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Post by jayson on Oct 28, 2014 7:52:32 GMT -6
Greetings all. This'll be post number one for me on this forum. Nice to find a very "un-Gearslutz" forum with some DIY emphasis.
Anyway, I'm in the US and I've been eyeballing these wonderful kits like the AML 1073 EZ, Sound Skulptor, Don Classics and I've ntoiced that these sources are EU based. it's gotten me to wonder how much hassle goes into purchasing one of these kits, by hassle I mean taxes, duties, fees or additional time involved in shipping etc.
What have folks in the 'States experienced when purchasing from outside the US?
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Post by jcoutu1 on Oct 28, 2014 8:30:11 GMT -6
Greetings all. This'll be post number one for me on this forum. Nice to find a very "un-Gearslutz" forum with some DIY emphasis. Anyway, I'm in the US and I've been eyeballing these wonderful kits like the AML 1073 EZ, Sound Skulptor, Don Classics and I've ntoiced that these sources are EU based. it's gotten me to wonder how much hassle goes into purchasing one of these kits, by hassle I mean taxes, duties, fees or additional time involved in shipping etc. What have folks in the 'States experienced when purchasing from outside the US? Great question. I'm interested too. |
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Post by svart on Oct 28, 2014 9:05:31 GMT -6
I've done it a lot.
The good news is that for the most part, the USA doesn't impose tax or tariffs on small purchases coming into the USA from most countries. If you were doing a large amount of shipping, they would probably consider it "importing" and you'd then be subject to all kinds of taxes, tariffs and rules.
However, shipping charges can vary wildly. Some countries are outrageously expensive, while others are extremely cheap. Sometimes sellers add in a lot to the shipping costs to counter the low sales cost (also they do this on Ebay because Ebay doesn't charge their fees on shipping costs, so you'll see something for like 5$ with 50$ shipping, when everyone else is selling for 50$ with 5$ shipping..)
In any case, you are also not required to pay VAT, which is a tax that the EU imposes on sales between members of the EU.
Shipping can be a hassle depending on the country. Most of the time the seller will do all the necessary work for you, so always look for sellers that do a lot of shipping to the US because they know what they are doing.
If you have a choice, always have the seller ship via their local mail courier. UPS and FEDex have been known to charge extra for "handling" when local subsidiaries carry the package. This is especially true for shipping FROM the US to other countries via UPS and FEDex.
Always have the seller be truthful on customs forms. Customs officers don't always check the packages, but if they do and it's not right, you can expect a hard time, or you might lose the package.
US customs is pretty fast. Usually only a couple days in customs before moving out. Other countries are not nearly as fast. I've heard of parts being in customs for MONTHS in other countries.
Also, always get insurance and tracking if you can. It costs extra, but it will pay off if your package doesn't arrive or is broken. I've never had anything broken or lost, but I still get the insurance, if I can, if it costs more than 50$.
That's about it. Getting DIY items into the US is pretty easy.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Oct 28, 2014 9:25:12 GMT -6
I've done it a lot. Sometimes sellers add in a lot to the shipping costs to counter the low sales cost (also they do this on Ebay because Ebay doesn't charge their fees on shipping costs, so you'll see something for like 5$ with 50$ shipping, when everyone else is selling for 50$ with 5$ shipping..) Ebay does charge their fees on shipping now, just FYI. |
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Post by svart on Oct 28, 2014 9:27:04 GMT -6
I've done it a lot. Sometimes sellers add in a lot to the shipping costs to counter the low sales cost (also they do this on Ebay because Ebay doesn't charge their fees on shipping costs, so you'll see something for like 5$ with 50$ shipping, when everyone else is selling for 50$ with 5$ shipping..) Ebay does charge their fees on shipping now, just FYI. I see they've finally caught on! |
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Post by horvitz on Oct 29, 2014 3:55:52 GMT -6
I'll point out that those three guys you mention are all great people and reputable sellers. Whatever they charge you for shipping will be a good fair price. I wouldn't worry a moment about purchasing from any of them.
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Post by keymod on Oct 29, 2014 5:04:01 GMT -6
I've bought a lot of Sound Skulptor pieces over the past few years, delivered here to Connecticut. The only issue I've had is the dollar/Euro exchange rate which, of course, SS has no control over. It makes the prices feel slightly higher, but still well worth it.
Jean-Pierre recently switched to using DHL for shipping and my last order arrived in two days.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2014 7:27:53 GMT -6
DHL is doing a good job overall in international shipping from the EU.
Prices and transportation time can really differ alot. Try always to get tracking services. I did alot of international DHL based transportation business professionally.
I had problems always with italian postal service, beeing both very slow and very expensive for everything bigger than a letter. Also, transportation from countries like Israel and Brazil were always a bit problematic, very long customs times, parcels that never arrived, some came back to the seller, parcels searched seemingly more than a dozen of times and that hold only together by the customs tape...
