Mass buy site worth keeping an eye on

[highstream]

There's a mass buy website, https://www.massdrop.com/buy, that has good deals on very decent audio components with some frequency. I've bought from there, so can attest to its legitimacy and good pricing (depending on the number who buy). For example, right now there are buys on the Audioengine D1 Dac and A5+ speakers, as well as NuForce headphones. They've also had buys on headphones and headphone amps, Denon home theater units, other Dacs and a subwoofer. Users can suggest and vote for potential buys.

Disclaimer: I'm a private end user, no commercial interest.

[Ninanina]

I've just been on the site and yes the prices do look tempting. Both the Audioengine D1 Dac and the Audioengine A5+ speakers look good but it bothers me as the pricing is in $'s, which may mean they are all 110v (or whatever USA uses these days)

Also their site reads:

"There are no geographical restrictions on this group buy. We are willing to ship anywhere in the world, however if you are outside of the United States, you will pay higher shipping plus any customs that your country requires. Email us at support@massdrop.com to figure out the exact amount"

All a bit worrying really ;)

Oh I've just noticed International Shipping on the Audioengine A5+ is $128.60; so at current exchange rates the A5+ would be £193 + £83=£276 excluding import tax (normally about 5%'ish), and excluding VAT at 20%. The current price from a UK supplier is £329 including UK delivery

If it sounds too good to be true, it normally is :(

[highstream]

Jeesh, shouldn't you check with massbuy.com first, before posting your "sounds too good to be true" here? They do the shipping (from California), after AE ships to them. Since massdrop encourages international purchases - and this is not the first time for AE - it's reasonable to imagine you can buy voltage formats for other countries. But you'll never know if you don't contact them directly, will you?

[morris_minor]

Jeesh, shouldn't you check with massbuy.com first, before posting your "sounds too good to be true" here? Maybe so, but UK VAT plus customs charges will be applied to purchases shipped from the US which will bump up the prices considerably . . .:(

[highstream]

I'm starting to get the impression that the art of sound is a UK centered forum, since you probably wouldn't have posted otherwise. I do understand your worries; I have some of the same when buying more expensive items from the UK. What is the D1 going for now over there, 150-160? It still may be worth checking with massdrop, since $119 is currently 76 GBP. Someone just bought one of my D1s on ebay from Canada and found it worth it, all included (except for the slow 1st class mail).

[Ninanina]

Jeesh, shouldn't you check with massbuy.com first, before posting your "sounds too good to be true" here? They do the shipping (from California), after AE ships to them. Since massdrop encourages international purchases - and this is not the first time for AE - it's reasonable to imagine you can buy voltage formats for other countries. But you'll never know if you don't contact them directly, will you?

Yes I did check "before" I posted and if you read my post you will see it contains quotes directly from their website re: postage costs etc. All I did then was convert that into £'s (using a very favourable exchange rate) and simply mentioned that import tax and VAT would be added on, and for the A5+ speaker it just would not be worth it when for a few £'s more you could get the same item delivered from a UK supplier, which would be far less hassle. Also one should bare in mind if anything went wrong with an item you would have to send it back at great cost too

I should point out that I have imported items from USA, mostly with a good result, but I knew exactly what the import tax and VAT was going to be before I ordered the item/s

Just my 2p worth, that's all

[highstream]

The point of this thread is clearly informational, i.e., to alert people who aren't aware of it to massdrop.com and to mention the current buys going on of interest to forum users. Beyond briefly mentioning that unfortunately it's probably too expensive to buy from the UK, if you really felt the need to say that, I don't understand the point of your post(s), i.e., how it helps the thread or supports its spirit.

[Haselsh1]

Simple, if its over eighteen quid you're gonna get stung on delivery charges and import duty. I did it and paid far more than the item was worth but that was many years ago. I add that I am a lot wiser these days.

[Haselsh1]

The point of this thread is clearly informational, i.e., to alert people who aren't aware of it to massdrop.com and to mention the current buys going on of interest to forum users. Beyond briefly mentioning that unfortunately it's probably too expensive to buy from the UK, if you really felt the need to say that, I don't understand the point of your post(s), i.e., how it helps the thread or supports its spirit.

It helps the thread considerably by pointing out the bloody obvious that some people are oblivious to.