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Clamdigger
Mar-15-2004, 10:57am
On March 4th I ordered one set of GHS strings from Juststrings, one of the Cafe advertisers. #They are located in New Hampshire just two hours away from my home. #The strings have not arrived and the manager of the store told me that sometimes it takes up to 13 days for delivery. #Thirteen days to send a package of strings less than 100 miles? #Is this company for real? #Has anyone else had problems with them? #Clamdigger

evanreilly
Mar-15-2004, 11:20am
I ordered a number of bulk mandolin strings; received the order promptly. Very happy with service & quality.

Tom C
Mar-15-2004, 11:24am
When you send a piece of mail, it does not go directly from them to you. It goes thru postal hubs. Your strings may be in a central hub like in Missouri or something, then they get delivered. Yes even though you are that close to where you brought them.

BenE
Mar-15-2004, 11:30am
I have always been very impressed with Juststrings. I have ordered and gotten the strings two days later! I would blame the PO! I sent a book out to a fellow on the cafe and it took about three weeks for him to get it in the mail. I felt bad but there wasn't anything I could do...I was at the mercy of the PO!

Mar-15-2004, 11:35am
I'll echo the good response from JustStrings. The key question has to be how long between order and shipping?

Clamdigger
Mar-15-2004, 11:49am
They said they sent the strings the day of the order. From the feedback I received from all of you it sounds like Juststrings is not at fault but beleive it or not, the post office. Thanks Clamdigger

R_Parent
Mar-15-2004, 1:23pm
I have purchased strings for several years through Juststrings with very good results. The company always notified me if there was a backorder and shipped when promised.

GVD
Mar-15-2004, 2:09pm
I have ordered from them several times over the years and have always been impressed with the speedy delivery. Your order probably fell into one those USPS black holes.

GVD

Bob Kellett
Mar-15-2004, 3:00pm
I've used JustStrings for many years now, never a single problem. I live only 25 minutes away from them and I usually get my order in two days.

Dan Cole
Mar-15-2004, 3:37pm
I once ordered a half dozen sets of Gibson Sam Bush strings. In three out of six sets I was missing a third string! Called and they said I should take it up with Gibson. Its simply easier to buy local.

Mike Bullard
Mar-15-2004, 8:03pm
I have had nothing but good service from Just Strings. The PO is the problem.

Tiderider
Mar-15-2004, 8:19pm
I've always had prompt delivery. Nice folks too.
Lee

Clamdigger
Mar-16-2004, 3:24pm
My strings arrived today from Juststrings, twelve days after I ordered them from less than two hours away. I called them yesterday. The manager said that it was the fault of the post office and it appears that was the case. I paid $5.93 to ship a set of $5.38 stings. I thought that amount was too much but I needed them right away. So much for getting them right away. The postage cost them forty cents.
I felt the manager was unsympathetic to the point of almost being rude. She did not seem to care if they were late as she kept telling me it was not their fault. They should find another way to send orders. They have seen the last of me. Clamdigger

J. Mark Lane
Mar-16-2004, 8:07pm
They have seen the last of me. #Clamdigger
I can't imagine they're gonna lose much sleep over that.

First, the postage rates are prominently stated on their website. Here's a quote: 'Shipping and Handling charges are considered a "flat rate" for any size order.' It says right there that s&h is $5.95 for any size order. Furthermore, it doesn't take much to figure out that the postage costs are only one component of "shipping and handling."

Second, they offer a variety of shipping methods. If you wanted your strings fast, you could have opted for a faster shipping method. That was your choice. You shouldn't complain about your own choices.

Third, I can't even imagine going to the trouble of ordering strings online and only ordering one set. In fact, I never order only one set of any strings, because I break strings too often while putting them on. You ordered one set of strings? Bizarre. (Note, of course, if you had ordered 6 sets, your shipping costs would have been the same.)

You are maligning a perfectly good company, for no good reason. Your expectations were and are unreasonable and silly, imo. (And oddly, you acknowledge that the delay was caused by the post office, yet still seem to blame the company.) That's not fair. Not to mention that these folks are Cafe supporters, and deserve not only our business but also a little bit of ordinary understanding.