Surprisingly, i had alot of very fast shipping from south east, Hongkong, Australia to Europe (may apply to US, too) - postal services from there seem very fast and reliable. Same might apply for shipping from Shanghai, Singapore or Ningbo...there mostly the handling by the seller might be slower and communication can be a bit funny, but doable. Never had problems with chinese sellers...but beware of possible fake sellers...
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Post by jayson on Oct 29, 2014 8:58:07 GMT -6
I'll point out that those three guys you mention are all great people and reputable sellers. Whatever they charge you for shipping will be a good fair price. I wouldn't worry a moment about purchasing from any of them. From where I sit if there were any questions in my mind regarding the integrity of the vendors I mentioned, I wouldn't have posted the questions. I have a huge amount of trust there! I was really just wondering if anybody in the US had run into any headaches with the shipping chain - particularly from Europe. Sounds fairly straight ahead though, particularly from the UK. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 29, 2014 8:58:21 GMT -6
I ordered a pair of EZF760's from Colin AML, I just went through checkout, did nothing special, and received my stuff a week later here in SoCal. I have heard of guys getting some strange co asking for $ after the fact? But not me, I think littlesicily had this experience? |
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Post by littlesicily on Oct 29, 2014 9:38:35 GMT -6
I ordered a pair of EZF760's from Colin AML, I just went through checkout, did nothing special, and received my stuff a week later here in SoCal. I have heard of guys getting some strange co asking for $ after the fact? But not me, I think littlesicily had this experience? Tony, what are those 760's? I emailed Colin asking for a brief description on some of his items and he said he didn't have any… ??  |
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Post by littlesicily on Oct 29, 2014 9:39:38 GMT -6
I ordered a pair of EZF760's from Colin AML, I just went through checkout, did nothing special, and received my stuff a week later here in SoCal. I have heard of guys getting some strange co asking for $ after the fact? But not me, I think littlesicily had this experience? Yes, i got hit with a fee after the fact. I forgot the details but it's in another thread here on RGO. Think it was an AML thread, tonycamphd. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 29, 2014 9:55:37 GMT -6
I ordered a pair of EZF760's from Colin AML, I just went through checkout, did nothing special, and received my stuff a week later here in SoCal. I have heard of guys getting some strange co asking for $ after the fact? But not me, I think littlesicily had this experience? Tony, what are those 760's? I emailed Colin asking for a brief description on some of his items and he said he didn't have any… ?? Ask and yee shall receive 8) Compex ADR760 compressor (when the levee breaks 8) I have the stuff here, but have not had the gumption to take it on yet, apparently few have(which kills me because this compressor is the coolest thing ever!), some of the transistors are hard to find, and the calibration procedure is a bit of a pain, if you have your tech do one for you let me know how much $ he charges, i'm burned on building, and i really want this one. www.audiomaintenance.com/acatalog/aml-17-018_extended_info.htmlwww.audiomaintenance.com/acatalog/kits.htmlpcbgrinder.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_69&product_id=53groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=40274.0 |
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Post by littlesicily on Oct 29, 2014 10:00:31 GMT -6
Thanks Tony! I had my tech, Joel, help me finish my ez1073s. I can send u his info if u want. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 29, 2014 10:08:17 GMT -6
Thanks Tony! I had my tech, Joel, help me finish my ez1073s. I can send u his info if u want. Cool, Sal, just let me know if you're going to have him build you one of these, and i'll go in with you on my pair, maybe it'll cost a bit less that way? |
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Post by littlesicily on Oct 29, 2014 13:58:02 GMT -6
Thanks Tony! I had my tech, Joel, help me finish my ez1073s. I can send u his info if u want. Cool, Sal, just let me know if you're going to have him build you one of these, and i'll go in with you on my pair, maybe it'll cost a bit less that way? Looks like $150 / ch for partial kit. What else is needed other than a case? Total cost? Anyone build these and how do they sound?? dandeurloo ?? |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 29, 2014 14:22:03 GMT -6
Cool, Sal, just let me know if you're going to have him build you one of these, and i'll go in with you on my pair, maybe it'll cost a bit less that way? Looks like $150 / ch for partial kit. What else is needed other than a case? Total cost? Anyone build these and how do they sound?? dandeurloo ?? i'm gonna suggest about $4-450 a channel, they will sound very much like a vintageking.com/adr-compex-f760x-rs-by-q2-audio if you've ever used one, the expander is awesome, it pumps better than an 1176 imo(and i have 8 channels of those), check out the drums on this tune. |
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Post by littlesicily on Oct 29, 2014 14:52:26 GMT -6
Looks cool but a drum comp is not at the top of my list right now. If you build it, let me know how u like it!
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