My question is this: Have you ever ordered anything online from the US and had it shipped? I've heard horror stories about high import fees, long waits, etc. I want to order the Military but the knifezone.ca price is $193 Canadian. Even figuring in the currency conversion, bestknives's price of $90 US is a much better deal.
Thanks.
Question for all you Canadians
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dantecubit
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The only problem I've encountered so far is a seizure of a Hibben Claw 2, a karambit. As for regular pocket knives (including a Spyderco Harpy, 2 Cold Steel El Vaqueros a Spyderco Gunting, and a few others that I can't think of off the top of my head, all of which can be opened *illegally*), I haven't had a problem.
My advice: Buy American. Even on the off chance that an item is seized, you're still going to come out ahead if you do a lot of importing, and from what I understand, it's pretty rare for a knife to be seized for being a "gravity/automatic" knife unless it actually looks like a balisong/switchblade. IMO, Canadian sites are far too expensive to bother with.
My advice: Buy American. Even on the off chance that an item is seized, you're still going to come out ahead if you do a lot of importing, and from what I understand, it's pretty rare for a knife to be seized for being a "gravity/automatic" knife unless it actually looks like a balisong/switchblade. IMO, Canadian sites are far too expensive to bother with.
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4 s ter
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dantecubit
I have ordered from a few US-based online stores. The main issue about import costs are the brokerage fees which some companies, like Fedex or UPS charge. They can be $20.00 and up. If your online dealer will send by US Postal Service then the parcel is "imported" by Canada Post for a flat $5.00 fee. Unfortunately, tracking is not available using this manner of shipping.
Regular PST and GST apply. There is no duty on USA manufactured items. A Canadian Border Services representative told me that they seldom look at country of manufacture, except for commercial shipments - not shipments to an individual.
The final issue is whether CBS might consider your knife to be a prohibited weapon. Some are obvious, like butterfly knives, push daggers and belt buckle knives. However, any knife which can be "flicked" by a CBS officer might be interpreted as prohibited also. Finally, I've heard some Kerambits have been seized due to the interpretation of the ring as a "brass knuckle" - i.e. one or more metal rings encicling the base of the knuckle(s).
Generally, and I can't understand why, the prices at Canadian online dealers are much higher than they reasonalby should be. I've seen Canadian online prices higher than the USA manufactueres MSRP, plus shipping, plus taxes, plus exchange rate, plus brokerage fees. If I'm going to order online, why not go for the lowest total price? I'm not going to pay that much more so that additional distributors and dealers in Canada can charge exhorbitant prices.
(climbing back down off the soapbox)
Hope that helps!
(edited to add - sorry for all the overlap with The Saint's post - we must have been typing at the same time <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> )
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
Edited by - 4 s ter on 4/23/2004 2:33:02 PM
I have ordered from a few US-based online stores. The main issue about import costs are the brokerage fees which some companies, like Fedex or UPS charge. They can be $20.00 and up. If your online dealer will send by US Postal Service then the parcel is "imported" by Canada Post for a flat $5.00 fee. Unfortunately, tracking is not available using this manner of shipping.
Regular PST and GST apply. There is no duty on USA manufactured items. A Canadian Border Services representative told me that they seldom look at country of manufacture, except for commercial shipments - not shipments to an individual.
The final issue is whether CBS might consider your knife to be a prohibited weapon. Some are obvious, like butterfly knives, push daggers and belt buckle knives. However, any knife which can be "flicked" by a CBS officer might be interpreted as prohibited also. Finally, I've heard some Kerambits have been seized due to the interpretation of the ring as a "brass knuckle" - i.e. one or more metal rings encicling the base of the knuckle(s).
Generally, and I can't understand why, the prices at Canadian online dealers are much higher than they reasonalby should be. I've seen Canadian online prices higher than the USA manufactueres MSRP, plus shipping, plus taxes, plus exchange rate, plus brokerage fees. If I'm going to order online, why not go for the lowest total price? I'm not going to pay that much more so that additional distributors and dealers in Canada can charge exhorbitant prices.
(climbing back down off the soapbox)
Hope that helps!
