UK getting shafted again

[dannyc09]

Hi,

Just had an email from a major dealer in the UK and expected prices are;

MAJESTY 6:*RRP.*£2649.99 =$4476

MAJESTY 7: RRP *£2799.99 =$4730

Thats over $2000 more than over the usa.

Looks like I will import one, pay the 25% import duties, tax and postage then and save some money!!

Really wish there was a cap that makers could put on price jacking there products, not fair!

Cheers

 

[lukather101]

That's a shocker

 

[beej]

I appreciate your frustration, however this is how thing work when you have to support international distributors, marketing, support, etc. (In the US, MM is the distributor.) MM is not "jacking" the price- this is how the economics work when you have to pay everyone in the supply chain.

You can certainly import one, but keep in mind if there are any issues the warranty will only be valid in the country you bought the guitar- so you'd have to send it back if there were any issues.

 

[dannyc09]

Hi beej,

I know what you are saying, but if an individual can bring a guitar across the pond for over £600 less than buying it in the uk, it goes somewhere to show the amount of mark up that the uk distributors are trying to make.

Bearing in mind that as a consumer we dont get the product at business prices or bulk buy discounts either, and after spending somtime working in a guitar dealer in the uk I know just how much they sometimes get to make on them.

And please note I dont for one minute blame MM for the price increase just the uk retailers who jack the prices up in order to make larger profits at the expense of the uk consumer.

It sort of forces the issue of importing products etc...

 

[Big Poppa]

this is such a sign of the times with the internet and pricing. Its simply the cost of doing business...even if I didnt have a distributor I would have to have an office, overhead, staff, service, advertising, and taxes....Believe it or not nobody is getting rich selling Music Man....

The way to get the prices down is a catch 22...we need to sell more to offset the inrastructure costs....

 

[dannyc09]

Point taken Big Poppa

The reality is that if you want the best out there it comes to a price!

Be interesting to see how much they would be if there was uk musicman factory making them for European countries etc...

Wishful thinking

 

[orion_21]

And the fact that the dollar sucks against the euro. Ever time I go over there I get killed. To me the prices in Europe seem to be the same if u exclude the symbol in front of the numbers you see

 

[mr.b]

You're better off grabbing a flight across the pond, purchasing your guitar then flying back with it.

You get an awesome instrument, a cheeky wee trip to the US and still have change over what you'd buy it for from a UK Distributor.

It has been a long time that the figures you see on UK & US prices are the same excluding the currency prefix. We just have to accept it. As BP said: sing of the times.

Would be interested to know whether or not our US brothers would pay the exchange rate noted by dannyc09 in his first post above? ie $4476? I'm not in any way attempting to devalue the product because as ever, MM guitars are without reproach. Unequivocally.

 

[Bungo]

Hi Danny

Quick thought. Those are RRPs that you've been quoted. Hopefully when the guitars hit the dealers, the actual selling prices will be a little lower.

Or you could always sell a kidney I suppose?

I've brought a few MMs over the pond over the last few years without any problems (except for Parcelforce losing one for a couple of months before finding it again!). Thankfully the build quality makes this a relatively low risk option in terms of how the instrument fares on the journey.

I brought one through customs at Heathrow once, told the officer what I had and he just waved me through! I don't think he could be bothered with the paperwork. One of the advantages of arriving back at stupid o'clock in the morning as well I imagine!


PS Good to see another claret and blue team in the Premiership next term.

 

[fbecir]

Hello

Here in France, the MusicMan guitars are distributed by HTD, a company owned by Patrice Vigier. Of course HTD distributes also the Vigier guitars.
The standard models of Vigier and MusicMan are in the 2000 € / 3000 € prices. In term of quality, both brands are great.
Thus we have the same prices ... but the Vigier guitars are produced at exactly 21.2 km from my house (19 minutes by car if I believe Google Maps).
In Europe, we have a 20% VAT ... it does not help the poor customers like us !

 

[DrKev]

Yes, just to reiterate...

Prices in stores are usually 20-30% below RRP. You will never pay the full RRP. (Although there is a store in France with a NOS Sub1 that he is still asking the full RRP of €1200 for!)

EBMM are their own distributors in the US, i.e. there is no middle man, unlike every other country in the world that they export too.

I also want to reiterate that sales tax it is not included in the US prices. Depending on the state there may not even be sales tax or it may not be due at the time of purchase. In Europe we have 20% VAT, which is more than three times the sales tax in most US states and is calculated at the last step of the pricing chain, i.e. in the store. So it is 20% on the total cost of manufacture + shipping + insurance + import duties + distribution network + final store markup.

