Getting Rifles Scopes Into Canada

[KBF]

Didnt know whether there are any stipulations in getting riflescopes out of the US, either by internet order or going down and buying one myself and bringing it across?

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by KBF

Didnt know whether there are any stipulations in getting riflescopes out of the US, either by internet order or going down and buying one myself and bringing it across?

You need export and import permits. Doable but be prepared to wait and wait some more.

[Tundra Monkey]

Yeah.....Like 6 days to your door

tm

[lannie]

This might be of interest, It is a reply to an email i sent to Sinclair International. I ordered some gear from them during the olympics.
I was inquiring about Night Force Scopes. I like dealing with them.(Sinclair)
Does sound promising, if you can wait a bit.

From Sinclair

There are two offices here we have to deal with. One is the State Department that bullets, brass, gun parts, etc fall under. The other is the Commerce Department that scopes fall under. Both have different regulations and paperwork that has to be filed depending on what department you are dealing with. Both require a shippers export filed for any of these things that are sent out of the US. At this time we are not shipping anything that requires a license or the shippers export out of the US. Later this year we will be shipping all of these items. I hope that this helps. It is the short version.
We will announce exporting these items on our website around summer. Keep an eye out for our announcement on our website.

Good luck in the Olympics I must say I have not watched to much of them. I know that is sad. I have family at home that keeps me pretty busy and don’t have a lot of time to watch them.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by Tundra Monkey

Yeah.....Like 6 days to your door

tm

Legally?

[Solothurn]

Originally Posted by lannie

This might be of interest, It is a reply to an email i sent to Sinclair International. I ordered some gear from them during the olympics.
I was inquiring about Night Force Scopes. I like dealing with them.(Sinclair)
Does sound promising, if you can wait a bit.

From Sinclair

There are two offices here we have to deal with. One is the State Department that bullets, brass, gun parts, etc fall under. The other is the Commerce Department that scopes fall under. Both have different regulations and paperwork that has to be filed depending on what department you are dealing with. Both require a shippers export filed for any of these things that are sent out of the US. At this time we are not shipping anything that requires a license or the shippers export out of the US. Later this year we will be shipping all of these items. I hope that this helps. It is the short version.
We will announce exporting these items on our website around summer. Keep an eye out for our announcement on our website.

Good luck in the Olympics I must say I have not watched to much of them. I know that is sad. I have family at home that keeps me pretty busy and don’t have a lot of time to watch them.

Sinclair can NOT export Nightforce scopes to Canada, it would breach their dealer agreement with NF.

[lannie]

"Sinclair can NOT export Nightforce scopes to Canada, it would breach their dealer agreement with NF"

You may be right, I have not personally seen the signatures on their dealer agreement. They are a very large company that does large volumes of trade in canada. I am sure many on this forum use them, I know from my dealings with them i save lots of cash and they are very well stocked. If i order something locally that is not in stock here i will wait much longer than just ordering from them. Check out their prices, they are much cheaper than buying locally . This is without U.S. dollar parity. I don't believe it is to large of a stretch to see a U.S. company Crossing the t's and dotting the I's to be able to mail rifle scopes to Canada. They seem to believe it. If they do end up selling their wares up here via mail order it would be safe to assume we would all end up paying a lot less for these items. If they set up shop here i
would also bet the pricing structure would not change. E.g. Basspro-
Do a few comparisons yourself and see.
www.sinclairintl.com

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by chuck

Legally?

In some situations it is better not to ask questions that you don't want to hear the answer to

tm

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by Tundra Monkey

In some situations it is better not to ask questions that you don't want to hear the answer to

tm

In more situations it's better to keep your mouth shut to begin with.

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by Solothurn

Sinclair can NOT export Nightforce scopes to Canada, it would breach their dealer agreement with NF.

Same problem with Kindermann when I was looking for scopes about 6 years ago.

Swaro 1" in Canada = $1800+

Swaro 1" in the USA = $750

I don't mind paying a little more but that is way out of line IMO.

tm

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by chuck

In more situations it's better to keep your mouth shut to begin with.

Some situations require a coffee before posting

Good morning Chuck.....Happy Easter

tm

[elkhunter11]

Swaro 1" in Canada = $1800+

I don't know where you were shopping,but when I was last in WSS they were all under $1400.Six years ago they were cheaper.I paid $1200 for my 3x10x42s.

[Tundra Monkey]

The year I bought mine was the year after the initial run of 1" scopes. It is one of the initial run scopes that was made in Austria. Maybe it was 7 or 8....memory isn't that good.

If you bought one at that price in Canada then it is very likely one that was assembled in the States and you got a reasonable deal. Prices have come down in the last number of years but when they first came on the market the price was $1800+ in our great land.

WSS was not carrying these scopes at the time

tm

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by Tundra Monkey

Maybe it was 7 or 8....memory isn't that good. tm

Ok.....I got a pic of me with the scope in 2000.....so it's at least that long ago

tm

[elkhunter11]

If you bought one at that price in Canada then it is very likely one that was assembled in the States and you got a reasonable deal. Prices have come down in the last number of years but when they first came on the market the price was $1800+ in our great land.

My four scopes were made in Austria as were all Swarovski scopes imported into Canada through the official Canadian distributor.The AV scopes assembled in the USA were not imported into Canada by the official Canadian distributor.

