International Loaners - A Dialogue

Ill second singapore. I have never had a package stopped. The key is to under declare and use fedex.

Whether or not the loaner should enter 3rd world south east asian countries like malaysia (mine), or vietnam, cambodia etc. Is however up for debate. I would suggest against it.

The utopia cost about 17k converted here in malaysia. Which is something like a 4-8 months bonus for most people. The temptation to disappear online will be too high.

Having said that, im based in Kuala Lumpur the capital in malaysia. Id be happy to be a centre point and open my home to people who want to listen to cool gear. Helps that more than half te headphone community live nearby =D

On insurance, i find it unnecessary as long as the package is properly packed and shipped via Fedex, UPS etc etc. I would not use the original packaging, but get a proper Pelican case for em. I've shipped a ton of stuff to and fro without insurance with no issue whatsoever (99% of the time).

 

I'm nowhere close to the volumes some of you guys send and receive, but I've never had any custom taxes to pay within Europe or between France and the USA as long as I made it clear on the custom papers that it was part of a demo tour or something like that. and(second condition!!!!) as long as the national postal service was used. so for the US it would be sending through the USPS, that way when coming into another country, the country's national delivery service carries on, and for a reason or another, I have no custom fees, or a much easier dialogue to avoid paying it(when I shouldn't have to of course).
100% of me paying custom charges even though it was a repair or a loan, has been with transporters like fedex, UPS and the likes. and the "pay at delivery, discuss later to try and get the money back" method they use, is something that I've come to really hate.

 

I'd certainly like to have something in the Eurozone. I believe there are quite a few French SBAF members like me. I think it would be a good idea to have different zones and have someone in charge of each one. Probably something like this:

1. North America
2. Europe
3. Asia/Australia/New Zealand
4. South America
5. Africa

Most items would stay within a zone but there could be occasional cross border shipments if something can be worked out. The best candidates are IEMs and portable amp/dacs (think Audioquest Dragonfly) that would ship for a pretty low price. I have a few items I could contribute on a loan tour but I don't consider myself responsible enough to actually be in charge. Maybe a secondary role.

 

In my rando opinion Euro loaner program would be highly beneficial. Background checks and the usual procedures should be done of course.
In the end it would a) save a shitload of money for many of us b) increase activity of Euro dudes and intercommunication c) it would be fun to get your hands on some more exotic equipment. I suppose I'd be ready to loan my own gear too. This is a community after all. Who knows you might even find new IRL friends too.

 

I would be down for wrangling the Canadians if there's enough interest.

 

One more vote for Euro loaner program.

 

Though of course, if the UK does get yanked out of the EU and goes back to being the angry, smelly drunk at the end of the bar, it'd still be a pain in the bum for us, even if there were EU loaners :-/

Here's hoping that we end up with a customs union, for various reasons.

 

Ain't that the truth .

Btw, I have some balanced HD600s I could put into the EU loaner program, you know, just in case there's actually someone out there who hasn't heard them

 

Weirdly, I have never heard balanced 600s- I heard some single ended out of a Magni a while back. The first balanced 6x0 I heard was my own stock 650s out of the Jotenheim. That said, I may pass on the kind offer, as I suspect that the combination of razor-sharp SS amp and HD600s might just be a little stark

 

I'm in for a EU/European loaner program and might even be able to chip in some gear from brands like JDS Labs, Hidisz or FIDUE via my wife's other business.

 

Also throwing it out there that some of us live within driving distance to the border, and could probably exchange gear that way. It's perfectly legal, and it would save taxes for the US/Canada. Also, Nexus cards are cheap and easy to get.

 

Seriously, if there's interest in Europe, I could send a Hidisz AP100 or any JDS Labs product on the road tomorrow. Europeans, interested?