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Thread: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

  1. #1

    Default Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    I had ordered one with the Mandolin store, but when they opened the box it was a 900. Got my refund and couldn't find them anywhere, but found one remaining at Amazon so I ordered it. Came to the door-USPS- and as soon as I lifted the box I felt the smaller box within sliding around...No Bueno, opened it up and there was only a little bit of paper on top of the inner box, nothing on the side to stop it from sliding. The pictures tell the rest of the story. It's a shame what those fools did to that instrument.
    At least there was no issues with the return...They are backordered for 3 months or so through Mandolin store, so I ended up ordering another from Musician's Friend-all other acoustic music shops I could find online were sold out. We'll see how this one goes. Comes tomorrow...
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  2. #2

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Ouch! That's awful!

    Wonder if it'll end up on eBay or some Amazon reseller as a discounted as-is "blem" or "for parts only".

  3. #3
    Fingers of Concrete ccravens's Avatar
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    I would never buy an instrument from Amazon.

    Hope you have better luck with MF, although I haven't in the past.

    I would think any other Kentucky model, in the same ballpark, from the Mandolin Store would be preferred. It would come quality checked, expertly set-up (thus sounding better), and shipped safely. Not sure you'll get any of those three things from MF, but I wish you luck.
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  5. #4

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    A real shame that could have been prevented or lessened with proper packing, IMHO. Sorry.

  6. #5

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    CCravens—Reread my original post-I had first ordered with Mando store. They are back ordered for 950. Maybe I should have waited...well find out tomorrow.

    So have you had a bad experience with Musician’s Friend?

    Also, I knew it wouldn’t be setup, but I’m only an hour from Nashville...

  7. #6
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    I've just had the opposite. I ordered, against my better judgement, a KM-150 from Amazon UK. I couln't resist the price, 50% lower than other shops here. When it arrived it was well packed, not only the Amazon outer but also the Kentucky inner.
    To my surprise, once it was tuned up, it plays rather well - the action is fine. I may change it later, but I'm working on the "It ain't broke so don't fix it" principle.
    What I'm not sure is how it got to me in the UK. Did it ship from the US - no idea - all I know is it came via Belgium. And Nick who did the QA check did a good job.

  8. #7
    Mangler of Tunes OneChordTrick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Yes, my experience of Amazon is similar to sportsnapper's. My Ashbury came from Amazon at 30% discount on list price - they claimed it had some "minor blemishes" but I can't find them. Was in a hard case and that was well packed in a cardboard box. As expected it wasn't set up - had to spend an hour or so sanding the bridge to sort the action but was happy considering the price saving.

  9. #8
    Registered User William Smith's Avatar
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Musicians friend used to get some business from me for gear such as mike stands, mics, recorders-great deals and in 01 when I got my first real good mando I bought a Gibson F5-G from them as they had the best deal for one at the time, well under 3G brand new and it came packed great, no damage, I had to set her up but no big deal- Traded it years ago and been looking for it for a long time now but I heard it went to France so no real big deal I just really played the H out of her and it had a monster chop! But my first Gibson so kinda sentimental but I have way better ones now. Too bad about the damage but it can happen with a well paced instrument also!

  10. #9
    en kunnskapssøker James Miller's Avatar
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Hard cases seem to help the instrument endure the shipping process. Can only hope & pray that me Seagull gets here safe & without damage since it is coming from Canada.

    Wonder if Amazon even inspected your before shipment or if it was thrown into a box? I seen how stuff comes from Amazon, they throw or wad paper up on one side only and think that's enough packing. Think it is only there to keep it from rattling around, or the packers are paid such a lousy wage and have no training or ineptitude to package things better.
    Hope your replacement arrives playable.

    When I ordered the Rogue from Muscian's Friend it was put together and had slight tension on the strings. Was actually surprised it came almost readily playable. The action was enormously high on the nut though!
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  11. #10
    fishing with my mando darrylicshon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    I've bought a few instruments from Amazon, luckily everytime it has been packed well and most were also at a nice discount,

    Was it Amazon or a third party seller?
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  12. #11

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Musician's Friend instruments come well-packed in my experience over the years, just not necessarily well set-up (or set up at all). They're in the business of shipping instruments and know more of the nuances of how to do it, whereas Amazon is relatively inexperienced in this field. Of course if it was a third party then who knows. If I have to choose between MF and Amazon, I choose MF every time. Fortunately there are usually other options to choose from (JustStrings beats the socks off both for instance).

