Import fees/sales tax on Emerald guitars?

[Shadybrady]

I’m about to pull the trigger on an Emerald guitar- x10 or x-20 ( still undecided)! I live in upstate NY. Has anyone in my area purchased one , and if so , were there added fees on top of the Emerald price? (Sales tax or import fees?) Thanks!

[RP]

Welcome to AGF. I'm not in your area, but I've purchased several Emeralds from the factory. In my experience, sales tax is not charged and import fees seem to be hit or miss. I got hit with import fees, or what we call a ransom demand, on one out of four guitars. Doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason....

[David Eastwood]

There shouldn’t be any. As RP points out, though, there are occasional occurrences of bureaucratic malpractice, and a few members here have suffered various indignities imposed either by some government entity or the carrier.

The vast majority seem to arrive without such encumbrance. All three of mine did.

The odds are ever in your favour

[jklotz]

My only Emerald, an X-20, arrived late, but no duties were charged. It just showed up on my doorstep.

Six Emeralds and no import duties or unexpected taxes.

[seannx]

Two X20s, one last year and one this year, both came UPS to Sebastopol, CA, one week travel time, no additional fees. Neither had a veneer.

[frances50]

Timely delivery and no extra fees on my X20.

[K20C]

I received an X20 several years ago. Postman wouldn’t hand it over until I paid about $90 for import fees.

[Shadybrady]

Thanks for all the feedback!

[Fro]

I had to pay $80 duty fees on aX20 earlier this year.

[redi]

No fees on my 3x experience with Emerald.

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by redi

No fees on my 3x experience with Emerald.

My experience, as well.

[AZLiberty]

A careful reading of the import duty schedule says that guitars are duty free from Ireland.

Guitars with pickups are treated differently from pure acoustics, because... government. And I'm a Physicist, not a tax attorney, so how I read the regs is simply how I read them.

Vast majority of us have not been hit for any import duties, but several have, and arguing with the US Government about whether one owes taxes is like arguing with a hole in the ground.

[martinngibson]

Just received my X20 an hour ago and unless a fee was included in the shipping , then I wasn’t hit with a charge either.

For those of you who feel left out because you did not receive an import fee, you can PayPal me $100 and I'll count that as good for your next three guitars from Ireland. This is a limited offer and should be exercised as soon as possible.