Music123 -- Inconsistent but decent
Written: Dec 23 '02
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Long strolls on the beach, new Corvettes, a lavish vacation to Jamaica, new jewels placed in a favorite setting, and rich gormet entrees served in the quaintest restaurants all have their majestic qualities. People seek out and purchase these things and get a magical feeling in return. Purchasing musical gear, however, is my means of emotional fulfillment. Being a bargain hunter at heart, I use online music retailers for my music gear purchases. Online you usually don't have to pay sales tax and shipping is almost always free, with the exception of Musician's Friend, of course, but that's another review. Music 123 is an online retailer that has much to offer when it comes to selection and comparative price, but their customer service is anything but consistent.
I usually purchase about two guitars a year and toy with the idea of a new amp every now and then, so I have become very proficient at going to my local guitar store, trying the item out, and ordering it online for a deep discount. Music123 occasionally offers this deep discount on most of their products. Their web site offers a form that allows the shopper to submit prices they have seen either in the store or on the web. After some time, a salesperson will e-mail you back with a better price -- sometimes. I have noticed, however, that this price matching is inconsistent and depends on the associate that answers your price request. For instance, I submitted a lower price on a guitar that I saw advertised in a store. My first reply was denied, for they stated they did not have enough information to "verify" the price. Two days later I decided to submit the same request. Sure enough, they e-mailed me back and beat the price. This is one level of the inconsistencies I noticed with Music 123.com. Although they offer superior pricing at times, they are inconsistent with their price matches and sometimes unresponsive to their e-mails. Their customer service is an inconsistency unmatched, however.
Here is the scenario: I ordered a guitar from Music123.com. The estimated shipping time was 5 days, even though I live thirty minutes away from their warehouse. I decided to contact customer service and offer to pick the item up from their warehouse. This would not only save them the hassle and cost of shipping the guitar to me (they gave me free shipping on the order), but it would be convenient for me to pick it up instead of waiting -- win win situation. But their customer service representative was rude and inconsiderate of the customer. His response was that they are a mail order store and not a retail outlet where people can shop. I was willing to accept this, but it was the offensive tone he took toward me that was upsetting. He was almost yelling at me and even sighed (probably rolling his eyes) when I ask politely a second time. Finally, I got clearance to pick the item up. Needless to say, that was the last item I bought from Music 123.com.
Overall, my experience was very negative. They offered very competitive pricing and even had a large amount of items in stock, but the lack of customer service was just not worth the extra savings. Take a look yourself and see if the price of admission is worth it. You may either be pleasantly surprised or expectedly disappointed. Although they are inconsistent, the prices are great.
Recommended:
No
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About the Author
Member: Stan Blackburn
Location: NJ
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 7 members
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