When you take these things into account and that RRP is not what you will pay, the prices are easy to understand. Yes, we feel hard hit because we also have lower disposable incomes than in the US, so it really does cost us significantly more. But it is just basic economics and not a case of being fleeced by some unscrupulous bastards somewhere.

 

[dannyc09]

Hey Bungo,

Yeah hopefully they will be a bit lower, but ill be more than happy to bring one over if its gonna save £600+ on one, if thats
The case I might PM you for a bit of advice if you have done so before.

As for the mighty clarets, the ginger mourinho will have our backs

Cheers

 

[coldsummer]

It's the economics of a global marketplace, but much worse these days because of the exchange rate. I hope the proposed trade agreement between the US and UK becomes a reality.

As for the other sub agenda going on in this thread, come on the Glorious Chelsea!!! Cue lots of negative responses

 

[Big Poppa]

you guys have gotten so smart...proud of you!

can I further explain one thing...if Strings and Things could sell 1,000 of our guitars a month (dont worry I couldnt supply them..thgen they could offset the expenses over a bigger sales number...thus making it cheaper...the problem is that we are a niche manufacturer that does in a year what Fender does in two weeks.

 

[dannyc09]

I would have an EBMM any day of the week over a fender, and thats why quality is always better than quantity, and to be fair with the majesty anything is possible.

I think the challenge to strings and things is to make it as feasible to buy from them as opposed to shipping one over. I wonder how many EBMM guitars will be shipped over???

As for chelsea. ....... thats another dream haha

you guys have gotten so smart...proud of you!

can I further explain one thing...if Strings and Things could sell 1,000 of our guitars a month (dont worry I couldnt supply them..thgen they could offset the expenses over a bigger sales number...thus making it cheaper...the problem is that we are a niche manufacturer that does in a year what Fender does in two weeks.

 

[Craiguitar]

I would have an EBMM any day of the week over a fender, and thats why quality is always better than quantity, and to be fair with the majesty anything is possible.

I think the challenge to strings and things is to make it as feasible to buy from them as opposed to shipping one over. I wonder how many EBMM guitars will be shipped over?

There is a lot of stigma attached to the big brands. I play pub gigs with my little covers band, and frequently get accused by punters of just playing A poor mans Fender, or asked, why don't I play a real guitar like a Gibson. That sort of thinking really won't go away.

 

[dannyc09]

Nope but thats naive, uneducated, ignorant and brand blind folk.

I bought an ibanez s540 ltd in 1997 it was £1500, I then spent £150 on some paf pro and fred pickups. Its a great instrument and has great tone and playability.
But I still get people who think that because they own a £300 fender they are a step above.

I even got told I should swap my ibanez for one...

Sorry but no thanks.

Im now looking to make a majesty my new fender haha ;-)

 

[Bungo]

There is a lot of stigma attached to the big brands. I play pub gigs with my little covers band, and frequently get accused by punters of just playing A poor mans Fender, or asked, why don't I play a real guitar like a Gibson. That sort of thinking really won't go away.

I play in a pub band too and occasionally get these sort of questions.

I always enjoy telling people (truthfully) that I have both Fenders and Gibsons at home, but have brought two Music Mans (Music Men?) out because they sound better, play better and are more reliable than the Fs and Gs.

Cue puzzled looks from ignorant punter...

Danny, feel free to ask about my experiences. In fact I have bought from several US members of this board with great success, so using the 'For Sale' and 'Wanted' threads is a decent place to start sourcing a guitar from 'over there'.

PS Just back from watching the mighty West Ham beat Spurs for the THIRD time this season. On a day such as this, I don't even feel the need to have the usual obligatory pop at Chelsea, (even after what happened to them during the week...)

 

[coldsummer]

LOL, I bet our American friends are puzzled by some of the sub text which makes a change from the Broncos and Red Sox or whatever!! Congrats to the Hammers btw, always preferred them to the Spuds!

OK, back on subject, all I know is I have a big old collection of expensive boutique guitars which I'm slowly getting rid of, but my Musicman guitars blow each and every one of them away. Regardless of the relative costs between Europe and the States EBMM still represent incredible value for money, in fact I think we are fortunate that they don't sell for the crazy prices other brands do so it really isn't all bad news.

 

[dannyc09]

Haha bongo, wasnt a bad effort that. Was fun watching the reading fans thinking they made the playoffs then realising that brighton bagged in the last mins. More importantly the mighty Blackburn Rovers haven't made them haha ;-)

Back to guitars.......

I think most people if they are honest will find more reliability and quality in some of the other brands.

The pricing in the uk sometimes.... only sometimes works in favour for this as they tend to stick to flogging the usual gear at top pricing hehe