help with price.

[floppy]

Hi!

How much does it cost to import an ESP/ESP Edwards bass to sg with Davis?
I asked the guy once and he said $1000. Is that $1000 + the original price of the bass? Or just a thousand?

The one I want is this one [http://www.espguitars.co.jp/artist/aki/index.html]. With 1k added, it would cost a little over 6.5k. And that makes me feel I'm way over my head. >___>;

Any help/suggestions?

 

[b33r]

of course it's the cost of the bass...how can importing something from overseas cost $1000?

which bass are you referring to? the ESP one would cost about $5k, the Edwards would be close to $2k and the Grassroots one would be about over $1k.


anyway why don't you just ask Davis for a proper quote?

 

[floppy]

LOL. i should have realized that, silly me. haha.

I'm not actually sure which one to get. the ESP is quite out of my range, and the edwards is pretty good for it's price but... i really want an ESP, haha. but i dunno. there isn't any point spending 5k on a bass if you dont even know how long you're gonna keep playing for..

 

[shinobi]

if it's edwards/esp/grassroots you should just deal directly with ishibashi. to be fair, local stores probably arent taking a big cut out of the basses they bring in for you, but still, better to cut out the middleman.

anyway i dont think there's any local retailer who can afford to operate a JIT (just-in-time) system that japanese companies are capable of

 

[floppy]

Actually, right now all I'm looking for is a price quote. I'll have to save for a few more months [or more] before I have enough.

By cut, do you mean cut in price? Does Ishibashi cut at all? I've never ordered from them before.

Someone else also recommended this site [ http://www.rakuten.co.jp/esp/692192/693190/1868004/1868005/ ] to me, but I'm not sure how to use it..

 

[shinobi]

as in they dont make much profit by helping you bring in the bass. which is good for you. but you will have to wait for it, while japanese companies usually stock from the manufacturer immediately. it's just a difference in operations, nothing good or bad about the companies.

i don't know how to use rakuten either. but i figure it would be really useful if you could read japanese and are actually located in japan. not many retailers willing to ship internationally or accept foreign cards.

 

[floppy]

oh, i see. i'm not really in a rush to get a bass, so i doesn't make too much of a difference to me as to when i recieve it.

i'm just not sure which one to get.. the ESP model is excellent but it's going to take me a long while to save up to 5k. And i'm not completely sure how long i'm going to be playing so i dunno. and theres no point purchasing an Edwards, but still GASing for an ESP later.
My friends [who are unfamilliar with ESP] are just telling me to get a fender...

 

[b33r]

depends on what you want...do you even know how the ESP sounds and plays like? it'll be a disaster if you buy and expensive bass and realise you don't like it.

in the meantime, why don't you go out and try other basses? who knows, maybe you might find something that works for you. (not necessarily fender la)


also, $5k is really alot of money...you could buy a couple of high end basses with that kind of money you know. how about amps? did you consider getting a good amp?

 

[Resetti]

you can try Kurosawa Gakki.

I've dealt with them before and the experience was super.

the sales person corresponds to me in english, and he's super polite and able to give me all the information I needed, and even checked directly with the manufacturer for me.

They ship to singapore, they don't accept credit cards, so I pay them by bank wire transfer.

http://www.kurosawagakki.com/tags/search/4/0/237.html

shipping from Japan took only 2 days. It was sent on a thursday evening, and it arrived at my doorstep on Saturday afternoon.

check it out.

 

[floppy]

I have tried an ESP before and I liked it..tried a Fender too, but that was just at a friends house..

If I don't get an ESP, how much do decent Fenders cost?

 

[Resetti]

prices vary a lot depending on where you look, but for a fair priced Fender, check online shops, or the local small shops, or second hand from softies.

avoid the local big huge shop as the prices for Fenders there are way way overpriced x100.

 

[floppy]

So you;re saying going to Swee Lee/Davis/Guitar 77 is a bad idea?

Regardless, I found this.. [http://www.kurosawagakki.com/items/detail/60216.html ]
That would cost about 1.6k, if you look at the price in red. Is that reasonable?

 

[shinobi]

there is only one very big guitar shop in singapore.

anyway, not saying that g77/davis are not good, but i would imagine that buying direct would be better because its more direct. if you go thru a middleman maybe they will only ship it at their convenience, or stock schedule etc. so the waiting time will probably be longer.

davis/g77/tymc etc would be good if you are thinking of getting a brand new mij fender though because fender japan only exports to dealers, and j retailers are not allowed to sell overseas.

anyway i can vouch for the shipping, the stores usually ship via EMS which is really fast.

you may want to check the ishibashi u-box www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e some of their guitars are in good condition and they will give you an accurate description of the condition. service is top class.

 

[floppy]

Thanks for the link, I'm looking through it now..

Anwyays, incase I don't find anything, what's the price range for a respectable fender mij bass here?