cylinder arm machine - which is best for my needs

[MtlBiker]

@Dwight - Toledo is an awfully long drive from Montreal!  And crossing the border (especially on the way back) is still a fair hassle.  (My foreman has a cottage in Vermont and he went down last weekend, and according to him the border coming back, and the required "ArriveCan" docs, made it so much of a hassle that he says he wouldn't try again until he was sure the crossing would be easier.)  And as good as those Cowboy machines are, once you factor in DUTY and dollar exchange rate, they are a LOT of money.  Since the machines are not actually made in the US, duty will have to be paid coming into Canada, and with the exchange, they're really not that attractive to us Canadians.  And getting an industrial table and machine into most cars could also be a challenge.  Besides, I think Blanka has been looking for a used machine that she could get right here in Montreal.

If it wasn't for all that crap (especially the duty and exchange rate) I'd LOVE to have a Cowboy machine.  SIGH

(Hey @Blanka, if you are reading messages here, I sent you a private message on May 19th, which you haven't read yet.  Perhaps as a new member you didn't know where to look... Upper right hand corner.)

 

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by MtlBiker
Spelling

[kgg]

48 minutes ago, MtlBiker said:

@Dwight - Toledo is an awfully long drive from Montreal!  And crossing the border (especially on the way back) is still a fair hassle.  (My foreman has a cottage in Vermont and he went down last weekend, and according to him the border coming back, and the required "ArriveCan" docs, made it so much of a hassle that he says he wouldn't try again until he was sure the crossing would be easier.)  And as good as those Cowboy machines are, once you factor in DUTY and dollar exchange rate, they are a LOT of money.  Since the machines are not actually made in the US, duty will have to be paid coming into Canada, and with the exchange, they're really not that attractive to us Canadians. 

I agree. The clones from the US are really not viable options for Canadians largely due to the exchange rate and the fact there are dealers in Canada that import similar machines from China or Taiwan. I am not saying the clones brought into Canada are better or worst as that basically comes down to the ability of the individual dealers to source / spec / prep / service / support their machines.

The base price of the Cowboy 4500 is $2995 USD which is $3798.95 CAD. The minimum cost to get it across the border would be an additional 13 percent bringing the total to a minimum of $$4292.81. Since Blanca is in Montreal she would be better off buying the Techsew 5100 which can sew 7/8" locally from their office in Montreal for $4507.56 with all provincial / federal / duty taxes included. The other benefit for her would be local service, no shipping or travel etc. Another option in Quebec would be the Highlead GA2688-1 or if she wanted to travel she could find something similar in Ontario.

kgg

[MtlBiker]

3 minutes ago, kgg said:

I agree. The clones from the US are really not viable options for Canadians largely due to the exchange rate and the fact there are dealers in Canada that import similar machines from China or Taiwan. I am not saying the clones brought into Canada are better or worst as that basically comes down to the ability of the individual dealers to source / spec / prep / service / support their machines.

The base price of the Cowboy 4500 is $2995 USD which is $3798.95 CAD. The minimum cost to get it across the border would be an additional 13 percent bringing the total to a minimum of $$4292.81. Since Blanca is in Montreal she would be better off buying the Techsew 5100 which can sew 7/8" locally from their office in Montreal for $4507.56 with all provincial / federal / duty taxes included. The other benefit for her would be local service, no shipping or travel etc. Another option in Quebec would be the Highlead GA2688-1 or if she wanted to travel she could find something similar in Ontario.

kgg

Not only that...  If she picks up the Cowboy machine in the States, she would more than likely have to pay the State sales tax.  To avoid having to pay that, it would have to be shipped, resulting in more expense.  But don't overlook the duty issue... With "free trade" anything actually made in the US can be brought into Canada without any duty.  But if it was made elsewhere, duty would have to be paid.  So something people often overlook when comparing buying something here in Canada versus in the States and bringing it in, is that if it entered the US from another country, the importer had to pay some duty.  And then if it was brought into Canada, AGAIN duty would have to be paid.  Double whammy.  So for example, something made into Japan and brought directly into Canada with only one duty being paid, is often very competitive with something brought into the US, duty paid, and then duty again going into Canada.  Without even considering the cost and hassle of either driving to the US and bringing it into Canada or having it shipped.