Winter Posted October 24, 2023 Posted October 24, 2023 2003 Hamer Standard Custom ('59 burst) I purchased this one in 2016 from a dealer in Sweden and had it shipped to me in Canada. When it arrived, I noticed a stress mark on the heel and a tiny fleck of paint missing to the left of the nut. I took the guitar to my luthier, Dougie, at The Guitar Shack in Calgary who thoroughly examined the guitar. He confirmed it was a finish crack but for peace of mind, he suggested that he inject some highly viscous luthier's glue into the affected area then clamp it down tight for a few days to harden. He then colour-matched the paint perfectly and refinished the two areas (see photos) making it barely noticeable even under flash photography. Very low action, plays amazing with no buzzes and with every note ringing out up and down the fretboard. FFWD a couple of years.... I ordered a set of Gravelin Shlabotnik's and popped them in. Night……….. Day. If you know, you KNOW. Well done, Josh Gravelin! Because of the aforementioned touch-up's, I'm discounting the price accordingly. Comes with OHSC, COA, truss wrench, case key, Hamer hang tag, and warranty card. + + + + + Asking: $4200 USD plus shipping. Shipping To USA: $200 USD (plus optional, but highly recommended insurance @ $2.25 per $100 value) Shipping within Canada: $130 USD (plus optional, but highly recommended insurance @ $2.25 per $100 value) * Shipping via Canada Post / USPS is preferred since both UPS and FedEx charge ridiculously high brokerage / import fees to unsuspecting buyers upon re-entry. Thankfully, due to the guitar having been made in the US, there are no duty fees. State / federal taxes, however, are another story so please be sure to keep that in mind as these are the buyer's responsibility.
Winter Posted November 3, 2023 Author Posted November 3, 2023 Hey gang - Well, there's a first for everything. Apparently, the buyer is refusing to provide US Customs with his tax identification info, so, this lovely Hamer Standard Custom is now winging its way back to me. I'm gobsmacked.
Winter Posted November 3, 2023 Author Posted November 3, 2023 FWIW, if someone from Long Island, NY whose name rhymes with "Pychael Gamer" reaches out to you about buying a guitar you're selling here, don't walk. RUN.
Ua D Posted November 4, 2023 Posted November 4, 2023 Sorry not clear on the neck. Was this just a finish crack or was it an actually crack in the wood of the neck heel?
Winter Posted November 7, 2023 Author Posted November 7, 2023 On 11/4/2023 at 12:55 PM, Ua D said: Sorry not clear on the neck. Was this just a finish crack or was it an actually crack in the wood of the neck heel? According to my luthier, it was a finish crack. Just to be safe, and to prevent the possibility of anything happening later on, he injected some thin viscosity superglue into the affected area, clamped tight and dried, prior to finishing. It's rock solid and damn, this guitar RAWKS.
Ham Rex Posted December 8, 2023 Posted December 8, 2023 An item manufactured in the USA returning to the USA does not require US Customs Taxes or at least it didn't in 2021. This was a link directly to the law from when I purchased a Hamer Max from Japan and DHL was trying to collect duties. It is now broken but I'm sure the info is there somewhere. I attached thevpageg c https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-375?language=en_us Here is the email I sent to DHL. Hello: The item being shipping is a USA manufactured 1989 guitar. I have pictures of the headstock, SN which show the guitar was manufactured in the USA. According to cbp.gov no duties or import fees are required for items manufactured in the USA returning to the USA from Japan. https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-375?language=en_us I emailed the seller to make sure the item was identified as a USA manufactured 1989 Hamer Guitar SN 9XXXXX Attached are pictures of the purchase. Please notice they say HAMER USA not HAMER JAPAN as they were never manufactured there. It doesn't say Made in KOREA, MADE in Indonesia or China where Hamers were made and their origin clearly marked on the back of the headstock. SN 9XXXXX was manufactured in Arlington Heights, Illinois USA. Thanks, Maybe Bidenomics changed the rules. Just trying to help. Maybe rules have changed. What a beautiful guitar!
cmatthes Posted December 8, 2023 Posted December 8, 2023 1 hour ago, Ham Rex said: An item manufactured in the USA returning to the USA does not require US Customs Taxes or at least it didn't in 2021. This was a link directly to the law from when I purchased a Hamer Max from Japan and DHL was trying to collect duties. It is now broken but I'm sure the info is there somewhere. I attached thevpageg c https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-375?language=en_us Here is the email I sent to DHL. Hello: The item being shipping is a USA manufactured 1989 guitar. I have pictures of the headstock, SN which show the guitar was manufactured in the USA. According to cbp.gov no duties or import fees are required for items manufactured in the USA returning to the USA from Japan. https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-375?language=en_us I emailed the seller to make sure the item was identified as a USA manufactured 1989 Hamer Guitar SN 9XXXXX Attached are pictures of the purchase. Please notice they say HAMER USA not HAMER JAPAN as they were never manufactured there. It doesn't say Made in KOREA, MADE in Indonesia or China where Hamers were made and their origin clearly marked on the back of the headstock. SN 9XXXXX was manufactured in Arlington Heights, Illinois USA. Thanks, Maybe Bidenomics changed the rules. Just trying to help. Maybe rules have changed. What a beautiful guitar! This is correct. The items coming back into the Country of Origin are duty free.
