Thomann prices?

[bassist_lewis]

52 minutes ago, DaytonaRik said:

Is Thomann still offering free shipping on items over £100?

My order was free to ship. It's everything else that's costing!

[DaytonaRik]

33 minutes ago, bassist_lewis said:

My order was free to ship. It's everything else that's costing!

Did you get the bill from UPS pre-delivery?

[bassist_lewis]

10 minutes ago, DaytonaRik said:

Did you get the bill from UPS pre-delivery?

Yup. It's due to arrive next week

[Graham A]

I posted on another thread about a left handed Musicman Sterling which i ended up ordering from Thomann's on the 15/01/2021.

I had been waiting a few months before Brexit hoping that it would come in stock beforehand, sadly it came in about 10-11 days after...sods law. I did try & source one from the Musicman distributor in the UK but they informed me that there were no lefties, & none becoming available in 2021!!

As Thomann's only had one in stock I bit the bullet & ordered. Prior to Brexit the price seemed to fluctuate between £2030 - £2050 from what i can recall. Price after brexit was £1699 ( no VAT added ).

It was shipped on the 16th by the UPS, & seemed to sale through Germany. 

I received an email on the Thursday night ( 21/01 ) saying that i owed charges totally £399.71, which was the ball park figure i had worked out around the £400 mark. 

Government Charges - £388.21

Brokerage Charges - £11.50

On the Friday (22/01), it appeared to cross into the UK, as the app showed it had been imported & accepted into Stanford Le Hope.

Then there was nothing......

With no apparent movement or update since the Friday i decided to visit my local UPS depot yesterday, as it's only a few miles away in Sedgefield, & definitely better than trying to get through on the phone. That seemed to do the trick & last night it actually cleared customs, something i assumed had happened last week reading the app, but at least it's back on the move. The girl at the depot did mention that there is a huge backlog at Stanford Le Hope with goods trying to get through customs. 

Fingers crossed it gets here in piece. I would say to anyone buying from Thomann's now, don't expect a quick delivery, mine looks like it's going to be at least two weeks, & a few heart in mouth moments when you think you parcel has been lost.....saying that there's still time for that to happen!! 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Graham A

[Kev]

My two orders from Germany took approx two weeks so sounds about right.  Although most of the hold up on mine was actually in Germany, if the tracking is to be believed.  Both were delivered within 48 hours of hitting Stanford.

[DaytonaRik]

2 minutes ago, Graham A said:

...It was shipped on the 16th by the UPS, & seemed to sale through Germany. 

I received an email on the Thursday night ( 21/01 ) saying that i owed charges totally £399.71, which was the ball park figure i had worked out around the £400 mark. 

Government Charges - £388.21

Brokerage Charges - £11.50

On the Friday (22/01), it appeared to cross into the UK, as the app showed it had been imported & accepted into Stanford Le Hope.

 

 

I placed an order with Thomann on 11th Jan, received the goods 18th but had no communication from the carrier before or after the delivery that I have an outstanding sum to pay them 🤔

[Graham A]

1 minute ago, Kev said:

My two orders from Germany took approx two weeks so sounds about right.  Although most of the hold up on mine was actually in Germany, if the tracking is to be believed.  Both were delivered within 48 hours of hitting Stanford.

I think the UPS app isn't very reliable Kev, that added to UPS's reputation ( look at Trust Pilot reviews!! 😮 ) leads to a bit of an uncomfortable wait.

The girl at the Sedgefield depot has my number. I'm hoping that as soon as it lands there she might give me a call & i can go & pick it up in person.

[Graham A]

4 minutes ago, DaytonaRik said:

I placed an order with Thomann on 11th Jan, received the goods 18th but had no communication from the carrier before or after the delivery that I have an outstanding sum to pay them 🤔

Doesn't it depend on the value of the goods?

Goods under i think it's around £150 ( can't recall exact figure but it's on one of Thomann's / Brexit threads ) have the VAT paid for at Thomann's end...not sure about import fee's etc.

If you've got the goods i think you must have slipped through the net. The girl at the UPS depot i visited yesterday said that they had a storage room at the depot where goods were being held because the fees hadn't been paid. 

[DaytonaRik]

12 minutes ago, Graham A said:

Doesn't it depend on the value of the goods?

Goods under i think it's around £150 ( can't recall exact figure but it's on one of Thomann's / Brexit threads ) have the VAT paid for at Thomann's end...not sure about import fee's etc.

If you've got the goods i think you must have slipped through the net. The girl at the UPS depot i visited yesterday said that they had a storage room at the depot where goods were being held because the fees hadn't been paid. 

Total order value was about £700 so I may have been a lucky one?  I'm still expecting a communication notifying me of the sum owed and that I have 28 days to settle my account!

[Kev]

11 minutes ago, DaytonaRik said:

Total order value was about £700 so I may have been a lucky one?  I'm still expecting a communication notifying me of the sum owed and that I have 28 days to settle my account!

That's interesting.  You place an order in 2021 from Thomann totalling £700 ex Vat and you've received, without a bill?

I mean it does happen, I've purchased things from the US before and got away with it, but I didn't think it would be happening in Europe now as everything is being heavily checked?