(edited to add - sorry for all the overlap with The Saint's post - we must have been typing at the same time <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> )
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
Edited by - 4 s ter on 4/23/2004 2:33:02 PM
Yep, what they said ^^^
<img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> Seriously now, most of my Spyderco collection (20+ knives) were shipped from the USA. There shouldn't be a problem. However the point about UPS vs. USPS is very important. With the customs fees that follow a UPS shipping you'll pay MUCH more than by USPS. And if tracking is very important, have the seller ship the knife by USPS Global Express Mail, which to Canada will take about 4 days to arrive (shipped Monday, arrives Thursday), is insured and tracked, and costs $15.50 and up. Now, this is a lot for shipping, but when buying a $100 knife or something even more expensive it is sometimes better to have it tracked online and insured. The alternative would be regular airmail which will take a couple of weeks and still cost $6-8, so you'll only be paying about $10 more, which is still cheaper than getting it in Canada. And even if you buy Canadian, PST and GST still apply, you only avoid the $5 flat charge for the customs handling.
Now, there are some considerations about helping the local business by buying knives at a local knife store if there is one nearby. I even followed that for a while as well. But as was mentioned above, at a certain point it was no longer practical to buy at a local store or anywhere within Canada because of overinflated prices. As examples, if I was to go to a local store and buy a SS Police, it would cost C$200-$220. Not to mention that if you want a Gunting or a Civilian or a Karambit or any other not-so-often-seen Spydie, they will be impossible to find in stock anyways. And even if the merchant agrees to order one for you, the price tag will still be 200% of the average online price without a discount.
So yeah, go with USPS, don't order anythign prohibited or illegal, and it will arrive even if untracked and uninsured. Never had a package actually get lost, although once a 3-5 day express package I shipped from here to USA took 34 days to arrive, but that's another story... <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
<img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> Seriously now, most of my Spyderco collection (20+ knives) were shipped from the USA. There shouldn't be a problem. However the point about UPS vs. USPS is very important. With the customs fees that follow a UPS shipping you'll pay MUCH more than by USPS. And if tracking is very important, have the seller ship the knife by USPS Global Express Mail, which to Canada will take about 4 days to arrive (shipped Monday, arrives Thursday), is insured and tracked, and costs $15.50 and up. Now, this is a lot for shipping, but when buying a $100 knife or something even more expensive it is sometimes better to have it tracked online and insured. The alternative would be regular airmail which will take a couple of weeks and still cost $6-8, so you'll only be paying about $10 more, which is still cheaper than getting it in Canada. And even if you buy Canadian, PST and GST still apply, you only avoid the $5 flat charge for the customs handling.
Now, there are some considerations about helping the local business by buying knives at a local knife store if there is one nearby. I even followed that for a while as well. But as was mentioned above, at a certain point it was no longer practical to buy at a local store or anywhere within Canada because of overinflated prices. As examples, if I was to go to a local store and buy a SS Police, it would cost C$200-$220. Not to mention that if you want a Gunting or a Civilian or a Karambit or any other not-so-often-seen Spydie, they will be impossible to find in stock anyways. And even if the merchant agrees to order one for you, the price tag will still be 200% of the average online price without a discount.
So yeah, go with USPS, don't order anythign prohibited or illegal, and it will arrive even if untracked and uninsured. Never had a package actually get lost, although once a 3-5 day express package I shipped from here to USA took 34 days to arrive, but that's another story... <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
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4 s ter
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Vess
I have a local knife store that hides a couple of <img src="spyder.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>s among the shelves of fantasy blades and CRKT models. They're asking (I'm not paying) almost $50.00 for a Ladybug and $110 for a FRN Delica plus 15% PST and GST. I agree that supporting a local merchant is something I'm willing to do - getting ripped off by one isn't. For those prices I might as well order at full MSRP from the Spyderco Factory Outlet <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
I have a local knife store that hides a couple of <img src="spyder.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>s among the shelves of fantasy blades and CRKT models. They're asking (I'm not paying) almost $50.00 for a Ladybug and $110 for a FRN Delica plus 15% PST and GST. I agree that supporting a local merchant is something I'm willing to do - getting ripped off by one isn't. For those prices I might as well order at full MSRP from the Spyderco Factory Outlet <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
I have supported knifezone.ca, S&R Knives(knivesonline.com) and have also oredered direct from SFO. SFO was no deal, as in once I paid full MSRP for a Dodo plus shipping and brokerage fees it was a little heart stopping. The brokerage fee was 30 bucks Cdn. It was shipped USPS...I thought???
