Bill N Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 (edited) I'm planning to ship an antique concertina (the one pictured in my posts) from Canada to the U.S. for some repairs, with the hope of picking it up in person at the NE Concertina Workshop in April. Does anyone have tips re: best shipper to use, ways to speed the package through customs, etc? Thanks Bill Edited February 12, 2009 by Bill N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Levine Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 If I were doing this I'd consider shipping it in two or three separate parcels. That way you can label it as "Instrument Part sent for Repair" rather than as a complete and valuable instrument. I much prefer the government post to the private shippers. Hopefully though somebody from this forum might be going from Canada to the U.S. and could mail it for you from within the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Johnson Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 People over the border ( in the US ) don't generally disassemble their concertinas when they send them to Dipper for repair. Repairs of a whole concertina are as valid as for parts, though any problems that occur are due to people who are abusing ( or feel abused by, depending on your point of view )the system. and just trying to get around paying duties or VAT on sales. I would certainly include the repair order in the package. and if you are sending it to a business rather than an individual, there should be much less question involved. Splitting the package seems to me to incur extra risks of irrevocable loss and or damage to the reed pans or other parts that are in the long run more of an issue than having to go through some customs argument. I agree to some extent with David on the Govt. postal system since I have found that companies like UPS can charge incredible amounts for shipping valuable things. I think they are likely as secure as the regular postal system, but if you send you package with the postal system with the appropriate classification Certified, or Registered mail or whatever you have in Canada with appropriate tracking, it should be secure enough and not end up with double or more the shipping cost. I haven't had any problems with them here at all. When I've sent thigs overseas, Customs hasn't been an impediment as far as speed goes. You can always check with the people you are sending your concertina to to see what they prefer. Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) I use "PakMail" a postal, shipping outlet to send my concertinas to the States from Canada. I have sent several to the Button Box (MA), Greg Jowaisas (Kentucky) and Bob Tedrow (Alabama) and all arrived within four days. PakMail uses DHL, FedEx and UPS...which ever one you choose. List your concertina as a "Used instrument" or "Used squeezebox". The tracking system allows you to see how long it takes to go through the Canada/US Customs..which is less than a few hours...and then you see it enroute again. The alternative option is to drive to Buffalo, NY and send it from there. Edited February 13, 2009 by un_owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Edgley Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 "The alternative option is to drive to Buffalo, NY and send it from there." un_owen The above suggestion may be an option if you are cose enough. However, if it is an antique it may have fewer problems than you think. Whatever you do, it would be unwise to ship by mail from Canada as you are severely limited on the amount of insurance available for out-of-country shipments. Contact one of the shippers like UPS or Purolator and ask their advice regarding your situation. There is probably paperwork to be filled out, but if done right you can probably get it there without some bureaucrat trying to charge duty on it, and you will be able to purchase the appropriate amount of insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill N Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thanks everyone for the good advice. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandolinRefugee Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) Thanks everyone for the good advice. Bill Hi, Bill, glad to know you've been to Newfoundland! I've sent many an instrument to the U.S. over the last 6 or 7 years. In the early stages, I was under the impression that FedEx was one company and that there was just a choice of cost and in transit time between FedEx Ground and regular FedEx (more expensive and faster). In the interest of saving money, I shipped with FedEx ground. BIG MISTAKE! FedEx has their own customs clearance folks; FedEx Ground doesn't. After the following experience, I decided I would only ship FedEx, and never the "ground" subsidiary again: On the same day, I shipped a mahogany and spruce bouzouki to one state, I shipped a rosewood and spruce ovtave mandolin to another. Both were shipped by FedEx ground. Since FedEx ground has no customs brokerage, the actual American customs officials unpacked the instruments for inspection. Upon approval of meeting the NAFTA requirements (of course my instruments were made in Canada...) they proceeded to pack up the instruments in THE OPPOSITE BOXES, and shipped them to the wrong customers, after a delay of 2 weeks. My customers were unhappy with