musiciansfriend.com SUCKS

I don't know about any of you all, but I dislike doing business with musiciansfriend.com. Do they offer a ton a decent gear decently priced? Sure do. What about when you actually order that gear; can they ship it the same day the order is received? Apparently not.

I ordered an ENGL Z-4 footswitch on Sunday, Nov18th. You think I might have received it by now wouldn't you? Nope. I just yesterday *(11/27) received the shipping confirmation. The only time I shop at musiciansfriend.com is when Sweetwater.com doesn't have what I need. Otherwise I avoid mf.com like the plague. All said and done it's taken 11 days to receive an item that was in-stock! I even paid an upcharge for two-day shipping. Haha, what a joke!

When I order from Sweetwater I get a phone call from a sale representative within an hour of my purchase. 1. Thanking me for my order and 2. Confirming the order and when it will ship. I know you guys experience the same level of service and damn it's refreshing to say the least.

Sweetwater usually ships the same day unless the order is recevied too late in the day. So worst case scenario, I'm looking at 3-5 days tops to receive the product. I kills me that mf.com can't even get something off the shelf in 5 days. This is at least the 3rd time I've experienced this with musiciansfriend.com. It one of the reasons that keeps me from going back and doing business with them on any consistent basis.

I wish Sweetwater had a few more lines of gear available; namely ENGL & ESP/LTD. Who else is out there that has Sweetwater like service?

I avoid MF, GC, Music123, etc when I can.

I generally order from small online shops, Sweetwater, or Zzounds.com.

blackba":3glm8g5m said:

I avoid MF, GC, Music123, etc when I can.

I generally order from small online shops, Sweetwater, or Zzounds.com.

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Same here. The only exception for me is Sweetwater due to the fact that their sales team is great and it seems they take a real pride in their gear (high resolution photos for expensive gear w/ different serial numbers). Other than that, it's hometown favorites who are always great to deal with.

Luckily, I've never had that experience with them. Everytime I've ordered something from them, I always got it pretty fast....unless the item was backordered. Most of my experiences ordering from Musician's Friend have been quite positive. They offer good discounts most of the time and when they are not.....I can often call them up and get them to bend to at least 15%, if not 20% off an item the majority of the time. So, I can't really complain.

Tone Zone":1tzhm04w said:

I can often call them up and get them to bend to at least 15%, if not 20% off an item the majority of the time. So, I can't really complain.

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Maybe I should start calling and trying to do the same. I could live with the slow service if I was rountinely getting discounts.

dooredge":16zyogvx said:

Tone Zone":16zyogvx said:

I can often call them up and get them to bend to at least 15%, if not 20% off an item the majority of the time. So, I can't really complain.

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Maybe I should start calling and trying to do the same. I could live with the slow service if I was rountinely getting discounts.

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Yeah, it seems that I generally get them to do so about 90% of the time. The last thing I ordered from them in early November was the new TC Electronic Flashback X4 delay pedal (although backordered)....and I was able to get 20% off of it. 20% off can be a bit more difficult to get at times.....but 15% off at anytime is fairly easy in my experiences when ordering from them.

I've had good results with MF & Sweetwater - both discount off published prices. I've even received items that I wasn't happy with and was going to return, and they offer additional discount to keep (rec'd ENGL cab with scuffs and tear in tolex on a like new item, they took another $50 off). Dealing with smaller shops is nice but sometimes selection and the ability to pay for over longer time if you want 0% interest to pay for pricey item is main motivator. Too bad ENGL doesn't just include the darn footswitch with their heads.

MI retail seems so wishy-washy.

I was in it when GC and Mars were cutting prices down to actual dealer cost (sometimes below actual cost). Mars lost that war, GC essentially monopolized the market, putting local Mom 'n' Pop stores out of business. When that happened, it seems like they unilaterally raised their prices across the board and changed the sales associates' wages to no commission, seemingly to cut out low profit margins.

I say all this because 10-15 years ago, 20% off retail was nothing. You could get at least 35% off stuff -- it was cutthroat. Even Mesa Boogie was hard to push back in the early 2000s; that's "C" mark stuff, meaning that dealer cost is 70% of retail. Everyone was/is under the impression that you can't negotiate on Boogie stuff. Lie. You can successfully negotiate anything, even a can of beans at the grocery store.

Rambling rant aside, I think your best bet is to find a smaller shop/online shop that will cut you a better deal than the big chains while still
making a little commission -- win/win for everyone, and you feel better knowing you didn't have to go to GC (the owner of Musicians Friend).

Out here on the east coast you can definitely deal in the big stores, probably because you have both GC and Sam Ash. Full disclosure I work at a Sam Ash (and people are constantly threatening to go to GC to negociate prices heh). Sam Ash also has an online store, I won't comment on their service I've never ordered from it myself, but the shipping seems to be pretty fast. In NY we're able to use the same warehouse to drop ship things to customers and the turn around seems pretty quick.

That said, Sweetwater's customer service is unbelievable. I've bought stuff there in the past and they always follow up to make sure you're happy with the product and then check in every few months.

marvcus":1vmxf6i5 said:

Rambling rant aside, I think your best bet is to find a smaller shop/online shop that will cut you a better deal than the big chains while still making a little commission -- win/win for everyone, and you feel better knowing you didn't have to go to GC (the owner of Musicians Friend).

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This is inaccurate. In most instances, smaller shops can not compete with big chains when negotiating discounts on new items. Sure, every once in a while they might be able to undercut a big chain, but the majority of the time you'll find better discounts at big chains for most items. It's simple economics.

