Any Canadians order from yoshihiro cutlery on ebay?

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slowtyper

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Just wondering if you got dinged with duties crossing the border? Yoshihiro Cutlery used to be called Japaneeds previously and sell a lot of yoshihiro blades on ebay.

Thanks
 
I'm pretty sure anything coming into Canada,regardless from where,will get dinged with duties.Just a fact of life for us Canadians.
 
I'm 3-0 this year! No duties so far, but I did have a package held for over 2 weeks by customs!
 
How did you manage to bypass duties? And why would customs hold your pakage for 2+ weeks? Bastards!
 
How did you manage to bypass duties? And why would customs hold your pakage for 2+ weeks? Bastards!

Actually many things get by without being charged duties. I can't find any rhyme or reason as to why certain things get through. Last year I shipped a set of winter tires that got through without any charges. A lot of people who bought from the same company had no charges, but some who bought from a different company did have charges...but not sure if its random or what.

Lefty,

Did you order from that same site?
 
Actually the amount of duty on knives is minimal anyways and taxes are a given. The real culprit that makes cross-border shopping expensive is courier handling charges which can be over $50. To avoid these, always ask the seller to ship USPS, which then passes it off to Canada Post with only a $5 handling fee. As for customs, I can find no method in their madness. I've had items take from 3 days to 3 weeks to clear!
 
I haven't bought from this ebay store, but to generalize the costs...
50% currier
25% taxes
25% duty

There's some tricks to the trade.
1)ask to have them shipped as tools or motorcycle or car parts. These items are excluded from duty. The companies that don't fill the import information in throughly drive extra costs to us canuks.
2) ask to have them shipped as a gift. you put yourself at risk here - as it becomes more difficult to insure the package >$100
3)best bet is #1 if you have to buy over seas
4)buy locally, or within Canada. when you add up your shipping costs, taxes etc, you are not saving money, and you are taking an opportunity away from our Canadian economy. There's some great vendors here - I know of 4 I'd recommend - and they can get what ever you want (if they can't then maybe I should do this part time)
 
I agree, it's always great to support your own economy! That goes for American or Canadian customers.
Unfortunately, it isn't always an option for what we are all after.
That's why guys like jon are nice to have around. They help two "local economies" (for him, US and Japanese - where he has family).
We have a great domestic market AND product, here and we should all remember that.
Either way, it is great to support smaller manufacturers who really feel our support, whether in Canada, USA or Japan.
 
All of this customs talk reminds me of why i love buying from JCK. I love my little $20 "gifts" from Koki, even when they cost $300+:lol2:
 
I'm in Canada, and I've bought a few things from Yoshihiro on eBay. I never incurred any duties or customs fees. Like others have said, get it shipped via USPS and you probably won't have to worry. Just make sure they understand you want USPS, not UPS. I've had sellers make that mistake before, and it can be an expensive one.
 
I'm in Canada, and I've bought a few things from Yoshihiro on eBay. I never incurred any duties or customs fees. Like others have said, get it shipped via USPS and you probably won't have to worry. Just make sure they understand you want USPS, not UPS. I've had sellers make that mistake before, and it can be an expensive one.
Thanks. Do you remember roughly how long orders took to receive them?
 
If you ask sellers to label the item as a gift that is under $20, you'll rarely get dinged w/ customs. If the package is lost however, there isn't much recourse for insurance purposes.

I bought my Yoshihiro via sjecicap on ebay, they're based in California. Took 3-4 weeks to arrive, I'm in Toronto.
 
If you ask sellers to label the item as a gift that is under $20, you'll rarely get dinged w/ customs. If the package is lost however, there isn't much recourse for insurance purposes.

I bought my Yoshihiro via sjecicap on ebay, they're based in California. Took 3-4 weeks to arrive, I'm in Toronto.

Yeah he is the same guy as the yoshihiro store I was talking about. Just curious, what did you get from them and how do you like it?
 
All of my packages from them have arrived in roughly two weeks. I've ordered a 270 'hagane' gyuto, a 270 blue kiritsuke, and a 300 white yanagiba. All have been superb, in performance and fit and finish. The yanagiba came with no low or high spots, whatsoever, which impressed me a lot. The kiritsuke had two low spots, at the heel and the tip, near the shinogi, and not affecting the edge. I don't know what steel the gyuto is, it feels like white on the stones, but is perhaps a bit more reactive, and with less edge retention than my white Konosuke. It's a bit thicker behind the edge too. All told, I've been very happy with my Yoshihiros.
 
Well I've got an order in for a 300 yanagi and a 210 usuba, looking forward to getting them!
 
I have a 300 hongasumi blue #2 yanagi, and a 270 stainless gyuto that I got for cheap. Happy with both, my gyuto was one of the ones they messed around putting a hamaguriba edge on. It looks ugly but cuts well, and can be fixed visually if you put in the time to polish it. I just never bothered since it only cost $100.

The geometry on the gyuto is a good balance between ultra thin and durability. Thinner than my ux10 but thicker than Konosukue. Keep in mind they're single bevel but not in the traditional japanese knife sense. I felt it was a bit chippy with a single bevel so I added a slight back edge to it, I would say 90/10. As for the yanagi, it's probably the best bang for buck on the market since the finishing is much superior to a Tanaka.

are you the same dude on rfd and ch?
 
they also have Yoshihiros on Amazon sold by Hayate corp. Maybe it would be easier to purchase that way.

Respond to previous post: Wow, I could have told Koki to do that gift thing. After that $90 duty fee, he told me he would do separate charges where I ended up paying only $18. But now that $20 gift thing sounds too tempting to pass up!:eek:hmy:
 
Haven't received it yet but should be here very soon. The tracking number shows that it was shipped out on April 29th. Today May 3rd and I see that my package has entered and passed customs and is sitting in a scarborough postal facility. I think it will probably be out for delivery tomorrow.

Very fast shipping, but I was lucky it didn't get stuck sitting in customs for a few weeks.
 
Can't comment on the duty thing, being I live in the US, but, I have purchased from myjapaneeds many times with great customer service. I bought a suji years back, that had a blonde ferrule pictured. In other listings it said "ferrule color may vary" but not this one. When I received it, it was black. I mentioned it to him, and he sent me a blonde immediately, BEFORE I even sent the black back! And he payed for all shipping charges! The " Ferrule color may vary" was added immediately to the post.
 

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