bartelby Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I'll always try and find a UK based place that will price match. If I can't, then I use Thomann. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 [quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1416815698' post='2613740'] I'll always try and find a UK based place that will price match. If I can't, then I use Thomann. [/quote] So do I, never happened yet though, the bdi21 I bought was £17 from thomann, cheapest here was an ebay seller £41 inc postage, I had a pair of small spot lights, some plectrums, paid the postage to thomann and had the lot within 4 days for £37! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Hartke bassattack pedal (silver anniversary model) for under £40 delivered at the moment, bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 bought a smoke machine from them once, came with a funny looking plug on it, had to cut it off and put a super duper UK one on, oh, and the bloody thing went up in the wrong kind of smoke after a year and a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heminder Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) [quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1416846191' post='2614204'] bought a smoke machine from them once, came with a funny looking plug on it, had to cut it off and put a super duper UK one on, oh, and the bloody thing went up in the wrong kind of smoke after a year and a bit [/quote] They're standard European plugs. You can specify to them at checkout if you want a different plug and they'll send the extra leads. Gear going wrong after over a years use isn't exactly the fault of the retailer. Edited November 24, 2014 by heminder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 [quote name='heminder' timestamp='1416858291' post='2614429'] Gear going wrong after over a years use isn't exactly the fault of the retailer. [/quote]you're absolutely right of course, but just goes to show not all their stuff is top quality, just trying to put a slightly different slant onto the thomann love in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 [quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1416858827' post='2614440'] you're absolutely right of course, but just goes to show not all their stuff is top quality, just trying to put a slightly different slant onto the thomann love in. [/quote] But, you could have bought them from a UK shop, maybe paid £30 more, and they'd still have gone wrong I've had an email to say they've been despatched, they've automatically added a pair of UK power cables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gelfin Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Their string prices are pretty cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 [quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1416757498' post='2613210'] Always my first choice when looking to makea purchase. Something to think abou though is that you obviously get euro plugs on everything. Not a problem for some things, but buying something with a dedicated power supply means you may have to purchase a UK one seperately. [/quote] Or simply change the plug to a UK one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 [quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1416908222' post='2614817'] Or simply change the plug to a UK one. [/quote] Not so easy if the plug and power supply are an all in one unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1416908222' post='2614817'] Or simply change the plug to a UK one. [/quote] Bought a practice amp from Thomann as part of a bundle for young master discreet and it came with a 2-pin plug - but was also supplied with a permanently-fixable two- to three-pin adapter which is very neat and a nice detail. Edited November 25, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassintheface Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I've always tried to buy from a British based retailer first and initially I try to support 'local' shops too; especially independants, though they're a duying breed - maybe because of companies like Thomann and the like! If they're 'there or thereabouts' with a price comparison with Thomann then I'll go for the british based company - I bought my X32 from DV247 in the end, but there are some UK based retailers I won't touch now - GAK are one. I always get the impression that my enquiries are hassle for them and I'm fortunate to be able to consider shopping with them.... so I won't use them anymore. Generally, Thomann are cheaper and have better customer service etc and right now, every £ (or euro) counts, So I regularly use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 [quote name='bassintheface' timestamp='1416910988' post='2614845'] ...I bought my X32 from DV247 in the end... [/quote] Before I was lucky enough to find my Glockenklang here in the BC marketplace I emailed DV247 to see if they could match the thomann price. They responded a week later saying they could, but a week is far too long.. If one hadn't come up for sale here I would have assumed they weren't going to respond and ordered it up from Thomann by then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I like to shop locally for things like basses, amps and effects, as I want to test them before i buy them. I also DO like going into shops and talking to the staff there (gasp!). Having said that, I have bought from Thomann, especially accessories such as strings, cases, and the like. I will use Thomann prices to try and convince the local shop to be a little more sensible with some of their prices. I will still happily pay a little more to be able to buy from a local shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 There will always be exceptions of course, but the internet has changed the way we can buy things and people are voting with their wallets. It was the same with supermarkets. The fact is that it's a lot more convenient to do all your shopping under one roof than traipse