Yikes! How much?

[Fishman]

 

Not sure what came over me but I contacted Ernie Ball for some pickup screws for my Stingray 4

 

I know, I know, I could've just checked on here etc but alas, I found myself at the checkout and I didn't like what I saw

 

The huge cost is obviously the shipping - now I remember why I haven't bought anything from the US in a while

 

 

Edited Thursday at 22:57 by Fishman

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

That's nuts. Have you tried the UK distributor, strings and things?

[Dood]

Ahh! That's because the price of the screws back in 2016 were £4, but the Upcharge for Purchasing Secondhand many years later, or "UPS" as we like to call it means that the item is now £52. UPS is often seen in marketplaces such as facebook, a tax on tatt and over inflated perception of demand.

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 13:56 by Dood

[SteveXFR]

Holy crap. I had a carbon mountain bike frame shipped over from Colorado for only a few pounds more than that.

[Misdee]

I contacted Ernie Ball  recently about buying a bass from them. They were very helpful, gave me a door to door price in UK £  including all shipping, taxes and fees, making it all very easy.

 

The only problem was/is that the price they gave was approximately £250 more than if I sent the money via a currency service and paid the duty myself, as I have done many times before over the years. 

Edited Friday at 15:05 by Misdee

[Twigman]

54 minutes ago, Misdee said:

I contacted Ernie Ball  recently about buying a bass from them. They were very helpful, gave me a door to door price in UK £  including all shipping, taxes and fees, making it all very easy.

 

The only problem was/is that the price they gave was approximately £250 more than if I sent the money via a currency service and paid the duty myself, as I have done many times before over the years. 

I contacted Ernie Ball just before christmas and asked about having a EBMM Sterling 4HH exactly like the one I already have made. They would only quote me in USD ex works.  (FYI was $2,899) They refused to quote me shipping, taxes and fees, insisting I would have to arrange that myself.

[Misdee]

1 hour ago, Twigman said:

I contacted Ernie Ball just before christmas and asked about having a EBMM Sterling 4HH exactly like the one I already have made. They would only quote me in USD ex works.  (FYI was $2,899) They refused to quote me shipping, taxes and fees, insisting I would have to arrange that myself.

The opposite of my experience. Very strange.

 I got a dollar price, contacted EBMM customer service for shipping costs. They then instructed me to go through the process again on the Custom Design Experience Generator and the price would pop up at the end in pounds. It did, but too many pounds for my liking. 

[Twigman]

3 minutes ago, Misdee said:

Custom Design Experience Generator

I tried that too but the Sterling model was not available via that software hence I contacted the factory direct and gave them the build code for the bass I was trying to replicate.

 

Was too rich for me.

Edited Friday at 17:33 by Twigman

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I may be too late ..but try neguitars.co.uk Good friend of mine .

[Eldon Tyrell]

"Coming soon!" - How soon is soon? How soon is now?

 

[Wolverinebass]

Did it not come out roughly at the end of Covid that Ernie Ball was keeping the price of instruments in the US low by price gouging everyone else?

 

I mean, fair enough, if you want a new one go for it, but they're almost double what they were pre covid. I would imagine second hand would be best.

 

However, if you want a better one. About 10 years ago I bought some pickups from Status. The shipping was £20. Imagine my annoyance at the fact they sent them royal mail for 2 quid. Maybe the screws are more cheeky as they cost a lot less.

[Misdee]

2 hours ago, Wolverinebass said:

Did it not come out roughly at the end of Covid that Ernie Ball was keeping the price of instruments in the US low by price gouging everyone else?

 

I mean, fair enough, if you want a new one go for it, but they're almost double what they were pre covid. I would imagine second hand would be best.

 

However, if you want a better one. About 10 years ago I bought some pickups from Status. The shipping was £20. Imagine my annoyance at the fact they sent them royal mail for 2 quid. Maybe the screws are more cheeky as they cost a lot less.

It's not just the postage you're paying for, though. It's the expertise of the person putting the pickups in the envelope. And then there's insurance, of course.

[Wolverinebass]

1 hour ago, Misdee said:

It's not just the postage you're paying for, though. It's the expertise of the person putting the pickups in the envelope. And then there's insurance, of course.

Pity it wasn't sent insured, or tracked.

[ezbass]

Contact Strings & Things, the UK distributor for EBMM perhaps?

[Misdee]

34 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

Pity it wasn't sent insured, or tracked.

I was referring more to insurance for the operative putting the pickups in the envelope. There's a lot can happen when you're putting something in a jiffy bag, especially if there hasn't been sufficient staff training. 

[tauzero]

On 13/02/2026 at 14:44, SteveXFR said:

Holy crap. I had a carbon mountain bike frame shipped over from Colorado for only a few pounds more than that.

 

Just think how much cheaper it would have been if it didn't have any screws in it.

[Misdee]

Extortionate charges from bass makers for posting out screws is one thing, but if you really want to get charged lots of money for next to nothing in return then employ a solicitor to do something for you. They have taken it to a whole other level.

[Cliff Edge]

I very much doubt EB makes those.  They’re probably a standard screw available at a hardware store. 

[JapanAxe]

If you can find out the dimensions (almost certain to be imperial because, well, Americans) you could likely order a set from the UK. I generally use Boltbase on eBay.

[tauzero]

Screws are #4-40 x 1 1/4" (it says in the EBMM parts description). https://www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk/A2-ScrewBolt-PhilFillister-UNCoarse0.1120.html has them 1 3/8" long which would need cutting down slightly (for which a nut would be highly advisable, put nut on first, cut bolt, take nut off so it reforms the end of the thread).

 

Edit: Head description is Philips Filister, thread type is UNC.

 

Edited 49 minutes ago by tauzero