Canadians I need your feedback

[isampark]

Hello there

Today I was thinking about repercussions of buying Rollies from TRF members in the USA. Obviously, it comes down to HST (or GST + PST) and Duty.

Then it came to me, that there are services in the USA that do shipment forwarding service for Canadians for purchase of goods only shipping within USA.

Then I thought... 'well Alberta is one of few provinces that charge 0% PST', what if I ship Rollies purchases to Alberta first and get it forwarded to me via similar shipment forwarding service?

I am talking about saving almost 1k out of 10k watches here... So I was definitely motivated to search a bit more. And here is what I found within a couple minutes of beginning my search http://www.nk.ca/~telexperts/index.htm

This one seems shady, but it is an idea and if I could find some other company that's more credible, I think it is in fact a way to a better deal!

What do you think?

[Danand]

So my biggest question would be how does rolex Canada deal with warranty issues on an American sourced watch? You do not want to have to deal with the same kind of BS shipping every time the watch needs service if you can't have warranty work done in Canada.
My personal feeling is buy the watch in Canada even if it costs more.

[DRKBC]

The service issue is only an issue if it needs service. But C/Customs can ding you for the duty which if I remember is about 16 or 18 percent. Depends how good a deal you get cause sometimes its really worth it.

[Brenngun]

Sam, We both live in the same city. I've purchased a few watches from US sellers. Let me give you the best way I've found to do this. We have the luxury of living 45 min from the border in Niagara Falls. 5 minutes across the Queenston bridge is a UPS store (off military road). If you register with them you can have anything shipped to your attention using their address. It can arrive using any carrier. They will accept the package and call you to pick it up when it arrives. Of course I don't wait for the call. I watch the tracking info on the package and drive to the store just before the package arrives so I'm there when it arrives. I put on the watch, ship the empty packaging to myself using UPS ground (since I'm in the store anyway) and drive back across the border. Done deal.

[zocsos]

Originally Posted by danand

so my biggest question would be how does rolex canada deal with warranty issues on an american sourced watch? You do not want to have to deal with the same kind of bs shipping every time the watch needs service if you can't have warranty work done in canada.
My personal feeling is buy the watch in canada even if it costs more.

+1

[Sherwooddavid]

Do yourself a favor Sam and buy it from a Canadian AD.
You should be able to get at least a 25% discount from an AD in the Toronto area and you will have a 2 year warranty.
When I bought mine I checked into buying in the US but found just as good a deal at home and have piece of mind knowning its real and has a 2 year warranty.
Just think about what you would do if something went wrong with the watch in 6 months and you have no warranty.

[J.Alan]

My wife and I have 5 Rolexes between us - some purchased from AD's in Canada and some from the U.S. We have never had an issue with our Rolex watches where we used the warranty. Only periodic servicing well beyond the expiry of the warranty (4-5 years after) has been done. I don't say a warranty issue will never happen, but I am sure it is rare with a Rolex.

Let me give you a warning regarding sending a watch back to the U.S. for service. I have a friend who purchased a Blancpain watch on a trip to Hawaii some years ago and wore it through Canadian customs. When he sent the watch to a U.S. dealer for servicing, the Canadian customs agency intercepted the watch in the return mail and he was informed by a registered letter that he was to produce the receipts for the import taxes, of course, which he couldn't. He was then informed he had to pay the taxes on an estimated fair valuation plus a hefty penalty. All in all, $4,200 out of his pocket!! No legitimate receipt, no argument accepted - you pay or you lose it.

Many years ago, I imported a Winnebago motorhome over the Canadian border at which time I paid all the duties and taxes. I got a call FIVE YEARS later from the RCMP after I sold it who advised me they couldn't match the serial number with my last name. Thinking that I would never be asked again about the importation duties, I dumped the paperwork. What saved my life was the dealer had misspelled my name on the bill of sale (he had added an "s" on the end of my last name which I didn't notice). Once the spelling was corrected, the serial number came up in their database as paid, WHEW!!

Years ago, my mother, who has now passed, wore a diamond ring she bought in Canada through Canadian customs from a return Hawaii holiday. A custom agent seized it from her until she went home and brought back the receipt. With customs, you never know what is going to happen although my wife and I have never been harassed in all the worldwide trips we have taken.

I warn you not to scare, just beware!!!