  13. #12
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Sorry, that stinks

    I’ve had good service with MF on gear before, but have never bought an instrument from them. As long as you know it’ll need set up work done (or it’s at least extremely likely), which you do, there are some deals to be had from time to time...
    Chuck

  14. #13

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    I had good luck with my KM 272 that I got through Amazon, but I ordered a tenor guitar from them once and it was trashed when it arrived. As you said, the return was easy, but it's always a crap shoot.

  15. #14
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Amazing how you get that, yet when I order a $5.99 3-pack of picks I get a giant box filled with packing materials.

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  17. #15
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Quote Originally Posted by trabb View Post
    Amazing how you get that, yet when I order a $5.99 3-pack of picks I get a giant box filled with packing materials.
    Now, THAT's funny!

  18. #16
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Shipping department? We don't need no stinkin shipping department!

  19. #17
    Registered User Bob Buckingham's Avatar
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Amazon handles widgets not instruments. Buy books and widgets but don't expect an instrument to be set up. I have worked on too many of those instruments. Not fun.

  20. #18
    Registered User Blues Healer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    here's a pretty reasonable used one:
    https://shop.gryphonstrings.com/prod...n-km950-48228-

    I love the looks of the 950, but I ordered a new one that I couldn't get to intonate correctly, so I sent it back ... I'd still consider one though

  21. #19
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Ordered a 100-metre roll of bubble-wrap, from Amazon, a few years ago. Don't recall that it came particularly well packed!

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  23. #20

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    I'm surprised an instrument of this price isn't shipped in any sort of soft case or gig bag, though I doubt it would have done anything to save the mandolin here.

    I've ordered a handful of cheap and beginner instruments from Musicians Friend over the years and they've all come nicely packed. From concertinas and hand drums to children's guitars they were all playable right out of the box. I imagine you will still need a setup to get everything fine tuned but your Kentucky should come in a lot better condition from MF than Amazon.

  24. #21
    Fatally Flawed Bill Kammerzell's Avatar
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    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Quote Originally Posted by Blues Healer View Post
    here's a pretty reasonable used one:
    https://shop.gryphonstrings.com/prod...n-km950-48228-

    I love the looks of the 950, but I ordered a new one that I couldn't get to intonate correctly, so I sent it back ... I'd still consider one though
    Not a bad price. Used but no case. I don't understand what it is about so many of these Kentucky's sold with the case being sold separate. I know at Folk Musician, The Mandolin store and other Cafe vendors they provide a case. I guess with a case you add 50 bucks minimum. This being used, Gryphon will also charge about 50 bucks to ship. They only ship free on new stuff. It is setup though.
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  25. #22

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    Good point about a case. A case would have given the mandolin a fighting chance, even with bad packing.

  26. #23

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    I have purchased several instruments from Amazon and MF. Never had an issue.
    See my music at www.McMakinMusic.com

  27. #24

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    I've never bought an instrument from Amazon and don't ever plan to do so, but have bought a number of stringed instruments and cases from MF. The thing with either is they have no control over the initial packing of the instrument, only pulling a labeled box from a shelf and getting it out the door. No inspection of the contents occurs.

    Using the packing of non-musical items from Amazon as a comparison, I think Musician's Friend does a much better overall job of packing the instrument (in a box or not) inside the larger shipping box, which helps reduce the risk of damage enroute but doesn't prevent it. My first upgrade mandolin (a The Loar LM-500, which was the second and last mandolin I've ordered from MF) came with the end pin broken by having been jammed up into the tail. Did it happen between the China factory and MF or between their Missouri warehouse and me? They couldn't tell you and neither can I, and while I got no hassle in returning it for a replacement, the extra 2 week's wait was not a pleasant experience since it had been an Xmas present to myself.

    All 4 of my current mandos were either bought used from a private party or new through a reputable dealer, with no damage to any of them. And all levels of packaging too: the Northfield shipped in a hard case, the Flatiron in a chipboard case inside of a gig bag, the Mandobird in a gigbag, and the Kentucky naked but surrounded by bubble wrap and foam peanuts.

    I've shipped many mandolins and even a banjo without incident too. I think the most important thing it to create as many cushioned/crushable layers as possible between the world and the instrument with only a small amount of movement possible between them. A mandolin sliding around in a box itself sliding around in a larger box is a recipe for toothpicks.

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  28. #25

    Default Re: Odered a KM 950 from Amazon....guess what happened

    The Mando was from Amazon not a third party. I think whoever packed it just did not care. Full refund though, no hassle-so that part was good.

    The 950 from musician's friend came and it looks great. Getting it setup by Dan Voight in Nashville on Monday.

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