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US-UK price difference

A

anonymous278347457

Feb 12, 2005
1,833
4
#1
ok guys, after reading the stingray thread, I went over to gak.co.uk and looked at prices for stingrays.




in the UK stingrays are around £1085 new, 4 string 3 band EQ

in the US they are 1,165.00 USD new

and 1165 USD = 624.291 GBP

i know this differance is due to shipping+tax, but thats around 2 thirds of the items value!!


and fender standard jazzes, in the US brand new they are $450 which is around £240, and thats about the price i paid for mine used!


so if I wanted a stingray, would it be cheaper to buy one in the US and have it shipped here?


also, anyone know how much stingrays go for on ebay?
 
#4
Tell me about it. Living in Britain today everything costs way too much.

We get paid peanuts and we pay out of our noses for everything, crime is through the roof, we have a totally useless government, and I cant afford a Stringray $$ or a USA Jazz!

I think I'll emigrate.
 
#5
Doctor J said:
It's even worse over here than it is on gak. Did you have a look at soundslive.co.uk or guitarbargains.com

http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Music-Man-Stingray~ID~713.asp

Link Removed

Either way, buying from abroad is the only sane way to operate in Ireland. One of the main retailers here has a 5 string Stingray priced at €2500 (about US$3200) :eyebrow:
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I played a matching headstock Sterling in Japan that was priced at ￥330,000 or about $3,000 which I could find in the states for probably $1,200 new, but I picked one up used for $800 instead.

Definitely go look at ebay, there are some pretty good deals from time to time and MusicMan is one of the better products to buy off of there because of their excellent consistency.

A lot less duds than you'll find with most other brands.
 
#7
You can do it - do a search and it has been discussed many times before!

But you have to add on 17.5% VAT, then shipping and customs duty is added on top.

Overall people have said you shoudl add on about a third to the stated price. Which may or may not make it worth it...? :hmm:

So - what if it's damaged in transit, not exactly what you wanted etc ..?

Also if you buy from a shop in the UK, they will often give a free setup, credit terms and deal with any problems you encounter - plus you have added security and the chance to try extensively and know you walked out the shop with exactly the bass you wanted! :)
 
#8
Similar in Australia to the UK .. .silly prices once imported.
The brands have to look after their dealers so many won't ship abroad - I tried with EB. Fender Japan don't seem to mind. ebay is the best bet as some of the basses on there are mint so why wouldn't you?
 
#12
Yeah, I know, I know :scowl:

When I was getting the Ibanez 6 string I got it from the US for €1024 including shipping. When I had asked the main Ibanez dealer here about it they quoted me over 2 grand and told me I'd have to buy it for them to get it in so I could check it out. Yeah, I didn't understand it either.

I mean, a set of EB 4 strings is €45 here :rolleyes:
 
#15
HotTubesGrooves said:
Tell me about it. Living in Britain today everything costs way too much.

We get paid peanuts and we pay out of our noses for everything, crime is through the roof, we have a totally useless government, and I cant afford a Stringray $$ or a USA Jazz!

I think I'll emigrate.
Click to expand...

I have many British immigrant friends for those reasons.

It is amazing to me that EVERYTHING sells for in Sterling what it sell for in Dollar over there, in numerical terms.. so a $1000 for £1000.. same for cars, and computers.. I don't know how you people do it? And the Rents in London make San Francisco look like a 3rd world nation.. much less Phoneix! :D
 
#17
Could you find a clean used one on ebay (either Jazz or Stingray) and buy it from a private party and then when he ships it ask him to declare a lower value (realistic one however) and that would save you a lot..

I've seen clean MIA Jazzes for $750 or so on ebay everyday.
 
#18
SamJ said:
and buy it from a private party and then when he ships it ask him to declare a lower value (realistic one however) and that would save you a lot.
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cool, i didnt know thats how it works. What if he declared it as a gift or something and not as a business transaction? would i pay less customs tax?
 
#19
SamJ said:
Could you find a clean used one on ebay (either Jazz or Stingray) and buy it from a private party and then when he ships it ask him to declare a lower value (realistic one however) and that would save you a lot..

I've seen clean MIA Jazzes for $750 or so on ebay everyday.
Click to expand...

You might be willing to commit mail fraud for someone, but I'm not. :eyebrow:

Any US dealer offering to sell a new Stingray to anyone outside of the US is breaking their contract with Ernie Ball Musicman.
 

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