Ordering Thomann stuff via Galway music shops

Dave Van Ronk

In Cork, you can order Thomann gear through <a shop> shop & they get the vat back and you get the Thomann price with the <a shop> customer care.

Does any music shop in Galway City provide this service?

Malice

I can't say I've ever heard of it being done. Sounds like it could be a bit awkward if something was to go wrong, the shop wouldn't want the hassle. I've dealt with Thomann a couple of times and any time I've had to deal with their customer service they have been very helpful.

Unrealistic

I'd avoid Back 2 Music if trying to order something out of the ordinary. My experience was that they couldn't even order a replacement part for an instrument (from a major manufacturer) that I had bought there. After literally a year of hearing "in a couple of weeks" I finally gave up.

Malice

Unrealistic wrote: »

I'd avoid Back 2 Music if trying to order something out of the ordinary.

I'd avoid them full stop .

Doctor_Socks

I can't really imagine any of the shops in Galway would like the hassle of going through thomann. If I was going to try a shop though I would definitely try modern music over the other competitors, I can honestly say that i've never had any hassle from them, apart from them being closed from 1-2 for lunch everyday

Paolo_M

I can't see the logic in this.
It's a loose - loose situation versus buying direct from Thomann, unless I'm missing some important detail.

Rigsby

Paolo_M wrote: »

I can't the logic in this.
It's a loose loose situation versus buying direct from Thomann, unless I'm missing some important detail.

+1.

Why not just order direct from Thomann ?

Malice

Rigsby wrote: »

Why not just order direct from Thomann ?

I suppose maybe if you were ordering an amp or something big which you couldn't get sent to work and couldn't guarantee being at home for delivery for it could be handy but otherwise it doesn't seem too logical. Mind you I've never dealt with that shop in Cork, maybe they have excellent customer care?

lukeeman

Try your local shop first and if they dont have it or cant come
close in price to thomann, then go direct to thomann.

wellboys

Definitely head in to Modern Music and inquire about what you're looking for. The lads in there know their stuff. I got a guitar in there last week and paid €9 more than what I would have on Thomann. He set it up and gave me a free strap too!

Malice

Yep, Modern Music's customer service is excellent. I've been using them for all my strings, picks and straps for years. The whole closed for lunch thing is a bit annoying but even with that they are still always going to get my business.

balducci

That's a very strange thing to do. You say they 'claim the VAT back', are you implying that that is income for them because that would be illegal. Which leads me to wonder why they'd risk it.

For example -
they buy product A for €121
claim back €21 VAT
sell it to you for €121

at this point they are obliged to pay €21 VAT from the sale of product A to you which means they make nothing

If they are paying the VAT, all they are gaining is potential hassle if something goes wrong with the product

If they are not paying the VAT then I presume you don't get any kind of receipt cos the sale would have to be 'off the books', in which case the customer care you were referring to is null and void.

Unless I'm missing something.......

Demeyes

I can't see the point of doing it through a shop, thomann are good in dealing with issues and returns from my experience. If you can't use a credit card you can always do a bank transfer to pay for a thomann order, I've done it a few times without any problems though it does take a few days more.

Malice

In the interests of not having allegations of businesses not declaring VAT on this thread I've edited a couple of posts that mentioned specific businesses. Lets all avoid making those kind of allegations please.