Woodwind and Brasswind

I ordered a Marshall amp at a good price. It came slowly, but it came. When it arrived, the shipping box was fine but the inner box was mangled, suggesting they sent it out that way. When the inner box was opened (early Christmas present), the amp didn't work -- not too surprising, I suppose, considering the box condition. When I sent it back, they paid for return shipping -- Yay! However, then .... nothing. Two months later, WE had to call THEM to find out that they had no more of these in stock and that they would refund the purchase price to our credit card. DIDN'T THEY THINK WE WOULD WANT TO KNOW? In the meantime, my son

I have ordered a flute,two piccolos, and a a music stand from Woodwind and Brasswind and I have had terrible experiences. The flute played extremely out of tune and had pad problems even though it was brand new. It took two monthes for them to send me a new one. The music stand arrived dented and I also had to send for a new one. The first piccolo arrived with a cracked bore and the company refused to replace it because the defect came from Selmer and they were just a warehouse. I would never reccomend this store to anyone unless you want a huge headache. It would be better to pay more money at another store. When you send back an item W&B will charge you for the shipping.

This company is apparently under new management, and has really gone to the dogs. The old WW&BW used to have excellent customer service.

They converted to a new system and deleted all of their old customer accounts. The people working there now have no concept of customer service and can't be bothered to lift a finger to help a mere customer. They expect customers to put up with inconveniences that they cause, for the privilege of doing business with them.

Initially I had serious doubts that WWBW is Music123. After receiving some spam from Music123, I compared the headers in the emails. We have, unfortunately, a match. This may only mean that Music123 bought WWBW and left management intact.

Whatever their affiliation or ownership, I bought Sibelius 3 academic/church with photoscore bundle and am VERY pleased with the price, customer service and speed in delivery. I got it within a week, and their customer service department answered every email faster than any other online company I've dealt with. I emailed them because the stock picture was slightly different than the description and I wanted to make sure of what I was getting...and they assured me that the description was accurate. They sent with my purchase a woodwind catalog--the selection is mind-boggling. I now check there first when comparing prices for items and accessories like microphones and music stands.

After reading a number of reviews, I decided to take a chance on this outfit because their inventory had the special item I wanted at a nice price. I knew satisfaction was spotty, but I wanted it right away. Long story short, it came sooner than expected, in perfect shape. They had great email communication, the inventory I wanted in stock and the shipment tracking worked fine. I was very satisfied with them. By the way, these guys are definitely the same outfit as Music 123. Look at their physical address, same one. But they seem to have somewhat higher satisfaction for some reason. At any rate, I think the most accurate way to portray the situation is, "You lays your money down, you takes your chances."

What a horrible on-line experience!  They told me that the cello stand was available when I ordered on December 1.  Nothing was shipped, but my account continued to show that the order was being “processed”.  Ten days before Christmas I contacted them because it was supposed to be a gift from Santa.  NOW they told me it was backordered. So my daughter only got a picture of the cello stand on Christmas Day. Then 2 weeks AFTER Christmas, I went to check the on status again, and my account says it was CANCELLED. No one ever contacted me.  When I got a hold of them, they said the item had been discontinued but no one ever contacted me about this.  Well I went to Birdlandmusic.com, and they had LOTS of the exact same cello stand in stock, and I got it in 2 days at a cheaper price!  Shame on the folks at Woodwinds and Brasswinds! They have NO CUSTOMER CARE.  They ruined my daughters Christmas.  I will never shop here again, and will never recommend it to anyone else.  Buyer beware!  There are a lot of other decent places to shop out there…this just isn’t one of them.

I wanted to exchange cello strings, which I bought in July. I send back the wrong strings per regular mail to save additional costs. I called 5 times, emailed 3 times about the order. I was told that the strings never arrived in their warehouse. I ask for a supervisor and was told he would call me back. Nobody ever called me. One of their customer service persons was extremly rude, telling me it is all my fault, because I didn't use a trackable mail service. After the 4th email, telling them that I have no tracking number and that I am disappointed in their lack of courtesy I finally got lucky and I got an email, that they will send me new strings. Yeah!!! after 3 month of agrivation.

