Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation Rates

The Greene in general charges way less than other organizations and usually their fee for most appraisals is around 40 bucks plus shipping of 8 bucks. Not expensive.

The Greene is the defacto global authority on the expertisation of Canadian and BNA stamps. Period. Full Stop.

I highly recommend their certs when OG and NH is involved and also with high value stamps. They are also great a detecting the usual suspects - lightened cancels and re-gumming, reperforations, hidden closed tears, and minute thins. The other certificates are not as respected.

Well after all this time I finally got around to submitting the cover :)
I received an email from the VGG foundation that they have received the item and their turn-around time is about 12 weeks.

So, I'll report back when I get their opinion.

"There have been instances where submissions coming from outside Canada were charged GST(Goods and Services Tax) by courier firms or the Post Office. The Canada Border Services Agency has confirmed that this is incorrect. They have indicated to us that submissions should be described as: "Items sent for expertization only, and to be exported back to USA"

Imported goods are only charged if they stay here,
If there only here to be worked on and go back there's no charge.
The drawbacks and remittances department handles this.
That's how it was..

Would they look at more then Canadian and BNA?

I went to Greene's homepage and amazingly found the following information:




Imagine that.

After emailing with them, they are very helpful, Supportive and understanding

"We have a large collection of Canada and BNA material and we have some on
other parts of the world, more extensive in some countries than others. We
also have a good section on general topics about stamp collecting. I will
help as much as I can, I am very familiar with the collection, and there are
people who can answer questions although they are not usually in on the days
of the appointments. I am sure you will find it valuable to come."

I'm looking forward to visiting!

My suggestion is to right on the Bill of Lading "TEMPORARY IMPORT" -Items sent for expertization only, and to be exported back to USA". Temporary Import is the common description of this process and anyone involved in the customs clearance process will understand this.

The Greene Foundation website has a sample of the wording that should be used for Customs purposes for items being shipped to Canada. We have consulted Canada Customs and they are happy with our wording. Incoming submissions with our recommended wordings have a 100% "no problem" clearance record.

I have always said "if all else fails....read the instructions."

GJP

Curious,
What are the fees to use the VSC?
I'm trying to make the most of my trip there and would like to pre-plan.

Send them an email directly. You will see how easy it is. They are polite and will explain what you need to know.

Fair enough, emailed them before and they where great!
I've been meaning to call and set up my appointment for the library, guess, I thought asking here would help cover another aspect of my visit.

The Greene Foundation is happy to receive visitors. The only reason we ask that an appointment be made is to avoid a conflict with the Expert Committee and other users of the library and to ensure that someone will be available to assist.
There is no charge for using the VSC6000 but access is limited and MUST be pre arranged.
If a visit is for a specific research project let us know when the appointment is booked. This way our librarian can have material ready in advance.

GJP