Where do you buy from the US?

[Thirteen]

I have to buy an Akai MPC1000 sampler for a show, and of course the local importer (as usual) has nothing in stock and a vague date for more coming in. Try as I might to support local supplies, this particular company has let me down too many times. Anyone got any positive feedback for any music stores in the US who are happy to ship to Oz?

[toddd]

I've found Sweetwater to be pretty excellent, definitely an amazing focus on customer service. Stuff normally arrives within 3 business days too.

[prequalizer]

Some online shops will not ship overseas due to "conflict of interest" with the manufacturer or supplier.

[musikwerks]

Sweetwater will ship OS if their distribution agreement allows it.

I wanted a Mesa TransAtlantic amp as they only cost $900usd. The local price (when I asked) was $2,495, and this was when the dollar was .92us!. My Sweetwater guy said he wasn't allowed to ship it OS but could ship it to a USA address for me.

Otherwise I use Vintage King and they are first class all the way.

[Chinagraf]

+1 for Vintage King. Mike is a good guy.

[lonearranger]

Have used http://www.jrrshop.com a few times without issue. They even helped me out with shipping on something that I didn't buy from them.

They also offer a 10% discount for UAD forum users - see the last post on this page. http://www.studionu.com/uadforums/viewt ... 8&start=15
Depending on the item and price you can trade this for free O/S shipping.

Cheers

[Chris H]

+1 for Vintage King. Mike is a good guy.

Bastards....they destroy good consoles!....parting them out and selling the individual modules for eexagerated profit...this will be seen in the future as the act of barbarians!

[Chinagraf]

[quote="Chris H"][quote="Chinagraf"]+1 for Vintage King. Mike is a good guy.[/quote]


Bastards....they destroy good consoles!....parting them out and selling the individual modules for eexagerated profit...this will be seen in the future as the act of barbarians![/quote]

I know! And how about them soulless people who buy the parted out bits, helping to perpetuate a demand for them!
Oh the horror..

[Chris H]

+1 for Vintage King. Mike is a good guy.

Bastards....they destroy good consoles!....parting them out and selling the individual modules for eexagerated profit...this will be seen in the future as the act of barbarians!

I know! And how about them soulless people who buy the parted out bits, helping to perpetuate a demand for them!
Oh the horror..

The guilt.....
The shame....

[Alastair Reynolds]

Word of Warning when purchasing new equipment from overseas.
The local agent/importer does not have to offer warranty service or Software updates on products bought O/S. Your contract of sale and therefore warranty is with the dealer you purchased from, which may mean returning a device to the US. This can be very costly and time consuming, so factor that into any saving you may make. Some local agents may even refuse to service equipment that has been bought overseas (even as a paying Job).
That said if you can get a really good deal and are prepared to take the risk go for it, but don't get upset if the local Importer doesn't want to know you.
Part of the local pricing structure incorporates holding parts, training techs and operating a workshop or contracting a private workshop as a service agent.This is required by the manufacturer in order to hold an agency/distributorship for a product. Not to mention shipping costs etc etc.

Vintage gear of course , no problem. I buy a heap of it internationally, but I have to fix it myself when it stops

[vanderlae]

I've found Vintage King to be pretty stellar as mentioned, although I won't buy anything new from online US for quite some time because they got stung and I almost did also.

It went like this: I was looking to buy a HEDD192 and having bought a coles at a nice price and with great service (onya Mike!) not long prior, I thought I'd give VK a try. They gave me an amazing price and I hit the green button. The next day my guy from a store locally phoned me about some other gear I was waiting on at which point I mentioned this good price in friendly conversation. Or so I thought. Well, I didn't know they were the distributor locally, did I?! The very next day I got a message from VK about having had been blasted by the folks down here. Not happy. And I can't blame them. All sorts of things were pointed out to them, not least of all the list of high end gear that customs has with RRP declarations on them to compare with what's noted as it comes in. That equals ouch. I canned the sale of course not wanting VK to get in any hot water over it. Yes I still bought it here and at the same price (so every cloud....) but I did learn my lesson. Two, actually: shut your mouth, and mind your local manners - it's not always the best idea to shop around the world.

Having said that, I'm looking to bring back a Martin from Nashville while I'm over there later this year because there's no way the distributor here can match. Even with taxes. Difference is they know about it this time

[toddd]

i totally agree with what both Alastair and vanderlae have said.

i do know that sweetwater honor warranty, but i would hazard that in most occasions you would be shipping the piece back to the states.

also, never bragging/discussing a sweet deal you got from the states with an equipment retailer in oz would be good advice..

but thirteen originally started the post wanting a device that he has been unable to source locally, so i don't see any probs with him getting one from the states.

[Alistair]

Maybe a secret that I shouldn't give away, but..... here goes.

I signed up to www.myUS.com about a year ago. Essentially it gives you a postal address in Florida, enabling you to have things sent to you when either a seller won't ship outside the US, or a dealer can't due to manufacturer regulations.

It's not super cheap (about $10AUD a month, plus shipping usually works out around $160 from US to AUS), but it enables you to grab some really great deals off US ebay/GS etc. Everything is sent via DHL, but they are big enough to get something like 50% off DHL's published rates. They'll also hold your items for as long as you want and combine multiple items into one box to save on shipping. I generally purchase one big thing, and then stuff the order full of little things and send off.

Things on US ebay that are open to worldwide bidders almost always go for more than local sales, so it's pretty cool to have.

Re: warranty- to be honest, most dealers or distributors here are horrendous. I bought a new $4500 guitar with a busted case- the shop promised to replace it as a condition of sale and never did despite a lot of hassling, I think I got a free set of strings (on a RRP $250 case). I've bought pedals that have broken within warranty period- retailers have charged me (!!) to ship them to the repair shop, who decided they couldn't find the problem, despite the retailer agreeing it was broken.
Guitars I've had have warped within 6 months only to get "Oh, that's not a problem, Spanish guitars are meant to do that". It doesn't play in tune anymore, that is a problem.

For my experience, 9/10 a warranty isn't worth the paper it's written on (as highlighted by the Taylor thread on this site), so I'd rather get the items cheap for when they inevitably break- I can spend the cash I've saved having a real tech getting it working again.