Great Selection, Good Prices, Returns Can Be A Hassle
Written: Feb 01 '07 (Updated Mar 03 '07)
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I first heard about Musician's Friend while flipping through a guitar tablature magazine in the early 1990's when I was just toying with the idea of playing guitar.
I called their 800 number and ordered a FREE catalog & I've been receiving them every month or so ever since.
At first, I ordered a few small items over the phone (they probably didn't even have a website back them), and the process was pretty easy and the items arrived quickly.
A few months after my first order, I decided to order an electric guitar. A major purchase for me @ about $700 (plus shipping) plus I paid for 3 day delivery which cost about $40 extra.
I placed my order over the phone, requested (and subsequently paid for) 3 day delivery.
I ordered the guitar on Monday morning and on the third business day after placing the order, no guitar had been delivered. I called Musician's Friend and inquired as to the whereabouts of my guitar & they claimed it was "processing". I asked how long "processing" takes & was told about 2 days after orders are placed. I informed the rep that it has been three days since the order & I had expected delivery by now, not to be waiting on processing. They said there was nothing they could do. Each day afterwards I would call checking the status of the order. FIVE days after I placed the order, the guitar FINALLY had shipped and theoretically it should now arrive in 3 days, although I knew it would not be shipped on Sunday. I waited patiently for three MORE business days and still no guitar. I was slightly agitated as anyone who paid so much more for 3 day delivery would be. My guitar finally arrived on that FRIDAY, nearly two weeks after ordering.
Of course I called to ask for a refund for their inability to deliver 3 day shipping, but was told I would have to ship the guitar back (at my expense) for a refund of the guitar, LESS my original shipping costs. I politely informed them that I paid EXTRA for 3 day delivery, and it had taken nearly 9 business days to deliver. They were not sympathetic and blamed the shipping company and refused to refund any part of my shipping.
This SUCKS but there was no way I was going to get my shipping charges back from them.
- On a side note, I loved the guitar and I still have it to this day.
A year or so went by and I had my eye on some effects pedals in their catalog, but I was hesitant to buy from them again after the previous mess. By now, they had changed their shipping to free shipping with orders over $X.XX amount, so I purchased enough items to be over that limit. This time NO extra 3 day add-on; just plain old free shipping.
The ordering process was the same, give the operator the item # from the catalog, confirm price, credit card & shipping info, order done.
The items arrived in about 6 business days after ordering them. Maybe I should have opted for their standard shipping the first time.
SELECTION
I was amazed early on with the variety of items in their catalogs, even more so now with their website. Not only do they sell guitars, amps & effects but classical guitars, woodwind instruments, books, videos, electronics, lighting, clothing and too much more to even begin to list.
PRICING
Back in the day, they were the only mail order musical instruments company I knew of, so they had the only prices, no comparison.
Today, there are dozens of websites selling similar musical items, many of which have similar pricing, while a few will beat Musician's Friend by as much as $400 on the same item. It pays to comparison shop.
SHIPPING
I've always had some issues with their shipping. From the first time when I got took for $40, up to recently when I had to return a guitar that was clearly sub standard quality right out of the box.
Sometimes they use UPS to ship, other times they use USPS for smaller items, and returns are usually taken care of by FedEx.
Sometimes if you only need a $3.00 pack of strings, you'll have to pay $6.00 shipping.
I usually try to hold off until my order meets the $99 free shipping deal.
Returns/replacements can be a PITA (kids ask mom or dad what that stands for) as I'm currently dealing with a replacement.
- I received a guitar (from a very good manufacturer) that was of very low quality fit & finish (screws loose, no finish on the fret board or neck, chips in the body, etc). I called to see if I could keep the guitar & have them issue a partial refund & I'd deal with repairing the issues. They offered a 5% discount on the guitar, which wouldn't pay for much more than the new screws, let alone repairing & repainting the body, etc. So I asked if I could send it back for a replacement. They offered to email me a return FedEx label, but I would have to take it to a FedEx drop/pickup location. Unfortunately, I live in a small town & there isn't a FedEx drop/pickup location within 50 miles of me… I asked if they could have FedEx schedule a pickup (normal business practice in today's world, usually NO extra cost for the shipper) and I would have the package ready. I was put on hold for several minutes while the pickup was authorized & finally the pickup was scheduled for the next day.
I had the package sealed up as good as if not better than I received it within 10 minutes of hanging up the phone with MF. The next day rolled around and passed, no FedEx. I called MF late that night (about 10pm) and was surprised to speak to a human. I explained that FedEx didn't come; do we need to reschedule the pickup? No, he said, FedEx will make three attempts to pickup before they require a new pickup. He told me that FedEx tried to pickup the package, but it wasn't ready. I explained that I had stayed home ALL DAY waiting for FedEx and they never showed up, they couldn't have, it was impossible. Nevertheless, three more days went buy, with me waiting at home for FedEx to pickup the package & they finally got it on day 4.
I appreciate MF for scheduling the pickup which saved me a full day driving (probably getting lost) all over the state looking for a FedEx location, but I was on lockdown until FedEx finally arrived.
This isn't MF's fault, but I sure wish they'd switch to UPS, DHL or carrier pigeon for package pickups.
