Buying cymbals from the states?

Hey guys, Im looking at getting some high end cymbals and i noticed that i could save a lot of money get them from the states.
Is this a good option or is it too good to be true?
Will customs crack down on me and charge me heaps of extra things or is it worth it?
If you've had experience with getting things in from the states could you please give me some advice.

Thanks, Jonny

Hi Jonny,

it is waaay cheaper to buy cymbals from the states especially at the moment with the high NZ dollar
however there have been changes at NZ Customs which are little known. See here for more info,

http://www.consumer.org.nz/news/view/new-import-transaction-fee

Basically it's luck of the draw – sometimes it comes through no fee, other times they charge you
before they will release it. Having said that it would still probably work out cheaper...

so concerning having to pay GST on the cymbals, would it be better to ship them all at once or one at a time, ignoring the cost of shipping.
i would quite like to not have to pay GST

Ship them all at once – you'll save on shipping which is expensive from the states.
You have to pay GST, on any new goods that come into the country – will still likely
work out cheaper though. Make sure you do your calculations first.

rocketshiptown wrote:so concerning having to pay GST on the cymbals, would it be better to ship them all at once or one at a time, ignoring the cost of shipping.
i would quite like to not have to pay GST

anything from the USA comes into the country with a cost of under $400.00 NZ is not charged gst or import duties ,its a matter of cost (including shipping ) thats the kicker kiwi side as customs adds the two (cost and shipping) to get a figure total, so you have to way up the extra NZ import costs versus individual shipping etc ,USPS International Priority is the cheapest with a max of 70lbs per package, per say the average 22" Zildjian weighs in at aprox 5-6 lbs plus packaging ,so a cost of $48.00 US is expected,its no cheaper (only packaging cost and someone at the other end to do it) to add more cymbals into the package as the cost is on the weight.

I do agree with "DYNASONIC" suggest you....anything from the USA comes into the country with a cost of under $400.00 NZ is not charged gst or import duties...So when you decide to but anything first see its shipping charges also.

So an update.
basically I got what I wanted from the states with the help of a friend who lives over there and saved myself quite a decent amount of money doing so, rather than buying from any dealers in new zealand.
Thanks for the advice guys and hopefully this thread will help others out in the future.

What'd ya get?

Hi I was wondering if I could get any recommendations on cymbals sizes. I bought a 21" Meinl byzance traditional medium ride, and just last week, I got a pair of 14" meinl byzance dark hihats, both from the states. Currently for a crash I just have a cheap tama hihat top, though in the future I was wanting to upgrade and get two new crashes. I was thinking of picking medium thin byzance traditional crashes either as 16" & 18" or 17" & 19". Though i'm not to sure what to consider as the other factor aside from sound, that i'm looking for is that the crashes aren't too loud, as when I crash my ride it can get a bit too loud if its being played in a room with bad acoustics. Would smaller be better to play more quietly or is it allright to consider getting a 17 & 19 inch crashes, or possibly would it be better just to go for the thin weighted models? I wish I could just try some out, but from my own personal experience the rockshop have not got any of the cymbals i'm interested in buying in stock.

Hi Marc, it depends really - if volume is a problem I think the thins are a good choice,
plus they are going to respond faster and have a lower more pleasing pitch. I don't use
16" crashes anymore so my vote would be for 17" and 18" I'd only go to a 19" if I was doing
a lot of wall of sound crash riding...

Hey Mark,

I was probably going to get ones with 2" difference as they have a wider range in sound and better tonal balance,
but it's hard buying overseas / online because, its literally buying blind when you cannot compare them to your own current cymbals.
Though i'm quite fortunate enough to deal with Tony from "Cymbals Only" and he is going to test out the different weights and sizes to get the best match to the Meinl Byzance 21" medium traditional ride in the shop. Which is probably the best option I can do without trying them. Thanks for the advice!

Mark [Admin] wrote:What'd ya get?

14" meinl byzance medium dark hats
18" meinl byzance medium thin crash
20" meinl byzance medium crash
24" meinl byzance medium ride (its a beast)

this cymbal setup is basically a wall of beautiful washy sound but it can get out of hand if your not carefull or in a small venue

got them through mycymbal.com
this website is cool because they post good quality videos of each individual cymbal in stock being played. so you can see and hear the exact cymbal before you make a purchase