand hardcases if they don't come with new ones.

I wasn't asked about my guitar when I brought it over to or back from the States.

fitz

.

Eoin Madsen

Originally posted by Doctor J
Just go for it, "create" a receipt for a stupidly low price so even if you get nabbed (hugely unlikely) you'll pay pittance.

Nice one. Then you can go down for fraud as well.

Doctor J

They're all crimes. In for a penny...

threebeards

I've just looked at the Sam Ash website. Has anyone availed of mail order from them? Prices are unreal, and even better with the exchange rate. Would the customs and excise people be likely to slap VAT charges on something coming in by courier/post?

Doctor J

Yep, customs will try and get you no matter what. With the exchange rate, shipping and vat, it roughly works out 1:1

ie - if it's $800 you'll pay approx €800 in total.

Have a look at this link - type in what you're looking for and see if you can get it cheaper than Sam Ash

wiped

Originally posted by disgruntled
Im heading to Orlando, La, San diego, and then Vegas. Ive been looking at samash , zzounds and musicians friend . They have stores in the cities Ill be in.

Disgruntled man ... if you're going to Las Vegas visit this guy ....

http://www.edromanguitars.com/rant/beginner.htm

... he got some good advice and is not very complimentary about Super Stores like the ones you're planning on visiting ...

...... plus he's got Mosrite's starting at $700 .... Hey Ho Lets Go !!!!

I'd love to buy one off him .. unfortunately I'm going to Orlando & New York later on this year so will probably end up visiting the very stores he's advising me not to ...

... although I have the guy who toured with the Ramones and did all their art work , Arturo Vega , home number in NY nad he told me to give a bell when I'm over there and he'll point me in the right direction ... nice bloody bloke

Eoin Madsen

Contents and value will be declared by the seller (if they're legit), so customs will definitely get you. They'll ask for the cash on delivery. The 1:1 thing going on lately is kinda cool.

oneofakind32

o.k. so how dose this work?
if i go into store in Chicago and buy a guitar do i have to pay us VAT?
If i bring it home and customs find it dublin do i pay irish VAT or some other form of tax??

Doctor J

If you go into a store in Chicago you will have to pay US VAT. If you bring it back to Ireland you will have to pay Import Duty (about 6%) and Irish VAT.