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Joined:
January 2008
Posts: 36
Location: San Fernando, CA | Hello,
Anyone has any experiences shopping with Musician Friends.com? Do they ship "new" guitar or ship anything is on display?
I'm thinking to buy guitar from them if feedback from you is positive.
Appreciate any comments you may have.
Thanks in advance.
Charles |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Go to Google and type in "Musicians Friend Complaints". Grab a drink and settle in for a fun night of on line reading. Here's a few to get you started. There is a reason that reputable dealers charge you a few dollars extra for quality service, support and piece of mind.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/musician039s-friend-c4441...
http://www.oftencloudy.com/archives/27
http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/18...
I've never bought a guitar from them, so I can't pass first hand judgement. But I would encourage you to do some checking first.
Dave |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 347
Location: Reno, NV | Well... I've used them several times and never had a problem. Never bought a guitar, but did by an amp, tuner, and strings. All orders arrived on time and in good order.
From m personal experinces alone, I would recommend them. |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I've never had anything but positive experience with them. I've bought a number of guitars from MF (mostly for my boys) with no issues whatsoever. I've also used them for lots of small orders of "stuff". I used the return policy when something wasn't right and there was no problem whatsoever. YMMV. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Probably the best aspect of companies like MF, AMS, etc is their return policy.
I have had both good luck and bad with product from them but never any issues when something needed to be returned. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6994
Location: Jet City | I've bought a few things from MF and it's all been fine. I don't know that I would buy a guitar, especially a high end guitar from them.
I like being able to play something and maybe even bond a bit before buying if at all possible.
Why are you not wanting to deal with a local shop? If it's a price thing I can tell you that I saved over $200 on my Elite LX dealing with a local shop. I like the personal service too. |
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Joined:
January 2008
Posts: 36
Location: San Fernando, CA | Dave,
Thanks for the information. What a big surprise when you dig in to these info!!!
I think I will go to a local store who can service better and physically check and play the guitar before buying it.
Thank you everyone for the input.
Charles |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I don't think I would ever buy an instrument from the big box places, however for general gear, it's usually worth it. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Never bought a guitar from them. In fact, the only thing I've ever bought from them are strings when they have a special deal, or a refurbed unit, like my Alesis 6fx, where the price is a bargain. And since they have a good return policy, buying refurbs from doesn't bother me.
But a guitar, I'd really try to buy from a local guy. Sometimes you can't, so I'm cool with that. |
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Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | If you're buying from a "Big Box" Store... I'd recommend
SweetWater. They are first rate...
Otherwise, I'd go with Al or a trusted local dealer |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | Q Can you match this price?
A yes.
Q Will you also examine the guitar,set it up, test it and make any adjustments as needed?
A no, at that price you get it drop shipped just like the big box.
how many times I had this conversation? if I could count I would be rich. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12755
Location: Boise, Idaho | My daughter bought a guitar from MF. At the time she was living where there weren't any real choices but mail order. She didn't consult me, so she bought an Ibanez. First one came with the back all scratched from a staple in the box. That probably was the manufacturer's fault. Shipped it back and got a new one with no problem, she thought. I bought her an amp for Christmas and her guitar didn't work plugged in. Fortunately, the one year warranty wasn't quite up, so she shipped that one back and got a new one.
The return policy is great, but I'd much rather have someone check them out and get it right the first time. The aggravation and shipping charges cost more than she saved. Once she decided what she wanted, she'd have been much better off driving 300 miles to the Guitar Center here and buying it from them. |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Best one I heard was from a Dealer out of toen somewhere. Some kid walks in and wants him to match XYZ price. The guy says OK I'll do that. Kid say good, get me the guitar. Dealer says, It's in the back row on top, go back there and get it yourself and take the box with you AND don't open it here and get those peanuts everywhere. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | I've bought quite a bit from MF over the last few years...some PA gear mostly, as well as misc stuff like mic's and stands and cords and whatoozies and all that.
I wouldn't think of buying a guitar from them. Just not worth it. Might save a couple of bucks, might not, but I'd rather deal with someone at a more personal level.
But for what they are, MF seems fine to me. I'm lucky in that their warehouse is in Kansas City, which means that most items end up arriving the next day for me. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I bought a 50th Anniversary Fender Strat from MF five years ago. No issues whatsoever. I've also purchased lots of other gear over the years from them, but not much recently. It seems when I need something small, I want it now and just run to GC or one of the other places in town. I wasn't an OFC member back then and wasn't as informed as I am now. Personally, I now prefer buying higher end gear from private parties or as a repeat customer to a small dealership. The continuing relationship works out better for both parties, IMHO. |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 3111
Location: Nashville TN. | MF, AMS, ZZSound, Same Day, Sweetwater, Elderly
are all ok to deal with. I use them them all for some small stuff.
AMS and ZZ both offer 3 to 5 payments on bigger dollar stuff. It can be a godsend if you need
something and don't have bucks all at once.
You need to know what you want.
On guitars my last 2 came from Al.
I agree that deal with small dealer if you can. |
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Vendor experience ?
