[I_cant_play]

Hi everyone,

I was thinking of buying a new amp on ebay. I was just wondering if it is a good idea buying something weighing 40-60 pounds on ebay and having it shipped. also, how much would I have to pay in customs and fees and such for something like a $400 amp?

thanks

 

[torndownunit]

I have had good an bad experiences having amps shipped. Enough bad situations that personally would be a little worried about a 60 lb amp (I mainly b uy small amps). I can say Canada Post/USPS is the only shipper that HASN'T damaged anything on me.

If the amp happens to be made in the USA there is no duty. If not the duty depends on the country that it's made in. The duties I have paid have been %7-9. Even if the amp is duty free, it will have taxes on it and those will be whatever the taxes are in your province.

The 'unkown' factor though is courier 'brokerage fees' if you choose to use a courier. These are ridiculous fees UPS and Fedex charger that don't relate to the duty or the taxes. You can never really be sure of how much these fees will be, but I have had UPS charge fees that were more than the duty and taxes combined.

The best system I have found is to use USPS/Canada Post. Their brokerage fees are only $5. But shipping will usually take longer.

Whatever you choose you gotta make sure the seller packs it really well. I ask the seller to take photos while he packs so there is a good record in case an insurance claim needs to be made. I only buy from people who have some experience shipping amps now as well. The one amp I recieved that was damaged quite badly was because of poor packing. Luckily the UPS store packed it, so the insurance claim was no problem. But the shipping companies are quick to blame any damage on bad packing by the shipper so they don't have to cover it.

Anyway it's a lot of info to take in. The bottom line is roughly caculate the fees to see if the transaction is worth it. And if it is, proper packing is the key thing.

 

[bRian]

I'll second the post office as the BEST method of shipping. If the seller ships via UPS or Fedex EXPECT to pay brokerage fee PLUS GST on the declared value. Just to give you an idea, I bought a used Fender guitar from a guy in New York, I paid shipping up front BUT when it arrived at my door I had to pay an additional $118 to get my package I would have to want something pretty bad to buy something shipped by courier again. For some reason a lot of American sellers shy away from USPS when it comes to international shipping.

 

[davetcan]

I'll third USPS/Post office. For a bit extra the shipper can send it Global priority or Global Express via USPS. I haven't paid any brokerage fees that way and the package seems to get here a lot quicker.

 

[I_cant_play]

great thanks guys!

I was just wondering. the amp weighs 40 pounds and the shipping is $65. does this sound like a reasonable figure for this weight?

 

[davetcan]

great thanks guys!

I was just wondering. the amp weighs 40 pounds and the shipping is $65. does this sound like a reasonable figure for this weight?

very! make sure it's insured.

 

[Robert1950]

Fender Pro Junior. Tube and sounds better than the Blues Jr. I A/B'd them not too long ago Under $400 Cdn.

 

[I_cant_play]

actually the amp I was thinking of getting is a carvin x60. an older carvin model no longer in production. I need good clean and overdriven tones with the possibility of adding a pedal for some 80s metal stuff. it seems the carvin x series can provide this so I might give it a shot.

thanks

 

[Baconator]

I'll third USPS/Post office. For a bit extra the shipper can send it Global priority or Global Express via USPS. I haven't paid any brokerage fees that way and the package seems to get here a lot quicker.

+100 after UPS charging me $60 for taxes and brokerage fees on a $130 pedal. It still hurts to sit down three weeks later.

 

[gpower]

I'd definitely give the Traynor YCV series consideration. I use a YCV-20, retubed with JJ's and a Weber Blue Dog in place of the Rocket 50. I haven't tried anything this side of a thousand bucks that sound better.

The YCV-20 set me back $300 used. The tubes were $60 and the Weber was $140.

 

[allthumbs56]

+1 on the YCV series.

Given the costs and risks associated with your planned purchase, I'd strongly suggest that you exhaust all of the local possibilities first. It would be a shame if you went through all the gyrations only to discover that the Carvin wasn't up to your expectations.

 

[I_cant_play]

I tried the ycv 50 once but I didn't get a chance to really turn it up so maybe that's why it didn't drive me nuts. I also noticed that the eq controls don't have much of a range on that amp and it's not very focused sounding (possibly because of the VERY open back cabinet). the ycv40wr seems very tempting but it doesn't seem to have the character to do hard rock when needed. I'm still considering the ycv50 though so we'll see..

thanks

 

[Jeff Flowerday]

I agree with all thumbs. It's almost not worth the hastle to ship it up here. Especially when the odds are 30-40% it will get busted up.


