Buying Online

[custer]

We have al seen posts concerning purchasing instrumets online from the big box stores. Seem there are various experiences both good and bad. Alot of the issus seem to be about imported instruments. What are your experiences buying some of
the US made instruments Breedlove, Weber, Collings etc. online?

[nickster60]

I would Recomend sticking with the sponsors on the site. They setup your mandolin correctly and have a good reputation. I personally have used Elderly and Folkmusician. I am sure others will chime in with there choices.

[Big Joe]

It does not matter whether it is imported or domestic, setups are generic and are not intended to be the setup you would want for long term use. Manufacturers do a generic setup so the instrument will play when it gets to the dealer. What happens when it gets there is another issue. Many have great intentions, but don't know or understand mandolins. You would be surprised how often they get the bridges on backwards after trying to restring or set the truss rod wrong or the bridge in the wrong place. Sometimes the damage is even worst.

The best place to buy is from someone you know will do the best job to do a professional setup so you can be assured your instrument will give you the best performance in terms of volume, tone, and playability. Otherwise you have to purchase an instrument and have a very good mandolin luthier you can take or send it to for that work to be done. The difference is the dealer who does this as part of his regular sale will save you the expense you would encounter if you have to have someone else do what the dealer should have done to begin with.

There are several of us who do a pro setup as a matter of course with any sale we make. Our prices are going to be the same as the big box stores, but you get a LOT better service and will likely be more satisfied in the long run... an probably the short run!

[Brent Hutto]

Wouldn't consider it for any instrument that isn't so cheap as to be disposable. Say under 100 bucks maybe, if that much.

If I really expect to keep an instrument around and play it regularly I need it checked out and set up correctly by someone who knows (and cares) what they're doing. If I buy it from someone who just passes along boxes, presumably with instruments in them, according to the bar code on the box then I'm going to have to turn around and pay someone to make it playable for me. Assuming I can find a qualified mandolin guy locally (questionable). Not worth it even if it saved fifty bucks or whatever (which is usually does not BTW).

[bmac]

Like many others, when I purchased an instrument mail order from a "discount retailer" I received the instrument as it came from China, with no settup whatsoever... It was close to unplayable and quite painful to try.... So I had to learn to set it up myself... Not such a bad thing except that when I purchased it I was told it would come properly set up.... Not so!!!!.... I suspect in any purchase from a discount retailer you have to count on about $60 to $110 additional cost for a proper settup.

Major sellers, like Mandolin Brothers, on Staten Island do a lot of mail order selling and you can expect properly settup instruments unless they tell you otherwise in their advertisement.

I would not hesitate to purchase a new instrument from a discount seller today. But I know how to properly set an instrument up. If you don't, then you should anticipate the additional cost of a set up.

My advice is that if you not able to do a set up yourself, then buy from a respected retailer who sets them up, not a discounter.

[JeffD]

We have al seen posts concerning purchasing instrumets online from the big box stores. Seem there are various experiences both good and bad. Alot of the issus seem to be about imported instruments. What are your experiences buying some of
the US made instruments Breedlove, Weber, Collings etc. online?

Who you buy it from seems to be much more important than whether it is imported or not.

[Jill McAuley]

I've bought three Webers online in the past few years but all from well known dealers (Elderly, The Mandolin Store, Greg Boyd's) so all were well set up, arrived as described, great customer service, all that good stuff. Only large scale purchase I've ever made from a "big box store" was a drum kit - it was a close out deal on a no longer available colour scheme which was the only reason I hit "buy it now".

Cheers,
Jill

[Stephen Perry]

I don't generally buy things from purely "online" dealers of anything that requires care. I have a new broken TV set from one of that type. Annoying.

Any of the real shops with a decent reputation is likely to do fine on the US made instruments, taking care of them and assuring the setup is appropriate. If you can make an appointment or drive up and talk to real people who know mandolins pretty well, then calling or doing an online purchase is probably an OK thing to do.

[Big Joe]

Those of us who do set them up and go over them carefully sell them for the same price as the big box stores or "discount" retailers. We pay the same as them. They sell them for MAP and so do the rest of us. So, you have a choice. Buy from someone who just forwards a box or buy from a business that actually goes over them carefully and makes sure they are right when they go out. The price won't be any different except that you can buy from the discount guys and then have to spend a pocket full of money to get it like it should be, or spend the same money you would have with the discount dealer and get one from the businesses here that will do the setup work as part of the deal and you save a pocket full of money. Your choice. Seems like an easy one to me, but what do I know :) .

[morghath]

Hi I have recently bought a Eastman MD 915 from the Mandolin store, i am an ex pat staying in Abu DHabi so i don't have any chance of picking up a nice instrument here.I had no option but to buy online. The mandolin came with a split in the saddle. The Mandolin Store later sent me a replacement for the damaged saddle (at least the top part, not the entire saddle) this of course means the top part of the saddle is a different color from the bottom part. The set up left a lot to be desired as the action was way too high, i have since adjusted it to make it much more playable. Buying online means you have to put faith in the seller to have the instrument set up correctly for you that's not always going to happen. To me there is no substitute to having the instrument in your hands online buying is a gamble.

[Stephen Perry]

The replacement saddle may have been higher than the original. The crack in the saddle was a concealed defect covered under warranty, not a fault of the dealer. Setup from a dealer will be to a more or less "standard" feel. If you have specific requirements and do not make them known, they will not be accommodated. If you do have specific requirements, make them known.

"As low as possible so that the instrument will not buzz when I play it" isn't reasonable. People play differently. "Please set the nut slightly higher than the lowest possible, set relief at 0.008", set the action at 0.070" and 0.055" - and make sure to install the rhinestone endpin." Now that's the kind of thing someone can work with remotely.

It's not a gamble - it just takes communication with a cognizant shop.