# pen kits in canada



## awebb1

Does anyone from ontario maybe know where i could get good pen kits? right now im just buyin from lee valley and i wouldnt mind knowing what else is out there


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## AJM

Try http://www.penblanks.ca/
http://www.kidder.ca/index.cfm
http://www.allinonewood.com/
http://www.jacquescoulombe.com/pens.htm


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## arioux

Hi,

ASM got them covered, you can add
http://www.woodchuckers.com

Penblanks.ca seems to have to closest pricing structure from what you have in the states.  But still, it is less expensive to buy from the US suppliers.

Alfred


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## jaywood1207

> _Originally posted by arioux_
> <br />Hi,
> 
> ASM got them covered, you can add
> http://www.woodchuckers.com
> 
> Penblanks.ca seems to have to closest pricing structure from what you have in the states.  But still, it is less expensive to buy from the US suppliers.
> 
> Alfred



Actually I have been checking out penblanks this week and they have some kits listed (Barons) for cheaper than some of the US sites list them for.  It's about time somebody in Canada is competetive.


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## Jim in Oakville

We have Canadian Suppliers????
[:0][:0][:0]

[]Yes, I do buy from a few of them, and a few foriegn suppliers too in the USA as well.


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## badwin

Hey awebb1
I have purchased from 

lee valley (excellent service - too high of prices)

penblanks.ca (only bought blanks - no pen kits so far but plan to in the future - excellent service)

all in one wood (excellent service - limited pen kits)

My last order I got from pens of color in the U.S (excellent prices and service - be prepared to wait as they come through customs, this is not the suppliers fault though
Hope this helps
Brian
http://www3.telus.net/public/goodwinp


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## AJM

I bought some barons, cigars, titanimum sierra's plus some micro mesh also blanks from penblanks. I recieved my order in two days try to beat that going through customs. 
Don't forget no exchange either. I was pleased with the service and it was nice to buy in Canada.


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## wood-of-1kind

> _Originally posted by AJM_
> <br />I bought some barons, cigars, titanimum sierra's plus some micro mesh also blanks from penblanks. I recieved my order in two days try to beat that going through customs.
> Don't forget no exchange either. I was pleased with the service and it was nice to buy in Canada.



How about the 14% tax (GST + PST) that is charged to Ontario residents and GST(7%) only to the rest of Canada? The exchange rate is at 1.122 today. It's nice to buy in Canada but the value doesn't add up just yet. US buying is still the way to go. We may be supporting Canadian resellers but where are the kits being manufactured? JMO and don't want any one to be offended, OK.

-Peter-[]


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## arioux

Hi,
Peter, most of the time, you will pay the gst and pst when you order from the us, plus a $5 to $8 handling fee from our postal service.  At least a lot more now than it use too, unless you have a way to make them cross the border .  Before penblanks.ca was there, no one had a competitive price structure.  He has baron kits cheaper than AZ including 13% conversion.  This guy will get some of my business for sure. Since i'm in Quebec, i,ll save the PST[8D] and wont have to boder someone to act as a relay for the Baron.  BB sells to Canadian but don't ship to them[}]

Exemple:

AZ baron roller in TI gold 13.25 + 13%= 14.97
Penblanks.ca 14.95

And less cost for shipping so even if you save the taxes, shipping difference will burn it. Plus he has a discount structure when you order more than 10 kits  So i don't see why i should buy it elsewhere. This would be a nonsense to me.

For the others that carry Berea and Psi kits in Canada, too bad they are way out too expensive and won't have my money, i will gladly agree with you on this point.

Alfred

P.S. No one should be offended when point are brought with respect and calmly like you did.


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## wood-of-1kind

Alfred,
I request that the US suppliers ship merchandise to me without including an invoice and by marking as gift. If goods come in via USPS I have not had to pay taxes (GST+PST) and no admin fee of $5. However whenever the couriers(UPS, FedEX, Purolator) get involved 'our' dear old customs collector nabs my goodies and holds them for ransom until they are paid their share[] Better still have a US buddy purchase some pen kits and redirect them to Canada marked as gift and thereby keep the greedy tax collectors from your hard earned money. I pay more than my fair share of taxes and am sick and tired of their greed. Whatever do they mean with the term FREE TRADE, eh[?]

-Peter-[]


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## jaywood1207

> _Originally posted by wood-of-1kind_
> <br />Alfred,
> I request that the US suppliers ship merchandise to me without including an invoice and by marking as gift. If goods come in via USPS I have not had to pay taxes (GST+PST) and no admin fee of $5. However whenever the couriers(UPS, FedEX, Purolator) get involved 'our' dear old customs collector nabs my goodies and holds them for ransom until they are paid their share[] Better still have a US buddy purchase some pen kits and redirect them to Canada marked as gift and thereby keep the greedy tax collectors from your hard earned money. I pay more than my fair share of taxes and am sick and tired of their greed. Whatever do they mean with the term FREE TRADE, eh[?]
> 
> -Peter-[]



I agree but unfortunately some of the suppliers I have dealt with won't do this or even acknowledge your question when it is posed.  I didn't press the issue because it isn't on the up and up but I can still hope that they might consider it or acknowledge your request.


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## jkoehler

I have had great luck dealing with Woodturningz.
they mark the package as a gift and put a low dollar value on it.
this way, if you do get hit with the tax, it is on a lower dollar value.
i think it all depends on who catches when it crosses the border. sometimes, i get the tax hit, sometimes i dont.


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## Jim in Oakville

> _Originally posted by jkoehler_
> <br />I have had great luck dealing with Woodturningz.
> they mark the package as a gift and put a low dollar value on it.
> this way, if you do get hit with the tax, it is on a lower dollar value.
> i think it all depends on who catches when it crosses the border. sometimes, i get the tax hit, sometimes i dont.



