Shipping Question....

kev

kev

Im guybrush threepwood
Jun 16, 2004
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0
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Bristol, United Kingdom
www.myspace.com
Hey guys, think im plotting ym next big purchase in the next few weeks/months, in a dual rectifier.

Im just wondering what the likelyhood of a states seller shipping to UK would be, and the likely cost of postage for such a beastly item? Also, i wonder whether it would be worth paying them to buy a hard case before shipping.

Kev

(I ask this as there is no way in hell im paying UK prices)
 
I'm sure if you look around you'll be able to find someone that'll do it (I don't know any companies offhand, sorry!).

The thing to remember is that you'll pay tax on it when it gets to this country - it's normally a percentage of the value of the of the product (I don't know how it works exactly), so it could end up being quite a hefty sum. Obviously due to the weight, the shipping will be pretty expensive too - I'm not sure you'd end up saving all that much; the amp would need to be quite a lot cheaper than they are here.

Steve
 
I must admit I'm not sure I'd take the chance on amp - that's a lot of weight, and if you get a duff one delivered... ouch. As a general rule of thumb whenever you import something, you should investigate whether you get a world-wide warranty or not.

One thing that is possible nowadays is to investigate prices in Europe - they can be cheaper than here and, there's no import duty to pay, and shipping is much less even for bulky items. Some UK places will now price-match against European shops because of all this - it's real competition. A quick way to do this is to use google.fr, google.de etc. Of course the language barrier can sometimes be a litle too much, but a lot of sites are either in English or are obvious enough that you can work out what's what without taxing our leetle Engleesh brains too much.
 
Cheers guys :) The difference in Mesa pricing from UK to USA is astronomical, a 2nd hand one from USA will be around $1100 (£630) , and a brand new one from the UK will cost me £1699 ($3000) so you can probably see where im coming from! I guess shipping will be the biggest part of £100 unless anyone else knows better? Plus about 25% tax on the item (£150) will take it to a grand total of £900 at the most, so around half the price of a brand new one here. Maybe i should try to buy 2nd hand in the UK, its just they're a lot rarer! Any idea how much a 2nd hand one goes for in the UK roughly?
 
kev you can use the following sites to determine the rates from USA to UK. Be sure to add full insurance to the quote. Guess the weight to be about 60 pounds to be safe. I ship overseas all the time (eBay), so I have no problem with it. I've shipped guitars and amps to germany, spain, london, etc. I usually always use USPS, united states postal service because they always end up being the most economical.

Anyways, here are the 3 main shippers in USA that ship abroad. Look for the online rate/shipping calculator on the sites and plug in the info, you'll get an accurate price. if the seller marks it as GIFT you should not have to pay any duties/fees.

www.ups.com

www.usps.com

www.fedex.com

fwiw, i shipped an ibanez to spain recently. it weighed 16 pounds, and was $67 bucks with $700 of insurance and it got there in 4 days. i would imagine a recto with full insurance is going to clock in right around $200 bucks or so.. give or take $30 either way.
 
Second hand from the US? You people in Bristol, you're mad. Mad I say! You're really taking a punt doing that IMHO. Also don't forget, most electrical products will run on that there funny eletricity they have in the US, not proper British electricity like your mother makes it. Factor in a transformer into your equation.

To be honest, I think you might get a lot further by doing some research on your tod, rather than just asking questions. For example I can see two Dual Rectifiers have completed on ebay.co.uk in the last fortnight...
 
Ive been looking at second hand mesa's in london and round essex, and ive seen nothing under the 1k mark.
Ive seen a fair few good second hand duals for bout 1.2k

Also on the shipping front, ive bought a fair few things from music123.com and i looked at shipping a 6505 and it wouldve been absolutely rediculuos, like $250 or sumin
 
fortnight... 2 weeks... learned that from reading sherlock holmes books when I was a kid.

ltratt does have a point about the 110/220 us/uk thing. i sold some dude in the UK a behringer mfx rack jobbie many moons ago, and he freaked out when he got it because he thought it was supposed to be 110/220 selectable.

as long as the amp is selectable, you should be fine.

also, dont fret about buying a used amp, as long as the seller has good feedback and sounds like a legit cat, no worries. ive yet to get fucked on eBay and I've done a sh'load of transactions.

danable- yeah.. $200 - $250 sounds about right.. its all about the weight.
 
> also, dont fret about buying a used amp, as long as the seller has good
> feedback and sounds like a legit cat, no worries. ive yet to get fucked on
> eBay and I've done a sh'load of transactions.

I agree in many ways. I do however think on something that big and expensive, the advantage in buying it over that distance has to be big to outweigh the disadvantages inherent in shipping it half way across the world. For less expensive, and lighter, items I have many less qualms.

> fortnight... 2 weeks... learned that from reading sherlock holmes books
> when I was a kid.

Well done Sir! Here's your next test for Englishness. You are on a tube, and notice that someone is fatally wounded and will quite possibly perish in seconds unless assistance is rendered. Do you a) Tell them how much you identify with their pain. b) Tell them to get out the damned way. c) Studiously look everywhere except at the person. Answer a) oooo, West Coast baby. b) Tough guy New Yawker. c) English (bonus points if you have a newspaper to hand to avoid further embaressment).
 
I shipped my Dual Recto to France last Xmas...guy on Ebay bought it...it was $250 USD and shipped with UPS. I believe it was 50 pounds in weight with packing materials and bubble wrap
 
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