Seymour Duncan wants $255 for shipping to replace two "Dead on Arrival" Antiquity II Surfer Strat Pickups.

[TW144hz]

Hi everyone, this is my first time using Seymour Duncan Forums. I apologize if I'm posting this incorrectly or in the wrong community.

I’m a Mechanical Engineering student from Turkey and I’ve been saving money for months to get my dream pickups: Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Surfer Strats. Since they aren't sold in my country, a friend bought them for me in the US in Summer 2025 and brought them to Turkey in October.

I finally tried to install them in January 2026, but two of the single coils were completely dead. My luthier and I did everything possible, but multimeter readings confirm a dead coil (open circuit) on both. They were literally "Dead on Arrival."

I’ve been emailing Seymour Duncan support since January, providing invoices, photos, and videos of the multimeter tests. They issued an RMA Number, but here is the shocker: They are asking for $254.93 just for the return shipping.

This amount is:

• Higher than the price of the pickups themselves.
• Equivalent to my entire monthly allowance here in Turkey.

It feels devastating to save up for months, receive a defective product, and then be asked to pay more than the product's value just to get a working one. Is it fair for a customer to pay for a company's quality control failure at this scale?

I’ve attached the proof of the dead coils and the email from support. I really need advice or some visibility so someone at Seymour Duncan can help me with a more reasonable solution.

I am not familiar with the community rules yet, so please warn me if I am doing anything wrong. I have shared the video evidence of the dead pickups via this Google Drive link: "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jc9pLfB47cnmbepoubIEgpcTWzJKrYRT/view?usp=sharing"

Hello guys, thank you for advices & attributes. Since many questions were raised, I went back to my luthier to get the multimeter readings for the pickups and recorded the process; here are the results. As I mentioned, the issue is entirely related to the coil. Multimeter reads O.L (Open Loop) in screen. The recording was made on April 7, 2026, at 1:54 PM. Google Drive link: "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KzXzAeMNVztsAvtHM5ljED6qks6OD9DB/view?usp=sharing"

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Do you have any authorized Duncan dealer in your nation?

 

[Chistopher]

Have you confirmed that the pricing was not an error? Outside of that, there's little they can do about shipping prices

 

[uOpt]

Have you confirmed that the pricing was not an error? Outside of that, there's little they can do about shipping prices

There's no way that the post office wants that much for a trip to Turkey.

 

[Mincer]

Turkey is pretty far from California, and I am not really sure how many carriers are involved in getting something from the US to Turkey. Add customs/tariffs, etc, it can get expensive.
Is your friend planning a trip back to California anytime soon? Or do you have any other friends here? And what is the closest country that has an authorized dealer?

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

You can also see how much it would cost you to ship it yourself.

 

[uOpt]

The USPS postage calculator is available everywhere.

The small international priority box with 1 pound inside costs $52.50 to turkey.

 

[Mincer]

The USPS postage calculator is available everywhere.

The small international priority box with 1 pound inside costs $52.50 to turkey.

Does Turkey have some kind of similar priority box for shipping through your local post office?

 

[uOpt]

Does Turkey have some kind of similar priority box for shipping through your local post office?

I don't understand the question. The box goes to any address inside Turkey.

Maybe this link works:

Retail Postage Price Calculator Mail Services

postcalc.usps.com

 

[uOpt]

I don't want to bash SD. In fact it is a great favor that they serve a domestically sold product with an international RMA at all. Most other vendors would not.

It's just that this makes the favor useless.

 

[Mincer]

I don't understand the question. The box goes to any address inside Turkey.

Maybe this link works:

Retail Postage Price Calculator Mail Services

postcalc.usps.com

Well, I am guessing the problem is getting the pickups back to SD (for 'return shipping') not for getting the replacements to go to Turkey.

 

[justFred]

Do you know any US military personnel in Turkey? If so, Turkey is part of the U.S. military USPS mail system
, specifically under the APO/FPO/DPO (Army/Air Force Post Office). They could mail it and receive replacement as if it were US domestic mail.

 

[jeremy]

right, shipping something from here to there might only be $50. plus customs and whatever other fees? not sure. i dont ship internationally often and when i do, its a gift

 

[TW144hz]

Do you have any authorized Duncan dealer in your nation?

Hello, unfortunately no authorized Duncan dealer in my country (Turkey). My friend who has been USA bought for me and brought in Turkey.

 

[TW144hz]

Have you confirmed that the pricing was not an error? Outside of that, there's little they can do about shipping prices

I'd expect some of shipping cost covered by Seymour Duncan, because defected pickups are sold. But they're consisting on they can't help in
shipping as far as I understand.

 

[TW144hz]

Turkey is pretty far from California, and I am not really sure how many carriers are involved in getting something from the US to Turkey. Add customs/tariffs, etc, it can get expensive.
Is your friend planning a trip back to California anytime soon? Or do you have any other friends here? And what is the closest country that has an authorized dealer?

Hello, my friend has been in USA with Work & Travel Program. So, he's been there for 3 months and come back to Turkey. None of my friend is in USA or no one is going to. My hands are tied.

 

[TW144hz]

The USPS postage calculator is available everywhere.

The small international priority box with 1 pound inside costs $52.50 to turkey.

I didn't expect that return shipping cost is too much as Jeff mentioned in mail. I think they don't wanna solve the problem and try to sell new Antiquity II Pickups xD

 

[TW144hz]

Does Turkey have some kind of similar priority box for shipping through your local post office?

I assume that shipping from Turkey to USA costs me around 50 USA Dollars, but returning shipping cost that mentioned in mail too much for me. 50+250 for just shipping (no taxes or fee included) it makes 300 dollars. Reminder: 1 TRY equals 0.022 USA Dollar. I'm college student 300 dollar is my monthly living expenses

 

[TW144hz]

I don't want to bash SD. In fact it is a great favor that they serve a domestically sold product with an international RMA at all. Most other vendors would not.

It's just that this makes the favor useless.

Me neither. Seymour Duncan is my favorite pickup brand. I've been dreaming to having Antiquity Series for a year, but how it could be 2 pickups dead on arrival simultaneously? Isn't there any quality control section in SD?

 

[TW144hz]

Do you know any US military personnel in Turkey? If so, Turkey is part of the U.S. military USPS mail system
, specifically under the APO/FPO/DPO (Army/Air Force Post Office). They could mail it and receive replacement as if it were US domestic mail.

Unfortunately, I don't know any US Military Personnel in Turkey. Thank you for your advice.