I was worried about ordering from this site after reading some of the other reviews, but I actually had no problems. My order was shipped quickly, arrived in perfect condition and the customer service was very friendly and helpful. I would definitely order from this site again

Something fishy in the state of Indiana.....

I've done business with this company since 1980. Last month I received an E-mail regarding a 3-day Thanksgiving sale. I telephoned to confirm a price on a Yamaha 461 Flute. I was quoted a price that was $200 off of the price listed on their website. GREAT! I ordered the flute. It arrived quickly and is a terrific instrument. Here's the rub. I still hadn't received an invoice, so I checked on line only to discover the quoted $200 savings was M.I.A. I naively called thinking it was just an oversight, however, I was told the sale price that I was quoted was not valid because of a change in policy. When I questioned the appearance of this bait and switch, the manager said, that "Yes, I can see where you would feel that way." but reiterated that Yamaha won't allow them to sell below M.A.P.
To say this least, I feel deceived and would NEVER do business with this company again.

WWBW's website provides a clue. Its laid-out virtually identically to the infamous Music 123's. And the prices, product descriptions, item numbers, etc, are identical. A nice touch was WWBW's registering/chartering in Indiana: it makes it appear that they're somehow connected with the reputable Prowinds. Nice try, boys.

My first order with this company was also my last. Order received on 12/23. It sat on somebody's desk until 12/29, when my card was billed. THEN they decided that doing inventory was more important than servicing PAID ORDERS and delayed processing until 1/5. They didn't get the chance... I canceled order on 1/3.

Fast email confirmation of order and shipment of merchandise. I ordered an electric guitar kit with other accessories on Monday night, I got the accessories on Thursday morning and the guitar kit on Saturday afternoon. I wasn't expecting such fast shipment by FedEx since shipping was free (as long as purchase total over $99). So I ended up saving shipping and getting my product fast. Excellent price for the guitar pack too. A decent beginner's guitar. I'll definitely shop here again.

Woodwind and Brasswind was good at one time, but personally, I will no longer do business with them. An order placed last year that was promised in 2 days took close to 6 months to arrive. Yesterday, I placed and order, received a guarantee that the instrument was in stock and would be shipped -- and that the sales person would personally walk this order through, but when my shipping confirmation came, not only was the address wrong but only the 2 small pieces were shipped. The clarinet, which is the specific piece promised to be in stock and shipped, is now mysteriously "back-ordered" -- this, after they charged my credit card for the full amount. I feel like I have been swindled and lied to, and this is the second consecutive time. In hindsight, I think I was foolish to even give them a second shot at getting it right. My advice -- STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE!

Just a comment on the similarity between the Music123 website and the Woodwind and Brasswind website... I too have noticed the similarity, but they ARE DEFINITELY NOT THE SAME STORE! Woodwind and Brasswind is a real brick-and-mortar store based in South Bend Indiana. I used to go there all the time when I lived just across the state line in Michigan. It's a great store with a huge inventory. Why the similarity in web sites? Maybe both stores have contracted the same company to handle the web-end of their business.

I've ordered from WW&BW web site since moving away from Michigan and had great service from them over the web.

Actually ordered items at Music123 and then had to deal with WWBW customer service and poor management. After waiting 2 months for a item that was supposed to be in stock, I found out that they were actually backordered. This I found after contacting the manufacturer directly. Once the item actually arrived at the WWBW Indiana warehouse, it took them over 2 weeks to unpack it and ship it (this again was confirmed by the manufacturer, who apparently knows more about WWBW warehouse stock than the WWBW people do). Endless excuses, endless promises, and endless emails and telephone calls. I should have been smart and cancelled my order. What a runaround. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Unbelievable they can stay in business. I will NEVER do business with them or the other companies that "front" for them. Be careful if you order over the internet, MANY sites with different names are actually business partners with these clowns - if the price and page view look similar to WWBW or Music123 - watch out!