Harley Benton Bass Dilema

[ILuvTeles]

TRIGGER PULLED!!

I think I gathered as much information as I'm ever going to get, so I went ahead and ordered the JB-75 in natural from Thomann a minute ago...

Now the terrible waiting.... How long does it usually take for a guitar from Thomann to get here?

What are they using for freight these days? Rumor has it the DHL/USPS cheap shipping is gone? UPS at about $50 to $60?

[Mossman]

The tuners are perfectly functional on my JB-75. The steel is a tiny bit thinner than that on my Fender Modern Player, but they hold tune just as well.

I actually haven't changed a single part on my JB-75. Pickups are very good to my ears. The hardware is nice. I did dress the fret ends and roll the edge of the fret board, though not because the frets were sharp. I just wanted it to feel super nice.

Well I've got a brand new set of vintage-style Wilkinson tuners that I never ended up using for the fretless project, but if what I hear about neck-dive, and the general weight of this bass are true, then I may not want to add any more weight to the headstock. I think most open-back, Fender-style bass tuners are fine.

I may slap a Gotoh 201 bridge on it, though... Because I have one, and it's been collecting dust for several years.

Does your bass have Wilkinson pickups, or Roswell?

My JB-75 has the Wilkinson pickups. The bridge is also Wilkinson.

I think I'm going to wait until I hear what the stock pickups sound like before I invest in a set of replacement pickups. Part of the reason for the buzz surrounding these basses is the way they sound, and it seems like the general opinion is that the Roswell pickups are a step up from the Wilkinsons. I used to feel safe in the assumption that an import guitar is going to have shitty pickups... Or at least mediocre ones. But I'm not so sure about this one.

[Mossman]

TRIGGER PULLED!!

I think I gathered as much information as I'm ever going to get, so I went ahead and ordered the JB-75 in natural from Thomann a minute ago...

Now the terrible waiting.... How long does it usually take for a guitar from Thomann to get here?

What are they using for freight these days? Rumor has it the DHL/USPS cheap shipping is gone? UPS at about $50 to $60?

They're using UPS now, and the shipping cost $67.05. Kind of a tough pill to swallow, but still, I would have spent more money buying an SX bass from Rondo. If this bass is as good as everyone says it is, $219 doesn't seem like a lot of money to spend.

[PsychoCid]

TRIGGER PULLED!!

I think I gathered as much information as I'm ever going to get, so I went ahead and ordered the JB-75 in natural from Thomann a minute ago...

Now the terrible waiting.... How long does it usually take for a guitar from Thomann to get here?

What are they using for freight these days? Rumor has it the DHL/USPS cheap shipping is gone? UPS at about $50 to $60?

They're using UPS now, and the shipping cost $67.05. Kind of a tough pill to swallow, but still, I would have spent more money buying an SX bass from Rondo. If this bass is as good as everyone says it is, $219 doesn't seem like a lot of money to spend.

Waiting and watching.

[Mossman]

Still no word on when I can expect this package. I have a tracking number, but UPS still hasn't taken possession of the package yet.

I was reading a thread from a month ago on TalkBass about delivery times from Thomann, and it seems to be all over the place. Some people have waited 6 weeks to 3 months since the Covid outbreak, but more recently (since UPS took over), a couple of people have received their bass in about a week, so I don't know what to expect.

[uwmcscott]

Still no word on when I can expect this package. I have a tracking number, but UPS still hasn't taken possession of the package yet.

I was reading a thread from a month ago on TalkBass about delivery times from Thomann, and it seems to be all over the place. Some people have waited 6 weeks to 3 months since the Covid outbreak, but more recently (since UPS took over), a couple of people have received their bass in about a week, so I don't know what to expect.

Hope the wait is not too long. These days I'd expect just about anything. You'd be waiting until at least September for the SX from Kurt anyway so there's that.

[Mossman]

Ok, this is nucking futs... I just checked the tracking during my break. I didn't expect to see anything new, but it turned out that I'm going to have this bass in TWO DAYS.

I blinked my eyes several times when I saw the date because I thought I was hallucinating... But it's true... How, I have no idea.

I was impressed when a friend of mine got a package from Germany in five days, but this has to be an international shipping world record! Does UPS have transporters now, or something?

[PsychoCid]

Ok, this is nucking futs... I just checked the tracking during my break. I didn't expect to see anything new, but it turned out that I'm going to have this bass in TWO DAYS.

I blinked my eyes several times when I saw the date because I thought I was hallucinating... But it's true... How, I have no idea.

Screenshot_20200720-121139.png

I was impressed when a friend of mine got a package from Germany in five days, but this has to be an international shipping world record! Does UPS have transporters now, or something?

1-3 days is normal express
5-7 days is normal expedited

Anything past that is either a consolidation service (like Thomann used to use) or an actual delay.