Must say, my previous experience with UPS was that they don't wait for customs fees to be paid before delivering (unlike Royal Mail) but it seems Graham did get his bill first.  Who knows, its a bit of a mess I think!

[Woodinblack]

57 minutes ago, Graham A said:

As Thomann's only had one in stock I bit the bullet & ordered. Prior to Brexit the price seemed to fluctuate between £2030 - £2050 from what i can recall. Price after brexit was £1699 ( no VAT added ).

It was shipped on the 16th by the UPS, & seemed to sale through Germany. 

 

Braver man than I, certainly would risk that at the moment!

[Graham A]

18 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Braver man than I, certainly would risk that at the moment!

Haha, I may live to regret it yet!!

Being a lefty if you see a bass you want you just have to go for it. God knows when i'll see another one for sale.

I would accept there's an element of risk, more so since Brexit, but that could be said for a lot of online purchases. It would be the same as importing a bass from the US, which was the only other place i've seen what i was looking for, for sale.

As previously mentioned i did try & source what i was looking for in the UK with no success. I couldn't even order the model. 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Graham A

[DaytonaRik]

As much as I love Thomann - their prices were always hard to beat - I suspect that there will be a shift in my spending towards UK sellers.  That said - DV247 is a European outlet but with a UK store/front end so VAT is already applied - that might just take the guesswork out of things BUT if I can occasionally be the beneficiary of some missing paperwork then that's always a temptation to see if you can drop lucky again!

[Stub Mandrel]

Just to note there is NO import duty on goods costing £135 or less.

[Graham A]

37 minutes ago, DaytonaRik said:

As much as I love Thomann - their prices were always hard to beat - I suspect that there will be a shift in my spending towards UK sellers.  That said - DV247 is a European outlet but with a UK store/front end so VAT is already applied - that might just take the guesswork out of things BUT if I can occasionally be the beneficiary of some missing paperwork then that's always a temptation to see if you can drop lucky again!

Totally agree with you, especially when you factor in returns etc, which won't be straightforward having to claim the VAT back off HMRC, if you're lucky.

Shame really, it means that us UK based musicians have a smaller pond to fish in as far a gear is concerned.

[Graham A]

2 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Just to note there is NO import duty on goods costing £135 or less.

Haha, that was the figure then...i knew it was a hundred & something. 

Thanks @Stub Mandrel 👍

[Stub Mandrel]

Just now, Graham A said:

Haha, that was the figure then...i knew it was a hundred & something. 

Thanks @Stub Mandrel 👍

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

[Stub Mandrel]

If you’re charged too much or return your goods

Ask for a refund of VAT or Customs Duty if you:

• return your goods
• think you’ve been charged too much

Download and fill in:

• form BOR 286 if Royal Mail or Parcelforce delivered the goods
• form C285 if a courier or freight company delivered the goods

[EBS_freak]

1 minute ago, Stub Mandrel said:

If you’re charged too much or return your goods

Ask for a refund of VAT or Customs Duty if you:

• return your goods
• think you’ve been charged too much

Download and fill in:

• form BOR 286 if Royal Mail or Parcelforce delivered the goods
• form C285 if a courier or freight company delivered the goods

I can see the TV adverts in years to come.

"Have you paid too much VAT? Are you due a repayment of customs duty that was unduly paid? Call us now on...."

[bassist_lewis]

31 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Just to note there is NO import duty on goods costing £135 or less.

£1 over!!!!

[Kev]

52 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Just to note there is NO import duty on goods costing £135 or less.

This is true, provided that the seller collects the VAT.  If they don’t, you will pay at import instead.  Particularly relevant when it comes to non-VAT registered private sales, to which the £135 threshold is effectively meaningless.

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, Graham A said:

I would accept there's an element of risk, more so since Brexit, but that could be said for a lot of online purchases. It would be the same as importing a bass from the US, which was the only other place i've seen what i was looking for, for sale.

Suppose it depends how you look at it. I wouldn't think twice about importing (or exporting) to the states, the rules are clear, everyone knows how to do it. Its currently far harder to import / export from europe.

[Graham A]

1 minute ago, Woodinblack said:

Suppose it depends how you look at it. I wouldn't think twice about importing (or exporting) to the states, the rules are clear, everyone knows how to do it. Its currently far harder to import / export from europe.

You could be right, and it looks like it takes just as long anyway 🤔

[EBS_freak]

2 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Suppose it depends how you look at it. I wouldn't think twice about importing (or exporting) to the states, the rules are clear, everyone knows how to do it. Its currently far harder to import / export from europe.

When you consider the coronavirus rules, I think you'll find that the rules for import /export from Europe are crystal clear.

[mcnach]

3 hours ago, DaytonaRik said:

As much as I love Thomann - their prices were always hard to beat - I suspect that there will be a shift in my spending towards UK sellers.  That said - DV247 is a European outlet but with a UK store/front end so VAT is already applied - that might just take the guesswork out of things BUT if I can occasionally be the beneficiary of some missing paperwork then that's always a temptation to see if you can drop lucky again!

 

That's if you find a UK seller who has what you want.

For the most part it's probably ok, but I was looking to buy a Becos Stella compressor (small company in Romania) and they won't ship to the UK now, and I can't find it anywhere else that would ship here. It reminds me of times long long ago when we just bought what we could find in our local shop.