I'm with you too Jeff, Woodturningz has been great for shipments to me in Canada when I have requested, but I do have friends in the US that I visit on a regular basis, so I often have my Pen goodies delivered to them and I pick them up.

If you don't have US friends to visit like that then I highly recommend Woodturnigz, Fritz is a nice guy too, I met him once in the Rockler Store in Indy...we had a very nice chat.
[]


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## Jim in Oakville

> _Originally posted by jaywood1207_
> <br />
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _Originally posted by wood-of-1kind_
> <br />Alfred,
> I request that the US suppliers ship merchandise to me without including an invoice and by marking as gift. If goods come in via USPS I have not had to pay taxes (GST+PST) and no admin fee of $5. However whenever the couriers(UPS, FedEX, Purolator) get involved 'our' dear old customs collector nabs my goodies and holds them for ransom until they are paid their share[] Better still have a US buddy purchase some pen kits and redirect them to Canada marked as gift and thereby keep the greedy tax collectors from your hard earned money. I pay more than my fair share of taxes and am sick and tired of their greed. Whatever do they mean with the term FREE TRADE, eh[?]
> 
> -Peter-[]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I agree but unfortunately some of the suppliers I have dealt with won't do this or even acknowledge your question when it is posed.  I didn't press the issue because it isn't on the up and up but I can still hope that they might consider it or acknowledge your request.
Click to expand...


This is a good point, When I have asked a supplier to do this they have told me on a number of occasions(Several suppliers) that if they misrepresent the value of the contents for this reason they can be faced with fraud charges...just what I have been told...and they are not prepared to risk their business for the sake of one customer saving some money.

I easily buy about 75% of my pen kits and supplies from the US.  I always ask for the supplier to use the USPS, when I do have to pay taxes I feel that it's part of the privaledge I have of living in Canada and what I enjoy about it....nothing comes for free,

I would buy more here in Canada if I could, but I still do not see the quality I want in pen kit or blank offerings available here that I get from my US suppliers.


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## wood-of-1kind

This is a good point, When I have asked a supplier to do this they have told me on a number of occasions(Several suppliers) that if they misrepresent the value of the contents for this reason they can be faced with fraud charges...just what I have been told...and they are not prepared to risk their business for the sake of one customer saving some money.

Remember if there is no INVOICE with the goods then customs is NOT in a position to question the shipment. Emphasize to the US supplier to NOT include an invoice with the goods and see if they change their tone. Who says that all business is fair[][}] You can usually get a copy of the invoice 'on line'. Works for me and now I can afford a few more pens.[]
Will someone post bail for me if they do nab me[?][]

-Peter-


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## Rojo22

I have had great luck with william at penblanks.ca, great people to deal with.....


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## arioux

> Remember if there is no INVOICE with the goods then customs is NOT in a position to question the shipment. Emphasize to the US supplier to NOT include an invoice with the goods and see if they change their tone. Who says that all business is fair You can usually get a copy of the invoice 'on line'. Works for me and now I can afford a few more pens.
> Will someone post bail for me if they do nab me



Just for your information, whatever it is a gift or not, there should be an invoice in the box or a greeting card or a notice saying that it is a gift  and a declared value must be put on the custom label and this value should not be more than $60 cdn. It is illegal to change this value.  The sender must be a particular, not a business.  The problem is that they don't have enough staff a the Canada Border Service Agency (yes i use to work there and still have a lot of friend) to track or investigate everything. They concentrate their effort on product security and lagallity.  One of these days, one of them will open the package, go thru the goods and yes they can question any shippement, give the sender or receiver a phone call, ask few question and then bingo.  Can go up to $2000 fine for a Canadian business.  If it's a US company, it's name is reported to the US custom services.  Don't know the detail but they do act as well.  Personnally, i'm actually introducing my daugther to turning and she is managing the kits ordring.  I much prefer to show her the legal and what i consider the right way of doing things.  Better start in life for her.  Ordering from US to save money OK, escaping legal obligation,,, not ok.  But that's just me.  Other can see thing in a different way.  Sorry for the long post.

Alfred


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## bradh

Rather than stray into shady methods why not try the legal loop holes.
  If you are buying your kits to resell pens, you class as a business and can buy them PST free. My accountant told me how to do this. You need to register your company with the Ontario government and get a Vendor permit with a Tax number. All of the kit vendors in Canada will help you register your number with them. I now buy PST free at Woodchuckers and Lee Valley and it is 100% legal.
The catches are, the vendor permit costs $60 (As best I can remember) and you need to declare your sales and collect PST for the government.
  This number should also work with shipments from the US, but I have not tried that yet.
  The big benifit is by registering as a small business you now can take advantage of the last legal loophole in the Canadian tax system. Paid off big for me last year at tax time.
Brad


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## wood-of-1kind

I think this discussion deals somewhat with morality rather than obligation to our government. Personally I like to make my pens without incurring 'higher than necessary costs' from an already 'overfed'(read overtaxed) beauracracy that is intent in sending me to the poor house. We're talking about a fairly minor infraction here based on the acquisition of a few hundred dollars of pen kits. I applaud my fellow Canucks that are content to pay ALL of their taxes to this overly robust tax system but sorry it's not for me. I like a lean and what I consider fair tax system that allows me turn pens without a heavy penalty. My (dis)honest approach is akin to the BOSTON TEA PARTY REVOLT but in my case my commodity is pen kits rather than tea. To each their own and I pass no judgement against any pen turner.

-Peter-[]


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## ToolRest

Another Canadian business that carries pen supplies is
http://www.islandwoodcraft.ca

One thing to consider when asking US suppliers to falsify the customs paperwork is that it is then difficult for them to insure the package for the full amount.


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