up and down a high street in the rain going into half a dozen different shops and carrying increasingly heavy bags between each one before heading back to the car that you've paid for the privilege of parking half a mile away from the shops. Things change and generally only for the better, because people won't put up with something worse for very long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1416909737' post='2614830'] Not so easy if the plug and power supply are an all in one unit. [/quote] Good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) I wonder what percentage of Thomann sales are UK sales... They must be shipping stuff over by the container load. Edited November 25, 2014 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubbishatbass Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 They're currently £89 cheaper on a £400 bass from a UK shop ... it's a no-brainer surely? Plus they have a 36-month warranty. Manufacturer's 12-months plus two years ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkyBarKid Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Just did a google search for a yamaha music stand - £22 in several Uk shops or £46.94 at Thomann. The UK price includes £4.40 for our NHS/ Schools/ Deficit Reduction, maintaining UK jobs, reducing balance of payments shortfall; the German £46.94 will include about £8 for German infrastructure spending / German Schools / German budget surplus increase, etc. I was actually looking for this stand rather than an example of how Thomann isn't so great on prices. Many UK stores have price match offers too. I hate to bang on about this but our children will be paying for our extravagance for the next fifty or so years - so it would be nice if we could keep their bills down a little by ensuring as much tax revenue stays in the UK as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfretrock Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 [quote name='MilkyBarKid' timestamp='1417519903' post='2621195'] I hate to bang on about this but our children will be paying for our extravagance for the next fifty or so years - so it would be nice if we could keep their bills down a little by ensuring as much tax revenue stays in the UK as possible. [/quote] True. So who shops at Amazon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) I work for for an Audio manufacturer and get to see both sides of the argument with Thomann. They are an incredible company. I had a visit to their set-up and was blown away with how they have distribution down to a fine art..... They ship around 9,500 products a day! They have a turnover of something like 600m Euro.... They are aiming to turn that into 1Bn within the next year!!!!! It's quite amazing. You will see a lot more stores disappear in the UK because of the model they choose. Some of the manufacturers are changing the way their distribution to market is run to help bricks an mortar stores but I'm not sure this will have a massive impact. Thomann will always be the cheapest, thats their online policy. It's not to do with the price they buy from the manufacturers, they will make very small margin on products or even a loss! It's about making an average % growth over a period of time. I see people moan all the time about the loss of their local high street.... no butchers or veg or chemist stores any more... its all Tesco, Sainsburys etc.... It's the same mentality. You want cheap prices and a vast selection.... fine, go to Tesco. but don't moan about losing your local high street to betting/Charity shops and Estate agents ;o) Edited December 2, 2014 by crez5150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkyBarKid Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 [quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1417522666' post='2621251'] True. So who shops at Amazon? [/quote] Don't encourage me - Amazon - virtually no taxes paid in the Uk. I'm not a big fan of unions but Amazon could have taught some victorian employers lessons in how to create soul-destroying jobs, employing agency workers for 12 weeks and letting them go before any employment rights kick in. Union busting. So no I don't shop at Amazon. I'm still amazed that they were allowed to take over the "The Book Depository" who used to consistently undercut them on price, paid uk taxes, and didn't treat people like dirt. Needless to say they don't undercut Amazon any more - a big thanks to the competition commission or whatever they're called these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 [quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1417531957' post='2621417'] Unless i really can't get something locally, I'd far rather buy from a real shop. As someone running a shop once said: "if we've got two of the same guitar in stock, one of which is brilliant and one which is just ok - which one do you think we'd sell mail order?" [/quote] I think that businesses the size of Thomann are way beyond that. According to an earlier post they ship almost 10,000 units a day. Do you think they really have everything 'out' and have time to check which item is better/worse? I don't. When their prices are that cheap, with (usually) excellent service I can't afford not to use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1417537491' post='2621496'] Do you think they really have everything 'out' and have time to check which item is better/worse? I don't. [/quote] I don't either. It's going to be a sub Amazon-style warehouse operation with big sheds and lots of staff. In fact, a quick search of Google images produces this pic: Thomann Musikhaus. Those little yellow squares are lorries. Edited December 2, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefrash Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 [quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1416908222' post='2614817'] Or simply change the plug to a UK one. [/quote] Hence I said 'not a problem for some things'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.