Anyone up for a Transatlantic deal?

[fuzzracer]

I'm not kidding..........Americans, consider my offer on the other thread. I'd pay postage too obviously. I guess it's all a matter of trust........

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/32286-blem-luke-musicians-friend.html

 

[roburado]

You'll void your warranty if you circumvent the regular distribution chain for your country. Then, you'll be on your own if something goes wrong with the instrument. Is that a risk you want to take?

 

[fuzzracer]

You'll void your warranty if you circumvent the regular distribution chain for your country. Then, you'll be on your own if something goes wrong with the instrument. Is that a risk you want to take?

I realise that. But that's true of any second hand guitar bought and I've bought a fair few. Besides, how often does something go wrong that I can't fix either myself or at my local guitar tech? Neck warpage is about the only thing I can think of......

 

[candid_x]

I doubt you'll find anyone from this forum who would assist you. Too much respect for the company to circumvent distribution channels. It's no small thing, as it could lead to undesired hassles down the road for all concerned.

There's some killer used MM guitars being bought and sold, courtesy of the proprietors of this forum. Maybe keep an eye out on the 'for sale' and eBay threads?

Good luck with your search.

 

[Ripper]

C'mon there must be some way you can get a used Y2D at a good price, from this forum. Patience is the key.

I may consider selling mine bcos I have a GAS for a Blue Dawn Morse lately (damn it - blame it all to my Blue Dawn Silo Spec, I just love the color so much!). Maybe we can strike a deal some time soon. Like what Candid say, too much respect here to do that kinda things. Furthermore, BP provided a buy/sell section here where all of us international forumite can benefit from it (Thanks Poppa!).

Patience...

 

[fuzzracer]

Oh...... perhaps an apology is in order then. I didn't realise this would be considered undermining Ernie Ball's trade. It is after all a blemished item and I would have thought of second hand status. You're right, patience is not one of my virtues :/

Edit: I have been trying the buy and sell sections for a couple of weeks now, btw, and rarely get a response from a PM to an advertiser......

 

[Larry]

If it was a guitar from eBay or something similar, it would be and entirely different story.

 

[fuzzracer]

If it was a guitar from eBay or something similar, it would be and entirely different story.

In that case they probably would have just shipped to the UK, job done.

 

[Larry]

In that case they probably would have just shipped to the UK, job done.

You would be surprised. A lot of eBay sellers are afraid of over-seas shipping, it's sad really because it really opens your item up to a lot more potential buyers.

 

[fuzzracer]

You would be surprised. A lot of eBay sellers are afraid of over-seas shipping, it's sad really because it really opens your item up to a lot more potential buyers.

True. And frustrating because even with the 20% import tax, shipping and insurance an Ernie Ball is still cheaper to order from the states. It's easy for you Americans to take the moral high ground but the only Y2D I can find in Europe that I like is £1598/1998Euros. That's nearly $3200!

So while I share your passion for EB instruments, you can't blame me for not having the 'brand loyalty' you enjoy, when I see the disparity in prices like that.

Anyway I've probably just ostracised myself from the rest of the forumites :/

 

[Pittman75]

Did I miss something?

 

[koogie2k]

Anyway I've probably just ostracised myself from the rest of the forumites :/

Not at all man...you didn't know and now you do. Keep an eye out in the For Sale threads and the ebay/craigslist postings. You will find one. I will try to keep an eye out for ya.

 

[DaveB]

Fuzzracer,

I own Machinehead in Hitchin, one of the UK's finest purveyors of Musicman instruments.

We currently have a trem Y2D for significantly less than you quoted.....

Machinehead Music-Guitars-Musicman-Steve Morse Y2d

and have a second hand original Morse for only £1150,

Maybe you should give us a call

Dave

 

[candid_x]

baddabing baddaboom, dayadiz!

 

[paranoid70]

True. And frustrating because even with the 20% import tax, shipping and insurance an Ernie Ball is still cheaper to order from the states. It's easy for you Americans to take the moral high ground but the only Y2D I can find in Europe that I like is £1598/1998Euros. That's nearly $3200!

So while I share your passion for EB instruments, you can't blame me for not having the 'brand loyalty' you enjoy, when I see the disparity in prices like that.

Anyway I've probably just ostracised myself from the rest of the forumites :/

You haven't ostracised yourself, we all understand your point. We have just seen this topic come up before and have seen where it goes.

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

You would be surprised. A lot of eBay sellers are afraid of over-seas shipping, it's sad really because it really opens your item up to a lot more potential buyers.