My suggestion, watch carefully how it is shipped. Call me patriotic( I am not calling you folks not patriotic<img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>) but if it is only 20 bucks more I will support a Canadian site/business. I would not worry about ordering from the US. There are lots of good places too. Hope this helps, Take Care!!!
"everything else is just a jeep"
My suggestion, watch carefully how it is shipped. Call me patriotic( I am not calling you folks not patriotic<img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>) but if it is only 20 bucks more I will support a Canadian site/business. I would not worry about ordering from the US. There are lots of good places too. Hope this helps, Take Care!!!
"everything else is just a jeep"
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vampyrewolf
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- Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
my local charges prices that are reasonable. Like a delica for 70cad.
for the most part I can save 15-20usd on a purchase, even after shipping buying from the states. My latest one I saved 70usd from factory price, not even gonna guess what my local would have priced it at.
just ship usps global express or usps global priority... no problems. UPS package once, 68usd and 53.17 cad at the door for shipping.
<img src="http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett/sp ... pyder5.gif">
Mei Fides, Mei Victus
We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
for the most part I can save 15-20usd on a purchase, even after shipping buying from the states. My latest one I saved 70usd from factory price, not even gonna guess what my local would have priced it at.
just ship usps global express or usps global priority... no problems. UPS package once, 68usd and 53.17 cad at the door for shipping.
<img src="http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett/sp ... pyder5.gif">
Mei Fides, Mei Victus
We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
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4 s ter
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Craig
If you paid a $30.00 brokerage fee then it was UPS not USPS <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
Parcels shipped by the US Postal Service / Canada Post combination have a flat "handling fee" of $5.00
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
Edited by - 4 s ter on 4/23/2004 6:26:31 PM
If you paid a $30.00 brokerage fee then it was UPS not USPS <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
Parcels shipped by the US Postal Service / Canada Post combination have a flat "handling fee" of $5.00
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
Edited by - 4 s ter on 4/23/2004 6:26:31 PM
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dantecubit
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4 s ter
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dantecubit
My first reaction to your question (Endura or Military?) is both.
The FRN Endura is tip-up carry while the Military is tip-down. Both have very good blade steelblade - VG-10 for the Endura and CPM-S30V for the Military. The Endura is ambidexterous and can easily be converted for left or right hand carry. The Military is (according to many lefties) not lefty friendly.
Both are great knives, but different. I bought an Endura first but added a Military to the collection later. You'd be happy with either.
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
My first reaction to your question (Endura or Military?) is both.
The FRN Endura is tip-up carry while the Military is tip-down. Both have very good blade steelblade - VG-10 for the Endura and CPM-S30V for the Military. The Endura is ambidexterous and can easily be converted for left or right hand carry. The Military is (according to many lefties) not lefty friendly.
Both are great knives, but different. I bought an Endura first but added a Military to the collection later. You'd be happy with either.
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
Thanks David. I was not home at the time but checked into it and it was the brown truck. Might have to order from one of the US sites to see how much I can save...seems to be a lot. I still like to support Canadian though...when I can...as I am off to Home Depot, go figure.
I agree with David about both. I have EDC'ed both extensively and really have no qualms about either, though I do like the Millie better. With the Endura had a bigger hole(14mm) and had a better clip attachment. Don't care for the square cut out in the FRN, I find it still moves slightly/wiggles. Anywho you can't go wrong with either. Good Luck and Take Care!!!
"everything else is just a jeep"
I agree with David about both. I have EDC'ed both extensively and really have no qualms about either, though I do like the Millie better. With the Endura had a bigger hole(14mm) and had a better clip attachment. Don't care for the square cut out in the FRN, I find it still moves slightly/wiggles. Anywho you can't go wrong with either. Good Luck and Take Care!!!
"everything else is just a jeep"
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4 s ter
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dantecubit - I checked out the prices at knivesonline.net and their prices are certainly competitive.
seaman - I've tried to look at Lebarons Spyderco listings in their online catalog but the .pdf files they use aren't working for me. Lebarons have always had pretty good prices but their instore selection is always limited and their online store never seems to work very well for me. I'll have to keep trying <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>.
Thanks both
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
seaman - I've tried to look at Lebarons Spyderco listings in their online catalog but the .pdf files they use aren't working for me. Lebarons have always had pretty good prices but their instore selection is always limited and their online store never seems to work very well for me. I'll have to keep trying <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>.
Thanks both
David
"Not all who wander are lost"