No. 8 Wire Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 6 minutes ago, JimBobTTD said: Is there no US distributor? If the amps go Mesa > Shops in the US, then I can understand the difference. If the amps go Mesa > US Distributor > European Distributor > Shops, then I see a great way to simplify the supply chain rather than a reason why there is a huge markup. If this European distributor is liable for the guarantee, then Mesa, by definition, is not, and so can sell the amps at an even lower price. If we see $999 as the retail price per amp, add $15 per unit for extra postage costs and then add 20% VAT, the total price should be $1,217 or £916 (at today’s exchange rate). The fact that it costs half as much again suggests that something fishy is going on. I understood that Mesa are their own distributor in the US. Could be wrong. Remember that duty is also added at 4%, so total of 24%, and that is added on the unit cost + shipping cost. I'll stick to my conclusion a reasonable UK retail should be about £1000. On the warranty, it is not the variable cost of repair that will add extra cost, but the fixed overhead of having a mirrored organisation to administer and execute returns and repairs. Although again, it might just be cheaper to rtb to Mesa in the USA given the much higher retail price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 There is a simple way of dealing with this. Cut out the middlemen/women so that the amps/cabs/pedals actually sell pretty well in the UK etc. I am pretty certain that TC Electronics decided to go directly to shops which resulted in a drop in prices. This was maybe late summer 2018. I understand they cover warranties, but surely the cheapest/easiest way to do this is for Mesa/any other brand to just get in touch with a well known repair hub and say they will be their repair centre and work out the basics. No need to 'store' gear and deal with things at a middleman/middlewoman dealer. It's adding costs. It is 2019; communication is possible for free via video call...we can ship things securely, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 I do wonder why the buyer should stump up via the back door to cover warranty repairs anyway...? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No. 8 Wire Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 2 minutes ago, wateroftyne said: I do wonder why the buyer should stump up via the back door to cover warranty repairs anyway...? Well they shouldn't. But even so, a business would have to factor that into a retail price to make a profit. I just did a quick comparison of USA made (or assembled!) bass gear. Most brands seem to be at about the 1:1 or less dollars to pounds conversion. What makes Mesa the exception I guess you have to ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 3 minutes ago, No. 8 Wire said: Well they shouldn't. But even so, a business would have to factor that into a retail price to make a profit. I just did a quick comparison of USA made (or assembled!) bass gear. Most brands seem to be at about the 1:1 or less dollars to pounds conversion. What makes Mesa the exception I guess you have to ask? Your question is exactly the right one. The 1$: 1£ conversion rate has long been accepted as the ballpark conversion rate to take account of shipping, customs and 20% VAT i.e. US made gear will cost approx 30% more in the UK. We can live with that, it's just a fact of life. But there is a level of profiteering going on here at the expense of Mesa's otherwise loyal European user base, which we are all finding more than a little like having one finger stuck up at us by the suppliers. And it's getting an understandable two fingered reaction from us as consumers. I'll be voting with my wallet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No. 8 Wire Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) Just by way of comparison, our American cousins are also paying through the nose for UK bass gear. Just had a quick look at Orange 4 Stroke US prices! Maybe there is some kind of transatlantic reverse price war going on... Edited March 19, 2019 by No. 8 Wire 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 This thread has morphed into a pretty pointless discussion. All these comments are based on very little information and a lot of pie-in-the-sky guesswork. Why aren't BMW's the same price as Fords? They're not. If you want one you'll have to pay the price that BMW have set. If you don't want to. . . then you're not in the demographic, so move on and buy something in your price range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No. 8 Wire Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, chris_b said: This thread has morphed into a pretty pointless discussion. All these comments are based on very little information and a lot of pie-in-the-sky guesswork. Why aren't BMW's the same price as Fords? They're not. If you want one you'll have to pay the price that BMW have set. If you don't want to. . . then you're not in the demographic, so move on and buy something in your price range. That's not the discussion at all. The discussion is why are BMWs in the UK are a lot more than BMWs in Germany (spoiler, they're not, just using your terms). Edited March 19, 2019 by No. 8 Wire 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 1 minute ago, chris_b said: This thread has morphed into a pretty pointless discussion. All these comments are based on very little information and a lot of pie-in-the-sky guesswork. Why aren't BMW's the same price as Fords? They're not. If you want one you'll have to pay the price that BMW have set. If you don't want to. . . then you're not in the demographic, so move on and buy something in your price range. The discussion is about why a BMW seems to be priced far more in the UK than in another country. It's nice to get a bit of rationale behind why, even if we don't agree with it. By the way, if you click the cross at the top-right of your browser, it'll close the window so you don't have to tolerate it any more. