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Newtone Strings no longer shipping to US

#4
lordradish said:
A lot of artists on Bandcamp aren't shipping CDs and merch to the US, either.
Click to expand...

The way I read it, the current administration acted too quickly in putting the tariffs in place, so the postal services basically can't complete the shipments because no one knows where to pay and how much.
 
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#5
Yeah, if y'all passing thru want some amplifying information on this current package stoppage from overseas businesses to the US from about any country you can think of, search for the term "De Minimis". You won't like it. Officially takes effect 29 Aug.

I haven't posted a link, you can look it up yourselves from your preferred sources.

Reading about it last night, here's my takeaways.:

-Packages from overseas businesses used to be exempt from customs charges if valued under $800 US dollars. August 29, only packages under $100 US dollars will be exempt. Anything over $100 will now have customs charges.

-The delay isn't caused by the added monetary amount. The delay is because all countries were caught off-guard by the sudden application, so their postal systems didn't have time to re-work their paperwork and logistics systems. Our government didn't give much guidance, so countries are scrambling. Until logistics their are sorted, the countries won't send packages.

-The paper/logistics side will probably be temporary, as el murdoque mentioned, However, the customs charges will remain in effect for packages over $100.

-Depending on which country a parcel is shipped from, flat rate charges will range from $80 to $200 per parcel. I saw other rates of 10% to 50% percent of declared value. I'm not sure which way it'll go.

Of course, all this means higher prices for us to pay.

Anyway, take a look at the search term I provided as it affects all of us in the US (and in the other countries, but in a different manner) in a negative way.
 
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#8
A few days ago, I ordered two sets of Rotosound strings from Germany. Total cost was only $45. Should I have any reason to think I won’t get them? I have heard that some shippers are just not sending anything, regardless of the cost.
 
#9
On 7/31/2025, I ordered a Harley Benton MV-4P from Thomann. Because that was the end of the week and the website said it would arrive by Monday, I guessed that it was going to ship from a US warehouse. I was wrong. The bass shipped out of Germany on Friday 8/1 and made it all the way to my door by the morning of Monday 8/4. Before delivery, I received a notification from UPS that I owed a certain amount of tariffs. The tariffs were paid to UPS, and it was very easy. There was also a tariff broker charge.

UPS and Thomann have their acts together.

And I still can't believe that bass in a huge box got rush shipping around the world for only $81.
 
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#10
el murdoque said:
It's not only Royal Mail, it's also DHL and most other UK and European postal services.
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Link Removed, effective immediately.

"Suspensions have also been announced across Asia and the Pacific. India’s Department of Posts said that it would temporarily stop mail service to the U.S. beginning Monday. Thailand temporarily suspended all international postal parcel services to the U.S., while South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand suspended most shipments. Australia Post has temporarily suspended what is known as transit shipping — where goods from other countries are shipped to the U.S. via Australia."
 
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#13
You can easily see for yourself online what the availability and pricing is. Lots of manufacturers and retailers have stocked inventory in advance of trade issues so their prices won't have changed, and since new strings don't have problems related to expiration or requiring large inventory, and the demand is relatively paltry compared to many other products, I doubt you'll see a problem with large retailer inventory any time soon.
 
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#14
Cal03 said:
As per OP's question about more US-based custom string offerings, Stringjoy and Curt Mangan come to mind. I'm overall satisfied with Stringjoy custom sets. I've only tried Curt Mangan once; they felt stiffer than the corresponding Stringjoy gauges.
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Stringjoy no longer makes custom sets or sells singles, which is a shame because they're good strings and were quite reasonably priced.

Because of that I switched to Curt Mangan. Also excellent quality, but a little more expensive. @Cal03 is right that they are slightly higher tension than StringJoys (or D'Addarios, for that matter) of the same gauge. The upside is if you get a 45-60-80-110 set it's almost perfectly balanced, even better balanced than the D'Addario "balanced tension" sets, though of course higher tension overall. Yes, 110 is a little heavy for E but it does drop D nicely.
 
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#15
SunByrne said:
Stringjoy no longer makes custom sets or sells singles, which is a shame because they're good strings and were quite reasonably priced.

Because of that I switched to Curt Mangan. Also excellent quality, but a little more expensive. @Cal03 is right that they are slightly higher tension than StringJoys (or D'Addarios, for that matter) of the same gauge. The upside is if you get a 45-60-80-110 set it's almost perfectly balanced, even better balanced than the D'Addario "balanced tension" sets, though of course higher tension overall. Yes, 110 is a little heavy for E but it does drop D nicely.
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It's curious cause I tried that set of Curt Mangan 6 or 7 years ago and I liked very much. Not more expensive than other US makers here in Barcelona. I remember those as quite good in any aspect, maybe with a distinctive sound/tone with personality. I think I still have the set somewhere. I used to play in a band tuned D-G-C-F, but not anymore.
 
#17
The smart retailers bought up big lots of stock at 'pre tarriff' prices, and eventually, they'll sell through and be faced with replacing stock at whatever tarriff and shipping climate will exist at that time, which is probably up in the air right now.

You may also see domestic string manufacturers affected IF the alloys they buy to pull as string windings is sourced internationally.

Lot of 'what ifs' hanging in the near term future. And any time sourcing becomes harder or unclear, you may see price increases to cover possible future losses due to the changing business climate.
 
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#18
Saw this article, and remembered this thread.

www.ctvnews.ca

25 countries suspend postal services to U.S. over tariffs: UN

At least 25 countries have decided to suspend package deliveries to the United States, as concern grows over the impact of President Donald Trump’s looming tariffs.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca

At least 25 countries have decided to suspend package deliveries to the United States, as concern grows over the impact of President Donald Trump’s looming tariffs, a UN body said Tuesday.
 
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#19
To answer if there is anyone domestically that makes custom strings, you would need to tell us what "custom" means to you - custom gauges, custom lengths, what is it that you want? - if we know that, we can help a lot better.
 
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