Buying Fender from Thomann?

mamaddinari

Hi Everyone,
Recently I decided to buy fender player stratocaster hss and i was found it in some uk shops for either £589 or £609 and i was happy with that till yesterday I accidentally went to Thomann website and searched the name of the guitar and was shocked that is only £469 which is lot cheaper that £609 , first I thought that might be fake or second hand and i went and researched about Thomann and found out that they are one of the biggest and all the people recognize them by their cheap prices, and i read some reviews which some of the people were complaining about damaged delivery or missing part but some of the people were saying that they been ordering for last 5 years and had not have problem with anything yet and good thing is they have warranty and guaranteed money back if something is wrong . Now long story short, I really want to order from there but i am scared a bit because it’s my birthday treat and i wanted it for so long I don’t want it to be damaged or anything when i get it , have anyone ordered guitar from their website and is happy with it? Should i order from them?

mikeyrob73

Add 20% vat on. Thomann have now started showing prices to the UK ex vat ( brexit and all that ) so it’s not really any cheaper that ordering from the uk. 

LPManic

VAT my friend. The British people voted for Brexit etc etc etc.

77ric

that price is exclusive of VAT, you will need to pay that on import, plus fees..

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/198074/

it will arrive safe and sound, but my current order is taking 3 times longer than previous orders as to arrive (10 days expected delivery compared to 3 previously) due to delays at the border.

Wazmeister

Thomann are superb, and they have a great returns policy so you can buy in confidence...

Howvever, the guys are right about the VAT sadly thanks to the Brainless Brexit Bunch...

Neil

Wazmeister said:

Thomann are superb, and they have a great returns policy so you can buy in confidence...

Howvever, the guys are right about the VAT sadly thanks to the Brainless Brexit Bunch...

Possibly worth pointing out that you always paid VAT before, but to Germany instead of to UK now. 

crunchman

Are Thomann still shipping Fenders to the UK?

The other thing to bear in mind is that some cards charge you for Euro transactions.  My HSBC card charges 2.5% for a non-Sterling transaction.  The exchange rate you get on you card might not be great either.  The official exchange rate at the moment is €1.125 to the pound.  Your card might be a couple of cents lower than that - especially if it doesn't charge you a fee.

Also note that VAT will be added to the shipping as well as the actual cost of the guitar.

It's probably easier to buy in the UK.  If you have to return it for any reason, it's a lot easier.  That's always been the case though.  I have bought from Thomann before, but I buy from the UK if the prices are similar - preferably from someone like Andertons, Guitar Guitar,  or Guitar Village who are all reasonably local to me.

Wazmeister

Neil said:

Wazmeister said:

Thomann are superb, and they have a great returns policy so you can buy in confidence...

Howvever, the guys are right about the VAT sadly thanks to the Brainless Brexit Bunch...

Possibly worth pointing out that you always paid VAT before, but to Germany instead of to UK now. 

Plus of course, customs charges and admin fees... oh, and the delays

mamaddinari

Thanks everyone for replying, I completely forgot about brexit and tax ! Apparently on the website it says now that 20% tax should be paid to the currier upon delivery which for £469 ,20% will be something around £92 and all together somewhere around 550 which is still 50 quid cheaper than uk if there is not any more extra charge , but it seems it’s doesn’t worth it to go through all this for a little bit cheaper price , and also delivery might take couple of weeks, so i think it’s logical to order from a local shop!

fretfinder

LPManic said:

VAT my friend. The Some idiotic British people voted for Brexit etc etc etc.

FTFY

Musicwolf

From the Thomann FAQ section

Special Rules for our UK Customers

With the new trade agreement between the EU and the UK, new regulations have been applied to all commercial transactions between the two distinct markets.

As of 01.01.2021 all current prices shown on our UK website do not include VAT 20% (Value Added Tax).
According to the new regulations, the VAT (20%) and additional handling fees will have to be paid to the courier upon delivery with the only exceptions being special VAT-free zones (e.g Channel Islands).

Based on the feedback we have received so far, Government Charges will be collected by UPS and they consist of the 20% VAT plus a small amount for the paperwork involved (usually around 2.5%). There is also an additional amount to be paid to UPS for their service, which is a minimum of 11.50 GBP. As not every order has the same customs requirement, for further information we advise that you check the costs and procedures in advance with the courier locally.

VAT will be added and charged by Thomann GmbH after processing an order only if the net value of the items is equal or less than 135.00 GBP or if delivery will be to Northern Ireland. In these cases, no additional fee will have to be paid upon delivery.

For items exceeding 31 kilos, or heavy goods such as PA equipment, pianos, etc., we have to employ the services of a heavy haulage company. As these new regulations only came into effect a few days before the end of the transition period, delivery by this method of transport to the UK is currently not possible. Further information will be included in our order confirmation email.
Please be assured that with more than 20 years of close cooperation with our UK customers, it is our priority to find new solutions that will allow us to provide door-to-door online prices as soon as possible

At the start of January Thomann said that 'Fender was preventing them from shipping to the UK' but that seems to have dissappeared i.e you can now put Fender items into your basket and proceed to checkout.

Whitecat

mamaddinari said:

Thanks everyone for replying, I completely forgot about brexit and tax ! Apparently on the website it says now that 20% tax should be paid to the currier upon delivery which for £469 ,20% will be something around £92 and all together somewhere around 550 which is still 50 quid cheaper than uk if there is not any more extra charge , but it seems it’s doesn’t worth it to go through all this for a little bit cheaper price , and also delivery might take couple of weeks, so i think it’s logical to order from a local shop!

