Progress at londondecca.com
There have been two hopeful changes at londondecca.com - there is a "Coming Soon" link which promises an online store, and there is the ability to create an account for online shopping. I did so and received a welcome e-mail from Stewart Suda (I have e-mailed back and forth with a Stewart who seemed to be in charge). So I looked him up, and turns out he is the owner of Rogers Music Systems, which is the agent for Rogers speakers in the USA, based in Green Bay, WI.
So Decca is probably now an American enterprise, though repairs are, I assume, still based in the UK It has been Neil Marshall in Exeter). The online shop might indicate that new cartridges will soon be sold (he had told me he hoped for August 2024, but evidently that has slipped). I wonder if they will be made in the UK or the USA?
I’m hoping there will soon be a new generation of Decca enthusiasts!
Chris
Customs can, technically, charge tax and the value of the repair/service conducted abroad. I once sent a pair of Olympus OM-2n cameras to the best tech there is in the USA (John Hermanson), and got charged on their return, not for the value of the cameras, but their increased value by virtue of the CLA they had undergone. But, @noromance , there can be no reason to charge VAT on entry to the country, and I assume that's what you mean since it is in sterling. |
@dogberry The UK charges VAT on goods into the country. Otherwise, it’s contaband. In my case, they didn’t care that the cartridge was to be in the country temporarily for repair. Same thing happened when I sent a 401 to AudioGrail, the SOBs charged me over £200. The point being, repairs into the UK can be delayed and further costs added. |
They should only do that if the imported goods are to stay in the country. I may have been lucky, but I always write in my customs declaration "For repair and return to Canada" and instruct the repairer to write "Returning to Canada after repair." I learned to do that after the debacle with the OM-2n cameras. Maybe Stuart will one day team up with a stateside repair man, like Steve Leung. |
Things are happening over at londondecca.com - https://www.londondecca.com/ld-shop/cartridges Not yet functional, but the Maroon, Maroon Mono, Super Gold, Jubilee and Reference are to be sold there. And prices haven’t jumped as much as I feared, the Reference, for example, is $6,895. And there is a new tonearm: https://www.londondecca.com/ld-shop/p/londondeccatonearm |