I order strings and accessories online constantly (for my dozen or so stringed instruments). Have for years now. I've done business with juststrings on a number of occasions. I've never been disappointed. I appreciate the fair pricing, the breadth of their selection (they sell strings that are hard to find elsewhere), the depth of information provided on their website (guages, string tensions, etc.) and the promptness of the service. I also very much appreciate their bulk strings deals, which are very unusual and a great service. I've had two or three orders out in the last month, and all have arrived in reasonable time.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but it really bugs me when people lash out and attack good businesses for no good reason. It's hard enough to make a living in this world, and in the music industry particularly. The Internet gives everyone an "equal platform" for criticising, which unfortunately can make it appear that everyone has equally valid points. That is simply not the case.

Mark

Tiderider
Mar-16-2004, 8:13pm
J. Mark, A very good post. I'm like you, when I order strings it's usually 6-8 packs and at least a dozen E string singles. I've always had prompt delivery, once I even received the order in 3 days, USPS first class, I still havn't figured that one out. Matter of fact, I'm going over to order some strings right now.

Lee

Dan Adams
Mar-16-2004, 8:53pm
I order dozens of individual strings to fill in sets or to place in the cases for breakage of those pesky A and E strings. Prompt delivery and good service from JustStrings. I guess good service is more of a consitency of service, not so much timing. I'll continue to use thier services. I also agree with the buy local theory. My full sets are usually purchased locally in support of the small business!!!

One String just throws off the timing a little, Dan

Gail Hester
Mar-16-2004, 10:46pm
Sorry you had a bad experience but I’ll chime in with everyone else. I buy all of my bulk guitar and mandolin strings from Just Strings and they have been wonderful to deal with.

mandorado
Mar-17-2004, 12:07am
I've ordered from them. It was ok.

However, I like http://bigcitystrings.com better.

Clamdigger
Mar-17-2004, 7:46am
The manager sent an email yesterday stating that they had a number of complaints about orders for that week. When I placed the order it was with Juststrings and not the PO. They should be rude to the PO, not me. You have your opinion of the company and now I have mine. And as far as how many sets I ordered, I only needed one to so I could try them.

mpeknox
Mar-17-2004, 8:24am
THE BAD
"The postage cost them forty cents."

"If you wanted your strings fast, you could have opted for a faster shipping method."

"The PO is the problem."

THE GOOD
"I've always had prompt delivery, once I even received the order in 3 days, USPS first class, I still havn't figured that one out."

"I've had two or three orders out in the last month, and all have arrived in reasonable time."

"I've always had prompt delivery."


I'm just going to have to chime in here with my 2 cents. The postal service does sometimes cause a delivery delay for whatever reason. In this case it was probably due to the strings being shipped by the cheapest method available. If you pay a little more, you generally get a little better service and I think this is pretty much true no matter what you are talking about. You do indeed get what you pay for. The USPS takes a beating in the press and sometimes here on the cafe but people usually just notice the BAD service. Consider for a moment that the postal service handles MILLIONS (if not HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS) of mail pieces daily and the vast majority of them are delivered in a timely manner. It doesn't matter whether you live in a tree house or a hobbit hole, if you have a mailbox the postal service will bring your mail to you for probably the cheapest rates in the world (not subsidized by your tax dollars either) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif Just had to get all that off my chest...definitely a financial interest here because the USPS puts a roof over my head, food on my table and strings on my mandolin.

Clamdigger
Mar-17-2004, 8:56am
I give up. From all the posts, it sounds like Juststrings is not at fault. Sorry if I came across as a jerk. Clamdigger

Hoyt
Mar-17-2004, 9:25am
I've had excellent response from JustStrings and I order some pretty weird string sets. #I also plan to order more from them. #They carry a wider selection that I can't get anywhere else including BigCity (although you can get picks from BigCity).

However. . . . . . There is no excuse for being rude to a customer (assuming they were rude). #I think they should have apologized and offered to ship ClamDigger's next order for free. #It may have been the Post Office's fault, but that's JustStrings' shipping method of choice. #I don't think a business can merely say, "It's not our responsibility once it leaves our building."

Regarding the PO: I have never had a problem shipping by FedEx or UPS (and I've probably bought or sold 50 instruments/equipment). #The Post Office is cheaper, but the PO recently lost a microphone that I sold to someone (the guy wanted it shipped by the PO rather than FedEx or UPS). #On the other hand, the PO has done a lot for us, long before these other alternatives materialized.