Wow, I am soooo tempted to use this for a Waldorf Iridium. And the coupon does work.
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I wish shops in the UK gave you 20% off deals. Instead, they act like free delivery is the deal of the century, after you’ve just spent your life savings with them.
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Doh! “Exceeded the usage limit”… oh well.
Bax is pretty good and often have % discounts, just be 100% sure to choose parcelforce as the delivery method, the reliability/missing item complaints are with the cheaper courier. parcelforce was an extra £1. I bought a keystep 37 for £107 including delivery around Black Friday which is an insane deal and it was here within 48 hours. I’ve just looked and they have a 10% off coupon right now.
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Someone bought an Iridium…
I’ll let you know when I get another one. They seem to be sending me one every other month.
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Seconded, I’ve bought a few bits of kit at really great discounts from them. Hermes (the previous courier) were pretty useless (though it always arrived in the end) so I second the recommendation to upgrade the shipping!
I think they now ship from the UK, certainly had no customs hassle with a recent order anyway.
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Yeah there was no customs labels on mine, I think they have a UK warehouse. I was nervous at first but would buy again without hesitation.
Yes, since Bax is based in The Netherlands there have certainly been issues seeing what seems like a bargain but then you get roasted on extra taxes and courier costs. Hopefully they might have resolved this by now but best to be aware of this.
I pulled the trigger. I ended up trading in a Mother 32 I bought on sale years ago and a beat step pro, both of which were just sitting in my closet anyway. So, with the 20% off, plus the trade-in, I will be getting the Iridium for just over $1,700, which is really fantastic. I get 45 days to see if I like it, before I need to return it, which is a generous return policy. It was supposed to be an online deal only, but the local guy just did the transaction from the store as if it were online.
I am hoping the Iridium is a recent build, so it doesn’t have some of the issues that seemed to be a problem with previous builds–kind of troubling, especially for such an expensive box.
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Reckon they have sorted it now, got a Matriarch off them just before christmas with a couple of different discounts applied, ended up being cheaper than 2nd hand prices, and the shipping / delivery was faultless. Though did upgrade to parcel force.
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I got a Bonopoly from Bax in December. I think it was sent from Romford(?). No taxes / import duties. Came via Hermes, who do not insure musical instruments! I had to return it, which was free, but again, uninsured via Hermes. Took 10 days to get from N.England to Essex.
As for the Bonopoly, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.
[bdum tsch]
That’s great to hear as there were too many grim tales of people getting surprisingly high courier fees and nasty extra customs fees in the past.
Then again some of their stock IS in the UK, but perhaps it’s still an issue for those items which are shipped from NL. You clearly wouldn’t get charged extra for an item shipped from the UK, but the naughty surprises are when stock comes from mainland EU.
Makes sense. Surely they have to let you know if an item is subject to import duties before you order?
It does say clearly on Bax now that VAT is included in the price so in theory there shouldn’t be any other complications?
I also bought a Keystep 37 recently (which is still only £109 on there BTW, if anyone is after one) with no problems. The comically huge box full of air bubbles it was shipped in came in very handy when I sadly had to sell my Pacifist Lyra-8 as well!
They definitely felt like a grey area earlier last year though, I was tempted by a Wavestate but wasn’t confident it’d all go smoothly. Truth be told I don’t think I’ll ever feel genuinely confident ordering from businesses with overseas elements again though, the new rules feel so messy that I’ll always be sat with my cheeks clenched until the thing arrives.
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And there’s sadly where the problem lies. Some of these companies such as DV427 have been charging customers VAT in the UK, with you the customers thinking the item is actually IN the UK. But then it’s shipped from mainland EU and you are charged VAT for a second time, plus courier charges. etc. There are countless reports about this online and indeed an entire conversation about this on this very Forum I’ve contributed before.
And no, they refuse to hold responsibility for such things.
But as others are saying here let’s hope they’ve fixed this, as I know that Thomann did for example.
I also went for the Keystep 37: priced so well!
For those of you (rightfully) concerned about Hermes, you can now pay a pound or two extra for upgraded shipping (can’t remember who the upgraded courier was sorry).
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Yeah, that’s the sort of thing that worries me. Since the onus is on the seller to get the paperwork right there’s so much scope for mistakes/laziness/whatever and you know you’ll be the one to pay for it.
A year in you’d hope that at least the bigger places would have pretty foolproof systems in place now to generate everything properly but I can imagine horror stories being an ongoing thing unfortunately.
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I’ve used Bax many times over the years and I’ve spent a lot with them. I’ve even backed them on this thread before. However, my last order was disastrous. The parcel went missing with Hermes for over a month.
When I tried to contact Bax, they were nowhere to be seen. They didn’t answer a single phone call, and ignored the majority of my emails. After about three weeks of emails, they responded and were completely unhelpful. They said they’d look in to it, but I never heard back from them.
When the parcel arrived a month later, it was battered. I didn’t even open it, just sent it straight back for a refund. The first return label wasn’t recognised, so had to start the return procedure again. After another 3 weeks, I got a refund.
I really have my doubts about Bax now. They may not be fully responsible for Hermes, but they should have an obligation to their customers.
Side note: A great store in the UK is Elevator Sounds. They are on the ball with all questions and issues, and make you feel as if they give a shit. They deliver the very next day and their prices are very good. They are now my go to.
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Yeah, paying the extra pound for parcelforce is essential, I’ve seen this talked about many times. Hermes are shocking and I don’t think Bax have a UK based support system. They should at the very least stop offering that service as an option.
And they’re actually musicians who know the gear they sell. Chances are you’ll get some Haribo in the box with your gear, and maybe a handwritten note to say thanks.
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