Hey guys, long time no post, but I've got myself a question. I know you all have experienced custom charges at the border when ordering from outside of Canada for models and such. Well, I've found a bargain price for an airbrush gun, the Iwata HP-C from a website called www.buynails.com

I was wondering how much customs would charges on a $99.95 airbrush? What would it be classified under (ex. electronic goods), when they evaluate it at the border? As well, if I asked the website to ship it as a gift, do you think it'll slide pass the border? Thanks a lot.

if they ship it as a gift and don't place a price in or outside the box, i sure think the customs might slip it through.

Even if it gets caught, i don't think it'l be to bad... at 99$us for the iwata hp-c, they could charge you a hundred bucks of customs and it would still be a good deal. I thin they charge 15% of the indicated price.... but iam not sure, i havn't gotten nailed yet.

Frank

Alexander,

Customs is usually tax (PST&GST) and a $5-10 handling fee.Well that's all I've ever payed anyway.I've never ordered anything other than models or acc. for them.

If you add the "fees" to the price and it is still cheaper (w/shipping) I'd go for it.

Jim

Alex:

I would be alittle reserved about purchasing an airbrush online. Seems that postaldelivery services seem to toss things around alot and with something that has fragile components, may not be the best idea.

Just my thoughts.

Tried this place yet? Currys In Ontario and have a decent selection


Dave

I'll second Dave's suggestion. Curry's cannot be beat, give them a try.

Frank

ehehe... I just came back from Currys today buying pigments to make my own oil paints for a school project.... 56 dollars

I go to Currys occassionally to buy artists supplies, however, they overcharge for a lot of things that you might have already expected... Or prehaps not :-)
Anyways my point is, is that they overcharge because they can... not many artist's supply stores here in Canada, hence they can price what they think is reasonable. For example, I checked online for Windsor Newtons series 7 watercolor brushes, and they were at least 60-50% cheaper than at Currys.... and this airbrush I just stated is 249.00 Cdn at Currys... I was blown away at how much cheaper artists supplies are in the US.

Alexander, I am not sure which airbrush you are looking for, but for a decent A/B from Curry's, I didnt see anything over 130 bucks.. I can say from watching Frank spray, his Paasche VLS is a fantastic airbrush.. Look at the results he obtains with it..

To say one is being over charged i think is a bit heavy handed though, No one is in business to lose money. I find Curry's to be a bit pricy in some areas but I have seen the same prices at Micheals also.. By the time you factor in the exchange rate, freight taxes and customs, your "over charged" airbrush just might be cheaper. I purchased the Dragon DAK Tiger when it was released. By the time I finshed with all the applicable charges, it cost me well over 100.00 CAD..

Please dont take this as a rant, but Im just trying to give you some facts.. If you dont like Curry's, try this place Bear Air... You may find something to your liking there.. Happy hunting...

Dave

Just to let you know, I also bought my Iwata HPB at Curry's for 130CDN. They don't get any more specilized than that.

I frequent all the local hobby stores in Southern Ontario, and NOBODY comes close to Curry's for discounted prices. If you want to shop in the states, then be warned that the cost of shipping and handling and possible brokerage fees will even out the prices. If you must shop outside of Canada, by all means go ahead,.... but try your best to keep it in house.

Frank

Plus Curry's price matches. A friend of mine got a very good price on an Iwata Smart Jet compressor w/ tank.

To answer Alex's original question.....

IF Customs actually snags the box, and they probably will if the customs tag shows much over $50, no matter if it is shown as a gift or not. However the most they will charge you is the GST, and or PST/HST if you are in one of those areas that has HST....so 15% on top of the price, which still isn't bad. There is no duty on airbrushes.

I just got 2 airbrushes as donations from Iwata for our upcoming show and was only charged HST on it from Customs.