Alternate purchase mechanism to buy a piece of gear

heiney9

I am looking at a piece of audio gear in Canada. I've finalized the deal to the point of payment. The seller won't do PayPal. It's a fairly large transaction so I am not willing to send $$$ via Zelle or any other cash app that has no buyer protection.

Any other idea's? Anyone use one of those escrow services? I looked at one and while it holds the $$$ until the transaction is complete, it didn't seem to have any recourse should the unit I received die the 3rd day I own it. Or if it's not as described, etc.

Any suggestions or experiences buying something for about $1K on-line with some sort of buyer protection?

H9

billbillw

No experience with escrow, but I am a proponent for road trips to deal in person. If it's something you really want, and it doesnt show up in the States often, then drive to get it, assuming its within a 6-7hr drive. If its further, check hifishark to see how often it has sold in the US. If it comes up fairly regularly, I'd wait it out.

We have a few Canadian forum members, maybe check to see if any of them are near the item. Might give some peace of mind if they can examine the item.

heiney9

In person is not possible as I'm not flying to Canada. Not an item that comes for sale often. Already has the modifications I would do/have done. Escrow services aren't too costly. If he will accept payment in US funds this might work. Still a question about shipping cost.

billbillw

I wasn't talking about flying. I guess it is located further than a day's drive. Since 90% of their population lives within 150 miles of the border, and a majority of that in Ontario, I was just thinking it might be possible. Good luck. Shipping from Canada has become very expensive over the years.

audioluvr

Theres also the risk involved in shipping. The seller hopefully will make a bomb proof enclosure. Plus customs often opens to inspect then never reseal properly

heiney9

billbillw wrote: »

I wasn't talking about flying. I guess it is located further than a day's drive. Since 90% of their population lives within 150 miles of the border, and a majority of that in Ontario, I was just thinking it might be possible. Good luck. Shipping from Canada has become very expensive over the years.

Appreciate the input. Driving isn't really worth it, IMO. I am getting a shipping quote of $100canadian. About $74USd.

invalid

audioluvr wrote: »

Theres also the risk involved in shipping. The seller hopefully will make a bomb proof enclosure. Plus customs often opens to inspect then never reseal properly

I've bought 3 tube items from British Columbia Canada, and never could tell if customs opened the packaging or not.

F1nut

I've used escrow before. Once you receive the item and deem it ok the funds are released. After that you have no recourse. If it is not as described you must return it at your expense. Once the other party receives it your funds are returned.

If customs opens a package they will seal it back up with tape indicating it has been inspected.

heiney9

This guy hasn't been real responsive. I don't think he really wants to sell to me being in the US because he's very slow to answer email. With all the fee's and shipping it's starting to hit a price where I'm not sure I want to spend that. I am also concerned about shipping.

I currently run the EE Mini Max DAC Plus. I've been looking for a EE DAC Supreme simply because it displays the bit rate. I am perfectly happy with the DAC Plus which has Dexa discrete upgraded op-amps.

Just so happens the DAC Supreme for sale has Mundorf caps and Dexa discrete op-amps already installed. So I wouldn't have to go through that step, etc.

But even if he agrees to pay for half the escrow fees it's starting to add up. Plus he hasn't responded to whether he wants US or Canadian funds because the escrow services I've looked at don't convert the funds.

We'll see how it all shakes out. But if he's only going to converse and answer questions every other day, this is going to take awhile.

These don't come up for sale often, simply because they were one of the last products distributed before the US distributor went belly up. Not a lot of units out there.


Stock


DEXA Op-amp upgrade


Mundorf upgrade 1


Mundorf upgrade 2

He's offered Charge Over Delivery with Canadian post, but duty fee's are on me. Who has experience with this specifically? And how much can duty fees run?

treitz3

A lot. When I bought my Marantz Reference SACD player from Canada? It was multiple hundreds more than expected with duty fees, customs charges.....It's been a stint and I don't recall all the BS I went through but I will not do it ever again. Plus, the wait was excruciatingly painful. It sat at the border for quite some time with zero information as to what was going on.

That said, I spoke to the owner, at length, prior to payment and got a good feel for the situation.

I would have said to wait for another unit but...this would be your call. FWIW.

Tom

Good things come to those who wait but at what price?

heiney9

So are duty fees charged on all purchases made from Canada or only Charge Over Delivery option? I buy from Parts ConneXion all the time and there are no duty fee's.

His other option was to send him a US check and when it cleared he would send the unit stressing that his and my perfect feedback rating was extremely important.

I haven't brought up the escrow service. The total cost would be about $100 and I they provide dispute resolution. I believe the unit is as described. I just don't someone walking off with a grand and not sending the product.

But if I now have to worry about duty fees on this purchase it's becoming less and less worth it. Although there is probably $400 worth of upgrade parts.

H9

treitz3

It has been years since I went through this, so I don't recollect all of rhe drama, fees, customs BS and related issues....along with more surprise fees but as mentioned?

I will not do it again.

I do remember paying a couple hundred and I thought I was done. Then some time passed and I waited once again. Yet again, I had to fork out more dough. Not like a couple of bucks either. It wasn't chump change.

The seller was wonderful to work with. Him and I spoke often throughout the whole ordeal and we were both surprised at what actually went down. At the end of the day (or couple of weeks)? All was well but man, what a financial and waiting time PIA.

Never again.

I don't know why I can buy something from Europe or any other country without the Hassel. Maybe it was because I bought from a company, instead of an individual. Others would have more insight than I on that.

