budalash
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- Nov 18, 2007
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- 53
- Thread starter budalash
- Start date
fbecir
Well-known member
fbecir
Well-known member
Jamie, this time you beat me !
DrKev
Moderator
yes dutch also .... but no news cobalt strings
i've asked to ebmm French dealer no news about the product on their site and no response to my question
sorry for he off subject
Sorry Ily, I meant the French Ernie Ball store prices are pretty good...
La Boutique Ernie Ball - Accueil
I talked to HTD a few weeks ago, Cobalts are due at the end of May (i.e. in stores in June).
fbecir
Well-known member
Finally lol. There is life in the old dog yet.
fbecir
Well-known member
Are you sure ???????????
For instance the Slinky Titanium Light Top Heavy Bottom (Ernie Ball 3115 Slinky) costs 14€71 on the French Ernie Ball online shop ... Thomann's price is 10€70
DrKev
Moderator
Are you sure ???????????
For instance the Slinky Titanium Light Top Heavy Bottom (Ernie Ball 3115 Slinky) costs 14€71 on the French Ernie Ball online shop ... Thomann's price is 10€70
I paid 16€50 in Paris! Then again, that store wanted 48€ for gold Super locks. Pfft!
Anyway, did we find a guitar for Budalash yet?
budalash
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2007
- Messages
- 53
I paid 16€50 in Paris! Then again, that store wanted 48€ for gold Super locks. Pfft!
Anyway, did we find a guitar for Budalash yet?
Thanks No rush, I have a PRS SC250 that I have to sell, that shouldn't be too difficult though as I am giving it away cheap...Are you sure ???????????
For instance the Slinky Titanium Light Top Heavy Bottom (Ernie Ball 3115 Slinky) costs 14€71 on the French Ernie Ball online shop ... Thomann's price is 10€70
French strings are specials series with gold plated end ball ..... you don't know that Francois !!!
i buy my strings on Thomann's
jzeijen
Well-known member
Yeah, sold two guitars of that same brand to fund my EBMM wishes. Have not regretted it since (although they are great guitars of course)
budalash
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- Nov 18, 2007
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- 53
I have nothing against the brand, they are fine instruments, but way too heavy for my back, I have scoliosis and some other back and neck related issues. I play my silhouette exclusively these days.
I have actually never tried the guitar that I'm after (see original post). Those of you who have played it, what can you tell me about it? I'm only judging it by the specs and the looks, and it looks like it would fit my needs perfectly But I would really like to hear from people who have played it...thanks!
I have actually never tried the guitar that I'm after (see original post). Those of you who have played it, what can you tell me about it? I'm only judging it by the specs and the looks, and it looks like it would fit my needs perfectly
But I would really like to hear from people who have played it...thanks!French strings are specials series with gold plated end ball ..... you don't know that Francois !!!
i buy my strings on Thomann's
For our US friends 10.70€ for a titanium slinky set is the best price ever found in Europe convert to USD is 14.25$ and your price in US is 9.99$ at this store
Ernie Ball 3121 Slinky Set at The Perfect Guitar
just for information
Ordering an EBMM to personal specs isn't easy. Shelf-prices here in Norway are about 80% up from the US (VAT excluded). The dismal service from the distributor and resellers does nothing to justify such a markup. To make things even worse only a small number of preselected models are available with hardly any customer-selectable options. The white Silhouette with maple neck, rosewood fretboard, tremolo and piezo that I wanted is not likely to ever be available here through official channels. I personally don't think the policy of blocking international sales is going to do any good in the long term. The sad fact for EB is that I now can have a custom guitar from builders such as John Suhr or Tom Anderson shipped via US resellers, with norwegian taxes paid, for almost the same amount as a factory standard EBMM.
Jimmyb
Well-known member
Ordering to your spec is fairly easy. You decide on the spec you want, then contact the authorised dealers in your area to get a price for it. When you've found the dealer that gives you the best option on price and service for you, place the order with them (they'll probably want a deposit). You've then got time to save up for the rest of the payment.