WSS was not carrying these scopes at the time

I bought mine from Russell's.As I posted,I was referring to price the last time that I was in WSS.

I bought my scopes quite a few years ago,looking at my hunting pictures,I was using them in 2000.

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

My four scopes were made in Austria as were all Swarovski scopes imported into Canada through the official Canadian distributor.The AV scopes assembled in the USA were not imported into Canada by the official Canadian distributor.

You would be correct and you paid a huge premium to the Canadian distributer. I paid $750 for a made in Austria scope.....not the one assembled in the USA.....but bought out of the USA. This is known because of the TDS-4 reticle. They only offered the TDS-Plex in the 1" after it was being assembled in the US for a couple of years until "public demand" superceded whatever they were thinking.

tm

ps...and yes, in Canada this line of scopes have come way down in price over the years.

[kclarke]

I never had an issue. Ordered the scope, 10 Days later it was at the post office for pic up. Not to sure if it is like this all the time, but I didn't need any permits, etc.

[Dark Wing]

I had order a Zeiss Conquest off of ebay from the Holster co. in the U.S. a few years ago. Saved myself a couple of hundred bucks and had it at my door in a week, I didn't have to do any paper work or jump through any hoops. With the Can. $ the way it is I'm gonna have to order another one for my Sako.

[honda450]

I just get my brother to bring em up when he comes to visit. That way he goes to jail and not me.

[redranger15]

Bought my Leupold at Grand Forks cabela's, handed my bill to customs they said thanks and a way I went.No problem at all.Saved a few hundred bucks.

[elkhunter11]

ps...and yes, in Canada this line of scopes have come way down in price over the years.

I paid $1200 for mine back around 2000,and as I posted previously,they are now asking about $1350 at WSS now.

[elkhunter11]

Bought my Leupold at Grand Forks cabela's, handed my bill to customs they said thanks and a way I went.No problem at all.Saved a few hundred bucks.

It may not have been so pleasant had you encountered a check stop by U.S. authorities as you left the U.S.Such check stops are becoming more and more popular.

[Tundra Monkey]

Have a look on e-bay right now and see what you can get them for. It will be substantially lower than $1350....granted it will be assembled in the States.

Congratulations, you paid $1200 for a new 3-10x42 Swaro made in Austria

I paid $750 for a higher model (4-12x50) with their premium reticle in a Swaro made in Austria

I just checked WSS's website but they do not show that they offer the scopes there. I'd be curious to know what they want for my scope nowadays though.

tm

[elkhunter11]

Congratulations, you paid $1200 for a new 3-10x42 Swaro made in Austria

I paid $750 for a higher model (4-12x50) with their premium reticle in a Swaro made in Austria

I paid $1200 in Canadian funds.Given that the exchange rate was less than .69 when converting to US dollars in 2000,$750 US converted to about $1100 in 2000.That doesn't include exchange fees,duties that may have applied for European made goods,or shipping fees.The bottom line,is that with such a weak Canadian dollar at the time,the savings is not nearly as great as you would have us believe.And I didn't have to break any laws to get my scopes,your answer to Chuck's post may be taken as an indication that your case may have been different.

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I paid $1200 in Canadian funds.Given that the exchange rate was less than .69 when converting to US dollars in 2000,$750 US converted to about $1100 in 2000.That doesn't include exchange fees,duties that may have applied for European made goods,or shipping fees.The bottom line,is that with such a weak Canadian dollar at the time,the savings is not nearly as great as you would have us believe.And I didn't have to break any laws to get my scopes,your answer to Chuck's post may be taken as an indication that your case may have been different.

The dollar was not that bad when I made the purchase and savings were in excess of 50% on what I had to pay in Canada. Even finding one of the scopes when the first came out was a pain.

As far a breaking any Canadian laws....I don't think so. They processed it at the border and if there were any fee's they were not noteworthy of remembering.

Crap....Swaro in the States even offered me the identical scope with a plex reticle + $500 for the scope when I phoned them to inquire about the TDS-4 reticle that was in it.

tm

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I paid $1200 for mine back around 2000,and as I posted previously,they are now asking about $1350 at WSS now.

ebay....top rated seller. "Buy it Now" price of $840

tm

[elkhunter11]

The dollar was not that bad when I made the purchase

In April 2000,when I purchased my scopes,it was less than .69

http://www.xe.com/ict/?basecur=USD&h...4&image=Submit

As far a breaking any Canadian laws....I don't think so.

I didn't specify only Canadian laws.The U.S. does have export laws as well.

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I paid $1200 in Canadian funds.

The more I sit here and think about this the more I'm remembering

During my "research" I went to our local gun store and asked him about the scope. I knew his price.....it was $1800 (he would have had to order it as well). When I told him the price I could get it for he almost fell over. He pulled out book and his cost was higher than $1400 through Kindermann. He told me to go for it as he could not even touch it......plus I wanted to make sure he knew why I wasn't getting it there. If you got it for $1200 within the first year or two of these scopes coming on the market you did very well.

tm

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

]
I didn't specify only Canadian laws.The U.S. does have export laws as well.

Yahhhh....and I broke a few laws from the Muslim world before I got married as well

tm