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baronfloyd

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Everything posted by baronfloyd

  1. Mick could not be a better person to deal with. Fantastic in every way. If I'm ever down his end of the country I must buy him a glass of lemonade
  2. Another satisfied customer. Rich is definitely a top chap. Great to deal with. No problems whatsoever.
  3. Hopefully this will help somebody else avoid some of the pitfalls of getting a bass to the UK from Germany post Brexit. This probably applies to other EU countries too so grab a brew and a biscuit or jump to the end for the short version. I bought a very nice bass form Ovialexm of this parish (he is great by the way). Given Brexit, part of the deal was that I would arrange shipping. I knew and was prepared for the VAT bill and other possible charges and was prepared to take it on the chin (reluctantly – but 51% of the nation said that is what they wanted). I looked at the various couriers who were still willing to ship EU to UK. The prices are now approximately double previously. Again, I sucked this up. I decided to go for DHL thinking that they should have export from Germany all sewn up (being part of Deutsche Post). I completed the necessary paperwork requesting a pick up and declaring the value for the VAT and any duty (officially called the Commercial Invoice form – must be done regardless of price). I foolishly decided to be honest and declared the price of the bass and here starts the trouble. If I had been dishonest I would have paid less VAT and also saved a lot of time and trouble. The value was declared in GBP and was over £1000. The bass was collected by DHL (they missed their first booking and I had to arrange another collection). Within hours I received an email invoicing me for the VAT and the administration fee (20% for the VAT and a charge of £10 for the privilege of paying it). Super – another few days and my bass will arrive. Next day I check the tracking to see ‘Shipment on hold’. Later that morning I get a telephone call from Ovi (I said that he was a good guy). DHL had contacted him as the ‘Exporter’ and informed him that vital paperwork was missing. Neither of us knew what they were on about. DHL UK told me that it was simply an invoice stating the exporter’s name and address, the importer’s name and address (me) and the price in GBP. Soon sorted and emailed to DHL. Not good enough, because the value of the export was more than 1000 euro a separate form was also needed. This form is called an Export Accompanying Document. Simple eh? NO. After a lot of back and forth communications between myself, DHL and Ovi (have I mentioned that he is great guy to deal with) we reached a point where the help of another agency was needed – a Customs Agent (zollagentur in German). Finding one was not too difficult but the problem arose when they discovered that the shipment was being held by DHL then it was ‘sorry- can’t help you mate’ (only in German). I eventually managed to find an agent who could help (for another 50 euros). The guy worked wonders, produced the paperwork and the bass was released within half an hour. The bass then spent the next week and half traveling up and down the major cities on the Western half of Germany before being sent to the UK after I registered a formal complaint. Not over yet … (you should have got a few more biscuits). Once the bass arrived in this country it was held for another 24 hours while all the paperwork was checked at this end to make sure that it matched up with the paperwork in Germany. And so, after two and half weeks of waiting I finally got my bass so I am now happy but will not be getting anything from Europe for a while! Short version Bringing anything over the value of 1000 euros into the UK post Brexit – assuming that you are going to be honest and declare the actual value. The sender is officially the Exporter and will need to include an invoice in the paperwork as well as a UK Commercial Invoice (downloadable form for this). The sender will also need to include an Export Accompanying Document (Ausfuhrbegleitdokument (ABD) in Germany). This paperwork can be done via DHL for a cost of 9 euros, if you use them. German citizens can register the ABD via the Zoll Onine website if they can negotiate the bureaucracy. It must be done before sending the shipment. If you do not have this it will cause a lot of hassle and can only be completed in the exporting country by the exporter or their agent. If the value is over 3000 euros then a different form and procedure is needed but I don’t know what that is – fortunately. The UK person is the Importer and must pay whatever costs there are for VAT and any other duties (I only paid VAT). I hope that this helps to smooth the path for somebody else or at least raises a smile for some. Just in case anybody missed it – Ovi (Ovialexm on this forum) is great to deal with. He helped as much as he possibly could and was super patient throughout (thanks Ovi). Phew, glad to get that off my chest. Hope that it helps someone.
  4. Ovi is super to deal with. Speaks very good English. Went out of his way to make sure that is was a smooth sale even though the problems were nothing to do with him (Brexit). I would certainly buy stuff from him again ... if he is still willing to deal with the UK!!!!! Thanks Ovi. Take care my friend.
  5. Absolute top chap. Fantastic comms and really friendly with no messing. Lee is the kind of guy it's always nice to deal with - thoroughly recommended. Cheers.