RobB Posted December 20, 2023 Posted December 20, 2023 On 12/7/2023 at 10:32 PM, cmatthes said: This is correct. The items coming back into the Country of Origin are duty free. But maybe not tax-free, depending on your home state’s sales tax laws. I paid tax on an item from Canada recently. UPS is working in concert with the taxman.
cmatthes Posted December 20, 2023 Posted December 20, 2023 5 hours ago, RobB said: But maybe not tax-free, depending on your home state’s sales tax laws. I paid tax on an item from Canada recently. UPS is working in concert with the taxman. Hmmmm…I’ve never had to pay any ADDITIONAL taxes/duties on anything shipped to DC, MD or DE. Sales tax may (or may not) be assessed at the time of purchase, but I’ve never seen anything additional with shipping or Customs.
Armitage Posted January 8, 2024 Posted January 8, 2024 Curious... If the buyer paid for the guitar... then refused to pay tax/duties, what's it to you?
Winter Posted January 12, 2024 Author Posted January 12, 2024 On 1/8/2024 at 4:21 AM, Armitage said: Curious... If the buyer paid for the guitar... then refused to pay tax/duties, what's it to you? What's it to me? Hmmm.... First off, no duty was owed due to the guitar being manufactured in the US. Only taxes were owed and because the sale was through Reverb, he'd already paid the taxes. US Customs requested his tax id number (not UPS) and if he'd provided it to them, the guitar would have been delivered to him, end of story. But because he reneged on his obligations it meant the guitar would not be allowed to move past the port of entry, the sale price (less restocking fee) would need to be refunded, and the guitar shipped back. All because he didn't want to provide his tax id number. However, as an incentive, I insured the guitar out of my own pocket and that was a $250 hit that would not be refunded. Furthermore, the guitar ended up being held by US Customs for a full month before finally being released to the return shipper (UPS) meaning, any potential sales were put on-hold until the guitar was back in my possession. I ship guitars so that they're packed solidly for transport and thankfully, when it arrived back it arrived in perfect condition. Still, that month in limbo was a real nail biter. UPS customer service had no idea where the guitar was and even went so far as to suggest I make a total loss claim.
Armitage Posted January 12, 2024 Posted January 12, 2024 I mean... You've been paid... you shipped it... done.
Winter Posted January 21, 2024 Author Posted January 21, 2024 On 1/12/2024 at 2:55 PM, stedge said: or a big-a$$ restocking fee for that one ^^^THIS^^^
JustKid Posted January 21, 2024 Posted January 21, 2024 On 1/12/2024 at 12:44 PM, Winter said: All because he didn't want to provide his tax id number. Hm...is that something new? I bought pretty much from every guitar playing country and never provided any tax id number...Now, just out of curiosity I want to do it.
cmatthes Posted January 21, 2024 Posted January 21, 2024 18 minutes ago, JustKid said: Hm...is that something new? I bought pretty much from every guitar playing country and never provided any tax id number...Now, just out of curiosity I want to do it. Pretty much the same here. I’ve NEVER been required to furnish that.
Winter Posted January 22, 2024 Author Posted January 22, 2024 On 1/21/2024 at 10:52 AM, cmatthes said: Pretty much the same here. I’ve NEVER been required to furnish that. Right!??? Of the 100 or so guitars I've either imported or shipped to the US, this was the first time I'd ever heard of this. Not that anyone needs another reason not to ship internationally by UPS, but for those keeping score... one more reason to avoid shipping 'spensy guitars internationally by UPS.
HSB0531 Posted January 23, 2024 Posted January 23, 2024 Just now, HSB0531 said: 1 hour ago, Winter said: Right!??? Of the 100 or so guitars I've either imported or shipped to the US, this was the first time I'd ever heard of this. Not that anyone needs another reason not to ship internationally by UPS, but for those keeping score... one more reason to avoid shipping 'spensy guitars internationally by UPS. I'm So glad I'm done selling stuff out of the USA.
Armitage Posted January 25, 2024 Posted January 25, 2024 I'm happy to see that beautiful guitar has found a home... but u still don't see why you'd care if he refused to okay taxes etc. You got paid, it's as described, you shipped it properly... done. Let it rot on a truck. Not your problem.
Winter Posted January 29, 2024 Author Posted January 29, 2024 On 1/24/2024 at 5:27 PM, Armitage said: I'm happy to see that beautiful guitar has found a home... but u still don't see why you'd care if he refused to okay taxes etc. You got paid, it's as described, you shipped it properly... done. Let it rot on a truck. Not your problem. That's ok. Any problem that might have existed is now looooooong gone; replaced by the satisfaction of working out a mutually agreeable deal with someone who "gets it". I'm very happy to report that this lovely guitar has been repatriated and is going to a good home in Iowa. The buyer is a gigging musician and although he has a lot of other excellent guitars, this will be his first Hamer USA and one hell of an introduction to these fine instruments, if I do say so myself. Couldn't be happier with how this all turned out. Thanks to everyone on this thread who shared their thoughts, comments, and interest.
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