mandolin dealer choices

[JPS1919A2]

hello, to all just a few questions concerning your experiences with certain instrument dealers, looking to buy a new mandolin and was checking out fiddlers green and mandoshop in florida, are there vast differences in customer service, set ups, prices. just overall satisfaction . dont want any drama if i do buy and i dont like it. thank you all.:mandosmiley:

[rfloyd]

I have made two very satisfactory purchases from Folkmusician.com. Robert was great to deal with, is a Cafe' sponsor, and frequently makes useful comments in this forum.

I have no experience with other dealers, but I know many here have, and I'm sure they will weigh in here. I have no financial interest in recommending Folkmusician, BTW.

Set up is the key, IMO. It is easy to compare prices, but thoroughness and quality of set up is more variable, and subjective.

[Chuck Hooper]

i have recently purchased an eastman 505 from folkmusician and got great before sale and after sale /in transite help.i have also purchased a loar ms 600 again great help and a good set up...."full disclosure"...im am not an employee of either establishment nor am i related to (so far as i know to any employee at either place and i am not a paid professional spokesman and no lawyers were injured /hurt during the writing of this reply.

[Chuck Hooper]

ooops i forgot to mention the store where i purchased the loar...the guitar center.

[dcoventry]

I believe folkmusician.com let's you try for two weeks, which I think is great as 48-72 hours is pretty short for good try out especially on young instruments.

[Mike Arakelian]

Be sure to check the return policy before you buy. Many dealers will give you a reasonable trial period. If you're not happy with the mandolin, you can return it for an exchange or refund. You will be responsible for shipping and insurance charges. Others may have a "re-stocking" charge that you may not be happy with. Best to check and know before hand.

[DHopkins]

Don't rule out The Mandolin Store. Great service, competitive prices, excellent communications. I've been dealing with them for several years and have nothing but good things to say about them.

[JeffD]

I have had nothing but excellent experiences dealing with Elderly over the years.

I have no reason to believe there would be a problem returning anything, I have never had to.

[Randy Linam]

The Mandolin Store. Dennis and Brian are the best. Top notch service. Quality mandolins. Great set-up. Fair pricing. I think you would have to search long and hard to find anyone who could say anything negative about The Mandolin Store.

Randy

[MikeEdgerton]

With reference to your actual question, here (https://www.google.com/search?q=fiddler%27s+green+site%3Amandolincafe.com&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) is every thread on the cafe that references Fiddler's Green. Here (https://www.google.com/search?q=mandoshop+site%3Amandolincafe.com&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) is every reference to The MandoShop on the Cafe. If you peruse these while waiting for someone to answer your question you should get some feel for both stores.

[Whittle]

I've had great experiences with The Mandolin Store, Greg Boyd's House of Fine Instruments, and Janet Davis Music in Bentonville, AR. All three shops gave me great customer service and did terrific setups on the instruments I got from them.

Although I haven't yet bought from them, the staff at Fiddler's Green was very helpful and friendly when I called asking about a certain instrument they have in stock.

[allenhopkins]

You could take a day and visit Greg Boyd's House of Fine Instruments (http://gregboyd.com/instruments.html?family=Mandolins&maker=Other) in Missoula; three hours plus by interstate. Mostly high-end, but has Kentucky and Rover for $5-600.

I always prefer playing the instrument I'm going to buy, and only forego that when it's a one-of-a-kind not available locally. Not a huge selection of dealers in the Pacific Northwest, apparently, but Greg Boyd gets very well-recommended.

[JPS1919A2]

With reference to your actual question, here (https://www.google.com/search?q=fiddler%27s+green+site%3Amandolincafe.com&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) is every thread on the cafe that references Fiddler's Green. Here (https://www.google.com/search?q=mandoshop+site%3Amandolincafe.com&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) is every reference to The MandoShop on the Cafe. If you peruse these while waiting for someone to answer your question you should get some feel for both stores.

thank you mike for your research and links, JP

[JPS1919A2]

You could take a day and visit Greg Boyd's House of Fine Instruments (http://gregboyd.com/instruments.html?family=Mandolins&maker=Other) in Missoula; three hours plus by interstate. Mostly high-end, but has Kentucky and Rover for $5-600.

I always prefer playing the instrument I'm going to buy, and only forego that when it's a one-of-a-kind not available locally. Not a huge selection of dealers in the Pacific Northwest, apparently, but Greg Boyd gets very well-recommended.

thank you allen, Missoula is three hours away sounds tempting,they dont have the mandolin i like in stock,

[Austin Bob]

The home page of the Cafe has links to many different dealers, all of whom are sponsors of this site. I would be comfortable choosing any one of them, based on various feedback that I've seen on the discussion boards.

I would suggest browsing their websites and narrowing it down to a few that had the type or brands of mandolin you are looking for. Then give them a call and ask about their setups, return/exchange policies, etc.

Also keep in mind that a mandolin setup can be a bit of a personal choice, so the best any shop can do is to set it up for the average player. You might need to tweak it a bit later based on your particular style.

I bought my last mandolin from The Mandolin Store, and had a great experience. Robert from Folkmusician is an active participant on this site, and was very helpful during a phone call I made, even though he did not have the particular item I was looking for at the time. I've visited Fiddler's Green numerous times, and they are a great shop as well.

Good luck.

[Steve Ostrander]

+1 for The Mandolin Store.

[yankees1]

Elderly, Mandolinstore in Az or Folk Musician

[darylcrisp]

i have purchased mult times from each: TheMandolinStore and TejonStreetmusic.
excellent service from both.

spoken with GregBoyds multiple times regarding different mandolins and always had a positive feeling. likewise Sprucetreemusic.

d

[Billbass1]

Another vote from a very pleased customer , to @folkmusician.com