Tone Zone":35ndh7fw said:

marvcus":35ndh7fw said:

Rambling rant aside, I think your best bet is to find a smaller shop/online shop that will cut you a better deal than the big chains while still making a little commission -- win/win for everyone, and you feel better knowing you didn't have to go to GC (the owner of Musicians Friend).

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This is inaccurate. In most instances, smaller shops can not compete with big chains when negotiating discounts on new items. Sure, every once in a while they might be able to undercut a big chain, but the majority of the time you'll find better discounts at big chains for most items. It's simple economics.

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Really? I bet I could get a better deal at King Guitar than at GC on, say, an EVH Wolfgang.

I understand your point and concede a bit since the bigger stores put out way more volume. Depends on what you are looking for.

My question is, if you can get it at GC/MF for $2000 and at a small store for the same (MAP), which one would you go with?

marvcus":1wv8gjtz said:

Tone Zone":1wv8gjtz said:

marvcus":1wv8gjtz said:

Rambling rant aside, I think your best bet is to find a smaller shop/online shop that will cut you a better deal than the big chains while still making a little commission -- win/win for everyone, and you feel better knowing you didn't have to go to GC (the owner of Musicians Friend).

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This is inaccurate. In most instances, smaller shops can not compete with big chains when negotiating discounts on new items. Sure, every once in a while they might be able to undercut a big chain, but the majority of the time you'll find better discounts at big chains for most items. It's simple economics.

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Really? I bet I could get a better deal at King Guitar than at GC on, say, an EVH Wolfgang.

I understand your point and concede a bit since the bigger stores put out way more volume. Depends on what you are looking for.

My question is, if you can get it at GC/MF for $2000 and at a small store for the same (MAP), which one would you go with?

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Well, I wasn't referring to GC....as most people know, they are just out there to FUCK somebody. As they are the biggest name in musical instruments. I was referring more to big online chians. And, yeah...I know MF is owned by GC, but as everyone knows....the sames discounts don't apply at GC. And, to answer your last question....honestly? I'd go with MF. Just because I can have it sent to me for free (in most cases)....and if there are any issues, I find it easier to have them resolved through them and often get an additional discount if there is a problem. Also, there is the huge advantage of not having to pay TAX.

I use Sweetwater. I ordered picks through MF a while back and it took about 10 days to get here. There "free" shipping is free meaning you get what you pay for. I understand that items shipped free go through UPS and USPS so it takes a while. Typically, when I order something, I want it quick and 10 days doesn't quite cut if for me. I live too damn far from most stores to just "run out" and get this stuff. It becomes a half day excursion which I don't always have time for...

Tone Zone":3l4p9iqd said:

Also, there is the huge advantage of not having to pay TAX.

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I'd say this is the biggest reason I shop on-line for gear needs. Lord knows we all pay through our noses tax-wise & if I can avoid paying taxes (& get free shipping) on gear I will. Heck, I saved $134 alone in taxes when I bought an amp from Sweetwater earlier this year.

I'd rather do the on-line things versus going to GC and dealing with some mook who thinks they know gear. I will say I do support the little guy in my town. It's a nice shop. No fabulous selection of gear; just your run of the mill Epiphones, Schecters & Ibanezes, Fender, Blackstar, Kustom brands. But I like to buy my cables, strings, picks, straploks and stuff like that from him. Pretty easy to see what the mark-up is and he's definitely making a profit so I'm all for it. I'd rather help his bottom line than GC's.

My guess is that it was listed as "in-stock" but was actually drop-shipped from the manufacturer.

The last time I went to GC, the kid working called me ma'am. I didn't buy anything and haven't been back since. Guys who know me know that I have spent a pretty penny in that place in the past.

Laura":al2x3g8k said:

The last time I went to GC, the kid working called me ma'am. I didn't buy anything and haven't been back since. Guys who know me know that I have spent a pretty penny in that place in the past.

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Dig out that Sacred Reich shirt and he won't call you ma'am anymore...

RockStarNick":ubw2y38r said:

My guess is that it was listed as "in-stock" but was actually drop-shipped from the manufacturer.

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It was actually one of their "gently used" items priced at a discount.

Tone Zone":3fm42eee said:

dooredge":3fm42eee said:

Tone Zone":3fm42eee said:

I can often call them up and get them to bend to at least 15%, if not 20% off an item the majority of the time. So, I can't really complain.

Click to expand...

Maybe I should start calling and trying to do the same. I could live with the slow service if I was rountinely getting discounts.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it seems that I generally get them to do so about 90% of the time. The last thing I ordered from them in early November was the new TC Electronic Flashback X4 delay pedal (although backordered)....and I was able to get 20% off of it. 20% off can be a bit more difficult to get at times.....but 15% off at anytime is fairly easy in my experiences when ordering from them.

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Yeah when Musician's Friend has exclusions on a 15% off coupon, it's usually as simple as opening a chat window or making a phone call to get them to budge on the price even if it's on the blacklist. You can also go through EBATES http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=yJLc548xePPOKz6s9v+fVA== to get an additional 4% off at Musician's Friend (as well as Guitar Center and Sam Ash) in cash back (it doubled to 8% on Cyber Monday).

Laura":1hdjjm6p said:

The last time I went to GC, the kid working called me ma'am. I didn't buy anything and haven't been back since. Guys who know me know that I have spent a pretty penny in that place in the past.

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Hey, you could've been called worse!