  6. I usually just lurk around the forum collecting useful information about all sorts of stuff. Glad I checked here before splashing out on a wireless system. Loads of praise for the Smooth Hound system - well built and feels as though it should take more of a bashing than first viewing would suggest. Backup from Chris has to go into the purely awesome category. Having received mine and played around with it for a short while I thought I might have an issue. Contacted Chris and problem sorted within the hour along with a brief physics lesson and an explanation of the design decisions he took. Big thumbs up here. Thanks Chris
  7. Wud is a top chap to deal with. Fantastic all round good guy. Just how things should be.
  8. Quick bump for a sideways bass Jigster is a great guy to deal with.
  9. Mmm I am sure there was another comment about Edinburgh here a moment ago! Anyway - Yorkshire is closer and I could go that way to Edinburgh (given my direction finding abilities Bristol is near to Edinburgh!) Quick word of advice when you move ...... don't put a bass bridge in a box ..... now where is it?
  10. Double drat dude. I am going to be in Edinburgh in a couple of weeks too. I could have delivered it personally into your loving arms. Thanks for the positive comments.
  11. Oh yeah baby - according to the part numbers on the pick ups they are the USA ones. I knew that it depended upon which non-export it was and was quite happy when I discovered the USA ones were fitted and then even more impressed when the Nordys were in place. Now to find that bridge .....
  12. Based in Manchester - but could arrange something I'm sure. The original bridge is errrr .... probably in a box somewhere (house move) I'll have a good look for it as I cannot see that I would have thrown it away or got rid of it.
  13. Nice way of putting it Binky. gjones: the gassing issue is actually resolved (last Thursday ) but now the piper needs paying
  14. I'm afraid this needs to go to make some room, I got GAS. It's sleeper because all is not as it seems. It looks like a standard '75 natural re-issue (with the usual bumps for a 10year old working bass) BUT it's loaded with a pair of Nordstrand NJ4SE pickups. The bridge is a Baddass II. Inside it is still passive BUT the tone capacitors are Orange Drops and the wiring is all solid silver (yes I did type that correctly - solid silver, see I just typed it again). This bass sounds good acoustically but is really sweet once plugged in. The range of tones are all there. It's a nice bass from around '93-'94 according to the serial number. I have the original pickups (remember this is a non-export so the pickups are USA ones) and they are included becuase I am too lazy (or don't really have the time) to swap them back and flog the Nordys seperately (besides the bass sounds nice with them in). I'll even throw in a comfort strapp to show you just how lazy I am! For the package deal I'm hoping to clear £650 so add P+P / courier and Paypal charges to that - but let's talk. Did I say - this is one of the non-export crafted in Japan reissue Fenders Wow! GAS is a cruel mistress.
  15. Very yummy. Please give a price Surfguy then I can try to sell a kidney and then pm you
  16. One of those deals that ran so smooth I didn't notice. Everything was above board, clear. The deal was agreed and progressed without any hassle. The bass was super well packaged inside the case, which was packaged inside a box. In fact it looked so cosy I could move in myself. I now have enough bubble wrap to fully insulate all the greenhouses in the district Cannot imagine there being any problem dealing with Jason, but if a problem did arise I suspect: 1) it would not be his fault 2) he would do whatever he could to help resolve the issue. In case you can't guess - I am a happy BC'er. Do not be afraid to deal with jdizzle.
  17. I had the good fortune to play this bass earlier today - somebody has to buy it, it's fantastic. This is a piece of art AND a great sounding instrument. Geoff is a top chap to deal with as an extra bonus. Have a bump to the top on me.
  18. Well I wasa the nibble mentioned at the top of the page - I got it not longer after that post. - Did you manage to decipher the serial number? I cannot work it out - not that it matters much, as I said I'm just enjoying playing this bass.
  19. I'm lovin this bass - it's reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaallllllly nice. So it is not going to re-appear for sale/trade anytime soon.
  20. Please don't think I'm having a pop or suggesting it's dodgy. It is a fine looking bass and I'm sure it has all the Wal sounds. There is probably a really interesting story out there to explain all the mods. At the end of the day it all about how an instrument feels and plays - if it don't feel right, then change it. If you can't get it to feel right then change it some more .... until it's time to move on. Good luck with the sale (I'm going to keep an eye out 'cos I want to know the story).
  21. If it's not wenge the backplate has been swapped. Reading it states wenge faces on mahogany core. If there is any doubt about the heritage of this bass (I am sure that there is nothing hooky about the deal, but at this kind of price I would be tempted to check the provenance) then a quick call to Electric Wood should sort things out. When I took my bass to have a once over Pete had his 'bible' which gave all the details of the basses woods and first destination. I'm sure that the book still exists and would be available to Paul at the new Electric Wood. Just my 2p worth (probably not even worth that much ) Just looked at the body pictures rather than the back plate - definitely looks quilted rather than wenge - serials don't match - the very interesting!
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