.02

 

[I_cant_play]

well the amp weighs 40 pounds and is pretty small so that's why I thought that shipping shouldn't be a problem. also this seems (at least on paper) to be one of the few amps that should be able to do the things I need it to. unfortunately there was one just like it in my local buy&sell that went for $325.00 I'm still kicking myself for not phoning in time.

I agree with all thumbs. It's almost not worth the hastle to ship it up here. Especially when the odds are 30-40% it will get busted up.

is this an exagerration or is the risk really that high. the seller seems to have really good feedback so I was hoping this wouldn't be as much of an issue.

 

[Soldano16]

Get the amp double boxed and you should be OK.

+1 on USPS for skipping the BS brokerage fee.

I've recently had 3 heads shipped in. They all made it fine. If you know what you want and don't have a prayer of finding it local, ship it in.

Funny story - my very first internet international purchase in 1994 off of Harmony Central. Someone sold me a Soldano Hot Rod 50+ (At the time list was $1,800 US) for $575 US. We agree COD. He ships and I wait.

And wait

And wait

Finally after many days I call UPS. Conversation =

a) I'm looking for my shipment - here's the #

B) That's been delivered today

a) But I don't have it. Who signed for it?

B) It's listed as a safe area. We left it on the porch.

a) Porch? Where did you deliver this?

B) somewhere, California

a) But I'm in Montreal, Canada!


Turns out UPS took the package for COD but then UPS discovered that they don't do international COD so after the package got to the border, they sent it back home. I did get the amp eventually. I later sold the amp but only because I still have my Soldano Atomic 16 for that great Soldano tone.

 

[torndownunit]

I tried the ycv 50 once but I didn't get a chance to really turn it up so maybe that's why it didn't drive me nuts. I also noticed that the eq controls don't have much of a range on that amp and it's not very focused sounding (possibly because of the VERY open back cabinet). the ycv40wr seems very tempting but it doesn't seem to have the character to do hard rock when needed. I'm still considering the ycv50 though so we'll see..

thanks

There are a few problems trying the YCV50 in the store. First is the problem you mentioned...it's one powerfull amp. While they can sound decent at lower volumes using the Global Master Volume, they sound their best live. Second, the tubes in the Traynor YCV amps are garbage IMO. I owned a 50blue and when I retubed it with JJ's the difference in the gain, and how smooth the amp broke up was like night and day. The third thing is I don't know if the Celestion V30 is really the best speaker for this amp...but even at that trying one out when the speaker isn't broken in doesn't give you the bext perspective.

But for the needs you mentioned, I really think it's a great amp. And you can get them used for a killing. I know because I took a beating selling ones used. The Traynor YCV amp are fantastic, but their resale value is not very good. There aren't very many EL34 based tube combos in that price range around though. The gain channel on them is incredible.

I normally always recommend shopping locally on sites like Craigslist and Kijiji before buying on eBay. But if you are set on a Carvin amp, that odds are very slim that you will find one used locally. But you might want to look in to options.

It really doesn't matter how good a sellers feedback is, shipping damage on something like an amp is a real possibility. I have had 4 amps shipped to me, and 2 of them have had shipping damage. One was because of bad packing, but the other was packed incredibly well and still recieved damage. I still buy amps online (just bought a reverend Goblin), but I do get nervous and would prefer to buy locally when I can.

Another thing I forgot to mention is a lot of sellers will only ship UPS from the States. I can't verify this, but from what I have been told UPS covers insurance claims a lot easier than USPS. UPS also has better online tracking. So a lot of times you get stuck with UPS whether you like it or not.

 

[I_cant_play]

wow soldano that's uhh...quite an experience. I already searched the forums here and saw that UPS and fedex probably aren't the best way to have something shipped. I already asked the seller if he can send by USPS and he said ok. I am very nervous about doing this it's just that everything that I look at around here I either don't like very much or I think it's just not worth the money (795 for cv50 or 975 for laney lc30) and these x60s go for quite reasonable prices and that's what makes them so tempting.

another question about insurance and ebay. should I just ask the seller to buy the USPS shipping insurance and send him the money when I pay for the item?