Case in point? I ordered the Muon Pro and the damned thing was here in less than a week. No duty fees. No waiting at Customs. No BS fees. I ordered it and it was delivered half way around rhe world quicker than most US companies ship their stuff at, at exorbatent rates.

All I can say is.... good luck. If it's too good to be true and no real communication from the seller? Back off and wait.

In the meantime? Install your PS.

Tom

heiney9

I have been trying to pin down any extra fee's taxes, etc. I have a headache. I am individual buyer buying an item for personal use under $2,500.

He's been consistent in his emails, just only 1 a day. I assume people have access at all times and can answer w/in an hour or two. Maybe he can't. I know everytime I put something up for sale I monitor my emails much more closely.

Bottom line is I am willing to pay for most of the fee's using an escrow service to get the deal done. But if I get walloped with add'l taxes, duty fee's etc I am not going to be happy. I thought I could find the info pretty easy..........like I said after reading a bunch of contradicting information I have a headache.

Will some of our Canadian members chime in. I am also asking the seller but he may not respond until tomorrow sometime.

H9

treitz3

FYI, my purchase was when it was the TOTL player from them. The selling price was over 2.5K.

I don't know if that information will help you or not.

Tom

pitdogg2

@Willow maybe

F1nut

I got hit with hefty duty fees (which I expected) buying an expensive piece of kit from a Canadian dealer as well as a BS handling fee from either FedEx or UPS (can't remember which one), which seriously pi$$ed me off.

treitz3

I think that was the other fee, Jesse. One I was NOT expecting. At all.

Pissed off was an understatement but if memory serves, after I told them that I refuse to pay it? They basically told me I would not get what I ordered.

I had no choice. "Pay up hautch", was the message they sent.

Tom

F1nut

That's correct, you pay them or you don't get it. It's a scam and I was so vocal about it I was surprised the cops didn't show up at my door...lol

VR3

So I was curious as I order from Canada all the time and never pay anything...

Looks like anything valued under 800 on the form is duty free...

But I mean I have ordered thousands upon thousands from Canada and have never paid a cent in fees

treitz3

Apparently, not in one single purchase
valued over 2.5K though....

If this isn't the case? Spill the beans.What yo' secret be?

Tom

VR3

The seller declared the value on the form. He can put 50 dollars or 5000, anything under 800 I believe is duty free

VR3

Section 321: Shipments valued at $800 or less are usually duty-free and referred to as a Section 321 entry.
Informal Entry: Informal Entries are valued over $800 but are less than $2,500.
Formal or Commercial Entry: Formal Entries — also called Commercial Entries — are complex shipments valued over $2,500.

motorstereo

Sounds like I'm in the minority with a great transaction from Canada that was well over $2G's. No fees and no customs inspection that I was aware of. The only difference from doing business here in the states was the currency exchange rate. But this was a few years ago and we do live in a much different world since just those few years ago.

halo71

Brock.....sound like you need the "Chris" to help you out on this! lol

BlueBirdMusic

"I buy from Parts ConneXion all the time and there are no duty fee's."

I agree with Gary above. I have purchased a few things from Parts ConneXion, and I have found Chris Johnson easy to reach and friendly. At least, he should be able to give you the lay of the Canada land.

I looked at a map and Keswick is about 130 miles from Burlington.

xschop

If you ship something "used" under X-amount over the wall, then the recipient doesn't need much Vaseline. Only @10% for the Big Guy.

billbillw

Its been years, and the values weren't above $500, but I never had any fees/duty tacked onto my purchases from Canada. I did decide not to buy from across the border again, but that was due to the high cost of return shipping that I had to incur once.

I also think that shipping Canada Post/USPS is better than using FedEx or UPS for these private transactions across the border. The key is the custom form the seller fills out. Keep the value under $800 and note the item is used. Its almost like the non-Government shippers look for any way possible to extract more $.

treitz3

If memory serves me right, I did not declare less value because if the shipment got lost or destroyed, the insurance would only cover the cost of what was declared, not actual value.

Mine was a major purchase, so I wanted to be covered in the event something unforseen happened.

CYA type of thing...

Tom

Emlyn

I sent a Sonic Frontiers preamp and external power supply to Canada for Chris Johnson to repair. Went UPS both ways at his recommendation fully insured. The customs forms said "for repair" or some such thing so no customs issues. Ownership didn't change hands. He wasn't selling me anything new although his company did some upgrades with the repairs.

It's been a few years but I think the insured value was $3,500 for both boxes. Shipping was expensive even back then because both boxes together weighed close to 80 lbs.

invalid

billbillw wrote: »

I also think that shipping Canada Post/USPS is better than using FedEx or UPS for these private transactions across the border. The key is the custom form the seller fills out. Keep the value under $800 and note the item is used. Its almost like the non-Government shippers look for any way possible to extract more $.

The preamp and DAC I bought were shipped Canada Post/USPS and it cost $70 for each item, not too bad all the way from British Columbia to Michigan.

heiney9

invalid wrote: »

billbillw wrote: »

I also think that shipping Canada Post/USPS is better than using FedEx or UPS for these private transactions across the border. The key is the custom form the seller fills out. Keep the value under $800 and note the item is used. Its almost like the non-Government shippers look for any way possible to extract more $.

The preamp and DAC I bought were shipped Canada Post/USPS and it cost $70 for each item, not too bad all the way from British Columbia to Michigan.

For shipping or duty fees and taxes? This a heavy dac and I think it's about $73 to ship. Seller is going to find out, but honestly I've asked him several times and he keeps staying duty is on the buyer. But he won't/can't seem to give me any info.