longey1 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I am not sure if this an appropriate topic or not since I am new here..... I am sure someone will let me know if is not. Can any of the forum folk in the U.S tell me if the MusiciansFriend website is a good representation of U.S. street price or not ? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlekenny Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Well musicians friend and music 123 are both owned by guitar center so there prices are pretty much the same as GC. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedphantom Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I really wanna go to America someday or to buy from America somehow. All the online sites, Musicians Friend, ZZSounds, Sweetwater etc, all don't ship to Australia. For a Les Paul Standard we have to pay $4099 AUD which = $3760 USD. Guitar Center sell the Standard for $2300 USD which = $2507 AUD. If I bought from America I'd save $1592! You guys are so lucky to be able to buy guitars from there! I've heard people on the Ultimate Guitar forum saying things like Gibsons are too expensive and PRS's are unaffordable. For the price we'd pay for a Les Paul Standard in Australia, we'd be able to buy a PRS Custom 24 and a half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
led floyd9 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Musician's Friend is a very good representation of the street price of guitars in the U.S. (if street prices are small guitar shop prices) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson CS Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 We are lucky here in Canada. Our dollar is worth a tad ( Just a tad ) more then the U.S. dollar. I saved a few bucks on my LP....I dont think itll last though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Musician's Friend is a fair gauge of prices but they're not usually the cheapest. When I buy music products online, I prefer Sweetwater as they have very competitive prices, free shipping and excellent customer service. For guitar strings, I buy in quantity for a big discount at WebStrings.com - great strings for MUCH less than the name brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson CS Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I also should point out not to be intimidated by the price of guitars on the Gibson web site. You wont pay anywhere near that price. I dont know why companys do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longey1 Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 Thanks RichCI for the Sweetwater tip. They do seem a little cheaper than Musiciansfriend. Here is a question for all the economists on the forum. From what I have seen on these US onlne websites, in Hongkong I am paying around 5-10% less than those sites..... how can that be ? BTW, I am not complaining about it, I am just amazed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedphantom Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Hmm, my friend's from Hong Kong say there's a very low tax there so perhaps that's part of the reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longey1 Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 You may be right Speedphantom....perhaps the prices on the US sites include some sort of sales or value add tax or whatever it is called in US. We dont pay that in Hong Kong. I see your ealier post about high prices in OZ, so sorry to give you the bad news about another country that is cheap to buy guitars. I am from Sydney originally, so I sympathize. Of course things seems to be improving lately for you...with the relatively strong Oz dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewie Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I was going to suggest a US buying trip for your Ausi friend, but it would be a lot closer to head over to Hong Kong. In the past I have heard of people making a trip and buying a guitar and paying for the flight with the savings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Actually the prices you see online do not have sales tax. In the US every state has a different tax %, but buying online does not incur taxes unless you happen to live in the state where the online store is based. Does that make sense? For instance I live in Tennessee, our tax is very high at 9.25% so for me buying online saves me that much. If the store I am buying from was based or had a prescence in Tennessee then I would have to pay the tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 you "americans" and your low taxes! hahaha here the sales tax was 14% until 2005 when it was cut down to 12%!!! with the lame financial state my country is in, we should have 1% taxes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 you "americans" and your low taxes! hahaha here the sales tax was 14% until 2005 when it was cut down to 12%!!! with the lame financial state my country is in' date=' we should have 1% taxes![/quote']Yow! And I was complaining when New Jersey's state sales tax went from 6% to 7%! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewie Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Our sales taxes have actually gone down to 13% From 15. We pay very high income tax as well but we do have univeral health care. My father who is 81 has had two knee replacements done, and a quad bypass with a heart valve heart surgery, and at least 2 months stay in Intensive care, to stabilize him. The cost to him was 0 dollars. All of this in 2 1/2 years. But that is history. I want to hear more about the Classic Antique! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingarmadillo Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 In the US every state has a different tax %, but buying online does not incur taxes unless you happen to live in the state where the online store is based. Does that make sense? Not exactly correct. If the online store has a retail or outlet location in the state you live in, then you pay sales taxes there. To that end, unless you live in Kansas where the warehouse is located, the cost to by from MF will be less than the cost to by from GC online even if prices are the same. MF doesn't have to charge taxes, while GC does since they probably have an outlet in your state. FWIW, I pay 8.25% sales tax here in this part of Texas, but there's no state income tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longey1 Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 Well I am sorry I started the tax conversation........I have a headache ! It seems the US tax system is very complicated. I will just be happy with my deal in HK and go back to playing. thanks for the chat everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1773lx Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 you "americans" and your low taxes! hahaha here the sales tax was 14% until 2005 when it was cut down to 12%!!! with the lame financial state my country is in' date=' we should have 1% taxes![/quote'] Want to speak of Italy, where taxes are 20% and street price for a Standard is equivalent of 3,180 USD? Also note that Italian wages are slightly lower than US average ones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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