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Canadian Buyers/Dealers and Exchange
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86 posts in this topic

7 minutes ago, Artboy99 said:

Careful. That is illegal and you might run into border agents that will require you provide proof of the expense.

I once was forced to drive to the local airport to provide proof of the purchase I had made because the seller shipped it with lower declared value ( even though I asked him to declare full value).

 

Totally agree. Every time I cross the border and tell them what I'm bringing back (comics and US junk food) the first thing they ask is do I have invoices and I always do. I make sure to pay by Paypal here on the boards and other places (Ebay, Comiclink, etc) so I can print the receipt. Satisfied I have proof of value they always wave me through. I know this next sentence is going to jinx me, but I have never been told to go inside and pay duty/tax.

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12 minutes ago, Black_Adam said:

Totally agree. Every time I cross the border and tell them what I'm bringing back (comics and US junk food) the first thing they ask is do I have invoices and I always do. I make sure to pay by Paypal here on the boards and other places (Ebay, Comiclink, etc) so I can print the receipt. Satisfied I have proof of value they always wave me through. I know this next sentence is going to jinx me, but I have never been told to go inside and pay duty/tax.

Now you've done it..... :tonofbricks:

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1 hour ago, Black_Adam said:

Totally agree. Every time I cross the border and tell them what I'm bringing back (comics and US junk food) the first thing they ask is do I have invoices and I always do. I make sure to pay by Paypal here on the boards and other places (Ebay, Comiclink, etc) so I can print the receipt. Satisfied I have proof of value they always wave me through. I know this next sentence is going to jinx me, but I have never been told to go inside and pay duty/tax.

In the case of buying books at a convention and bringing home you would not have much problem asking the vendor for a receipt made out for less than actual value. And yes, that is illegal but it’s still done, nothing I’ve done but nevertheless. It’s easier with collectibles because there is no precise value you can assign to any one item. 

I believe you’re allowed 700 duty free in a 48 hr period, I usually go with both my kids so none of this would affect me at all. 

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6 minutes ago, Quicksilver Signs said:

In the case of buying books at a convention and bringing home you would not have much problem asking the vendor for a receipt made out for less than actual value. And yes, that is illegal but it’s still done, nothing I’ve done but nevertheless. It’s easier with collectibles because there is no precise value you can assign to any one item. 

I believe you’re allowed 700 duty free in a 48 hr period, I usually go with both my kids so none of this would affect me at all. 

Returning after 48 hours or more is ideal, as you can claim goods up to $800 CDN (and a bottle of booze!) without paying any duty or taxes. However, most of my trips across the border rarely exceed 15 minutes.

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17 hours ago, shane1956 said:

You get my point and I don't plan on getting into a colorful debate about semantics. .My point is a Canadian buyer forced to buy the same book in the U.S because they can not find a copy in Canada ends up paying 30-33 % more than the same U.S buyer when factoring in exchange. So to answer your colorful question, my comment  relates to 30-33% more relative to whom. My answer is the U.S. buyer. I'm aware of the fact that Canadian sellers selling in Canadian $ probably mark up the exchange difference. 

The two comments in the first paragraph were not meant to be linked together . Perhaps I should have been more specific :

1)It's getting harder and harder to fill my personal collection from sellers/dealers inside Canada.

2)More often that not the high grade books I'm after end up being from the U.S. and cost 30-33 % more. (Insert 30-33% more compared to the same U.S buyer who currently makes the identical salary and pays in U.S currency compared to a Canadian buyer who pays in Canadian currency) NOT 30-33% more than the same book should it be available in Canada. 

Each of the two comments are independent of each other. I'll be more specific next time. 

 

 

 

I still don't get this sentiment on your part.  The Canadian dollar is a completely different currency than the U.S. dollar.  Your perspective is exactly the same as a Japanese collector coming here and stating that they have to pay more than 100 times what U.S. collectors pay.  Apples and oranges.  There was a time when the CAD was only worth around $0.60 US.  You're getting a "discount" compared to that I guess.

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28 minutes ago, Quicksilver Signs said:

It’s easier with collectibles because there is no precise value you can assign to any one item.

Not if it's a purchase, price paid is the declared value.  There's no gray area or wiggle room there. 

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1 hour ago, entalmighty1 said:

If you have enough disposable income to spend $5,000 USD on a single comic book, then I suspect you could have a lot more serious problems than you do.  Something to think about. (thumbsu 

Most who buy books of that stature are likely dealers, investors or the likes hoping for a profit at some point. Not so much a filthy rich guy looking for something to read

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2 minutes ago, Junkdrawer said:

Most who buy books of that stature are likely dealers, investors or the likes hoping for a profit at some point. Not so much a filthy rich guy looking for something to read

I agree, typically.  That being said, if you're a dealer/investor, paying duties on that sort of book can't be unexpected. If you're good at your job, you probably build that into the cost and potential resale.

Unrelated, I'll be in Boston mid-April, and I hope to check your shop out if I have the time! :hi: 

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1 minute ago, entalmighty1 said:

I agree, typically.  That being said, if you're a dealer/investor, paying duties on that sort of book can't be unexpected. If you're good at your job, you probably build that into the cost and potential resale.

