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US buyer purchasing from German online store

#21
AntiguaGuy said:
I have been shopping for a new Guild Starfire I Bass in Cherry Red. The Guild website indicates that the current suggested retail price is $835; the listed price at most US online stores (Sweetwater, Chicago Music Exchange, etc.) is $649 with free shipping. This instrument is currently on backorder at those US online stores.

I noticed today that this model is "in stock" on the Thomann website, with a list price of $498. When I put it in my cart and go to checkout, the Thomann website says "All items in your shopping basket are in stock and can be shipped immediately....Delivery on Wednesday, 7. September" Thomann indicates that the shipping charge to my US address via UPS Express would be $64.82, for a total cost of $562.82.

Has anyone recently bought a bass at Thomann for shipment to the US? Are there additional taxes, import duties, or other fees that are not reflected in the $562.82 bottom line? It's hard for me to believe that I would save almost $90 by buying it online from a store in Germany rather than a store in the US.

Thanks.
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I buy from Thomann periodically. I live in California. I've had one mishap. They made it right immediately.
 
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#22
Not in the US, but I’m in Canada if some are interested. Bought last month a Harley Benton bass for 195$. 68 euros for shipping. Was around 285$CAD all in shipped by UPS. Got charged 54$ for duties and fees. But I was not given infos as of what in the 54$ was duties or fees by UPS. And I wonder if the duties are the same for a bass or a pedal of the same price or if weight is a factor.
 
#24
Sid Fang said:
I used to buy from Thomann pretty regularly when I lived in France. They are big, reasonable, and German, which is to say they do things by-the-book. Purchases shipped from the EU to the US are not subject to VAT (19%), but they are subject to a US import duty of 6%. I have not bought anything from Thomann since moving to the US, but I have bought several basses from European luthiers, and each time, I got the TVA taken off the price by the luthier, but had the customs duty billed by FedEx based on the declared content and value. I would be very surprised if Thomann handled it any differently.
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I believe Thomann does this automatically based on IP location - just as VAT varies by country in the EU so the prices change depending on which country is selected on the site.. When I search for that bass 'locally' it is $584.02 but if using US site (via VPN) it is $498 - VAT already removed.
 
#26
One thing to consider, which makes purchasing from Thomann now potentially very attractive:

The Euro has always been stronger than the US Dollar in terms of exchange rates. Usually, the Euro is ~10% more than the dollar. However, now they're about dead even, with the dollar being just a bit (less than 1%) stronger than the Euro. That makes this an excellent time for people in the US to buy things in Europe.
 
#29
Some shipping companies, even if you get away with not paying duties, charge a clearance fee. UPS and Fedex seem to do that often. It's basically just their own fee for brokering through customs. Even if the goods are tariffed at zero dollars, they can still slap the clearance fee on it without Thomann knowing.

Hopefully your bass arrives ok. My brother bought a Hofner Verythin guitar from them and he had to send the first one back because of a defect in it. THAT is precisely when Thomann became very difficult to deal with.
 
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#30
I ordered a Warwick bass model from Thomann a few years ago that was unavailable in the U.S. I didn't pay any extra fees, so that was good. When it arrived, the manufacturer's box the bass was in along with the packing material and the bottom of the bass were badly damaged. The Thomann box that all of that was in was in perfect shape, which showed some yahoos in the warehouse dropped and damaged it before they mailed it to me. They made me jump through countless hoops and put me through the ringer to get it back to them. It took a month of my time. Never again.

Plenty of people order from them and have a great experience, you may well too. Mine wasn't a great experience.
 
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#31
AntiguaGuy said:
I have been shopping for a new Guild Starfire I Bass in Cherry Red. The Guild website indicates that the current suggested retail price is $835; the listed price at most US online stores (Sweetwater, Chicago Music Exchange, etc.) is $649 with free shipping. This instrument is currently on backorder at those US online stores.

I noticed today that this model is "in stock" on the Thomann website, with a list price of $498. When I put it in my cart and go to checkout, the Thomann website says "All items in your shopping basket are in stock and can be shipped immediately....Delivery on Wednesday, 7. September" Thomann indicates that the shipping charge to my US address via UPS Express would be $64.82, for a total cost of $562.82.

Has anyone recently bought a bass at Thomann for shipment to the US? Are there additional taxes, import duties, or other fees that are not reflected in the $562.82 bottom line? It's hard for me to believe that I would save almost $90 by buying it online from a store in Germany rather than a store in the US.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yes, I bought a Sire V5 four string jazz bass there at Thomann. I bought it there because nobody else had it in stock, same as you. I also marveled at the price and the $68 shipping price.

I'm here to tell you that it was all legit. I got a super great bass at a super great price. I ordered it on August 5, I had it in hand on the 11th. The outer box was largely destroyed on the bottom, but the inside box was in perfect shape and the bass was pristine.
 
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#32
Ordered basses and heads from Thomann that arrived faster to California than Sweetwater/GC-MF/ZZ/CME etc.
2-3 day shipping, packed great, killer prices on gear that they have a pricing advantage on.
Even with the ~$60 shipping if they have a good price on something buy without reservation.
If getting heads/amps etc make sure it can be switched to US current.
 
#33
AntiguaGuy said:
Are there additional taxes, import duties, or other fees that are not reflected in the $562.82 bottom line?
Click to expand...

You should expect a import duty if the item is shipped via DHL (German postal service) and over $1,600. If they shipped via UPS or FedEx is hit or miss. However, if you ask the seller to state the item is for personal use in the Bill of Lading, you will rarely have to pay import fees. The same applies if the instrument was made in USA.
Thomann shipment fees are extremely reasonable.
 
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#34
Thomann is well respected in the UK and continental Europe. Yes, be ready to pay import duties - customs - if your instrument is flagged, but other than that, Thomann is as reliable as a big box store gets. You can consult online as to the estimated import duties - customs amounts so you can have your credit card ready when you get the notice.
 
#35
g-dude said:
This is not true.

When the Euro went "live" on 1/1/2002, it traded at less than parity to the dollar.

Also, there were 1.95583 DM per Euro. I know this as I had to convert a stupid number of spreadsheets from DM to Euro.
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Fair enough. It's the first time in my memory, but my memory obviously isn't historically comprehensive.

The main point is that now is a good time to buy things from Europe if you're paying with dollars.
 
#37
BlueTalon said:
Fair enough. It's the first time in my memory, but my memory obviously isn't historically comprehensive.

The main point is that now is a good time to buy things from Europe if you're paying with dollars.
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That I totally agree with!

I ended up dealing with a total of four different currencies in the span of about a week thanks to a well timed trip to Prague from Germany before coming back to the US.
 
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