Lol @ "rumors" cheap shipping is gone. It IS gone. Carriers are making record profits right now. CV19 has been a huge boon to us, all of the trucks and flights are ridiculously full.

[Mossman]

Ok, this is nucking futs... I just checked the tracking during my break. I didn't expect to see anything new, but it turned out that I'm going to have this bass in TWO DAYS.

I blinked my eyes several times when I saw the date because I thought I was hallucinating... But it's true... How, I have no idea.

Screenshot_20200720-121139.png

I was impressed when a friend of mine got a package from Germany in five days, but this has to be an international shipping world record! Does UPS have transporters now, or something?

1-3 days is normal express
5-7 days is normal expedited

Anything past that is either a consolidation service (like Thomann used to use) or an actual delay.

Lol @ "rumors" cheap shipping is gone. It IS gone. Carriers are making record profits right now. CV19 has been a huge boon to us, all of the trucks and flights are ridiculously full.

Come to think of it, every time I've ordered something from Europe and it took 3 weeks, it was never a major carrier.

What about customs, though? Does UPS get a free pass? I always figured that was the main reason why it took so long.

[PsychoCid]

Ok, this is nucking futs... I just checked the tracking during my break. I didn't expect to see anything new, but it turned out that I'm going to have this bass in TWO DAYS.

I blinked my eyes several times when I saw the date because I thought I was hallucinating... But it's true... How, I have no idea.

Screenshot_20200720-121139.png

I was impressed when a friend of mine got a package from Germany in five days, but this has to be an international shipping world record! Does UPS have transporters now, or something?

1-3 days is normal express
5-7 days is normal expedited

Anything past that is either a consolidation service (like Thomann used to use) or an actual delay.

Lol @ "rumors" cheap shipping is gone. It IS gone. Carriers are making record profits right now. CV19 has been a huge boon to us, all of the trucks and flights are ridiculously full.

Come to think of it, every time I've ordered something from Europe and it took 3 weeks, it was never a major carrier.

What about customs, though? Does UPS get a free pass? I always figured that was the main reason why it took so long.

Nobody gets a free pass except for people shipping "art," which is code for human trafficking. Companies like UPS will not ship "art."

Everything else is at the mercy of customs. They inspect whichever airbills and whichever containers they choose. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less.

What you're seeing with Thomanns OLD method was a combination of carriers. First, they consolidated. Meaning, if you ordered Jan 1, they probably wouldn't ship until Jan 15 to wait and get more orders for cheaper shipping. BUT they would create the UPS label on Jan 1. So to you, it looks like it's UPS or Customs fault. But it's just Thomann holding it after creating the label.

Then they put it on a freight forwarder who moves pallet quantities by airline. That itself takes 3-7 days airport to airport. Now it arrives in the US, and must clear customs. Then finally it is handed off to UPS - for the first time - and suddenly your tracking becomes live. Same for any final like carrier, could be FDX or USPS.

But that's how it works. The shipper is the delay, not the carrier or customs.

---

It's not really AGF unless I have to explain this 4x/year.

[Mossman]

Well, UPS still says I should get my package today, but according to the tracking, it's still on the other side of the country in Kentucky.

[Mossman]

...and as expected:

[uwmcscott]

Even if you get it tomorrow that's pretty amazing logistics, especially in light of the current situation.

[Rollin Hand]

Still no word on when I can expect this package. I have a tracking number, but UPS still hasn't taken possession of the package yet.

I was reading a thread from a month ago on TalkBass about delivery times from Thomann, and it seems to be all over the place. Some people have waited 6 weeks to 3 months since the Covid outbreak, but more recently (since UPS took over), a couple of people have received their bass in about a week, so I don't know what to expect.

Anybody say anything about brokerage fees for stuff coming from abroad? UPS charges those on shipments to Canada, and they start at $50. They screw us without even having the common decency to offer a reach-around.

[Mossman]

Even if you get it tomorrow that's pretty amazing logistics, especially in light of the current situation.

Yeah, it's hard to get upset about it being delayed a day, when I thought it would take at least a couple of weeks when I ordered it.

[Mossman]

Still no word on when I can expect this package. I have a tracking number, but UPS still hasn't taken possession of the package yet.

I was reading a thread from a month ago on TalkBass about delivery times from Thomann, and it seems to be all over the place. Some people have waited 6 weeks to 3 months since the Covid outbreak, but more recently (since UPS took over), a couple of people have received their bass in about a week, so I don't know what to expect.

Anybody say anything about brokerage fees for stuff coming from abroad? UPS charges those on shipments to Canada, and they start at $50. They screw us without even having the common decency to offer a reach-around.

No, I didn't have to pay any brokerage fees.