Purchase of a Vortex Scope off of US Fleabay
- Thread starter macsailer
- Start date
It is not Canadian import laws but rather US export laws. I do not know exactly how it is worded but it basically states that you are not allowed to export rifle scopes from the US with out the proper permits from the US State Department. Very minimal you will lose your money and not get the scope, you might also get tagged and have difficulties entering the US in the future, and what about warranty on your new scope?
What scope are you looking at on EBay?
What scope are you looking at on EBay?
blackacres
Regular
- Location
- Mount Hope, Ontario
Have a look at the 'Sticky' above on importing scopes from the US.
Scopes, pistol and AR parts and many other gun parts generally cost less in the US. Although this gap has closed a lot due to the exchange rate. Unfortunately, gun parts and scopes fall under ITAR regulations which restricts the export of these items out of the US.
If a large US company even will consider shipping to Canada, which most won't, from what I gather, the item has to be under $100.00 and the company have to have an export permit. I've read this permit costs around $3000.00 per year. The reasons most gun part suppliers won't export.
Private US sellers generally are not aware of these retrictions, as noted above, if the item is checked within the US shipping system, you stand to risk loosing your money and item!
This is one of the reasons we don't see a lot of gun items sold here, that are available in the US, although this situation has improved due to the hard work of a number of our vendors above. The US manfacturers and supply warehoused just look at it as a costly PITA. It's also a reason if the part is available here, it costs more than in the US as the exporter/importer have to pay for these permits.
If a Canadian goes into the US and purchases ITAR controlled parts, and is found with these parts, the Canuck will find himself in a "world of hurt"!!!
Scopes, pistol and AR parts and many other gun parts generally cost less in the US. Although this gap has closed a lot due to the exchange rate. Unfortunately, gun parts and scopes fall under ITAR regulations which restricts the export of these items out of the US.
If a large US company even will consider shipping to Canada, which most won't, from what I gather, the item has to be under $100.00 and the company have to have an export permit. I've read this permit costs around $3000.00 per year. The reasons most gun part suppliers won't export.
Private US sellers generally are not aware of these retrictions, as noted above, if the item is checked within the US shipping system, you stand to risk loosing your money and item!
This is one of the reasons we don't see a lot of gun items sold here, that are available in the US, although this situation has improved due to the hard work of a number of our vendors above. The US manfacturers and supply warehoused just look at it as a costly PITA. It's also a reason if the part is available here, it costs more than in the US as the exporter/importer have to pay for these permits.
If a Canadian goes into the US and purchases ITAR controlled parts, and is found with these parts, the Canuck will find himself in a "world of hurt"!!!
Yeah, but I love to live on the "edge".
If they confiscate my 4x Bushnell scope for my .22 rimfire, then they've got too much time on their hands.
And to be quite honest, it's not a big worry of mine.
However I would refrain from ordering a 50x, military dotted, infrared, lazer enhanced, night scope.
Some US sellers may choose to disregard US federal law.
Others are probably ignorant of the law, and how serious the penalties can be.
The worst that can happen to the Cdn buyer is loss of product and money, and possibly being flagged as someone who was a party to an attempt to evade US arms export controls.
The US seller can be prosecuted. But hey, its his country, his country's laws, who cares if he is the one taking the real risk? No reason not to take advantage of an individual, and leave him holding the bag if things go badly.
Others are probably ignorant of the law, and how serious the penalties can be.
The worst that can happen to the Cdn buyer is loss of product and money, and possibly being flagged as someone who was a party to an attempt to evade US arms export controls.
The US seller can be prosecuted. But hey, its his country, his country's laws, who cares if he is the one taking the real risk? No reason not to take advantage of an individual, and leave him holding the bag if things go badly.
...AND the vendor maybe gets a hostile visit from the US authorities, who could also blacklist you from entering the US (or put you on the "watch" list.) Midway USA won't sell anything to us because they got a $250,000 fine several years ago for selling scopes to Canadians. I believe Zeiss US also got whacked. So it could be a bigger worry than you think. Not saying it will happen; lots of people do buy stuff off e-bay and from other vendors, but things can get nasty.
It's all total crap of course, but them's the rules.
Stuart
I'm not encouraging buying scopes from the states, and I only bought them because of my ignorance of the law. I'm sure most other people did likewise.
In this economy guys, we need to look at the bigger picture. I don't really care about the laws, my money stays in Canada as much as possible. I am self employed, in this industry, I buy from local dealers as much as possible, I will mail order from with in Canada if a local can't get what I need. I will only mail order from the US in a situation where the product I need, or a reasonable facsimle, is not available in Canada. Yes I know, alot of the stuff we buy here comes from US distributers, but we need to support our local dealers. Look at the top of this CGN page, look at all the CANADIAN businesses that sponsor this site, please call them the next time you need something.
Rant off.
Rant off.
I would love to buy CANADIAN but unfortunately the CANADIAN marketplace feels the need to overcharge us... So I buy were its cheaper, and I couldn't care less about supporting CANADIAN stores. I only care about the bottom line; Can I save money and how much !
Not only do I buy all my gun parts from the U.S. I get all my clothing online, shoes,Hockey equipment. and my car pars.. ect ect ect... I dont remember when I actually purchased something in Canada besides my groceries...
Not only do I buy all my gun parts from the U.S. I get all my clothing online, shoes,Hockey equipment. and my car pars.. ect ect ect... I dont remember when I actually purchased something in Canada besides my groceries...