the wait, and of course they were really unhappy about receiving instruments that they hadn't ordered. I managed to get the customers to ship the instruments to each other, but one of them became "lost", and so I had to make another rosewood and spruce octave mandolin. (I hope that the missing instrument is being enjoyed by somebody, somewhere...) FedEx is great, fast and no hassles. Never FedEx Ground! Edited February 16, 2009 by MandolinRefugee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandolinRefugee Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) I'm planning to ship an antique concertina (the one pictured in my posts) from Canada to the U.S. for some repairs, with the hope of picking it up in person at the NE Concertina Workshop in April. Does anyone have tips re: best shipper to use, ways to speed the package through customs, etc? Thanks Bill BTW, why not ship it to Paul Read, or just drive to his house? Hamilton to Toronto is about an hour or less, isn't it? Anyway, I just thought of that after reading Azalin's post: Azalin's post! Edited February 16, 2009 by MandolinRefugee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdormire Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Thanks everyone for the good advice. Bill Hi, Bill, glad to know you've been to Newfoundland! I've sent many an instrument to the U.S. over the last 6 or 7 years. In the early stages, I was under the impression that FedEx was one company and that there was just a choice of cost and in transit time between FedEx Ground and regular FedEx (more expensive and faster). In the interest of saving money, I shipped with FedEx ground. BIG MISTAKE! FedEx has their own customs clearance folks; FedEx Ground doesn't. After the following experience, I decided I would only ship FedEx, and never the "ground" subsidiary again: On the same day, I shipped a mahogany and spruce bouzouki to one state, I shipped a rosewood and spruce ovtave mandolin to another. Both were shipped by FedEx ground. Since FedEx ground has no customs brokerage, the actual American customs officials unpacked the instruments for inspection. Upon approval of meeting the NAFTA requirements (of course my instruments were made in Canada...) they proceeded to pack up the instruments in THE OPPOSITE BOXES, and shipped them to the wrong customers, after a delay of 2 weeks. My customers were unhappy with the wait, and of course they were really unhappy about receiving instruments that they hadn't ordered. I managed to get the customers to ship the instruments to each other, but one of them became "lost", and so I had to make another rosewood and spruce octave mandolin. (I hope that the missing instrument is being enjoyed by somebody, somewhere...) FedEx is great, fast and no hassles. Never FedEx Ground! Fed Ex Ground is the old RPS. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill N Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 I'm planning to ship an antique concertina (the one pictured in my posts) from Canada to the U.S. for some repairs, with the hope of picking it up in person at the NE Concertina Workshop in April. Does anyone have tips re: best shipper to use, ways to speed the package through customs, etc? Thanks Bill BTW, why not ship it to Paul Read, or just drive to his house? Hamilton to Toronto is about an hour or less, isn't it? Anyway, I just thought of that after reading Azalin's post: Azalin's post! Thanks everyone for the good discussion of the various options and their pros and cons. My concertina is now on its way to the Button Box via Canada Post, labelled as "used musical instument being shipped by owner for repair". It is insured, and trackable via the Canada Post website. I also looked into UPS. Shipping costs were about the same, but insurance was 3 times Can Post's, and they said there would be customs brokerage fees on top of shipping, which they couldn't give me an estimate for. I did talk to Paul about my box (very nice fellow, and very supportive of a new player), but my concertina is an odd-ball( more like a German concertina )than the boxes Paul works on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill N Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 I'm planning to ship an antique concertina (the one pictured in my posts) from Canada to the U.S. for some repairs, with the hope of picking it up in person at the NE Concertina Workshop in April. Does anyone have tips re: best shipper to use, ways to speed the package through customs, etc? Thanks Bill The package arrived safely, and with no hassles, via Canada Post-U.S. Postal Service in 4 days! Phew! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miikae Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I'm planning to ship an antique concertina (the one pictured in my posts) from Canada to the U.S. for some repairs, with the hope of picking it up in person at the NE Concertina Workshop in April. Does anyone have tips re: best shipper to use, ways to speed the package through customs, etc? Thanks Bill The package arrived safely, and with no hassles, via Canada Post-U.S. Postal Service in 4 days! Phew! Pleased that you have now got the problem sorted out and to your satisfaction too , so feet up and a few tinnies to follow eh. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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