Sucks being a Canadian sometimes

[Steve Finlay]

Naturally, people who play musical instruments like us think that a carve-out for instruments is a good idea. But really it's not. We really don't want to see ivory on piano keys again, considering the large number of pianos being manufactured and the small number of elephants that remain.

[nick delmore]

I think there's a pretty large difference between eighty-eight piano keys and say, a MOP nut. It feels like an overreach, to me.

[CarlM]

Next post down one of your fellow Canadians came up with a ten string Vega cylinder back for under $40Canadian. Needs a bit of work but at that price you can have a lot of work done. So I guess it works both ways.

[Ranald]

Canada strictly enforces the rules about importing ivory and other materials from endangered species, not just to stop the present harvest but to eliminate the market completely. The idea being that if there's a market for antique ivory, for instance, there will still be a demand for ivory, so that people will keep killing elephants, perhaps then selling the products (with a little distressing) as antiques. That being said, if the item is already in Canada, one can sell an old instrument with old ivory or restricted wood, a piano for instance, within the country. Still, unless the instrument is a masterpiece, if you can sell a piano with antique ivory on it these days, you're a better salesperson than me. I gave away my mother's piano to a loving home. I'm fond of old hand-crafted materials but I understand the logic of banning importation. If you have any doubt, google "ivory poaching."

[DCHammers]

You would think that somebody would want to ship a Northfield, North.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Tell ya what, Nick; swap shopping access for your medical access.

Amen to that!

Nick, take some of what you and your family arent spending on health insurance and out-of-pocket medical and prescription expenses, fly to Nashville, book a hotel room for a week, rent a car, and run around browsing. Carter's, Gruhn's, Craigslist . . . .

[nick delmore]

Amen to that!

Nick, take some of what you and your family arent spending on health insurance and out-of-pocket medical and prescription expenses, fly to Nashville, book a hotel room for a week, rent a car, and run around browsing. Carter's, Gruhn's, Craigslist . . . .

It doesn't work that way. We still pay, just through our tax structure.

[mbruno]

I may have missed where you are from specifically, but I have a nice Newson mandolin which are from UP in Michigan near Ontario.

I just moved to Seattle WA recently and plan on making a trip to Vancouver soon. If you find a mandolin you like and are near Vancouver area, I'd be happy to buy it and bring it up with me. I don't think there are any issues with that aside from maybe trust issues

If you had your passport up to date, I would second the Nashville trip idea - that's how I got my last mandolin. Aside from getting a nice one, I have a really fun story about playing with Shawn Camp (Earles of Leicester) and talking shop with Bela Fleck. The trip was worth every penny it added to the mandolin IMO.

[Ranald]

It doesn't work that way. We still pay, just through our tax structure.

We're getting way off topic here, but Canadians pay for health insurance through our tax structure. We all pay our share of this insurance for all Canadians. As with any insurance plan, if you're lucky you never collect. However, if you have a misfortune that requires $200,000 of medical treatment, it comes out of the collective purse. The system isn't perfect, but I've had many health problems and rarely had to consider whether I could afford treatment (dental, for which we're not ensured in Ontario, being the main exception). I do get your point though -- I can't afford Charlie's fantasy trip to Nashville either. Still, it was a funny comment.

Moderators: if this post is pushing the Cafe guideline, please remove it.

[DCHammers]

"It doesn't work that way. We still pay, just through our tax structure."

And get to wait 5x as long for specialty care.

[Nick Gellie]

Nick.

You have to persevere and find some way around this. Don't give up. I have imported mandolins from the USA to Spain and we pay 22.5% import tax. I find the best possible people to work with. We rely on each other to be trustworthy. I use my sixth sense and the mandolin world is full of good people by and large.

And I know the sistema de importación backwards.

[slimt]

I would be inclined to get the info of what can be imported to Canada through the proper channels Of whats allowed and what is not. I get guitars and Mandolins shipped up to me often.

Most of the dealers south of the border cannot be bothered anymore. To much hassle ,to much risk. And its totally understandable. I dealt with many retailers south of the border. There not in the posistions to take a risk on losing a guitar or any other musical instrument due to rules that keep changing

[Mandolin Cafe]

This discussion has ventured long and far enough outside of the original question and the posting guidelines of this site and has now ended.