Thomann - the good & the less so

[Woodinblack]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 guess all's well that end's well but it's a bit odd that it's taken me having to chase them up for them to realise that they have item back. Ah well, maybe there's something useful in this for other readers of this thread, too, if they find themselves in similar circs.

 

It is of course possible that they didn't know they had it back until after your call, ie, it was already in incoming but hadn't been processed yet so wasn't in the system.

[Al Krow]

Just now, Woodinblack said:

 

It is of course possible that they didn't know they had it back until after your call, ie, it was already in incoming but hadn't been processed yet so wasn't in the system.

 

Yes all things are possible 😁

[bassman7755]

6 hours ago, Supernaut said:

Truth hurts. 
 

You don't know what you voted for... 

flip off with your political cow poop

[yorks5stringer]

IBTL....

[bassman7755]

4 hours ago, ambient said:

I suspect it’s due to the VAT. Thomann are now registered for UK VAT, there’s obviously paperwork now that will need to be processed in customs - I’m guessing our customs? This wasn’t there prior to a certain event happening.

 

He says, pleased that he managed an explanation without mentioning Brexit.

Discussing rule changes due to brexit is a discussion of adjective reality and fair game (like this post).

 

However (IMO) discussing the wider merits of brexit and the casting aspersions on those who may or may or not have voted for is political incitement and crosses a line.

Edited November 9, 2021 by bassman7755

[yorks5stringer]

3 minutes ago, bassman7755 said:

Discussing rule changes due to brexit is a discussion of adjective reality and fair game, however (IMO) discussing the wider merits of brexit and the casting aspersions on those who may or may or not have voted for is political incitement and crosses a line.

Yes, it's borderline incitement.

[ambient]

19 minutes ago, bassman7755 said:

Discussing rule changes due to brexit is a discussion of adjective reality and fair game, however (IMO) discussing the wider merits of brexit and the casting aspersions on those who may or may or not have voted for is political incitement and crosses a line.

I’m sorry, I’m struggling to see exactly where I’ve done that? Where in my comment have I cast aspersions at anyone?

 

I merely pointed out my belief that it’s the change in VAT rules, then made a joke that I hadn’t in that explanation mentioned Brexit.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

20 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Great retailer, great value, fantastic range of bass gear.

 

But boy are refunds now taking a LONG time! Courier collected an item exactly one month back with a delivery address to a warehouse in Bury St Edmunds. Should take no more than a few days tops to get there. They then ship it back to Germany - over which we have no input into or sight of what is happening. One month on they state that the item is likely still in Customs checks and they have no idea where it currently is and ask me for tracking on their courier they have booked (which obviously I don't have any details of or ability to track myself). Ugh! 

 

So if you are returning stuff to Thomann worth bearing in mind it may take MUCH longer than it used to to get a refund. 

 

Shame - I've only had good experiences with Thomann over the years, but this issue with returns is not great and is making me rethink about switching to UK retailers, unless I've previously bought the item from Thomann and I therefore know 100% I will want to keep it but also only if the likelihood of it being damaged in transit / their storeroom (which was the case with a B-stock item I recently bought from them).

 

I may have read the wrong thing into this. I'm aware that people used to take full advantage of Thomann's return policy in a kind of 'try before you keep' scenario and that's how your post reads (to me at least).

If that's what you're doing, are you really surprised that the 'B' word has complicated that process?

I've not used them since as I've yet to find anything I've wanted significantly cheaper than I could here.

I also don't think their stock is anywhere near as comprehensive as it was. 

[bassman7755]

11 minutes ago, ambient said:

I’m sorry, I’m struggling to see exactly where I’ve done that? Where in my comment have I cast aspersions at anyone?

You are fine, the aspersions bit was aimed at others

[Woodinblack]

15 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I've not used them since as I've yet to find anything I've wanted significantly cheaper than I could here.

I also don't think their stock is anywhere near as comprehensive as it was. 

 

Their range still seems pretty good and quite a lot of stuff is cheaper than other places although the last couple of things I wanted were out of stock and had a 4 week wait which is far too long with someone of my attention span. I notice they have some things missing. For a long time, when I was really considering it they had the Ric 4003s/5s for £1650 when the cheapest UK price was £2k (well, it was 1300 before the added the vat which sounded almost reasonable) and I was tempted, but in the end, it seemed a lot for something like that, whether it was cheaper or not. But now I look they don't have them at all, so maybe there has been changes over what they can get and they were just clearing them?.

 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

5 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Their range still seems pretty good and quite a lot of stuff is cheaper than other places although the last couple of things I wanted were out of stock and had a 4 week wait which is far too long with someone of my attention span. I notice they have some things missing. For a long time, when I was really considering it they had the Ric 4003s/5s for £1650 when the cheapest UK price was £2k (well, it was 1300 before the added the vat which sounded almost reasonable) and I was tempted, but in the end, it seemed a lot for something like that, whether it was cheaper or not. But now I look they don't have them at all, so maybe there has been changes over what they can get and they were just clearing them?.

 

 

Funny enough, that was exactly what I looked at last night. I think there were four on their Ric page or something and none of them were currently in stock.

I had a look on some other manufacturer pages and it seemed slightly less listed and a lot not currently available, hence my comment.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I may have read the wrong thing into this. I'm aware that people used to take full advantage of Thomann's return policy in a kind of 'try before you keep' scenario and that's how your post reads (to me at least).

If that's what you're doing, are you really surprised that the 'B' word has complicated that process?

I've not used them since as I've yet to find anything I've wanted significantly cheaper than I could here.

I also don't think their stock is anywhere near as comprehensive as it was. 

 

Obviously it's great to have the ability to return stuff with online purchases as you can't try before you buy, but generally I try to get most of my stuff used anyway from BC or eBay (where no returns are typically available). I do very much try to avoid returning stuff if I can, as I know it's a killer for retailers' margins, but sometimes a piece of kit you've bought new arrives damaged / in much worse condition than you might expect from the B word (in this case B-stock - see pic posted earlier) and other times the kit is just not as good as the marketing (or even fellow BC'ers' enthusiasm!) has led you to believe.

 

And given the other B word, I would also try to source locally from a UK supplier if I can, but Thomann still have stuff in their HB range which is fantastic value e.g. basses, pedal boards, PSUs and I've loved these too: Minotaur Bass Strap Black – Thomann UK

 

Worth noting that Thomann do charge you for the privilege of returning items these days, where it's not a damage / warranty issue e.g. the piece of kit didn't live up to expectations. I paid £22 to have a HB bass returned so the costs end up being shared on non-warranty return between buyer and Thomann, which is fair enough.

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Al Krow

[ambient]

I prefer to use UK based shops, Thomann still beats them on a lot of things though. I bought a set of strings for my DB from them recently, and saved over £70.

 

 

[stevie]

3 hours ago, yorks5stringer said:

Yes, it's borderline incitement.

Did someone mention Northern Ireland?🙂