I could be tempted...

williamtk2021, Derick, I remember, not that long ago, I looked at Harley Benton electrics... I didn't know they had acoustics... the 2 I looked at, "D" models, had closed tuners... I might be tempted... they are certainly inexpensive.

Garland,

 The link took me to reams and reams of reading.

Okay. And?

I can help you there, Derick,

The write-up is the experience of an American who ordered some items from Thomann a couple or three years ago, and their experience wasn't that great. They didn't buy a guitar; it was sound equipment. They paid extra for fast shipping, but then their shipment got held up in customs for about the same amount of time as it would have without the extra payment, so it seemed like money wasted. They had to share their SSN over the phone before the shipment could be forwarded to their home. Once it arrived by UPS, the box had been damaged and an item from the box was missing. Their attempt to file a claim with the carrier over the missing item took three days, during which they discarded the damaged packing box, but they had taken photos prior to opening, and they were told this would be sufficient to show the driver when they came to inspect the package for the claim. Over the next three or four days, the buyer was at home waiting for UPS and received messages from them stating that an attempt had been made to collect a package, but no one was home. They state that no one ever knocked or rang the doorbell. Attempting to solve that with UPS took more than one phone call and finally resorting to tricking their automated phone menu. The service agent they spoke to discovered that the missing item had been found and attempts had been made to deliver it, and since no one was home, the item was being returned to sender. I think in the end, they did get everything they ordered. Three weeks later, they got the bill for the tariff from Customs, and while they were expecting it, it was substantially higher than they had been told it would be.

They express satisfaction overall because they saved money and received quality products. They said this was not meant to be a don't order from Thomann post, but more a worst case scenario. I can say that both UPS and Fed-Ex have horrible reputations for this sort of thing. If you receive a package from one of them and all is well, that's great. If not, then gird up for battle, because they will fight and deny the whole way through.

williamtk2021, Derick, TonyKgull, I've had fewer problems with UPS and USPS than Fedex.. although Fedex has, on a couple of occasions, surprised me... UPS and USPS are more reliable in my experience. As far as damages I've never had to deal with any of them, which is good, because I have a real hard time dealing with stupid script readers and it might give me a heart attack...and I've never ordered anything directly from over seas... there was a guitar on reverb that caught my eye last year some, but it shipped directly from China... I declined the offer, which was, even with shipping costs, not a bad deal, but, individual shipping vs crated multiples would likely not be treated well, especially something as sensitive as a guitar...