Warwick stocklists in UK?

[erisu]

Hi guys,

I'm after a Warwick Pro Series $$ Corvette but it's really difficult to find one here in UK.

Anyone who are the main stocklists for Warwick basses? Just want to ring up/order online and wait for it to arrive.

Cheers in advance!

[Funky Dunky]

Gear4Music in York do them, but they are getting harder to come by in stores - I think Gak stocked Warwick up until fairly recently, but no longer. Somebody far more knowledgable than I will be along just shortly to tell you why.

[Sammers]

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1474901152' post='3141371']
Gear4Music in York do them, but they are getting harder to come by in stores - I think Gak stocked Warwick up until fairly recently, but no longer. Somebody far more knowledgable than I will be along just shortly to tell you why.
[/quote]

I vaguely remember it being stated that it's because Warwick are so difficult to work with to become a fully fledged dealer. Might have been a couple years ago now so things may (or may not) have changed since then.

[Grangur]

I was in Sofia in Bulgaria a couple of weeks back. I visited Music Division and met Boris, the manager there. They have a great collection of Warwicks on the wall.

Boris is a nice guy and would be well worth contacting. You can find Music Division at: www.musicdivision.bg



BTW Bulgaria is inside the EU, so there's no import duty either. (Until we Brexit!)

Edited September 26, 2016 by Grangur

[Lw.]

Wunjo had a load in last time I was in there, their website isn't ideal for ordering from but you could probably order over the phone. But if you're buying un-seen I'd probably just order one from Thomann.

[Trueno]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1474903693' post='3141398']
I was in Sofia in Bulgaria a couple of weeks back. I visited Music Division and met Boris, the manager there. They have a great collection of Warwicks on the wall.

Boris is a nice guy and would be well worth contacting. You can find Music Division at: www.musicdivision.bg



BTW Bulgaria is inside the EU, so there's no import duty either. (Until we Brexit!)
[/quote]

Aaarrrgghh!!!

Luckily I regard my Thumb as "the one Warwick to rule them all...." Otherwise I'd be a bit gas'd out by that pic.

[Daz39]

GBBL I think stocks them.

[dyerseve]

[quote name='erisu' timestamp='1474899688' post='3141350']
Hi guys,

I'm after a Warwick Pro Series $$ Corvette but it's really difficult to find one here in UK.

Anyone who are the main stocklists for Warwick basses? Just want to ring up/order online and wait for it to arrive.

Cheers in advance!
[/quote]

They crop up on ebay and gumtree fairly regularly. You can pick up a used one for around too so really not sure why you would buy new when you can save so much money!

Here you go:

Not the best condition but would be easy to get the front of the body looking good again:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/warwick-corvette-double-bucker-4-string-bass-guitar/1187558181

Here's one in better condition:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/warwick-corvette-4-double-buck-german-made-bass-guitar/1185756585

Edited September 26, 2016 by dyerseve

[Funky Dunky]

There's a stunning red $$ up for grabs for around £500 on basschat. I myself would move for it in a minute if:

A. Dude would entertain my trade, or
B. I could get a quick sale on one of my basses to fund it, and
C. I knew what the bliddy neck felt like (chunky buggers, those)

Seriously, it's wooden sex. The colour is striking, and at £500 for a German $$, it seems like a bargain.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Funky Dunky

[Silvia Bluejay]

I think Bass Gear are Warwick stockists. Worth checking with them: http://www.bassgear.co.uk/

[karlfer]

I'm sure I read that, post Brexit, Warwick want payment up front from UK dealers, so I wouldn't be massively surprised if UK dealers just quietly let stocks sell through and then equally quietly forget about being dealers.

I know I would if I were being dictated to like that.

[Grangur]

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1474958084' post='3141720']
I'm sure I read that, post Brexit, Warwick want payment up front from UK dealers, so I wouldn't be massively surprised if UK dealers just quietly let stocks sell through and then equally quietly forget about being dealers.

I know I would if I were being dictated to like that.
[/quote]
Don't dealers of other make instruments own their stock then?
Surely Fender don't stock all the shops FOC and only take payment when it's sold. Otherwise, how does Fender/Warwick know the stock has sold and they're due their money?

[Machines]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1474959034' post='3141725']
Don't dealers of other make instruments own their stock then?
Surely Fender don't stock all the shops FOC and only take payment when it's sold. Otherwise, how does Fender/Warwick know the stock has sold and they're due their money?
[/quote]

Most businesses have a 90 day payment requirement on POs.

[Grangur]

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1474962169' post='3141753']


Most businesses have a 90 day payment requirement on POs.
[/quote] In most industries 30 days is normal

[markstuk]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1474962473' post='3141760']
In most industries 30 days is normal
[/quote]

Our record for an undisputed £700k invoice to BT was 241 days :-)

[Lw.]

