Buying big ticket items off ebay

[jeremyb]

Only once had something over the $ limit and of course got pinged for it, but I had factored that into the cost so all good... a private seller who would lie about the value is your only option

[Jim.h]

hey man! bit late to the party.

But i have delt with these guys through reverb before. My gibbo 335 turned up REAL fast and skipped customs.

They are legit to deal with.

Try and find them through reverb and see if they will do you a deal. They are also on facebook and can message directly.

Chur

Thanks, I did a bit of back and forth with them through ebay, but couldn't quite get them down far enough (I was prepared to do US$750, but $800 was their final offer). If I could have snuck through customs it would have been a different story! Was that just luck of the draw?

probably luck of the draw!

My kemper stuff managed to sneak through also.

But then I have been stung on a couple guitars as well....

[bender]

hey man! bit late to the party.

But i have delt with these guys through reverb before. My gibbo 335 turned up REAL fast and skipped customs.

They are legit to deal with.

Try and find them through reverb and see if they will do you a deal. They are also on facebook and can message directly.

Chur

Thanks, I did a bit of back and forth with them through ebay, but couldn't quite get them down far enough (I was prepared to do US$750, but $800 was their final offer). If I could have snuck through customs it would have been a different story! Was that just luck of the draw?

probably luck of the draw!

My kemper stuff managed to sneak through also.

But then I have been stung on a couple guitars as well....

Historically I'd say yes, but I'd bet that customs are clamping down hard nowadays. Declaring a lower value is very risky - if something happens to it, shipping insurance will only pay the declared value.

Factor in the cost when you're looking at importing- if it sneaks through, then that's a bonus.

[Conway]

Yep. Most US dealers refuse to write down values on the shipping invoices because of the insurance exposure.

[Jim.h]

Yep. Most US dealers refuse to write down values on the shipping invoices because of the insurance exposure.

I am all for the gamble to be honest.

I actually purchased a pretty pricey watch. 5k worth. The seller actually had an independent insurance company that covers him. So he was happy to declare it for $50. Was not so keen on paying GST + Handling fees for that!