Bringing a guitar back from the US

conzy

Going to America for Christmas and I'm planning on getting an Ibanez S470

I know i will be charged VAT if they think its new

I was wondering if the change in climate could damage the guitar?

Also, whats the best way to bring it back? Would they allow a guitar in hand luggage with the new cabin rules? I dont want the expense of a flight case for it unless I have to buy one.....

Thanks

Karl Hungus

conzymaher wrote:

I was wondering if the change in climate could damage the guitar?

Nah, you might need to retune it, or in an extreme case, give it a thorough setup, but no, it won't be damaged. I mean, no matter where in the world you buy the guitar, it'll still have been made in the same place.

conzymaher wrote:

Also, whats the best way to bring it back? Would they allow a guitar in hand luggage with the new cabin rules? I dont want the expense of a flight case for it unless I have to buy one.....

You'd have to check with the airline beforehand.

conzy

Thanks

I had visions of the neck shattering and splintering into hundreds of pieces for some reason

Voodu Child

Please note that while youll save a good bit compared to Irish retail prices, thats only because Irish prices are mad... you wont necessarily save a huge amount compared to the likes of thomann etc. on a Japanese guitar.

Have a check of ishibashis prices too. Theres plenty of people and info here to help you work out the shipping, customs etc. In Japan, they dont charge sales tax on exported goods, so you just pay the vat here.

You may see a nice 2nd hand one too. This is all they have at the moment, but its worth keeping an eye out.

conzy

Well its $499 (€388) on musiciansfriend and €589 on Thomann:eek:

So im saving alot

But i have just been told that Musiciansfriend dont accept international credit cards.

I can Western Union the money to them but im not exactly sure if they meant, i could western union the money to them from the US or from here

Any help greatly appreciated

Karl Hungus

Thomann are crap for Ibanez prices, try www.gak.co.uk or www.guitarbargains.com for good European prices on Ibanez.

Voodu Child

Its E470 on guitarbargains, plus shipping.

So, yeah, youre still making a fairly good saving buying it in the US.

conzy

Well to send $499 by Western Union costs €456:rolleyes:

Plus I would have to buy a hard case and may have to pay additional charges in the airport, So i think i will get it from GAK for €520 including delivery

btw, What do you think of the S470? it gets lots of great reviews and has quality parts...

The_g-man

Guitar bargains works out as €535 shipped with a complimentary hardcase, €15 more than gak and wasn't sure if you were getting a case from them.

Voodu Child

S470 is a decent enough guitar for the money. If its what you want you wont be disappointed.

Personally, if I had E500 to spend, i would go for a 2nd hand prestige level guitar. The attention payed to the prestige guitars in recent years, particularly fretwork and fingerboard treatment, is excellent. Parts are better, pickups are better, most come with a hardcase these days.

However, some people dont like the idea of a used guitar, so i guess the S470 is a decent enough choice.

andy1249

Brought a new strat back from the states in January , so here are some of the logistics , you cannot bring it on as hand luggage , also the hard case is larger that standard check in baggage and costs an extra 80 dollars to check in !!
Bit of a pain , but still well worth it in terms of money saved if I bought it here.
I walked through the green channel and no one said a word , so got away with the VAT but if you do get stopped they charge 21 % . Have the receipt handy !!

conzy

I will buy from Guitarbargains then

Where should I keep an eye out for a Prestige model? Ebay could be dodgey...

I may not be purchasing until January depending on funds.....

Voodu Child

www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box

Keep an eye out and a great prestige S series will come up sooner or later. I dont do s series (not enough frets ), so i cant remember off the top of my head how often they come up.

ALso, note that the s series has taken a dive in recent years, which is another reason to buy 2nd hand. There are some lovely models made a couple of years ago. The current line up isnt the best imo.

Karl Hungus

conzymaher wrote:

btw, What do you think of the S470? it gets lots of great reviews and has quality parts...

I think Ibanez make some of the best guitars in the world (Spoken like a true fanboy, eh? ) but their biggest shortcoming is the stock pickups, they're pretty bad.

You might want to factor in some DiMarzios or Duncans aswell, but once you've got some swish pickups in there, you'll have an amazing guitar.

conzy

Im still a fairly inexperienced player so the stock pickups will do me for a while

Thanks for all the help

btw, locking trem systems? are the easy enough to maintain, Any experience with the Ibanez ZR trems?

Karl Hungus

conzymaher wrote:

btw, locking trem systems? are the easy enough to maintain, Any experience with the Ibanez ZR trems?

Nah, once you know what you're doing, they're fairly straight forward. I've not used a ZR trem before, but there's loads of guides on www.ibanezrules.com, that should help you out a lot.

Ibanez make the best trems in the world, and they're comparitively easier to get to grips with.

feylya

ZR trems are absolutely gorgeous imo. I've messed around with them before and they've done nothing but impressed me.

conzy

I got in contact with a shop in the town im going to (Stowe VT) and he can order one for me

Im just waiting to hear a price, So if the price is right i will be able to buy it in cash

So, any tips for dodging VAT bringing it back?

Johnny Storm

Tell 'em Tony sent you.

conzy

What if i bring a broken guitar in a hardcase, and bring home the shiny new ibanez?

Doctor J

conzymaher wrote:

So, any tips for dodging VAT bringing it back?

Ehhh... asking how to commit fraud on a public forum isn't the brightest thing to do. By law, you are obliged to declare the guitar, not doing so is a criminal offence. If you don't declare it, it's your call, but bear in mind your IP address is logged every post you make here, so you might want to be careful just what you admit to

Bear in mind also that if you try to smuggle the guitar through and are caught, you will be fined as well as being charged the VAT and import duty on what they consider the guitar to be worth, so you could end up paying more for it than if you bought it in a rip-off shop here.

feylya

If they catch you smuggling the guitar through customs, you will be charged double the VAT. Not something you want. Please do not ask how to break the law on Boards.ie

Rustar

Why come all the way to the US to pick up something you can easily order at home?
Pick up something you *can't* get easily, like a tasty Schecter......just thinkin' here, mindja.....:)