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1474958084' post='3141720']
I'm sure I read that, post Brexit, Warwick want payment up front from UK dealers
[/quote]

How would Warwick be able to make decisions like that now when they don't know what trade deals will be in place? Was this in the press or just a made up internet comment?

Not that there's anything wrong with requesting money up front for sales - we as customers have to do it all the time when ordering things.

[Machines]

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1474962869' post='3141765']
Our record for an undisputed £700k invoice to BT was 241 days :-)
[/quote]

Some bigger companies avoid paying smaller one sin the hope they don't have the finances to pursue in court or just go out of business before they need to pay.

[molan]

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1474965715' post='3141804']


How would Warwick be able to make decisions like that now when they don't know what trade deals will be in place? Was this in the press or just a made up internet comment?

Not that there's anything wrong with requesting money up front for sales - we as customers have to do it all the time when ordering things.
[/quote]

It was a public statement direct to all UK dealers from Hans-Peter himself.

Dealers used to get a short credit window which allowed them to check stock, balance cash flow and maybe move an odd instrument quickly.

Post Brexit (in fact maybe a week before) all dealers were told that payment for every instrument had to be made in full in advance before Warwick would ship anything to the UK.

With demand for Warwicks already dropping rapidly over here and the resulting low margins there's not a huge incentive to hold a lot of stock that has to be paid for in advance.

The new Pro series manufacturing schedule is a little random as well. Dealers can log in and see exactly what's available but for certain models and colours the wait time was sometimes not even specified - they literally could not get a delivery date so couldn't really take customer orders for these.

Full German built instruments have also become very expensive. Last time I checked there was only 1 for sale in the whole of the UK.

Even the ex-demo and show instruments available to dealers from Warwick in Germany are pretty expensive compared to many other brands.

Add all of this to a fall in the exchange rate and it results in very few new instruments being available for sale (or even demo) over here

[Funky Dunky]

Sounds to me like Warwick are making a bit of an arse of it!

[funkyjimbob]

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1475144766' post='3143366']
Sounds to me like Warwick are making a bit of an arse of it!
[/quote]

Pretty much. I was speaking to the owners of Manson's (ex Warwick stockists) here in Exeter and they were telling me about Hans. Would rather not share what they had to say about him.

And their customer service is absolutely terrible, as is their joke of a pricing system. If anyone cares here is a thread from last year when I requested a repair to one of my Warwick custom shops. Check out the quote I was given if you fancy a laugh. It's a shame really as I love my Warwicks and won't play anything else but as a company they are assholes.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/275110-warwick-and-their-new-pricing-system/page__st__90__p__2948628__hl__warwick%20repair__fromsearch__1#entry2948628"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/275110-warwick-and-their-new-pricing-system/page__st__90__p__2948628__hl__warwick%20repair__fromsearch__1#entry2948628[/url]

[Lw.]

Hmm interesting.

He/they must be worried about the fx risk or possibly the risk of extending credit to UK companies who then can't afford to pay it back due to the pound dropping (or future potential drops) & so are putting all the risk on the UK dealer rather than sharing some of it.

I thought the new-ish German pro-series would see a lift in Warwick sales as they looked comparable to the Warwicks of the late 90's/early 00's in terms of price & general off-the-peg feel which were so popular but it doesn't seem to have worked out that way - must be because they are hard to deal with. Can't really comment on the other german made/custom ones as the prices are just completely unattainable for me, similar to Fender Custom Shop but yes, I doubt there are too many of them being shipped over given how few musicians have that kind of money!

[Grangur]

Warwick are in a bit of an odd situation. Most makers in the market fall in one of 2 camps:

1 - Mass-market, relatively budget instruments, high volume. Fast turnover of stock.

2 - Low volume boutique basses, small manufacturing plant, slow moving stock.

Warwick are trying to move into the high volume area, but they're trying to keep at the luxury end. The problem here is to many people in the market don't mind a mass produced instrument at a fair price and don't want to pay for pretty woods. Going to the area of not giving credit won't help them. It's very possible it's nothing to do with Brexit. it could be more wide-spread than simply the UK.

I've worked in the past with German companies. The German market will often be happy to pay extra for high quality and they will often expect other countries to be of the same mindset; not that they're alone on that last point.

Good luck to Warwick. I'm a fan of their basses, but I don't hold out hope of this working. This could drive them under.

[TheGreek]

I've been pretty disappointed with the customer service at Warwick - nothing short of poor TBH - why not get yourself a quality Spector - after all it is their design..

Edited September 29, 2016 by TheGreek

[molan]

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1475160786' post='3143595']

I thought the new-ish German-ish pro-series
[/quote]

Fixed it for you. . .

[Lw.]

Well yes, I believe "German Pro Series" is the name of the line - I did hear some discussion about whether parts from Germany bolted together somewhere else or parts from somewhere else bolted together in Germany still counts as made in Germany but I can't remember which way round it was or the outcome.