MoJoKe

Yup, can't argue with that.... What stuff can't he get? Theres UK distribution for pretty much everything that Thomann sells, and plenty of alternatives for their own badged items. So have I when I have used them in the past... However, I will continue to support UK based music shops, even if there is a slight premium to pay. And this has been my policy for the last 20 years, so has bugger all to do with leaving the EU! I just value local service/supply. I'm the same about self-checkouts in supermarkets. i think they are the devil in disguise, robbing jobs and bumping profits by getting their customers to do the job of the staff they no longer pay....

"something" which UK dealers don't have yet? Bit vague... also a bit dodgy if you ask me... spill the beans or we'll have to assume the worst! 😜

👆🏻 There really isn't anything you cannot get from one of the many UK music shops if you ask!

That really IS being pedantic! Of course UPS have to pay the VAT charged by HMRC on import, they are the importing agent, you then have to pay/reimburse them plus a fee (plus their share of the VAT) for all their hard work ....

The long and the short of this is "Buy Local"... God knows the UK retail market needs you.

if you look, there are a bunch of non-music EU based sellers who are just crossing off the UK from their "shipping to" lists until this mess has been sorted out. anyone else is feeling their way I suspect.

and thats why you pay the VAT, plus a fee (plus VAT) to UPS, not the "exporter", so the exporter cannot quote "inc VAT"

On UPS Website: "For goods sold into the UK valued above £135, the importer will remain responsible for paying the UK VAT. This can be paid by the importer via postponed VAT accounting or through the customs declaration." The importer.... Thats you, that is!

they'd need to be vat registered in the UK to charge UK VAT, and even Thomann are not doing that

The smart ones do this along with being savvy online. I know a guy who is making this work (Henry at eltoromusic.co.uk) but he's still fairly new, having started up just before lockdown, so buy from him and help him though rather than shopping in Germany... he'll still do his best to match price and ship next day... he's even a Markbass dealer!

True-ish, but you still need to pay the vat and a fee to UPS not to Music Productiv... and their still not down the road from you and make you a coffee while you talk music and build a relationship...

yes, this.

No, I'm sparticus....

I think thats being a little over-generous.....

Yup, me too. But back in the day they were more commercially viable so It used to be "the good ones will thrive/survive"... not so easy now...

Yes, nailed it. However, I don't know how many millennials there are here in Basschat, probably not enough to affect this discussion anyway!

Shame you're in South Devon, and not East Devon... if it fitted I'd help you bar the exit while you grab their dosh...

I guess thats rather my point really. Even local people don't recognise the benefit of supporting their local businesses

Sadly too true..... 😫

you surely mean..... maybe time to play a Japanese bass, designed in the US, made in Indonesia, bought from a store in...... other than that I have no idea what your pointless point was, given that the UK has imported world produce for centuries. My point was simple. Our high streets continue to get decimated by offshore online retail like Thomann and Amazon, to the point where there is insufficient margin to pay the rates, let alone salaries, and god forbid, even think of making a profit and taking an income out of the business. If you want cheap, and want it to get even cheaper, then don't expect customer service, don't expect anyone to carry stock or be able to try gear out, and when it goes wrong have a way of getting it fixed... and thats before you even think about bagging a coffee while you're there, and maybe pick up a dep or your next full time gig while you're hanging with the other guys who share your passion. Also, I don't want to do that in London frankly. It's not the only place on the bloody map. I want to be able to do it in Bristol, Exeter, Worcester, Stoke, anywhere in the UK to be honest. Preferably somewhere near the theatre/club I am playing, so I can hang out, meet local musicians and pick up a spare pack of strings or whatever...

Very valid point. Buy it from an online retailer who pays zero tax in the UK and pretty much singlehandedly destroying UK based shops. Don't misunderstand me please though. My point is definitely NOT an anti EU one... (its far from perfect, but I definitely voted to stay - enough of my politics now). I'm all for globalism, but I'd like there to still be a high street to shop at, and I'd like to walk into a music shop and be able to try out the bass I want to buy, wherever it was made!

it said £8 on the Behringer desk.... some things are free, others clearly not....

Back on topic: Just been messaging Thomann... Chat below, but with agent name removed out of courtesy! The price is plus VAT (yeah, we knew this). The VAT and any other fees are paid to the courier before you can have the goods. Thomann cannot tell you how much the handling fees may be. that is down to the courier. If it were DPD for example, they charge £5 plus VAT, so for a random product example: Behringer Xenyx QX1832USB: £155 Shipping: £ 8 Fee: £ 5 Sub total: £168 Vat: £ 33.60 Total £201.60 What a faff... I can buy from Gear4Music for £190.50, and only pay one bill. And, what if it goes wrong? Do I pay shipping/duty on sending it back, do I get my VAT back, do I have to re-pay the duty/carriage? And do Thomann pay taxes in the UK... probably not... Other carriers are nowhere near as transparent with their charges as DPD... I'll stick with UK retailers from now on thanks, unless it is utterly impossible to get anywhere here...

Do people not care much about our UK based music shops? Sure Thomann, DV247 (no, they are not a UK store, they just have a call centre here), Bax and Kytary may provide great service/value for money (well for the timebeing anyway. May be a much different story post-brexit no deal), but we have some fantastic UK music shops which would love your loyalty, if they are able to stick it out until the C-word is a thing of the past. Some of them absolutely can (and have great bass specialist knowledge), but many of them just cannot begin to compete with the European monsters, and Amazon, but I for one still respect the benefits of local service, luthiery/repairs and good advice from a guy round the corner or across town. It ain't all about the cheapest price. Like all the best music venues, they haven't all disappeared... yet. But, please don't come on here moaning when it's too late.

The two notes is a really cracking box, absolutely no doubt, but not the same thing I've also tried one out. The Le Bass has midi, speaker sims and software, where the Vintage pre, with the exception of the digital output, is entirely analogue... it's a very different beast, but that said, they definitely each have their place. I just prefer the warm analogue simplicity these days! The MB Vintage and D2 heads are in a different class when compared to an LMIII, they call them the "Gold Line", and the Vintage Pre is right up there too, well worth the money.