I know that it is sometimes cost prohibitive and/or risky. USPS will only insure items up to a certain dollar amount to various countries which is much less than the item is worth, and if shipping via UPS it can often be $200-$300 to ship an instrument. I've worked up a few shipping quotes on used instruments for people before and I have been shocked when the Post Office says "we can only insure it for $650, so if anything happens you are out money, sorry" and UPS comes back with a $290 quote to get a used bass to Italy.

 

[roburado]

I know that it is sometimes cost prohibitive and/or risky. USPS will only insure items up to a certain dollar amount to various countries which is much less than the item is worth, and if shipping via UPS it can often be $200-$300 to ship an instrument. I've worked up a few shipping quotes on used instruments for people before and I have been shocked when the Post Office says "we can only insure it for $650, so if anything happens you are out money, sorry" and UPS comes back with a $290 quote to get a used bass to Italy.

It's just ridiculously expensive to try to ship abroad and to insure for the full amount.

I doubt you'll find anyone from this forum who would assist you. Too much respect for the company to circumvent distribution channels. It's no small thing, as it could lead to undesired hassles down the road for all concerned.

There's some killer used MM guitars being bought and sold, courtesy of the proprietors of this forum. Maybe keep an eye out on the 'for sale' and eBay threads?

Good luck with your search.

Yeah. It's not so much that it undermines "Ernie Ball's trade." It's just that we've seen this kind of thing before, and sometimes it just doesn't end well. So, then, EBMM gets slagged by someone who didn't get the customer support and warranty coverage that they think they deserve even though they circumvented the proper distribution channels. That extra cost is there to protect your distributors and dealers in your country as well as to provide for things like warranty support, dealers who will help you out with parts and service, etc. Candid_x is also probably correct that few on the forum would be inclined to be a part of a plan to circumvent those distribution channels.

Fuzzracer,

I own Machinehead in Hitchin, one of the UK's finest purveyors of Musicman instruments.

We currently have a trem Y2D for significantly less than you quoted.....

Machinehead Music-Guitars-Musicman-Steve Morse Y2d

and have a second hand original Morse for only £1150,

Maybe you should give us a call

Dave

Hey! DaveB to the rescue!

 

[Pittman75]

I know that it is sometimes cost prohibitive and/or risky. USPS will only insure items up to a certain dollar amount to various countries which is much less than the item is worth, and if shipping via UPS it can often be $200-$300 to ship an instrument. I've worked up a few shipping quotes on used instruments for people before and I have been shocked when the Post Office says "we can only insure it for $650, so if anything happens you are out money, sorry" and UPS comes back with a $290 quote to get a used bass to Italy.

Well yeah, Pete. Leave it to a Government Sanctioned Agency that gets paid with taxpayer dollars to do something effectively. I shipped a check to someone in NY via USPS. It took almost a week. That's priority. Regular UPS would have been 3 days. Sheesh.

 

[rasj76]

I was in the same predicament just recently when I bought my last guitar (a 1958 Les Paul Standard VOS) so I can sympathize with the thread starter. I live in Dubai, UAE and I got my last guitar online being that the guitar I was eyeing didn’t have a dealer here. It was a gamble but it paid off. The guitar I got plays and sound amazing. Shipping via UPS cost me US$250 (fully insured) and it took 3 days for the guitar to arrive here.

I'm GASsing for a Petrucci BFR6 and I’m thinking of going the same route. I however found out that Music Man has a dealer here. The dealer however has a reputation of charging exorbitant amount of money for the brands they carry and I doubt it will be any different for Music Man guitars. I just got in touch with them and requested for a quotation to get me a Petrucci BFR6 and I figure the amount will be more than Music Man’s MSRP of US$4000.

Should I get one online, even with the shipping cost and the tax/duty it’ll still be a lot cheaper than the Music Man MSRP. Of course the trade-off for doing this is the lack of product support and warranty but as the thread starter stated so as long as the there are no wood work defects then I’m very confident that I can fix it.

Hopefully the dealer here comes up with a competitive price for the Petrucci BFR6.

 

[Ripper]

Hey guys, not tryin to be an a$$hole here, but we all know what this thread is heading into.

Maybe if anyone wanna source for a cheaper Ball can do a search. I have a feeling that this thread will end up no where and will get intervened by the mod.
Embargoes, tax, custom, these are situations w cant solve. Sincerely here - look out for a good used Ball in the forum if you like.