HERE IT COMES STAGE 4 ?

[kanefsky]

It used to be that states weren't allowed to require companies in other states to collect sales tax for Internet purchases. Only companies that had a physical presence in the state could be forced to do so. Amazon even avoided building warehouses in California and would ship everything from just across the border (e.g. Sparks Nevada for Northern California purchases). A court eventually ruled that states could require companies in other states to collect sales tax, so for the last several years almost all Internet retailers charge sales tax for states like California that require it. There might still be an exception for very small companies.

California also makes you declare on your income taxes every year whether you bought any items from out of state without paying sales tax, so you have to affirmatively lie on your tax return to avoid paying sales tax rather than just "forgetting" to file some kind of supplemental form. For purchases under $1000 they added an option to pay a tiny percentage of your total income rather than have to keep track of every purchase, but purchases over $1000 had to be itemized. This is a lot less relevant after the aforementioned court ruling.

Some retailers will provide discounts to offset sales tax to better compete with local stores, but they have to be careful not to make it appear that they are charging less than the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) for products like Nord Keyboards that have a MAP.

B&H has a credit card that will give you an instant credit that exactly matches your sales tax, so you're effectively paying 0% sales tax even though your state still gets paid. They also have free 2-day shipping and a 5% rebate on the Stage 3 where you get a 5% store credit 40-60 days after the purchase that's good for six months.

Sweetwater will give you 175 "bonus bucks" within 24 hours if you use their credit card. It's a store credit that expires in 60 days. They would still charge about $330 in sales tax and $100 for 2-day shipping for a NS3C in my case.

If you're a member of their free Rewards program, Musicians Friend will give you about $280 in store credit on a NS3C about 45 days after purchase which expires in six months. You don't need to use their credit card so you can probably get around 2% back from that. You still pay sales tax and extra for expedited shipping.

All three places are charging exactly $3499.00 for the NS3C itself but as you can see you can end up paying significantly more or less in the end.

[docbop]

It used to be that states weren't allowed to require companies in other states to collect sales tax for Internet purchases. Only companies that had a physical presence in the state could be forced to do so. Amazon even avoided building warehouses in California and would ship everything from just across the border (e.g. Sparks Nevada for Northern California purchases). A court eventually ruled that states could require companies in other states to collect sales tax, so for the last several years almost all Internet retailers charge sales tax for states like California that require it. There might still be an exception for very small companies.

California also makes you declare on your income taxes every year whether you bought any items from out of state without paying sales tax, so you have to affirmatively lie on your tax return to avoid paying sales tax rather than just "forgetting" to file some kind of supplemental form. For purchases under $1000 they added an option to pay a tiny percentage of your total income rather than have to keep track of every purchase, but purchases over $1000 had to be itemized. This is a lot less relevant after the aforementioned court ruling.

Some retailers will provide discounts to offset sales tax to better compete with local stores, but they have to be careful not to make it appear that they are charging less than the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) for products like Nord Keyboards that have a MAP.

B&H has a credit card that will give you an instant credit that exactly matches your sales tax, so you're effectively paying 0% sales tax even though your state still gets paid. They also have free 2-day shipping and a 5% rebate on the Stage 3 where you get a 5% store credit 40-60 days after the purchase that's good for six months.

Sweetwater will give you 175 "bonus bucks" within 24 hours if you use their credit card. It's a store credit that expires in 60 days. They would still charge about $330 in sales tax and $100 for 2-day shipping for a NS3C in my case.

If you're a member of their free Rewards program, Musicians Friend will give you about $280 in store credit on a NS3C about 45 days after purchase which expires in six months. You don't need to use their credit card so you can probably get around 2% back from that. You still pay sales tax and extra for expedited shipping.

All three places are charging exactly $3499.00 for the NS3C itself but as you can see you can end up paying significantly more or less in the end.

There was a really good talk from the NAMM show back a few years on this topic that used to be on YT. It was the big online business pushing along with the government for states to start collecting sales taxes on online purchases. Basically it was to make it too expensive for small business to do business online. They outlined all the regulations and reporting that have to be followed and reported and it's so complex a small business should use 3rd party service to do this for them, but those 3rd parties are expensive. So Amazon Marketplace was a solutions but they changed the law there too. Before you collected taxes if a business had retail store in the same state, but they changed law so just having a warehouse you have to charge tax. Again all this was done to help the big chains by making it harder/more expensive for small business to do online sales.

