Has anyone ordered a mando from Elderly?

[Steve_R]

Were you satisfied with the mando and service?

[Bandersnatch Reverb]

Not a mando, but have a close friend that has ordered two high end acoustic guitars. Service and quality impeccable. Elderly has a near spotless reputation.

[Hoyt]

I've ordered two mandos and various parts. You will be very satisfied with Elderly's service. If it is not what you want, they will take it back.

very satisfied

[uncle ken]

In the early 70s I was playing at a bar in Lansing. I was killing some time, wandering around the neighborhood and came accross a little hole in the wall music store called Elderly Instruments. Any store that can stay in business as long as this one must be doing something right.

[mmukav]

I've bought a mando and a banjo from them. They've been great. Prompt shipment and responsive to problems. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[onlyagibsonisgoodenuff]

I ordered a Lloyd Loar mandolin from them a few days back, and never got it. Some thing to do with my credit card limit I think.

[f5loar]

I ordered a Loar from them by credit card (well it took 10 credit cards) and they shipped it the same day and no problems. I've ordered new stuff from them and didn't like it and they refunded my money with no questions asked.
Great people to deal with from high end to low end.

[danb]

I've ordered countless times from them, and the few problems I've had have been dealt with immediately, no questions asked. Highly recommended.

[jjboone101]

I bought a Mid-Mo from them and it shipped fast and in great condition. I've also ordered countless other accessories (strings, picks, DVDs, CDs) and never had any issues. First class operation.

[Bruce Evans]

I'll try to keep this short.

I'm an hour's drive from Elderly. I bought my first mando from the store in 1998. It was a mid range Korean model for $400. A few weeks after I bought it, one of the gold colored screws holding a tuner button fell out and was lost. It was an odd size and thread, so I couldn't find anything to replace it locally. I took it back to Elderly and they spent the best part of an hour searching for a screw, even going so far as to try taking screws out of instruments in the showroom, to no avail. The salesman took my address and said he would order some and send one to me.

Yeah, right. Like that's going to happen.

Well, it did. It was about a month later that I received an envelope with three little gold colored screws in it. I've heard other such stories about Elderly Instruments service, too. If something goes wrong, they will make it right.

I have no financial interest in Elderly Instruments but now I do have several friends who work there.

[Dennis Schubert]

Nothing but good experiences with these guys for 20 years.

[Peter Hackman]

I've been a regular customer at EI for 6-7 years.
I've bought mostly books, strings and CDs from them,
lots of the latter.
No problems. Prompt and courteous.

Recently I placed my biggest order so far,
a Collings mandolin. I talked to three dealers,
Mandolin Brothers, Gryphon, and Elderly I.
EI gave the best answers to my questions, so
I bought from them. The mando took a little less
than a week getting here, and hadn't been for Swedish
UPS I would have had it within 3 days.

This was by no means my last order with EI.

[addcourt]

I've been doing business with Stan and staff for more than 20 years and have never been disappointed. #I can't say that about any other long-term relationship(my wife doesn't view this website). #Besides good selections and fair prices, their customer service is second to none. #I've found that I can ask for a sales person who specializes in certain instruments and get an on-the-phone sound and playability opinion of an instrument I might have an interest in. #I assume that they are not commissioned based sales people since there is never any pressure to purchase. #Pick up the phone--you'll be glad you did.

[Jim Webster]

I traded a Guild F30 guitar and some cash with Elderly for a Breedlove Quartz mando. I've also made many small purchases from them --strings, picks, books etc over the years. I've never had a bad experience with them. The trade went very smootly -- I had several phone conversations with them, they gave me an estimate of the trade value of the guitar, subject to their inspection. Afte I shipped the guitar to them they reduced their estimate slightly to allow for a setup and saddle adjustment which was fair -- especially in the context of the excelent price they gave me on the mandolin and a discount on the hardshell case I was buying to go with it.

[fatt-dad]

Bought my Martin HD-28V from them, several handful of parts and some books. All good. When it turned out I ordered the wrong parts, they had no problems with the refunds.

[Don Christy]

I've ordered:
- a Mando with no problems and good setup.
- strings, picks, books with no problems.
- i just ordered a tuner and metronome and expect no problems.

Only one problem which they took care of immediately. I ordered an instrument stand which arrived broken. I called them and they arranged a return and recommended against that model in favor of a less expensive one that they thought was better. So far my ONLY complaint is that they shouldn't even sell a product that they think is crappy. Not a big deal since they handled it very professionally.

[John Ely]

It seems redundant, but I'll say they are great too. I've ordered stuff from $10 to a high end mandolin. Orders have always been right, and once, when a CD in a book I ordered wouldn't track, they pulled the CD out of another copy and sent me that, rather than making me return the whole thing.

[mandobob]

Bought a used Martin from them and after getting it noticed some unadvertised pick wear (THE strangest spot I've ever seen, about the shape of a quarter). Brian in the used instrument department handled the problem with the great care and, I just bought (yesterday) another mandolin from them.
Stan, you reading these?

[grsnovi]

One of the things that always impressed me about Elderly was their stock of mandos and the salespeople there generally KNOW the instruments (most also play great). So, phoning them and getting a meaningful comparison of two instruments would be worthwhile.

I've purchased 2 guitars and a 'zouk from them along with strings and CD's (they have a GREAT collection of CD's).

I will point out that my major purchases from them happen to have been made while I was living within driving distance, but I order CD's from them since moving and I would not hesitate to buy from them over the phone (or via their web page for certain items).

[Docmarc]

I've purchased an F5-L and a Sam Bush from Elderly...if you have the opportunity to visit the store, they'll put you in a closed room, all by yourself with $25-$50,000 worth of mandolins that you can play until you can't...what a great way to compare...not terribly good hagglers though...but fair...

[onlyagibsonisgoodenuff]

Wow, F5loar, 10 credit cards! I think I'll stop tossing those credit card offers in the trash and start saving them up for when the next Loar comes up. Now why didn't I think of that before?
Let's see now, if I make the minimum payments, with interest , this could be the most expensive Loar yet!

[mrbook]

Since 1977 I've bought about 30 instruments from them, including a couple mandolins I currently play, plus lots of other stuff. They are great on the phone, and even talked me out of a couple instruments when they thought I should wait for a better one. I don't have all of them, but of the instruments I've sold, only one did not sell for at least the price I paid, and several have sold for several times what I paid Elderly. They have fair prices, high or low, and are great to do business with.

[bluegrassjack2]

I bought a D-35 from them in 1994 and was really happy with their service. Then last year I bought a Ratlif mandolin from them. When it was delivered, the whold head was broken off. I sent it back and got my money. They were really nice about it all.

[Dave Hicks]

I've bought from them numerous times over the past 20 years or so, never had a problem.

I bought a Flatiron from them in 85 - I was kind of amused that they carried it over to the phone to demo it for me. (I still have it, and had them do a setup about a year ago.)

[Ken]

This will also be redundant but to toss in my .02 I've been dealing with Elderly since about '77 or '78 and have been very satisfied with the goods and service. Great people to deal with. Most of my contact has been by mail or internet, but I do make regular pilgrimages there too.
Ken.

[bones12]

For over 25 years I have bought and sold things with Stan at Elderly and he is honest and fair. All his employees live and know music and treat you with care and respect.They are the example of how to run a business as a labor of love. You cannot go wrong at all with this model of fairness. Doug

[BBarton]

I've bought everything from picks and CDs to medium-high end mandos and guitars from Elderly, as well as had some sold by consignment through them. Excellent service -- highly recommended!!