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Axis 30th Anniversary

should i cancel?

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southpaw1

southpaw1

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2005
Messages
14
Location
Adelaide, South Australia
Hi

New here, normally a Tb'er.

Posted this on TB, and now want to ask you who aren't on Tb the same question.

I paid fully upfront for a SR5 lefty in October last year. In Australia, it cost $3800+

I was told it would take 3 months - no problem, I know that they probably only make a run of basses in left hand every quarter.

Its now been 5 months and I'm getting p***ed off.

Thinking of cancelling my order.

Your thoughts?
 
Why not get someone in the US to buy you one for you and ship it to you? I believe that Stingrays retail for around US$1000 (street price) in the US, which is around AUD$1200. With shipping and GST you'd be up for around AUD$1600 total, which is a "reasonable" saving over AUD$3800.
 
If you purchase from anyone besides a distributor you will not have any warranty claims. Hold tight, I am sure your bass will arrive shortly.
 
Sorry if this comes off as harsh, but it needs to be said. We would appreciate it if you guys would refrain from telling customers on this forum to break policies we have set up. Neither EBMM nor our distributors like to see recommendations about cancelling orders from our forums mods or active posters. We DO NOT encourage international customers to buy from non-distributors.
 
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No prob Scott, I was just trying to save a fellow Aussie $2000. Other than the fact that the warranty is not transferable to a new owner, what's to stop a US based person buying a brand new Stingray from their local authorised Ernie Ball dealer, and then shipping the bass to someone in Australia? The price difference is huge, for reasons known only to Ernie Ball's Australian distributor. Electric basses are not subject to any import duty in Australia, so the only tax applicable is our 10% GST. That doesn't explain the huge price difference between Ernie Ball products in the US and Australia, especially when the Aussie dollar is currently quite strong at $0.80 US.

Cheers
Mark
 
That is an interesting question. Why is there so much of a price difference (almost 2.5x)?
 
I am sorry scott as well I guess we just get frustrated down here that you see the prices in the US that a lot of the forum guys pay and we end up paying over twice as much as you guys.
For the record the bass I bought from the US was from an authorised Ernie Ball dealer my mate who is an ex-pat aussie working in the us picked it up for me then sent it over to me - the reason
a) to save cash
b) I wanted to get my hands on a bongo and I got told by the distributor here they wouldn't be here for another 10 months.

all I can say is that the people at this forum are passionate about the basses you guys produce and would go to great lengths to get our hands on them

Anyway to answer the question I remember in 96 when I ordered my fretless it took six months so hold tight southpaw1 keep hassling the shop etc. the wait will be worth it
 
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Being an American living in USA, if I was faced with the notion of having to pay three times the amount I would pay elsewhere - for anything at all. I would go with the lesser of the two evils. Why? The same reason the Austrailians jack the price up. Somebody's making money - even if it's the government over there.

Sometimes saving a good deal of money is as good as making some.

MHO.
 
This is my last reply on this thread. I undertstand that there is nothing stopping a friend from shipping a bass overseas. I was trying to imply was that this forum would support our Dealer base we have set-up. If that is advice you wish to give to someone please do it on another forum.
 
Dargin said:
This is my last reply on this thread. I undertstand that there is nothing stopping a friend from shipping a bass overseas. I was trying to imply was that this forum would support our Dealer base we have set-up. If that is advice you wish to give to someone please do it on another forum.
Click to expand...
Makes sense to me. :)
 
For the record, both EB basses that I have purchased new were purchased from authorised EB dealers here in Australia. One was back in 2000 when I didn't know any better, and the other was my Bongo, on which I got a pretty good deal from the Australian distributor. If I was faced with paying full retail price I would certainly explore every possible option if it could save several hundreds of dollars.
 
Mr Dargin,

As you can tell, I have used the distributor/dealer base that you have set up in Australia, even though it has meant paying 2.5x the price I could have got my instrument for.

What I question is why you would stick up for your dealer base so strongly when they have stuffed a customer (myself) around like this.

I have heard only good reports about your companies commitment to excellent customer service, but maybe you should investigate whether your dealers/distributors are likewise as committed.
 
When you open up yourself to the public, sometimes you get stroked. But every once in a while somebody comes along and hits you in the head. It's how you handle the blows to the head that proves who you really are.
 
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