Ordering off Thomann

soundbase

Has anyone ordered off Thomann here? Everything arrive fine through their shipping methods? I'm looking at getting a Harley Benton 8 string and was wondering how it works. I see there's a 50 Euro Shipping fee, excluding VAT. Are there any other fees like customs? I see that there's isn't meant to be any customers fess on electric guitars. But just wanted to check before ordering

V8

I've heard of a few guys ordering from Thomman (German site) - not recently, ebay/US is more popular usually.

No customs on guitars - though, you'll be liable for VAT + Customs clearing charge (around 1%). I recall there being some duties on cases (they're regarded as baggage) - though this might have changed - havn't seen anyone moan about that recently.

One thing - check the shipping options and use the one that will pre-clear customs for you (E.g. Aramex Global Shopper) - SAPO can be a hurdle a.t.m clearing incoming goods and having a agent handle that for can make a big difference in timings.

soundbase

Thanks, will check into the Aramex Global shipping option. Glad electric guitars have no customs. That makes a big difference

frankie23

Hi all

I'm Frank, and this will be my first post. I'm looking forward to being a part of this community!

I'm also looking to obtain some info and experiences from anyone that has previously/recently ordered from thomann.de.

I'm seriously contemplating ordering a Gibson LP Standard 60's from Thomann, however, I would like to get some additional feedback on the experience, any issues or things to look out for, the shipping experience to South Africa, any issues in dealing with SARS and the import/customs duties one may expect, etc. before committing the (very!) large pile of cash required, to such a transaction/retailer.

If anyone can offer any advice and/or anecdotes on recent experiences, it would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

V8

frankie23 Personally I havn't but others have - Thomann is legit - here's two threads with a some info

https://community.guitartalk.co.za/d/18019-thomann-shipping-stress
https://community.guitartalk.co.za/d/11178-www-thomann-de/4

Having done some imports from USA & UK, you can expect to pay VAT + local handling charge (15% + 1%). Not sure what shipping options they offer, but make sure you've got a international tracking number - if they do pre-clearing of customs, even better.

Good luck!

Bluetone

frankie23 Yes, I ordered an interface from Thomann in 2021 and they were incredibly efficient. Shipping was handled by courier. I was annoyed to be charged further fees by UPS on top of the shipping charges taken at the time of the transaction. I was expecting the customs VAT charge, but not the "disbursement fee" and "brokerage administration charge" over and above what was stated. That's not Thomann's fault, and if they didn't use couriers we'd be stuck dealing with the SAPO. Also, because my item was not nearly as pricey as yours would be, those charges (about R300) were more significant in the overall cost.

So, for a musical instrument, that should be the same deal: customs VAT, courier charges, that's pretty much it.

frankie23

Hi there!

Awesome, thank you very much! 🙂

frankie23

Great, thank you very much!

I've also been looking at dealers like Andertons.co.uk and guitarguitar.co.uk which - unlike Thomman - allows you to view detailed photos of the actual guitars and their serial numbers, so you get to choose the exact instrument you'll receive. I actually quite like this feature, which may actually sway me from Thomman, as these Gibson LPs' finishes can differ quite a lot from guitar to guitar, especially when comparing their flame maple tops.

The above-mentioned UK retailers also do international shipping, however I'm not sure if its door-to-door DHL/UPS/Fedex (which is a non-negotiable). I guess a quick email to their customer service will be able to establish this.