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Conference napalm::guitar

Title:	GUITARnotes - Where Every Note has Emotion
Notice:	Discussion of the finer stringed instruments
Moderator:	KDX200::COOPER

Created:	Thu Aug 14 1986
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	3280
Total number of notes:	61432

1974.0. "can i buy with love" by GIDDAY::KNIGHTP () Thu Sep 20 1990 23:34

    I live in australia and was wondering if any of you guys know if 
    its possible to purchase second hand gear from the u.s. and ship itr
    here. Once I got over the Power differences we run 240v50hz I would
    be getting real value for money.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1974.1	Yes you could, but...	SUBURB::SMITHO	the Embassy's been hard to reach..	`Mon Sep 24 1990 07:15`	26
	Yeah, It's possible, but very tricky. Along with possible damage and dampness, you have to check with the Australian Import Restrictions. This could lead to "excessive" import charges. I'm not in the US, but in the UK and have done it. The UK has problems with imports of musical equipment from the US & Japan, because you can usually get it 25-50% cheaper than on the UK market. If you had a lot of money, you could flood the market and put people out of business, therefore you could be charged a high rate of import duty, if the product is new. If it is second hand, you will only be charged the import duty calculated on used gear. Here's how it works; The value of the gear imported has the duty calculated on the price of the same gear in the country of receipt,i.e., if you brought it for $500.00 US, and it costs $1200.00 Austrailian, then the duty is calculated on the $1200.00, and the result is added to the $500.00 US figure. Then , you will have import tax to pay and if you are not "self-employed" as a musician, this can not be re-claimed. I would say it is cheaper, but you will need someone who knows about the import business to help you out. smitho
1974.2	Duty on a visit?	TALLIS::ZURAWSKI		`Mon Sep 24 1990 12:07`	6
	I am from the UK but living in the USA. I am thinking of taking a guitar back with me next time I return so that I have something to play. Do I need to do anything special to prevent customs charging me duty, etc because they think I may be importing the guitar? John Z
1974.3	Oh, its and old broken guitar....	CSC32::MOLLER	Give me Portability, not excuses	`Mon Sep 24 1990 17:44`	9
	As a side note, A freind of mine in Sweden (he used to work for Musik Borsens) used to bring in used instruments by first painting them with a solution of fine dirt, sugar & water. This made the instruments look fairly old and worn. It also washed right off without much trouble. His import duty (usually only bringing one guitar at at time) was very low, as was the assessed value. You might think along the same lines..... Jens
1974.4	No duty is the way to go..	SUBURB::SMITHO	the Embassy's been hard to reach..	`Tue Sep 25 1990 04:55`	17
	RE:1974.2 No, you don't need to bring anything special. If the guitar is new, make sure you purchase it six months before you leave and keep the receipt. As long as you state you are only visiting, and the guitar will not be sold, you should not have to pay any duty. If you do, keep the customs forms so when you leave, you can reclaim the duty paid. Remember, if the guitar is more than six months old and you have a short visa, you should not have to pay any duty coming into the UK. If you want some support on getting it through UK Customs, send me a mail two weeks before you are due to arrive and I'll arrange for someone to meet you. It may cost you about $10.00 to have someone meet you, but if you are concerned, it's worth the money. smitho (SUBURB::SMITHO)