J. Alan

[isampark]

Originally Posted by Brenngun

Sam, We both live in the same city. I've purchased a few watches from US sellers. Let me give you the best way I've found to do this. We have the luxury of living 45 min from the border in Niagara Falls. 5 minutes across the Queenston bridge is a UPS store (off military road). If you register with them you can have anything shipped to your attention using their address. It can arrive using any carrier. They will accept the package and call you to pick it up when it arrives. Of course I don't wait for the call. I watch the tracking info on the package and drive to the store just before the package arrives so I'm there when it arrives. I put on the watch, ship the empty packaging to myself using UPS ground (since I'm in the store anyway) and drive back across the border. Done deal.

This would definitely worth looking into.

Thanks for the idea, well loonie has been strong and due to the economy woe I thought it would worth a try to explore different options of acquiring a Rolex.

Originally Posted by J.Alan

My wife and I have 5 Rolexes between us - some purchased from AD's in Canada and some from the U.S. We have never had an issue with our Rolex watches where we used the warranty. Only periodic servicing well beyond the expiry of the warranty (4-5 years after) has been done. I don't say a warranty issue will never happen, but I am sure it is rare with a Rolex.

Let me give you a warning regarding sending a watch back to the U.S. for service. I have a friend who purchased a Blancpain watch on a trip to Hawaii some years ago and wore it through Canadian customs. When he sent the watch to a U.S. dealer for servicing, the Canadian customs agency intercepted the watch in the return mail and he was informed by a registered letter that he was to produce the receipts for the import taxes, of course, which he couldn't. He was then informed he had to pay the taxes on an estimated fair valuation plus a hefty penalty. All in all, $4,200 out of his pocket!! No legitimate receipt, no argument accepted - you pay or you lose it.

Many years ago, I imported a Winnebago motorhome over the Canadian border at which time I paid all the duties and taxes. I got a call FIVE YEARS later from the RCMP after I sold it who advised me they couldn't match the serial number with my last name. Thinking that I would never be asked again about the importation duties, I dumped the paperwork. What saved my life was the dealer had misspelled my name on the bill of sale (he had added an "s" on the end of my last name which I didn't notice). Once the spelling was corrected, the serial number came up in their database as paid, WHEW!!

Years ago, my mother, who has now passed, wore a diamond ring she bought in Canada through Canadian customs from a return Hawaii holiday. A custom agent seized it from her until she went home and brought back the receipt. With customs, you never know what is going to happen although my wife and I have never been harassed in all the worldwide trips we have taken.

I warn you not to scare, just beware!!!

J. Alan

Thanks Alan,

I would never want to skip paying the duty. So there is a dilemma of having to find a very good deal in the US that will compensate paying GST PST and Duty and still comes lower than buying in Canada.

That's why my first post was a thought of shipping it to Alberta that does not have PST, saving 8% right away.

[isampark]

Originally Posted by Sherwooddavid

Do yourself a favor Sam and buy it from a Canadian AD.
You should be able to get at least a 25% discount from an AD in the Toronto area and you will have a 2 year warranty.
When I bought mine I checked into buying in the US but found just as good a deal at home and have piece of mind knowning its real and has a 2 year warranty.
Just think about what you would do if something went wrong with the watch in 6 months and you have no warranty.

Hello Dave,

Thank you for the reply. I had different experiences from AD but usually the discount was less than 10% off MSRP.

Maybe I was enquiring the watch that was hard to discount. (at that time I was inquiring Explore I 39mm, MSRP around C$6530, AD gave me C$5900)

[Sherwooddavid]

Originally Posted by isampark

Hello Dave,

Thank you for the reply. I had different experiences from AD but usually the discount was less than 10% off MSRP.

Maybe I was enquiring the watch that was hard to discount. (at that time I was inquiring Explore I 39mm, MSRP around C$6530, AD gave me C$5900)

Hi Sam,

There are several threads out there discussing discounts in Canada and the members in the Toronto area seem to be getting 25% off with just a phone call.
Maybe you should check around a bit more. I just got a 24 % discount on my Sub C in Halifax and there's only one AD so 25% in TO should just be a phone call away.
I actually called an AD in Ontario and was offered 25% but decided to buy from my local AD as the final price was very close.
Anyway Sam...Check around and brush up on your negotiating skills and you will get a great deal in TO probably very close or better than any online deal.

Have a great weekend,Dave

[stevetilley]

When I bought my ss/plat YM a three years ago, there was a huge price advantage to buying in the USA. I ended up with a great deal on a BNIB "gray market" watch from LawrenceB. There are other very reputable sellers out there as well.

With the strong Canadian dollar and weak US economy I would think the deals now are even better.

Cheers,
Steve

[jatco]

Interesting topic, discussion and experiences.
My experience, from a TRF seller, worked out quite well for me..! Hesitent about doing it again, tho. - but might.