Brief update on this saga:
Yes, I'd have loved to use the U.S. distributor (Dale Pro Audio, who have been nothing but helpful to the extent they can be) but Mr. Demuth (who now lives in the UK) instructed otherwise. The shipping spot I used could not do DHL (which I wanted) so I had to go FedEx. Price was absolutely brutal at $126 to ship international with $800 insurance. And German customs has apparently asked MBHO to pay duties on it despite it being marked as manufactured in Germany and as a return for repair.
On the plus side, at least MBHO has the mics. Which, by the way, offer a really nice change of flavor from the Schoeps and are a great "situational mic" from what I've found using borrowed bodies.
I have to say, it's probably lucky for me that I didn't intend for these to be my primary mics, given that servicing them is, as has been documented a bunch of times here, not exactly at the more routine level of Schoeps and DPA. That said, Marcus has been responsive and seems to be doing his part on this. Partly it's a price of doing business with a lesser-known manufacturer.