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobthedog Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 An interesting dynamic for me. There is a possibility I could be moving to live in Santa Monica next year. In which case I would get the US price and warranty anyway! A meeting at the end of the month will help decide to wait or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 50 minutes ago, Bobthedog said: An interesting dynamic for me. There is a possibility I could be moving to live in Santa Monica next year. In which case I would get the US price and warranty anyway! A meeting at the end of the month will help decide to wait or not. Are you sure you're not taking the whole issue of getting a fair price on your WD-800 a touch too far? 😄 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer.b Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I see Bassdirect has got them in stock, anyone on here got one yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobthedog Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 2 hours ago, spencer.b said: I see Bassdirect has got them in stock, anyone on here got one yet? I will be trying one out, however, my post above puts a possible spanner in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Well done to Musik-Produktiv for being first out of the block in breaking price 'cartel' ranks: https://www.musik-produktiv.com/gb/mesa-boogie-subway-wd-800-10113222.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 3 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Well done to Musik-Produktiv for being first out of the block in breaking price 'cartel' ranks: https://www.musik-produktiv.com/gb/mesa-boogie-subway-wd-800-10113222.html It is a B stock (returned) product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 2 minutes ago, HazBeen said: It is a B stock (returned) product. Ah ok, I got excited too soon then! They are only managing to knock £17 off the normal stock, which is not much, but at least showing willing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 6 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Ah ok, I got excited too soon then! They are only managing to knock £17 off the normal stock, which is not much, but at least showing willing... Your exitement is palpable.... GAS does strange things to a bassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted April 26, 2019 Share Posted April 26, 2019 Anyone played/bought one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarlscharisma Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 (edited) Slow mover in the UK it seems? In the US they were getting snapped up. Price no doubt a bit factor I would guess. Actually, they're all out of stock so my last statement is redacted 😉 Edited April 28, 2019 by Sarlscharisma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 (edited) After reading the early posts on this topic I've just hopped back on at the end - so apologies if this has already been mentioned. I recently bought a new Genzler Magellan from Andertons for £749. This is a latest-generation, fully-featured D-class amp that oozes quality and sounds great. I take my hat off to them for bringing it to the UK market at such a reasonable price. Compare and contrast with the GK Fusion 800 (equivalent but around £220 dearer) and Mesa D800 (fewer features, a bit of a one-trick pony and around £120 dearer). I've owned both and they are great amps but not IMO good value for money and too expensive for me to buy new. Edited May 7, 2019 by scrumpymike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I loved my Magellan; had my band circumstances not changed, I'd still have it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 3 hours ago, Muzz said: I loved my Magellan; had my band circumstances not changed, I'd still have it... I bought a used one, sold it to try other stuff, realised I'd made a mistake - and bought a new one 😬 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I think you need to be careful when being too dismissive of Mesa amps. This is because the eq sections are far more versatile (and sensitive) than they might appear. When I bought my Bass 400 in 1988 I pretty much gave up on it after a few weeks because it didn't sound like I wanted it to. After a while I gave it another go and worked to understand the eq section. It took a while but it paid off in spades. Since then, I have compared other Mesa amps (including the Subway) and concluded (as has my listener in crime) that there is a definite 'dna' to Mesa amps but you might need to do some twiddling to get to grips with the amps eq. Well worth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Found myself at BD today, albeit not for as long as I would have liked, and had a brief chance to try out the Mesa WD-800 through a couple of VK 112s. It's a pretty capable amp - I particularly liked being able to boost the bass whilst engaging the HPF. You could really see / hear / feel the HPF doing it's thing with significant cut when set at 125hz but much more marginal when engaged at 25hz. The combination of amp and cabs was crisp and articulate. I would need to spend a bit more time with it before having something more in depth to report but first impressions were good and I suspect more time would only confirm that view! Interestingly Mark was gobsmacked when I pointed out that these are available at $999 retail in the US. He messaged Westside whilst I was there to find out why he can buy more cheaply from a US distributor than he can from them! Like us, he would have expected these to be priced to allow a £999 retail price in the UK allowing for VAT, Customs and transport. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Out of curiosity in US cause i've never actually been there but is the US price exclusive of additional taxes whereas the UK price includes VAT. I know when i was in Canada i had to pay 2 different additional taxes or costs on most things i bought altho i was able to reclaim one of them when i got home. Just a thought I've seen the WD800 now at £1299 down from original retail price of circa £1599 i think. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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