Musician's Friend, the Joke.

[mandolin tony]

well I order the $39.99 A Style hard shell case & I ask them if they could meet or beat a price I saw on mandolin string from first quality music. first quality price was $4.45 compared to their price of $6.28 per set of ghs a240 mandolin strings. they wanted me to pay for shipping. because First quality would have charged for shipping, when I asked the sales rep why can't you just put them in the case I got no answer, so they lost the sale of selling me 6 sets of strings,guess I'll go to guitar center for the strings they will meet internet prices.

[dusty miller]

Try one of the cafe sponsors.

[mandolin tony]

will do if there willing to sell them for the same price.

[dusty miller]

Just a thought, I'm due for a string order myself and I'm going to try one of them.

[sgarrity]

Cheaper isn't always better

[mandolin tony]

sgarrity, I hear you. but this is not like I am buying a mandolin or something. a case strings or tuner I shop for the best price.

[Andy Miller]

guess I'll go to guitar center for the strings they will meet internet prices.

Guitar Center owns Musician's Friend. So yeah, by driving to Guitar Center yourself, you save the cost of having them ship it to your front door.

[Jstring]

sgarrity, I hear you. but this is not like I am buying a mandolin or something. a case strings or tuner I shop for the best price.

It's a free country... But buying from one of the cafe sponsors helps to ensure that they are still in business when it IS time to buy a mandolin and you want their selection and expertise. I don't mind shopping at Elderly, Strings and Beyond, etc even if it's a few dollars more...

[Marvino]

Guitar Center owns Musician's Friend. So yeah, by driving to Guitar Center yourself, you save the cost of having them ship it to your front door.

As long as you can get there and back on less then 1 gallon of gas.

[John Flynn]

well I order the $39.99 A Style hard shell case & I ask them if they could meet or beat a price I saw on mandolin string from first quality music. first quality price was $4.45 compared to their price of $6.28 per set of ghs a240 mandolin strings. they wanted me to pay for shipping. because First quality would have charged for shipping, when I asked the sales rep why can't you just put them in the case I got no answer, so they lost the sale of selling me 6 sets of strings,guess I'll go to guitar center for the strings they will meet internet prices.

It does seem common sense, but the world of retailing, especially online retailing, it's not that simple. Your idea would have worked at Elderly, because they are still a one-location bricks and mortar small business that does online sales. But three things about a big online retailer: First, a lot of their products are drop-shipped, meaning they appear to come from the retailer, but they are actually shipped from the manufacturer or a distributor. So your strings may not have been coming from the same place the case was.

Second, "shipping" can mean "shipping and handling," meaning that even if the two items are coming from the same place, they have taken "picking and packing" out of their prices and put it into shipping, to keep their advertised prices lower. Your shipping fees help cover the salaries of the people doing the shipping as well as the overhead on the warehouse.

Third, when you say "sales rep" in relation to an online retailer, you are probably dealing with someone in a call center who only has so many options on their workstation, the option to put the strings in the case not being one of them. So what to you seems like common sense would be a whole change to the retailer's business model. I'm not defending it, just explaining it.

[mrmoonray]

I saw a Musician Friend advertisement for a mandolin at a great price, so I suggested them to a friend who wanted a new mandolin. She made the order and paid for it and was then told they didn't have the one she wanted in stock.

She decided to wait as the price was very good. After she ordered the Mando, she ordered a case as well. After some time and still no delivery she called and was told they could not get the mandolin she paid for, and they did not have the case she ordered either. When she asked for a refund, she said the person she talked to got rude.

I felt bad I recommended them to her, I based my recommendation on the price as I never have ordered from them, and based on her experience never will.

[DHopkins]

At this moment, The Mandolin Store has J74s on sale. I've already ordered some.

[Freddyfingers]

A while back, I needed some advice on flat sounds for my gretsch and a set of bass vi strings. I called my local guitar center, which is 45 minutes away, and they offered the one set of flats hey had. When I asked about the Thomas stik they were unfamiliar and again recommended the ones they had. I then had to explain to the. What a bass vi was and why a set of four strings would not work. He again suggested the ones he had. I called just strings. Got a rep on the phone that knew the differences between the flat sound sets and had actually seen a bass vi. He even put a set of strings together for me I ordered from them even though they charge a higher shippin fee. To me its worth the cost to get good service

[MikeEdgerton]

You guys do know Musicians Friend and the Guitar Center are the same company right?

Oops, missed Andy Miller's post.

[Ted Eschliman]

Marking this thread in my notes so I can point folks here who complain about why their local stores don't offer good string selection.
Classic.

[sgarrity]

I just placed an order with Just Strings. Quick, easy, good prices, and you support someone that supports us.

[JeffD]

For the record I have not had any problems with either Guitar Center or Musicians Friend, or Music and Arts for that matter. All got me what I wanted in a timely manner for a decent price.

[Tom Haywood]

Marking this thread in my notes so I can point folks here who complain about why their local stores don't offer good string selection.
Classic.

Still trying to figure out the answer to this dilemma. When you need a set NOW there is no replacing the local store. I needed a set NOW, went to the local store, they no longer carry what I needed (Martin EXP guitar strings), and they went up on the prices for what they had. Had to pay $9.95 with tax, plus my car cost to drive down there, for a set of basic Martin's that my customer was not happy with. Two years ago I placed an order with them for a number of individual strings. They never ordered them. I try to always buy from them to keep them in business, but find more and more that I HAVE to go to the internet to get what I want and to get a reasonable price.

[Ryk Loske]

All ten thumbs up for Just Strings. If i order in the morning i usually have my order in the next day's post.

Ryk

[shawnbrock]

My local GC wanted to sell me a set of strings for $16 which were $13 if ordered through their site on the net... That was also the visit when I almost argued with some hot-shot salesman who was talking about how much better the new Martin D18's were now that they were putting rosewood in them. It seems like 15 years ago my experience was sure a lot better, and the people who worked there knew a little something about the products they were pushing. I just flat out get sick when I walk into a store and a salesman tries to explain the attributes of an instrument/ brand like they are earth shattering, and he sounds like a 3-year-old when he picks it up to play it. I don't do business with people like that.

[JeffD]

I had Guitar Center set up an inexpensive guitar and they called me back a week later to see if I was happy with it.

[JeffD]

I ordered a music stand from Musicians Friend for one dollar more than the cheapest price I could find, and it was delivered when they said it would be. I did not spend a penny on gasoline.

I did have to get dressed to bring the box inside.

[tkdboyd]

Marking this thread in my notes so I can point folks here who complain about why their local stores don't offer good string selection.
Classic.

Just like those wonderful small online shops that get you addicted to their strings, and then stops selling them!

I miss the strings, but (I think) I completely understand as to why you stopped.

[catmandu2]

For sundry gear items--MF has been a very valuable resource for me; living in a rural area, there's not much alternative. I've purchased countless boxes of reeds from them. I can't count the number of times I've tried to buy locally--only to be unable to find what I need. And, of course, here everything is at least 2X the cost--even for basic items such as reeds and cork grease.

[Steve Zawacki]

There is a music store in the adjacent town which has been in business for many years. It's mainly a guitar house (what a surprise) but stocks some mandolin stuff, all the music in the world and many amps/speakers and such stock. I go there for as much stuff as possible (even if he's a couple bucks more) because the guy who runs it is great to chat with, and every time I learn something new.

Local stores are disappearing, and it's nice to go into a place, be treated like a friend and just feel comfortable dealing with someone who enjoys the business. Saving a buck is okay, but sometimes the savings have a long-term cost.