RETURNS
As above, the return/replacement/refund process can be sloooooow, especially when waiting for the package to make it back to MF. My package was delivered back to MF within 4 business days of the pickup & it’s been an additional 6 days so far & I just received notice that MF was processing my replacement. Hopefully within about 7 days I’ll have my new guitar (hopefully in better shape than the first one or I'll have to go through this again)
They do have a 45 day best price guarantee & a 45 day return policy. Good thing it isn't 30 days- that would go by just waiting for delivery & returning to MF. I've never used any of the best price guarantees, I always shop around for the best deal before I make a purchase & I usually can beat the best prices by simply buying elsewhere.
SELECTION
As mentioned before, they have a huge selection of items for most any musical interest.
You'll just have to check out their website to see if they have what you're looking for in particular.
Over the years, I've purchased several electric & acoustic guitars, numerous effects pedals, amplifiers, straps, strings, pickups. I don't remember all the stuff I've purchased from them.
I'm usually very pleased with the items; with the exception of two guitars that were very low quality & had to be sent back for replacements. One that is still working & one a few years ago.
PRICING
Most times MF has the competition beat by a few dollars. Their free shipping on most orders over $99 makes the deal a little better as most of their competition has free shipping on orders over $199.
Occasionally, I will find a deal they just can't touch. Outlet/discontinued items or b-stock items from other merchants can be as much as half the price of MF.
SUPPORT
MF has a live help feature thats basically a live chat session with a rep. I've had mixed results with their live help as some of the reps simply have no idea what they're talking about.
One time I asked what the scale length of a particular guitar neck was.
(note: Gibson guitars normally have a 24.75 inch scale length while Fender guitars have a 25.5 inch scale length, some guitar manufacturers make both scale lengths on different model guitars- this was my case, the guitar I needed the info on didn't have scale length listed
The rep replied it's full length. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing! This was a very simple question that ANYONE who has played a guitar or for that matter, SOLD a guitar should know about & this person was the proverbial deer in the headlights they had no idea & simply made up the best answer they thought would do.
I said thanks & signed off; onto the net where I was able to find the info on my own (probably should have looked for it myself in the first place).
Their phone support is somewhat better as far as technical issues are concerned. The phone reps seem to have better training.
As for customer service, it's a hit or miss game. Depending on which rep you speak with & what mood they're in or if they just got a raise, you can have good service or no service at all. I've had all types. Most times customer service reps are somewhat helpful & basically friendly. A few times I've spoken to someone who doesn't speak English as a first or second language (or they were eating peanut butter & crackers while on the job).
Once in a while you'll get a rep that sounds like their boss just chewed their butt for a solid hour about being a team player & they need to put in more effort. and they are very short & snappy with their answers, usually in an unfriendly tone.
For the most part, though, MF has pretty good overall service.
WEBSITE
The site is easy to navigate. It's pretty easy to find help links & info. Product availability is updated regularly (never perfect, but not bad). Many items have customer reviews to help with purchases, although I’d bet most of the really negative reviews never make it on the site.
You can sign up for email alerts for special deals & offers too.
They just added a “Stupid Deal of the Day” where every day they have a special sale item that’s heavily discounted, but only for that day.
Navigation can be done by a simple search box, by navigation tabs at the top of the page like Home, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Drums, Live Sound, Recording, DJ & Lighting, Band, Accessories, Books & Videos, Offstage and finally Clearance.
Any way you go, you'll usually get options to further narrow your results by the navigation tree on the left side of the page.
You can then sort your results by price – low to high or high to low, best selling, brand, customer rating or product name.
All in all, I'm pleased with their products & ok with their service.
You can find just about any musical instrument product at Musician's Friend.
***2007 UPDATE***
After purchasing and receiving a defective guitar in early January 07, I opted for a replacement of the same guitar. MF scheduled a pickup and in about two weeks sent my replacement. Unfortunately, the replacement was just as bad as the first guitar and I decided to send it back for a refund in February 07. On Feb 8, 2007 FedEx picked up the second guitar and it was on it's way back to MF. Three weeks later, I decided to call my credit card company to verify my credit had been issued as there had been more than enough time for the guitar to be delivered back to MF. To my surprise, I had received NO CREDIT.
I immediately called MF to inquire. They said they hadn't received the guitar (three weeks later) and that the package had "stopped tracking", meaning they didn't know where it was.
I have no idea why this didn't throw up a HUGE RED FLAG at MF, but I guess they don't care whether or not they get their returns back.
I informed MF of the time & date the package was picked up by FedEx & asked what happened. I was told that MF would have to contact FedEx to trace the package before they could begin issuing my credit. This process, I was told, will take from 8 to 20 MORE business days, BEFORE MF could begin the credit process.
I have already paid my credit card bill. I have no guitar. I have no idea why MF won't issue my credit when it's clear that FedEx lost (or outright stole) the guitar I returned.
Worst of all, I've found another guitar (from another company) that I want to buy, but I'm afraid MF is going to pull some BS & try to offer me "store credit" rather than credit to the card I paid with.
I guess as a last resort, I'll have to have my credit card dispute the charge unless MF can prove otherwise.
Somebody at MF dropped the ball on this one BIG TIME.
Will they make things right? Stay tuned.
Recommended:
Yes
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buggman
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