Unrelated, I'll be in Boston mid-April, and I hope to check your shop out if I have the time! :hi: 

That would be great if you do. I got a new collection you could paw through 

image.jpg

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As a Canadian collector I am always happy when the Canadian dollar is closer to par as my purchasing power increases for most of the books I am interested in.    I have always tracked book value however in US dollars, as most of my purchasing is done through these forums, Ebay or the other big comic auction houses (all of which are in US dollars really).     Lets face facts, collecting many of the high grade vintage books have become progressively expensive (sometimes exponentially) over the last 5-10 years, regardless of any currency exchange.   If you want to collect cool funny books, you are going to have to pay, either with your hard earned $$ or your time, or both.

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6 hours ago, bababooey said:

Not if it's a purchase, price paid is the declared value.  There's no gray area or wiggle room there. 

My point was they have no idea what you “actually” paid for said books. Especially since a raw book can go from a buck at a garage sale to 100 at a flea or con. Neither of which would come with a receipt most likely  

 

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I'm not a dealer , investor or a guy hoping to turn a profit at some point. I wouldn't even consider myself much of a big time collector when compared to many on these boards.  My entire collection is limited and only contains 10 books. All 9.2 except a single 9.0. (Hulk 181 9.2, Amazing Spider-Man 129 9.2, Marvel spotlight 5 9.2, Giant X Men 1 9.2, Iron Man 1 9.2 , Captain America 100  9.2, Thor 126 9.2 , Hero for Hire 1 9.2, Fantastic Four 48 9.2, Dare Devil 7 9.0) 

Please don't take my original post as complaining . I'm simply commenting that I personally find it harder, based on my experience , to get higher grade key books like the ones I posted above  from sellers within Canada. Also, the higher they go the bigger the hit when buying at the current exchange rate . 

 

 

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26 minutes ago, shane1956 said:

I'm not a dealer , investor or a guy hoping to turn a profit at some point. I wouldn't even consider myself much of a big time collector when compared to many on these boards.  My entire collection is limited and only contains 10 books. All 9.2 except a single 9.0. (Hulk 181 9.2, Amazing Spider-Man 129 9.2, Marvel spotlight 5 9.2, Giant X Men 1 9.2, Iron Man 1 9.2 , Captain America 100  9.2, Thor 126 9.2 , Hero for Hire 1 9.2, Fantastic Four 48 9.2, Dare Devil 7 9.0) 

Please don't take my original post as complaining . I'm simply commenting that I personally find it harder, based on my experience , to get higher grade key books like the ones I posted above  from sellers within Canada. Also, the higher they go the bigger the hit when buying at the current exchange rate . 

 

 

On the average collector scale those are some big time collector books you have. 

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1 hour ago, Quicksilver Signs said:

My point was they have no idea what you “actually” paid for said books. Especially since a raw book can go from a buck at a garage sale to 100 at a flea or con. Neither of which would come with a receipt most likely  

 

Yeah sorry, after I pulled that sentence out of context I was responding only to what I'd quoted but after reading back I understand your point now.

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8 hours ago, bababooey said:

Not if it's a purchase, price paid is the declared value.  There's no gray area or wiggle room there. 

What if I pay $100 for a book and wanted to tear the cover off to tape onto my wall and use for decoration and the rest of the book to read with my kids?  

What’s the value then? 

What if it was “worth” $100 at the time of purchase and then I got news that I lost my job and I’ll have to sell the book locally to my LCS for around $25. Could I ask the seller to value it at $25? 

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24 minutes ago, thirdgreenham said:

What if I pay $100 for a book and wanted to tear the cover off to tape onto my wall and use for decoration and the rest of the book to read with my kids?  

What’s the value then? 

What if it was “worth” $100 at the time of purchase and then I got news that I lost my job and I’ll have to sell the book locally to my LCS for around $25. Could I ask the seller to value it at $25? 

Same for the wall art.   It's the sale that causes the import, so using your second example....if you bought it for $100 at C2E2 got fired & then resold it to a Cdn at a loss & then drove back to deliver it then it only needs to be declared as a $25 book.  In that scenario the value loss through resale occurred prior to direct shipment to Canada.  If you resell it after your return at a loss, it's still a $100 item to Customs.

If there's no sale, like you doing a US show (driving to US with inventory for potential sale and back to Canada with unsold inventory, it's very different - if that's why you're interested)

Edited by bababooey
clarity & bolding
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3 minutes ago, bababooey said:

Same for the wall art.   It's the sale that causes the import, so using your second example....if you bought it for $100 at C2E2 got fired & then resold it to a Cdn at a loss & then drove back to deliver it then it's only needs to be declared as a $25 book.  In that scenario the value loss through resale occurred prior to direct shipment to Canada. 

If there's no sale, like you doing a US show (driving to US with inventory for potential sale and back to Canada with unsold inventory, it's very different - if that's why you're interested)

The last part is of great interest to me. Do you have brokerage experience? I can’t remember how you know so much. lol 

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7 minutes ago, thirdgreenham said:

The last part is of great interest to me. Do you have brokerage experience? I can’t remember how you know so much. lol 

Yep, PM me what you're wanting to do and when, I can let you know how to do it.   Give me a few minutes to unblock you first. :nyah:

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