In praise of Thomann

sunshinewelly

around 5 to 7 days

thermionic

The only thing I've bought from Thomann (so far!) is an acoustic guitar (a brand that has zero presence in the UK). Although only a £200 guitar I thought I'd buy a hard case at the same time, for extra protection during shipping - they were only £36 and it turned out to be a decent Warwick case that's normally around £70-80. Free shipping as well as I'd gone over 200 Euros.

 

Why they didn't take the guitar out of the cardboard box and put it in the case before putting both in an even bigger cardboard box is a mystery...

guitarfishbay

gearaddict;513278" said:

Tronical do supply parts in fact... I bought some. I appreciate Thomann's processes and how they work. What surprised me was the poor response times and the lack of understanding or interest in what I was saying. This seemed to me to be different from previous transactions I have had with them.

I had the same experience last year so I got the manufacturer involved and then it got sorted sharpish. Thomann were slow and the initial compensation I got offered didn't even cover replacing the damaged part of what I got given.

With straight returns they're great. But complex cases when it isn't 100% decided that you're sending it back yet they're slow when compared to most other companies I've used.

underdog

thermionic;515097" said:

The only thing I've bought from Thomann (so far!) is an acoustic guitar (a brand that has zero presence in the UK). Although only a £200 guitar I thought I'd buy a hard case at the same time, for extra protection during shipping - they were only £36 and it turned out to be a decent Warwick case that's normally around £70-80. Free shipping as well as I'd gone over 200 Euros. Why they didn't take the guitar out of the cardboard box and put it in the case before putting both in an even bigger cardboard box is a mystery...

how are they to know the case if for that guitar I guess would be their argument. Or that you didn't want the packaging for both items, one could be a gift for someone.

I would think the real answer is to do with a) the cost of having someone open both items and repackage and b) their items are covered by insurance in their original packaging.

Chalky

Beat me to it @underdog - presume you've worked in such environments

not_the_dj

This /\ they're a box shifter, so they simply pick the items/sku you've ordered and pack them. 

underdog

Chalky;515221" said:

Beat me to it @underdog - presume you've worked in such environments

No I've never worked in retail or warehouse to be honest, just seemed the obvious answer I guess though I suppose I kind of work retail now.

Chalky

I've worked with companies who, if you wanted any off-process work, charged £25 box opening fee just for starters - they were box shifters who relabel, deal with couriers and customs on your behalf, etc. The idea of people standing around with time to take the guitar and case out, then package them together is fantasy. Reminds me when I visited my brother working for the UK govt on a Pacific island. I asked him why he needed 3 Land Rover Discos. He explained 2 were broken and every time they break it worked out cheaper to ask the Aussie Air Force to fly in a complete new vehicle! Everywhere, human intervention is bloody expensive.

Dave_Mc

scrumhalf said:

How long does Thomann's free delivery usually take to the UK?

If I order at the weekend (and everything is in stock) I normally get it before the end of the week. I'm in NI though, so that might affect things.

Niallmo

I ordered mine on the 7th...not dispatched yet. I paid immediately and it's not been processed yet.

John_P

I usually order things during the weekend and it arrives wed or thursday

Order a bunch of stuff on sunday - forget acoustic strings though - doh!    Got a txt saying it was shipped today so I expect a card through the door on thursday. 

Stevepage

Got an emg solder less kit on its way to me from them. If they're that quick then I should hopefully get it tomorrow or Thursday. Been a good experience so far

kelv_w

Not so much of a box shifter for me when I odered a CS LP. They sent multiple photos and had quite a few email exhanges. I had them changed a new set of strings of my choice with no extra cost which is nice. They also included a studio photo in the case.

So far it has bee a good experience especially when their email responses were quick.

Teetonetal

Stevepage said:

Got an emg solder less kit on its way to me from them. If they're that quick then I should hopefully get it tomorrow or Thursday. Been a good experience so far

I am not sure, but I think they have a department to deal with CS/highend stuff. I was interested in a paisley CS tele, they sent me photos, answered loads of question and were generally v.helpful. 

guitarfishbay

I wonder what the qualifying point is for high end then. I asked for further details about some what I'd consider expensive B stock studio monitors and they just said 'the exact condition wasn't recorded' and sent me their generic B stock disclaimer, despite them being over £1500 new. I wasn't going to pay that much money blind or accept a shop definition of 'traces of use' without some photos for clarification so I passed on them in the end.

I shouldn't have to gamble that I'll be ok with whatever marks are on gear that expensive. If I'd bought them then been unhappy and wanted a return that would mean a decent chunk of time (I'd guess 2 weeks) missing £1k+ from my account, which isn't acceptable to me. I understand they won't want to photograph every b stock return and create a listing for it, but when I've asked for photos/further details from various UK shops I can't remember ever not getting them.

not_the_dj

kelv_w said:

Not so much of a box shifter for me when I odered a CS LP. They sent multiple photos and had quite a few email exhanges. I had them changed a new set of strings of my choice with no extra cost which is nice. They also included a studio photo in the case.

So far it has bee a good experience especially when their email responses were quick.

They have a retail store as well, so you would have been dealing direct with them on the high end stuff.

guitarfishbay

Fair point ^

sunshinewelly

I was interested in a CS strat b stock priced at £1450 and they were happy to send me photos of the actual guitar and the cosmetic problem it had

gearaddict

Interesting...I wonder how much you have to spend to get away from the call centre staff. LP Std money clearly doesn't cut it.

Teetonetal

gearaddict said:

Interesting...I wonder how much you have to spend to get away from the call centre staff. LP Std money clearly doesn't cut it.

It could be as simple as who you get... like any company some employees are great, others are not.