You will also pay duty (2.7% I think?) and a courier brokerage charge - UPS charges around £12 I think. Other couriers are similar - maybe plus or minus a couple quid. 

hyperben

crunchman said:

Are Thomann still shipping Fenders to the UK?

The other thing to bear in mind is that some cards charge you for Euro transactions.  My HSBC card charges 2.5% for a non-Sterling transaction.  The exchange rate you get on you card might not be great either.  The official exchange rate at the moment is €1.125 to the pound.  Your card might be a couple of cents lower than that - especially if it doesn't charge you a fee.

Also note that VAT will be added to the shipping as well as the actual cost of the guitar.

It's probably easier to buy in the UK.  If you have to return it for any reason, it's a lot easier.  That's always been the case though.  I have bought from Thomann before, but I buy from the UK if the prices are similar - preferably from someone like Andertons, Guitar Guitar,  or Guitar Village who are all reasonably local to me.

I thought the exchange rate was the standard Visa/MasterCard rates for all cards but the commission is added on top. So, for example, all MasterCard holders will get the same exchange rate but the rates of commission will vary depending on the bank.

donbot

FYI; I ordered a Schecter Nick Johnston from Thomann on 1st Jan for £589. Still not delivered and I’ve had to pay just shy of £145 in tax and handling. 

Expect delays and make sure you you have enough in the bank for the tax man. 

I’ll be sticking to UK dealers from now on I think.

gavin_axecaster

Whitecat said:

mamaddinari said:

Thanks everyone for replying, I completely forgot about brexit and tax ! Apparently on the website it says now that 20% tax should be paid to the currier upon delivery which for £469 ,20% will be something around £92 and all together somewhere around 550 which is still 50 quid cheaper than uk if there is not any more extra charge , but it seems it’s doesn’t worth it to go through all this for a little bit cheaper price , and also delivery might take couple of weeks, so i think it’s logical to order from a local shop!

You will also pay duty (2.7% I think?) and a courier brokerage charge - UPS charges around £12 I think. Other couriers are similar - maybe plus or minus a couple quid. 

2% duty - Govt reduced the duty from 3.2% on December 31st.

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/9202903000

Whitecat

gavin_axecaster said:

Whitecat said:

mamaddinari said:

Thanks everyone for replying, I completely forgot about brexit and tax ! Apparently on the website it says now that 20% tax should be paid to the currier upon delivery which for £469 ,20% will be something around £92 and all together somewhere around 550 which is still 50 quid cheaper than uk if there is not any more extra charge , but it seems it’s doesn’t worth it to go through all this for a little bit cheaper price , and also delivery might take couple of weeks, so i think it’s logical to order from a local shop!

You will also pay duty (2.7% I think?) and a courier brokerage charge - UPS charges around £12 I think. Other couriers are similar - maybe plus or minus a couple quid. 

2% duty - Govt reduced the duty from 3.2% on December 31st.

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/9202903000

Ta!

dindude

Bought plenty from Thomann over the years and never an issue, great service, but Brexit takes them out of contention for me now due to all the reasons mentioned, unless they have something you genuinely can’t get in the U.K.

skunkwerx

I emailed them once for something that was out of stock UK wide at the time, it was around £1300 so not cheap at all. 

This was the snakebyte era so I’d had 2 from Andertons and GG with mad defects. 

Explained the situation, asked if they could look it over, shoot us a couple pictures given I couldnt pop in to do it myself. + I didnt fancy a return if it came to that. 

They said no, look at the stock manufacturer photos as per their website. 

That was my only experience with them. 

I’m sure theyre great if you live local or whatever they ship left the factory ok, but I’ve never given them a look in since tbh when there are much more helpful stores in the Uk.. providing they have it in stock obviously. 

prowla

The difference is that the VAT comes to the UK taxman, rather than the other country's, which ain't a bad thing. However, UK VAT is 20% vs Germany's 19%.

There is still 2% import duty on items which aren't manufactured in the EU, though and the courier will charge you a £12 (or so) admin fee for paying it on your behalf.

So, as it stands an item listed at £1000 will cost you an extra £42:

• £10 more in VAT +
  
• £20 import duty+
• £12 admin fees.

I'd expect Thomann to be sorting out paying UK VAT and import duty at point of sale fairly soon, thereby removing the courier's admin fee.

gavin_axecaster

prowla said:

I'd expect Thomann to be sorting out paying UK VAT and import duty at point of sale fairly soon, thereby removing the courier's admin fee.

I've started looking into this to make things easier for my EU customers however it appears that carriers charge you extra to ship DDP (Delivery Duty Paid - ie all taxes/duty paid) thereby keeping at least some what they would have charged in admin for collecting duty/VAT.

I suppose a company as large as Thomann can get cheaper rates than little old me but as far as I know they don't ship DDP anywhere in the world at this point so I assume they have worked out that it doesn't benefit them to do so.

Musicwolf

I've purchased a lot of equipment from Thomann over the years, but not because of price (sometimes they have been the cheapest, but that wasn't the main reason for choosing them).  When buying online you have, or had, the whole of Europe to choose from.  I look first at suppliers whom I can trust or have offered particularly good service in the past (no problems with Thomann and, on the one occasion where I needed to return a keyboard which developed a fault, they turned things around very quickly).  There are a couple of suppliers, both in the UK, who are at the bottom of the list due to poor experiences.

My main reason for using Thomann is the range of product which they stock.  I often place an order with them for large purchases because I can include smaller, more difficult to find, items as part of the shipment.  What I avoid buying from them are things with an external power supply (and so requiring a UK adaptor).

In a few months’ time, when things have settled down, I expect that I’ll be using them again.  I’m pretty sure that things will be more expensive and that delivery times will be longer but that particular UK trawler has already sailed.