BUYING BIG OFF THE INTERNET

Thomann is safe. Ampeg is so cheap at some euro stores because they were able to score at a big discount a limited amount of gear that was made for the asian market but didnt sell there because of the crisis.

 

I'm a regular customer of Thomann.

Very great people to deal with. If you e-mail they respond (mostly) the same day.

I bought many things from then. Mostly effect pedals, one bass, an amp head and rack gear.
Fair prices, quick shipping... and decent packaging.


I definately recommend Thomann to any European.

 

Hi Jason.

Another regular customer here.

I'd like to support "local" bussiness, but sometimes they just don't get it. In order to be competitive, they'd have to make their bussines more appealing to the customers.

There can be a catch though, but not necessarily a bad one.

The item You recieve can be NOS so to speak, IOW several years old. The Thomann 3 year warranty usually makes up to it however. The item can also be a factory second, B-stock, whatever, and they won't list it as such. But that's no different from any other on-line vendor I know of.

I highly recommend Thomann over the Music Store for example, Thomann's CS is outstanding.

Regards
Sam

 

What they all said. Ordered from them many times & their shipping is always quick (UK here) & customer service is top dollar. Add on the fact that they're usually the cheapest around & it's a great service.

 

great service from Thomann. The best in Europe.

 

Bear in mind that the price you see on their site isn't the exact price you will get because they bill you in Euros.

Alex

 

I am not sure about the £/€ conversion, but you'll have to consider the VAT. Thomann are (of course) displaying their prive with the german VAT (19% if I am not mistaken).
But they have to use the "local" VAT for the country they are shipping to, when you'll pay.
I don't know the actual VAT in Britain, so that may differ.
As for me in Luxembourg, the VAT being only 15%, goods are usually cheaper than displayed on the thomann.de website.

Be sure to check this:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/index.html?sid=db31a1e67e9783e2c1c3e41149704917

 

Like-wise, but it seems that music stores are doing everything in making their business less appealing to the bassplayers. For instance I´ve been in a search for a six string bass, but there aren't any in the stores here where I live (Oulu, about 140 000 people live here). Also it seems that the total amount of six stringers in the storages of companies that import ESP, Warwick, Spector, Ibanez etc. to Finland is..............hold it.............one! So that means that they have to be ordered even to Finland with out trying, so why shouldn't I order one from Thomann myslef? Same thing but I could get it the next week and there is more to choose from.

 

Hi Implosion.

Yep, that's just what I'm saying, being obviously in the same "boat" as You are .

I do agree that the Finnish market for example is tiny, for 6 string basses even more so, but it will shrink even more if the major distributors here continue their holier than thou attitude towards the customers. The small companies however, they have their work cut out for them if they can provide decent customer support. In the form of reliable tech work for example.

Two examples:

I wanted an Epi T-Bird case. The owner (known him about 25 years) said no problem, I'll let you know when it comes in. One of his employees a few weeks later told me that there will be no cases, the last one took 12 months to arrive ->Thomann.

I wanted 10" speakers. Eminences preferably, but others would've been all right also. This time the owner was honest though, he said that there was no way he could get them for me ->Thomann again. For about 75% of the price a local on-line company wanted.

I have quite a few similar stories, but then again a few where the "local" bussiness has matched the price/availability and has gotten the sale.

As for the currency conversion/VAT on on-line stores, IMLE the prices/VATs are adjusted according to the location. You just have to log on to the correct country on the site. At least that's how Thomann does it.

Regards
Sam

 

I have bought many things from Thomann and had them shipped to the UK - no problems, I would recommmend them!

Nothing as heavy as an amp though - I think postage would be pretty high, as weight is a big factor in postage prices..?

 

Postage is the same for every order you make. To Holland for example that's 8 euro's, even when the order get's split into two different shipping's.

I ordered alot from Thomann, they got stuff in stock you won't find local. Great service everytime.

 

Hi.

At least to Finland they have a 20€ flat rate, regardless of the size/weight AFAIK.

Regards
Sam

 

About postage prices. When Thomann ships stuff to Finland it's always 20 euros, no matter what the order is (be it an accordion or three Ampeg fridges). Not sure about the UK, but I would believe it to be the same.

Their customer service is quite good also in my experience (they actually have people that are finnish working there to care of the customers from Finland). I have once returned some of the gear that I ordered and it was quite an easy task. I just wrote them an e-mail, they replied with intructions and a link to so that I could order UPS to pick up the gear from my apartment. No cost for me and a full refund on the returned gear.

EDIT: I'm slow. Shouldn't type while eating.

 

I just checked on the site and it is 10 Euros flat fee shipping to UK - but that is up to a weight limit of 31Kg - it's a lot higher after that - how much does the amp weigh?

 

Are you sure it's higher? From the site under the UK it says:


delivery time: 3-4 days

Shipping Cost Calculator: Flatrate

You always pay 10.00 EUR shipping fee - no matter how much you order. Free shipping on orders of 199.- EUR and more.

Maximum weight: up to 31kg

Parcels that exceed maximum weight or maximum dimensions must be shipped by a freight forwarding service. For countries in which we offer a shipping flatrate, we cover the additional costs, for all other countries, we charge the exact shipping costs.