Strings and things, worth buying from?

[Spence]

Hi guys

I am lookin to buy a schecter loomis as my first seven string , in the uk the hardtail normally goes for around £879

I noticed on ebay there is a shop on ebay called Strings and things who regularly sell them, although with minor blemishes for around half that

I am aware of the fairly expensive shipping and customs fees

Has anyone here purchased a guitar from them and do they generally have a good reputation?, i have heard about many companies not being able to offer the same level of service to their international custimers

 

[Rook]

If Strings'n'Things is the same company as the UK Ernie Ball distributor then they're great to deal with.

If they aren't I have no idea.

EDIT: Wait, this place is in the states?

 

[Spence]

They are an ebay shop based in america, so i dont think they are

 

[technomancer]

You'll have to pay VAT and shipping on the import, so probably not worth it for you even if they are legit.

 

[Murmel]

^
This basically. Unless it's a really expensive guitar, or something rare, it's generally not worth it with all the added fees.

 

[Spence]

Right so the price listed is £410 pounds

i am aware of all the vat & import duty,how much will i acutually have to pay roughly before i have it in my hand?

 

[Rook]

When importing from the States, which I do a lot, you take the price in $, shipping should usually be about $80-100 by USPS Priority but it takes a couple of weeks.

That in GBP is what you pay on the day.

The package if sent by USPS will arrive by ParcelForce in the UK, who charge 20% VAT, 3% import duty and a handling fee which they seem to just make up off the top of their heads but is usually about £10. So basically take whatever you paid in GBP and times it by 0.25 and that's abut what you'll have to pay ParcelForce before they give it to you.

You pay 25% of the value ON THE BOX when you collect it.

It very often works out to be worth your while financially, I've imported about 7 guitars in the last year, but it does take time, and you can get problems/damage so in that respect it may not be worth it. With the exchange rate going the way it is, the price in $ has be less than the price in £ for it to be really worthwhile. i.e. if a guitar costs £600 here or $550 in the states then it's worth it.

This very often isn't the case.

EDIT: To directly answer your question, you're looking t a bill of about £100 when you go to collect it - this is looking very much worth your while if you ask me.

 

[elrrek]

+1 on Fun111.
I have watched many auctions by the "Strings and things" seller on ebay, they seem to have a good feedback score and look legit to me. I've nearly pulled the trigger myself on a few occasions, on it was on a Loomis too

 

[dooredge]

I've bought from Strings & Things - good ebayer. You'll be happy if you w/ them. Tim is a good guy.

 

[Benny Boy]

I can also highly recommend using Tim's ebay shop. During 2007 I bought a C7-FR and then a few months later a C7 Hellraiser. My bandmate also purchased a black cherry C7 Hellraiser from him.

No problems whatsoever, and way cheaper than buying over here. A google search just showed up Hellraisers at £799. I paid half that all in, although I believe charges may have changed since then, VAT certainly has.

 

[Spence]

When importing from the States, which I do a lot, you take the price in $, shipping should usually be about $80-100 by USPS Priority but it takes a couple of weeks.

That in GBP is what you pay on the day.

The package if sent by USPS will arrive by ParcelForce in the UK, who charge 20% VAT, 3% import duty and a handling fee which they seem to just make up off the top of their heads but is usually about £10. So basically take whatever you paid in GBP and times it by 0.25 and that's abut what you'll have to pay ParcelForce before they give it to you.

You pay 25% of the value ON THE BOX when you collect it.

It very often works out to be worth your while financially, I've imported about 7 guitars in the last year, but it does take time, and you can get problems/damage so in that respect it may not be worth it. With the exchange rate going the way it is, the price in $ has be less than the price in £ for it to be really worthwhile. i.e. if a guitar costs £600 here or $550 in the states then it's worth it.

This very often isn't the case.

EDIT: To directly answer your question, you're looking t a bill of about £100 when you go to collect it - this is looking very much worth your while if you ask me.

So does this mean that the VAT and import duty applies to the price of the guutar+shipping, or simply the value of the instrument?

 

[Spence]

Right ive done the calculation, can someone correct me if im wrong please

All values are in pounds at todays exchange rate

Loomis £407.53
Shipping £62.50

Total value £ 470.03

Import duty and other charges = 25%

Final cost = £587.54 , Which works out at almost £300 cheaper

 

[Rook]

VAT should be on the shipping but looking at my previous import invoices it hasn't been, it's just been on the value WRITTEN ON THE BOX.

*cough*

Your sums look good, it's always better to over estimate anyway.

 

[Spence]

Thanks for the help, i have heard from people importing things from the states, such as the few people in the uk that have agile guitars, that the value of the product includes the shipping and is taxed accordingly

 

[Rook]

Depends on who writes it on the box.

The shipping companies do no research whatsoever, they dont open the box. Whatever number is written on the box (see previous post, lol) is the value you pay 25% of. Like I said before, I've imported about 7 guitars in the last 18 months and have shipped almost as many out of the EU.

When parcelforce (if it's sent by USPS) get the box, they don't necessarily know what the guy the other end paid for the shipping. They look at the little customs declaration thing, convert it into £ (with a terrible exchange rate mind you...) and charge you 20% of that net price in VAT, 3% of the gross in duty and then 8-10 pounds handling fee for showing up.

My latest one had $600 written on the box ($120 was paid for shipping on top of the value of the guitar) and ParcelForce charged me £110 + £8 handling. So I paid in GBP 18% of the box value in $.

By that logic, 18% of $665 (I'm guessing thats the dollar price of the Loomis) you can expect to pay £120 + £8 when you collect.

Your total is therefore almost exactly £600.

EDIT: I have to add, I've definitely heard of people getting charged VAT on the shipping, but I never have. I also think my handling few was more than the 8 pounds, I don't have the actual invoice, word on the street is it's about 15 quid here at the moment. Finally the exchange rate they give you'd normally about 5 points less than the XE (Market) rate.

 

[Spence]

the loomis is listed at $660 , the exchange rate works out at $1.62 to the pound

 

[Rook]

the loomis is listed at $660 , the exchange rate works out at $1.62 to the pound

With the gammy exchange rate Parcel Force will give you, you'll probably be paying duty and VAT on about £420.

With the handling fee you're looking £110-120, basically what I said before.

Sounds good man, go for it. It'll take a couple of weeks to get to Scotland, so don't let it worry you. One of mine took 4 weeks...

 

[Spence]

The charges and stuff were more expensive than i had initially worked out, but it still seems like quite a good deal

thanks very much for all the help, although i need to save a bit of money for college when i get enough spare cash this will definately be my first 7