As for importing directly from the US, there are a whole host of products that appear to be cheaper if you do that, including various musical instruments, cars, clothes etc etc. However the support you get afterwards is nil.
Things will always be cheaper in the country they originate from, as there is no supply chain to support, but the supply chain also includes the aftermarket support for the products, advertising in the relevant country, import duties, local taxation etc.
DrKev
Moderator
a) You can order any Music Man instrument, from any of the currently available colours and options (colours, matching headstock, pickguard choice, piezo) at any time from any European dealer. If a distributor already has one in stock it'll be a short wait. Otherwise the guitar will be made specifically for you at the same price.
b) John Suhr does not want customers to do that. It's clearly stated on his website - there are international dealers and distributors in place specifically to handle warranty issues. If you order from a reseller in the US and there is a problem, you will pay ALL of the shipping costs, both ways, to get it fixed.
Yes, European prices are very hard to swallow, and the internet makes it easy to compare prices across the globe, but we're not really comparing like with like. For starters there are no distributors for EBMM (or Suhr, or Fender, or Gibson...) in the US like there are in Europe. That's a cost right there, but in return we get 'local' customer service at NO cost to us, even if there is shipping involved. In the US, you still pay half the shipping to get a warranty issue fixed. And as Jimmy said, supply chain, advertising, competitions and clinics, customs, taxes, etc. it all adds up. And without those distributors there would be no Ernie Ball or Music Man presence in our countries at all.
So we have choices to make. We look at the available products, and the prices, and we weigh up the pros and cons and we make our decision. If that ends with a beautiful white Silhouette in your hands in a few weeks or a few months time, remember the unofficial forum rule - your guitar doesn't exist without pictures! Welcome to the forum, phel! :-D
Except it doesn't work in Norway. I've tried to place an order with 3 different shops over the last couple years. The specifications I want are nothing special, but the Scandinavian distributor only supplies one particular bridge/fretboard/color combination of the Silhouette, and no piezo option. This when I can have a completely custom high-end hand-made guitar of a different brand for a similar price.
I'm fully aware of import duties and taxes. They're not the issue here. Nor are the shipping costs. In fact, I could ship a guitar back and forth across the pond for repairs 6-10 times for the premium local distributors charge on certain high-end makes and models.
Operational costs such as advertising and after-market support are similar for shops on both sides of the pond.
As for customer support, the current system simply doesn't work. In 30 years of playing guitars I have hardly had any issues with a guitar that would be handled by local customer support in the warranty period. However, I bought a PRS guitar from a local shop a few years ago. PRS use the same Scandinavian distributor as EB. A couple pickup wires had been stripped in production and I left it to the distributor to get it fixed. 27 months and 30 or so phone-calls later the guitar was still with the distributor and nothing had happened. I had to raise a formal complaint through the Norwegian consumer protection authority to make the distributor hand the guitar over to me. With direct support and parts from PRS in the US I had the guitar fixed 3 weeks later. That local customer service cost a premium of nearly $2000 on that particular PRS model (duties and taxes excluded) compared to US shop prices. I've got no complaints about EBMM products or their customer service. It's just that the protectionism they practise on behalf of their distributors has no place in a post-globalisation-society. A distributor has to handle a bigger area than a couple small European countries to be efficient. Some competitors have already discovered this fact, with street-prices for their products falling by 20-40% after reorganising their supply-chain.
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fbecir
Well-known member
I fully agree with you. Europe is now a global market, thus there is no reason to have an inefficient distributor in each country. It would be better to have an efficient distributor for all Europe.
For instance, the French Music Man site does not have any information on the PDN guitars
It's not only Music Man. Several brands have the same problem. The big boys like F or G have their own distribution and it works better.
In France, we have some distributors who distribute a lot of brands : at the end they do not know the products they sell. With Internet, the consumers like us know much better the products (because we have no life, we spend all our time on the Music Man forum
).