TOOB Metros soon available again

[Gitterbug]

Just to let you know that I today took delivery of black 200 mm pipe for over 300 Metros. Also, a sizable amount of wooden components. As I'm the middle of workshop relocation, it will take 2-3 weeks to roll out new products. Welcome to join the waitlist!

Unless the US Supreme Court disapproves Trump's tariffs, a 15% customs charge will be levied on my (EU-made) products. We'll see.

Cheers,

Markku

[AllanAllen]

I hope you reach 1,000 units on your 80th birthday.

[Cunamara]

I spent a couple of hours today playing through my Toob Metro BG+. I've now had it long enough for the honeymoon period to wear off, and it remains an excellent sounding speaker. Flattering to all of my guitars- archtops, Teles, acoustics. I had some "small speaker anxiety" when I ordered it, not being enamored of other 8" speakers I have used, but this is not at all an issue. I don't know if it's the design, the speaker, the vertical legs, or maybe all of the above. Markku, it's a great product. Hmmm, do I need a second one?

FWIW, a 15% tariff is I think still lower than VAT, which non-EU purchasers don't have to pay.

[Gitterbug]

Thanks, Cunamara!

Yes, the 15% tariff is definitely lower than the Finnish VAT of 25.5% buyers within EU have to pay. However, not one has been shipped to the US under tariffs yet. My shipping agent says UPS has the systems in place but will also levy a service charge at your end. I don't know that amount yet.

Thanks to fantastic help from my two sons and a grandson, all essentials of the workshop were moved to the new premises yesterday. It takes a few days to rig everything up, so I expect to be back in production in mid-September. The attached photo shows a load of 200 mm body pipe, good for some 300 Metros.

Time will tell whether any of this makes sense, economic & otherwise. At least it should be easier now for an eventual local successor to leap in.

BTW, the situation with Guitars'n'Jazz in Summit, NJ, is unclear once again. They have a Metro 6.5BG, a Metro 8GP and a Toob 10S (with 40W Jensen Blackbird AlNiCo) as floor samples, on commission. Previously, those were not for sale. Any units sold I would send direct to the end-customer, benefiting from the de minimis exemption, while GnJ would take care of the sales and financial traffic. Lou del Rosso, always frugal on words, now seems reluctant to import and stock under the new circumstances. No reason then to retain the floor samples as hostages. Here's a chance to buy pre-tariff samples already on the US soil.

[Christian Miller]

Thanks, Cunamara!

Yes, the 15% tariff is definitely lower than the Finnish VAT of 25.5% buyers within EU have to pay. However, not one has been shipped to the US under tariffs yet. My shipping agent says UPS has the systems in place but will also levy a service charge at your end. I don't know that amount yet.

Thanks to fantastic help from my two sons and a grandson, all essentials of the workshop were moved to the new premises yesterday. It takes a few days to rig everything up, so I expect to be back in production in mid-September. The attached photo shows a load of 200 mm body pipe, good for some 300 Metros.

Time will tell whether any of this makes sense, economic & otherwise. At least it should be easier now for an eventual local successor to leap in.

BTW, the situation with Guitars'n'Jazz in Summit, NJ, is unclear once again. They have a Metro 6.5BG, a Metro 8GP and a Toob 10S (with 40W Jensen Blackbird AlNiCo) as floor samples, on commission. Previously, those were not for sale. Any units sold I would send direct to the end-customer, benefiting from the de minimis exemption, while GnJ would take care of the sales and financial traffic. Lou del Rosso, always frugal on words, now seems reluctant to import and stock under the new circumstances. No reason then to retain the floor samples as hostages. Here's a chance to buy pre-tariff samples already on the US soil.

Enjoyed that photo - Toobs in the making


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gitterbug]

Update: 1) The new workshop is operational, and a batch of Metros is taking shape. 2) Guitars'n'Jazz in NJ no longer considers importing and stocking worth the effort, so we're back to direct trading vis-a-vis the US exclusively. Not a huge loss, except of prestige, as the score for H1/25 was 17-0 in favor of direct sales. 3) Shipping to the US via UPS should work normally, but my shipping agent still doesn't know whether there will be a local service charge on top of the 15% EU tariff. 4) PLEASE NOTE: Our friend Nevershouldhavesoldit has kindly offered to take over the GnJ floor samples: a TOOB 10S, Metro 6.5BG and Metro 8GP. They're up for grabs, some interest already evident. PM him or me if interested.

Cheers, Markku

[Gitterbug]

The US tariff situation has been hazy. Today my shipping agent was in contact with UPS, and we now have an answer: Instead of the 15% tariff for EU, a 35% tariff will apply to plastic speaker enclosure (from EU), including shipping cost. Absolute madness, if you ask me. Unless someone wants to buy/license the business, it looks like Thank You and Goodbye, America.

EDIT: I have to double-check, because the default rate for the Category 851821 is zero, so the country rate should apply.

EDIT EDIT: On second try UPS said they don't know, check with US authorities. Fantastic.

[Cunamara]

Good luck with that, Markku! Tariffs are an unfortunately blunt instrument, in this case also wielded by inexpert hands. Hope that you (and us) get good news about your business opportunities here.

[Gitterbug]

With the gov't shutdown, I probably have a few days to find out where to turn to...

[Cunamara]

If the Trump Administration was really on top of things, they'd offer a break on tariffs for shipping into the US using the US Postal Service.

[Gitterbug]

All I find is bad news. Tariff to be paid before shipping. Tariff to apply to shipping cost as well. Tariff to be paid by the seller, if the buyer refuses the product, whether returned or destroyed. No official source recognizes the 15% EU tariff; all I see is 35%.

All of this means that I, reluctantly, join the ranks of operators who, until further notice, refuse to ship to the US. Next month may bring the US Supreme Court's ruling on the legality of Trump's tariffs. Not putting much hope on this political, pro-Trump body.