Bruko Order from USA Advice Plz

coolkayaker1

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I have sent an email to Mr. Pfeiffer at Bruko about a custom ukulele and got his reply. Its rather brief, and the website is lovely but hard to order from (in my opinion).

The quote is 360,00 Euros. There is no other information provided, just a kind and thoughtful email with that quote. I can ask more from Bruko, and will, but I would like to ask anyone from the US that has bought a Bruko.

How do you pay for the instrument (last I checked my wallet, I have no Euros in there)? Did Bruko take Paypal? How did you find the shipping and any VATs--was that on top of the quote? What was your experience in ordering, timing and shipping?

Any advice based on your experience would be appreciated.
 
I've ordered from them twice, and it was quite painless.

360,00 = 360.00 in the USA - Europe uses a comma where we would use a period.

I have a Bruko No. 6 and a Bruko tenor - no custom Brukos (well, not that I ordered myself). The shipping on each was 55 euros, and the ordering process was easy. When you're ready to check out, click on where it says "cash box" in the upper right-hand corner. Yes, they take PayPal. (Or if it's a custom, I guess maybe you would just pay them through PayPal without using the Bruko website.) If the total were, say 415 euros, you would tell PayPal that it was Euros and it would figure the exchange. I ordered the No. 6 on April 20, and it arrived on April 25. I ordered the tenor on June 2, and it arrived on June 14.

Since you brought up the subject, I almost ordered a black soprano, but fortunately they are out of them now!
 
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Sorry that's me I looked at the figure several times and saw 360,000 euros! Ooops!
That European tradition of using a comma as the decimal point threw me!

Have just looked at the site, that price includes tax at 19% which you should not pay as it's being exported, (That will depend on Bruko though, but expect to pay that on ari in USA plus import duties, customs clearance charges plus probably sales tax.
It also looks as though the shipping charge of 55 euro is for shipping by Deutsche Post AG, a postal service.

I couldn't get to the checkout, but I would suspect they use something like Worldpay, which accepts credit cards and the currency exchange takes place at your bank.

Also, with the Lacey Act in the States, you may want to get something from Bruko that the woods used are allowed to be imported to the US otherwise there may be a delay whilst they check. (Not sure if this is a real issue, but best be prepared. See if anyone else has imported a Bruko Uke and see what problems they had if any.)

All of the above is to the best of my limited knowledge, hopefully someone else will be along to confirm/deny the above.
h
 
Kvehe posted whilst I was formulating my reply.
Would seem that Lacey was not a problem, so you can ignore that!
h
 
Brüko has a "Checklist For Custom Ukuleles" that you can get by following the links on the site. It is a self explanatory form easy to fill out with options provided for sending it to Herr Pfeiffer. If the form does not provide for something you want you can message him and I'm sure he will answer your question in his charasterictic succinct and forthright manner. Make sure you sign in to the site because the prices of the ukuleles go down when you do that. I have no idea why that is. Use paypal for checkout and the euros to dollars conversion is done automatically. Interesting how the website reflects the design and temper of the ukuleles.
 
Brüko has a "Checklist For Custom Ukuleles" that you can get by following the links on the site. It is a self explanatory form easy to fill out with options provided for sending it to Herr Pfeiffer. If the form does not provide for something you want you can message him and I'm sure he will answer your question in his charasterictic succinct and forthright manner. Make sure you sign in to the site because the prices of the ukuleles go down when you do that. I have no idea why that is. Use paypal for checkout and the euros to dollars conversion is done automatically. Interesting how the website reflects the design and temper of the ukuleles.

Well said, Bill. My experience mirrors yours.

Nice choice, Steve. Excited for your review...
 
Appreciate the advice from everyone. Still don;t really get it about the process (I already did the custom order form online and that's why Herr Pfieffer got back in touch with me). SOmething tells me I'd be better off just ordering from a US manufacturer. I can understand it better, speak to them in person or by phone. The email from Bruko was so "reflective of the design and temper" of Bruko that it was like a cold bucket of water in the face. lol Too many what-ifs for me--including after-market care and warranty, etc. (I'm having one of my ukes have warranty work done right now, graciously and wonderfully by the luther, so warranty is key, and shipping back to Germany would be costly and troublesome). I can see many potential flies in the ointment. Notice that I am saying this for me, nothing against Bruko nd their ukes are outstanding, they are divine. I loved mine and should never have sold it. But I respect that others have found it simple (if anyone wants to order one and resell it to me, I'm game...lol)
 
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If you consider callling them , his son speaks much better English, as that is who we dealt with in the past, and you would also have no problem with warranty and shipping if god forbid it was faulty, petey houdini had the black maple bruko and it wasnt right and instead of making him enduer the cost of returning it they simply sent him another uke to replace it and he kept the old one as well.
I think you would be fine getting a Bruko sent to the states, i love my #6 i to one day will get a custom bruko, such a great built uke for a amaaing price,vastly underrated lovely ukes :)
 
Bruko is top notch in my book. I've heard several stories about issues with their products and they are a "make it right" sort of company. Peter was kind enough to gift his 2nd black ukulele to me and it is better than any Chinese ukulele even with the flaw. I think Herr Pfeiffer's emails are short and to the point but I did get a very nice and longer one from him. For the money I can't imagine getting a better custom instrument.
 
