Rickenbacker Gutars are double boxed for safe shipment and may only be exported to Canada or Mexico by RIC franchise restrictions. If you live in Europe, South America, Asia, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, or anywhere outside the US, Mexico, or Canada, I cannot sell you a RIC guitar, bass, strings, or replacement part.

Hofner Guitars/Basses and Jerry Jones Sitars are double boxed by North Coast Music for export shipment, as shown at right.

Gretsch Guitars The manufacturer no longer allows Gretsch guitars sold by US dealers to be shipped out of the United States.

Shipments by Mail: North Coast Music does not ship guitars using the mail for two reasons. The box sizes are simply too large for the international shipping size limitations. Also, there is no shipment tracking or delivery verification services available on internationally mailed shipments.

Shipping Carriers: I generally ship to Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada using Fed Ex economy service. Shipments to Mexico are by Fed Ex air economy service, as Fed Ex does not offer ground shipping from the US to Mexico. Shipments to Europe, Japan, Australia, and South America are completed By Fed Ex economy air service.

These cost estimates are very conservative.

Import Duties: Not included in these shipping costs are any taxes, import duties, VAT (value added taxes) or tariffs that might be charged by your local government. Shipments to Alaska and Hawaii pay no taxes. In most countries, these taxes will add 10% to 20% to the total purchase price including shipping. I recommend that you check with your local import authorities prior to ordering to learn what these import taxes will be. Many have asked if I would be willing to undervalue the shipment to save on the cost of duties. I can only insure the package against loss or damage to the amount claimed for customs value.

Warranty: It is also important to understand that the factory warranty for these guitars is only in effect when the repair is completed in a US based factory authorized repair center. There will be no local warranty service on guitars purchased from the US and shipped to another country.

Many discover by looking at this table that the cost of shipping is simply too expensive to be practical. If you find these minimum shipping cost estimates to be within your budget, and you are ready to purchase a guitar or bass today, please click here to request a complete and exact export shipping quote. Please don't hope that your shipping quotation rate will be lower than those rates shown below, it won't be.