[kanefsky]

They outlined all the regulations and reporting that have to be followed and reported and it's so complex a small business should use 3rd party service to do this for them, but those 3rd parties are expensive.

It seems like pretty much everyone but the big Internet retailers uses Shopify now for their online stores (they may also sell through Amazon and/or eBay). Shopify is so ubiquitous that I even bought some SHOP stock after it went down so much last year. They had a huge run-up during the pandemic and an equally huge drop since then. I was sure that people who got a taste of what you can get over the Internet wouldn't go back to buying as much stuff locally even after it was relatively safe to do so. For me it's been a long time since I could even find most of the stuff I like locally. You walk into a place like Guitar Center and it's pretty pathetic compared to what you can find online.

[Groovechild]

The average price for a S3 88 for U.K. residents is currently at £3,560.00 which is roughly a reduction of 6-7% which equates to approximately £260-£270. Not great, but better than nothing

[Notmyname]

I was in contact with a local smallscale music store here in Sweden about purchasing a Stage 3, he didnt have any in stock so I asked him how long it would take to get one. He contacted the supplier (Clavia) directly, and their response was that if he ordered one the same day they could arrange a shipment within the week, after that the stage 3 would not be possible to order again until end of Febuary.

End of febuary would align with the other posts in this thread where people have spoken to nord reps, so I’m holding out for a little bit longer

Prices have not yet dropped in Sweden though, but are actually at an all time high since launch. Around €3060 for the compact and €3370 for the 88

[M1tsos]

I was in contact with a local smallscale music store here in Sweden about purchasing a Stage 3, he didnt have any in stock so I asked him how long it would take to get one. He contacted the supplier (Clavia) directly, and their response was that if he ordered one the same day they could arrange a shipment within the week, after that the stage 3 would not be possible to order again until end of Febuary.

End of febuary would align with the other posts in this thread where people have spoken to nord reps, so I’m holding out for a little bit longer

Prices have not yet dropped in Sweden though, but are actually at an all time high since launch. Around €3060 for the compact and €3370 for the 88

Hmmm… that seems like if the new instrument will be stage 4 or 3 ex that they will price it up like 4500-5000 euros..

And possible for some time to keep the stage 3 on the market in the price of 3500-4000 euros..

Wait right now is the best you can do.. its just max 2 months left

[neomad]

4500/5000 euros?????????????? WTF!

[M1tsos]

4500/5000 euros?????????????? WTF!

Yes they already preparing the people for it i think

Check price of stage 3 88 now

https://www.thomann.de/it/clavia_nord_s ... bundle.htm

[Qagan]

4500/5000 euros?????????????? WTF!

Yes they already preparing the people for it i think

Check price of stage 3 88 now

https://www.thomann.de/it/clavia_nord_s ... bundle.htm

That's one hell of an overpriced bundle. I checked the big T's various counterparts here in germany, most of them unlisted the stage 3 88 model, Musicstore still offer them for 3990.-
nowhere available though.

[Gambold]

> that seems like if the new instrument will be stage 4 or 3 ex that they will price it up like 4500-5000 euros..<

That would be a sure way for a foundering business to finish themselves off. Especially if they just release an "Ex" version of the 6-year old Stage at NAMM.

Speaking of NAMM, it's in about ten weeks. I know we are all clutching ourselves for some grand reveals of new products then - maybe that's why Clavia doesn't answer phone calls or emails, they are SO BUSY getting those ready - but I kinda have my doubts. We are already in the 40th anniversary year of the company and their website hasn't said a word about that, or anything. No tease or tickle on the website, just the usual tedious clips from Jesus Molina and Elijah Fox, and the blurb about that Pearl sample which no-one asked for.

SO - prove me wrong, Clavia. Hit NAMM with a bang with a Stage 4 (or a completely new model!) that isn't priced like a used Steinway. Fix your piano library so everyone can download the upgraded samples that are only sort of available to Nord Piano users. Answer your customer calls and emails. Get your sh*t together or sell your company to someone who can.

Gambold