Don't give up, Steve!

1. What everyone says is true. Herr Pfeiffer has responded to my emails kindly and generously. (Maybe you caught him at a busy time.)

2. How can I/we (I) live vicariously through your custom if you don't actually place the order? Damn it, man -- think of your community!
 
Appreciate the advice from everyone. Still don;t really get it about the process (I already did the custom order form online and that's why Herr Pfieffer got back in touch with me). SOmething tells me I'd be better off just ordering from a US manufacturer. I can understand it better, speak to them in person or by phone. The email from Bruko was so "reflective of the design and temper" of Bruko that it was like a cold bucket of water in the face. lol Too many what-ifs for me--including after-market care and warranty, etc. (I'm having one of my ukes have warranty work done right now, graciously and wonderfully by the luther, so warranty is key, and shipping back to Germany would be costly and troublesome). I can see many potential flies in the ointment. Notice that I am saying this for me, nothing against Bruko nd their ukes are outstanding, they are divine. I loved mine and should never have sold it. But I respect that others have found it simple (if anyone wants to order one and resell it to me, I'm game...lol)


You've received nothing but positive replies about Brüko from all the members who have offered their opinion. You also have the prior experience of owning one of these wonderful instruments apparrently without a hitch as you suffer from a admitted measure of lingering remourse after selling the instrument. If "a cold bucket of water in the face" is how you choose to describe the design and temper of Brüko and all the other "what-ifs" mentioned trouble you, and the positive remarks about Brüko don't ally your doubts the answer is simple - do not purchase a Brüko. All your problems are solved now.
 
Ok, mails from M. Pfeiffer are short (and efficient) but I receive a lovely custom ukulele and I'm really pleased by it. M. Pfeiffer is probably not an internet man and use it the minimum needed. But the last message was fine as he was pleased by the video I sent him while playing his brand new instrument.
I paid my uke by bank transfer.
 
Pulled the plug!

Okay, I couldn't resist. You all are very persuasive! :)

I decided, what the hey, forget the custom part (that just adds complexity)--I just want a Bruko baritone!

So, I got on their website, ordered one #16 model, added the Bruko installed Shadow passive pickup, and used Paypal to pay for it all, and just like you all mentioned, even though the entire transaction was written in German on Paypal, it converted my purchase to US Dollars ($433, including shipping and the installed pickup! It even has the Schaller geared tuners!). From my experience with the Bruko that I stupidly sold, these ukes play like ukes worth four times as much. The fit and finish of mine was outstanding, and this will hopefully be the same.

http://www.brueko.de/shop/product_i...kulele.html&XTCsid=1uqgsnam54krad9s2akj3jc0u5

Thanks again. You all have helped me immensely. Steve

P.S. Daniel--I'll tell Herr Pfieffer that you will be next to order a baritone. lol It did have Schaller geared tuners! Oh my!
 
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Okay, I couldn't resist. You all are very persuasive! :)

I decided, what the hey, forget the custom part (that just adds complexity)--I just want a Bruko baritone!

So, I got on their website, ordered one #16 model, added the Bruko installed Shadow passive pickup, and used Paypal to pay for it all, and just like you all mentioned, even though the entire transaction was written in German on Paypal, it converted my purchase to US Dollars ($433, including shipping and the installed pickup! It even has the Schaller geared tuners!). From my experience with the Bruko that I stupidly sold, these ukes play like ukes worth four times as much. The fit and finish of mine was outstanding, and this will hopefully be the same.

http://www.brueko.de/shop/product_i...kulele.html&XTCsid=1uqgsnam54krad9s2akj3jc0u5

Thanks again. You all have helped me immensely. Steve

P.S. Daniel--I'll tell Herr Pfieffer that you will be next to order a baritone. lol It did have Schaller geared tuners! Oh my!

Good on ya mate :) look forward to seeing and hearing a review looks a really nice instrument, damn you my UAS was under controll, now it is surfacing again lol think i may have to sell a couple of ukes now , keep us posted on how this goes.
 
P.S. Daniel--I'll tell Herr Pfieffer that you will be next to order a baritone. lol It did have Schaller geared tuners! Oh my!

Your such an enabler! Wow...price is great but I prefer to work with a U.S. company due to shipping and warranty. I've never played a Bruko so don't know what I'm missing. HAHAHA
 
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