👕 Get New Ernie Ball Merch Now!
  • Ernie Ball
  • Music Man
  • Sterling by Music Man
John Myung Bongo 4

EBMM shipping time to UK

S

steveh

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
84
Bit of a beef here so tune out if you like.

I got a SSS Cutlass a few weeks ago - fabulous guitar. Indeed. A pal was so impressed with mine he got one as well.

Anyway, intention was always to get a HSS scratchplate so that I had the choice of SSS or HSS config. So I order a scratchplate from Guitar Guitar and they tell me the UK distributor (Strings and Things) are quoting 6 weeks to get it to the UK. I said OK and ordered it back in February. It's April and I still don't have it...

That got me to thinking, why the hell does it take 6 weeks to ship stuff to the UK? I buy something from Ebay, it's here within the week. Are the Distributors merely waiting so that it can ship along with one of their regular deliveries (so as to save shipping cost) or what?

Anyone care to enlighten me? Is this the case for all other countries outside the USA?

(BTW doesn't change the fact that the guitar is fab!).
 
I waited 14 months... gave up, cancelled the order, went to chandler instead

I think they do wait to ship them with the regular deliveries
 
Last edited:
A company importing items from overseas will have to endure far more scrutiny than a private seller. Also it's possible that they are getting in shipments via ocean freight, as opposed to air. There may also be a lead time from the manufacturer if they don't have one in stock.
 
Sounds like they need so much to make an order up to me. If it's on a container on ship which it sounds like it is they'd need to fill it with enough stock to get it over to the UK. The new Cutlass models with the roasted necks are due in very soon so I bet it will be on the same container. Probably too expensive to send one item via air freight.

For my work our products are on containers via a ship and the amount of time it takes to turn up is crazy! and we often get delays with shipping as well.
 
Yeah I’m pretty sure they are all Ocean freight. For a pickguard it’s not worth the wait - tho I think in my case they forgot and didn’t want to admit it because I know other shipments came in during those 14 months
 
It's the same with Boogie stuff as well over here in the UK. I remember ordering an empty head enclosure for my mark v 35 when I owned one and that took around 3-4 months to turn up. That was straight from the distributor though.
 
To the OP, what pickguard/scratchplate were you wanting for your guitar? How about one of us here in the States buys one and mails it to you. If you have Paypal, would you be able to PayPal the money to an account?
 
Pretty sure Mesa Boogie doesn't directly ship there, among a lot of other countries. They have an extensive list of countries that they will not directly ship to. Not sure who the distributor was, but pretty sure that's on them and not Mesa.

As JayDawg suggests, it might be faster and cheaper to have a person ship accessories etc. to you. Although, I've only ever shipped/received gear between the U.S. and Canada, so I'm not expert.
 
JayDawg said:
To the OP, what pickguard/scratchplate were you wanting for your guitar? How about one of us here in the States buys one and mails it to you. If you have Paypal, would you be able to PayPal the money to an account?
Click to expand...

Forum community stepping up - kudos JayDawg
 
Wahoonc said:
Pretty sure Mesa Boogie doesn't directly ship there, among a lot of other countries. They have an extensive list of countries that they will not directly ship to. Not sure who the distributor was, but pretty sure that's on them and not Mesa.

As JayDawg suggests, it might be faster and cheaper to have a person ship accessories etc. to you. Although, I've only ever shipped/received gear between the U.S. and Canada, so I'm not expert.
Click to expand...

It's the UK distributor I was referring to not Boogie directly. Boogie dealer in the UK is Westside Distribution. You can order parts, tubes etc from them. Anything part form the actual amps.
 
JayDawg said:
To the OP, what pickguard/scratchplate were you wanting for your guitar? How about one of us here in the States buys one and mails it to you. If you have Paypal, would you be able to PayPal the money to an account?
Click to expand...

Hey! Thaks so much for your very generous offer. Kudos to you!

However, to add salt to my wound, I was obliged to pay for the pickguard upfront, so I'm still sitting here waiting for it several seeks later, long after the money has left my account.

Like others have said, I am pretty sure it is the distributor waiting for a shipment so costs minimised. Not great service though, and on a brand new guitar...
 
steveh said:
Hey! Thaks so much for your very generous offer. Kudos to you!

However, to add salt to my wound, I was obliged to pay for the pickguard upfront, so I'm still sitting here waiting for it several seeks later, long after the money has left my account.

Like others have said, I am pretty sure it is the distributor waiting for a shipment so costs minimised. Not great service though, and on a brand new guitar...
Click to expand...

That sucks dude, at least my dealer didn't charge me upfront
 
I just got a bit of bad news from my dealer. Ordered a new 2018 cutlass in charcoal frost. Originally quoted 3-4 weeks. Now they aren't expecting anything till September over here in the UK.
 
Alistair Taylor said:
Guy I know ordered a Luke III BFR in January 2017. Didn’t turn up until December. That’s a hell of a long wait!
Click to expand...

Ouch! that's a long time to wait but well worth it. Fantastic guitars the L3's. I was fortunate to get a Blueberry burst flame last year after one turned up at my dealer out of the blue. I was tempted to get another one cause I really like them very versitile guitars and they cover a lot of ground.

Which finish did you end up getting?
 
I'm still trying to chase down a Luke 2 BFR in Blueberry. I'm scouring the world's websites but can't find one at all. Lot's of sites list it but that it's a special order and, of course, we can't order them anymore! My friend got a Hazel Burst quilt. Looks stunning but it kept getting delayed. I suspect the thoughts on filling up shipping containers is probably true. If anyone knows of a new Luke 2 BFR in Blueberry, let me know! Only one I can find is in Japan but it's only an Ebay listing and it's massively overpriced!
 
Last edited:
Alistair Taylor said:
I'm still trying to chase down a Luke 2 BFR in Blueberry. I'm scouring the world's websites but can't find one at all. Lot's of sites list it but that it's a special order and, of course, we can't order them anymore! My friend got a Hazel Burst quilt. Looks stunning but it kept getting delayed. I suspect the thoughts on filling up shipping containers is probably true. If anyone knows of a new Luke 2 BFR in Blueberry, let me know! Only one I can find is in Japan but it's only an Ebay listing and it's massively overpriced!
Click to expand...

If I see one or know of anyone that might be selling one I'll let you know. Nice! I really want a Hazel Burst one as well. I prefer the flame top's if I'm honest. Although the quilts are very nice as well.

I'm not sure why they are all factory order you'd think MM would be sending guitars like the L3's, Majesty's, JP15's and other models for the European market as well. I appreciated these guitars are 3k plus and that not everyone can afford one but other guitar makers manage it. By the time you get one ordered and wait for it to come through the new model comes out lol.
 
So its 28 April and still no scratchplate. I'm now told ETA is now end of May. That's twice what I was quoted at first, presumably just so the UK distributors could save a couple of bucks on shipping.
The company have had my money since Feb 26. Sorry EBMM but that's a disgrace. You need to change your UK distributors.
Too right I'm angry!
 
I think you should ask for your money back and cancel the order. PM the name of the dealer so that I don’t use them myself - payment up front for a pickguard is not Kosher
EDIT - went back and read first post. Got it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Neck Rest
Back
Top