Musician's Friend, the Joke.

[Beanzy]

Sometimes getting what you require is more important than just shopping local for the sake of it.
It is a conumdrum wrapped in a quandry, as the local shop often have loads of cheap options but can't afford to tie up money in much in the way of high-value items of stock which only shift slowly if at all.
However because of that I end up not going there as often as I would otherwise, due to previous experience of lack of stock and so they miss out on sales of other kit which gets bought along with the strings and books I would otherwise buy there.
Sometimes I think it would help retailers if they could identify what items are the 'honey-trap' slow moving items that bring people to the shop, rather than seeing them just as expensive slow-movers tying up their capital. I'm not convinced many do much analysis beyond looking at haw many of each item they shifted in the past.

[Caleb]

I prefer small shops but being a small shop doesn't automatically mean being a good shop. I've dealt with rude and irrational store owners, and I've been flat out price-gouged a few times. I've even had trouble with a Cafe sponsor who shall remain nameless. Just saying bad service can be found in many places.

My local GC has some good ppl there who send personal emails, make calls, and try to follow up, etc. There are also some less than desirables in the same place. My point is there is good and bad service everywhere. Being an educated consumer is the most important thing.

[Steve Zawacki]

I prefer small shops but being a small shop doesn't automatically mean being a good shop. I've dealt with rude and irrational store owners, and I've been flat out price-gouged a few times. I've even had trouble with a Cafe sponsor who shall remain nameless. Just saying bad service can be found in many places.

My local GC has some good ppl there who send personal emails, make calls, and try to follow up, etc. There are also some less than desirables in the same place. My point is there is good and bad service everywhere. Being an educated consumer is the most important thing.

It definitely depends on the shop, the shop owner and any staff there. Some places are like visiting "Cheers" (Norm!). Some others can be like visiting the county jail. I'm lucky in that the fellow who owns the local store is my age (senior) and keeps the place open rather than retire - it's his social center. He has bargains, is high on some stuff and has a decent guitar-luthier on site. What's also good is that business there is slow enough that the couple of customers who may be in there can get to chatting about stuff, and what you may learn and who you meet can be eye-opening.

[mandodan1960]

Don't it always seem to go,
That you don't know what you've got
'Til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot.

Looking about ten years down the road.... We are going to have plenty of parking spaces available. Once the on-line retailers have fine tuned this down to one or two players per retail category. LOOK OUT. If you want it you'll pay.

[lloving]

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

Has anyone ever heard the term "choking on a gnat"? Just say'n

[CES]

I'm a huge fan of shopping local, and do so whenever I can. I usually will even go to 2 or 3 local music stores looking for something, and will consider what they sell instead provided it's comparable. But, I've only had good experiences with ordering from MF for those times when local places didn't have what I needed. I've only ordered gear, but everything has arrived when expected, often with free shipping on top of good prices. The one time I had to return something they made it right without any pushback and IIRC, covered shipping as well. I've only ordered a few times, and I'm very selective about what I do order, but have been fortunate in my interactions thus far. Obviously, that's not always the case, and I'd have to hit the deal of a century to order an instrument for them...

[mandolin tony]

just for the record. if I did not order that case from them I would never have asked them to sell me the strings for the same price I would have got them from the Sullivan's (fqms) they always have done right by me. Bill Sullivan, God rest his soul fixed my banjo for free. the rim was out of round, plus he did not ask me for return shipping. he was the salt of the earth. an when that banjo rim went out of round again they got my money & again gave me a great deal on one of there old floor rims installed with all the work done for five hundred dollars. great company, great family.

[JeffD]

Has anyone ever heard the term "choking on a gnat"? Just say'n

[Richard58]

Does musicians friend do a pro setup on a mandolin or guitar if u buy one from them?

[Caleb]

Does musicians friend do a pro setup on a mandolin or guitar if u buy one from them?

No. If you're buying from them, factor in a setup cost at your local shop.

[Sandy Beckler]

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.

I didn't know that...

[Rob Meldrum]

I'm a big fan of MusiciansFriend. I used their mandos when I wrote my ebook on mando setup. I tend not to get upset about price matching when it's a matter of a couple of dollars. They have made things right the few times I bought something that wasn't just right when delivered. Everyone deserves to make a profit in their business just as everyone has the right to shop around to get a fair deal.

There, their and they're. It's important to get those right when you're writing.

[UsuallyPickin]

Well ...... I have been a Just Strings customer for maybe a decade now. I play guitar mandolin fiddle and banjo so when I buy strings it usually costs in the neighborhood of a Benjamin or so to fill my order. Their prices overall, after an extended search , came up better than any other online store or , sadly, enough lower than my local store to compete with. And that's not taking into account their selection of strings. Insofar as Musicians Friend I have never had any trouble with any order, other than when I ordered the wrong thing, I filled from their site. Their returns policy is not a problem either. I've ordered cases mics cords gear etc., though no instruments to date. R/

[wsugai]

Buying from Guitar Center is like buying from Radio Shack. If I need the thing now and am willing to pay a little more, then I go there and buy it. If I can wait, then I usually end up doing mail order, unless I can get comparable net pricing locally.

I am willing to pay for the convenience of brick and mortar when the convenience is of value to me, but I won't subsidize brick and mortar just to keep them around. Besides, most of the significant brick and mortar shops around here have web presence, which means that they also do mail order.

[allenhopkins]

Luckily, here in Rochester we have several well-stocked and knowledgeable instrument dealers and luthier/repair shops. Also some excellent independent audio stores for PA expertise.

These local vendors don't have everything, so I've bought from on-line sellers as well, and gone on eBay in search of rarities (hard to find a Polk-A-Lay-Lee at anyone's local store). I've done a few private sales, even long-distance, and -- knock wood -- haven't been burned yet.

Musician's Friend has been a source for microphones, e.g., when they have one of their real discount sales; also for mic stands, instrument stands, similar gear. Hard to match the size and diversity of their catalog, and I do keep an eye on their spams and mailings for bargains. I've had excellent service and good interaction with their customer services unit, the very few times I've needed to get adjustments etc.

For my routine strings/picks/tuner batteries/straps purchases, tend to go local. Pay a few -- really few -- more bucks than if I went to a national seller, but figure it's worth it to maintain a good customer status. I'll be needing repairs, trade-ins, "good customer" prices on future purchases, so want to be a familiar face at Bernunzio's or Stutzman's or Sound Source. So far, so good.

Do like to emphasize that a good local store is becoming a scarce resource, one worth preserving. I visit my local Guitar Center periodically, and buy a thing or two there, enough to get their mailings anyway. But to be able to talk face-to-face with a dealer who really knows mandolins -- even when he doesn't have one I want to buy today -- is a luxury that many people aren't going to have, if those local stores keep closing up.

[Randi Gormley]

I used to patronize a couple of locally owned small music stores -- I bought a used flute and gave my repair business to their on-site luthier, picked up a case for one of my mandolins to the smaller one -- but they closed. The other one, downtown and had all the school rental business and pianos and organs until the old couple running it retired, was bought out by what appeared to be a chain that immediately downsized to a third the floor space, filled it up with $150 guitars and the occasional $100 a/e mando set and got rid of anything that looked like it cost more than $500. I think they still do the school rentals, but it certainly isn't obvious. They stopped carrying mandolin strings entirely -- you have to special order them, even J-74's -- and I haven't been inside them in probably a year. I couldn't even buy a tuner there and you'd think they'd keep them for guitars. It's hard to patronize someone who has sidelined me because I'm not a 12-year-old wannabe rock star. So, yeah, sometimes the local guy isn't the best use of time and money.

I've bought strings, tuners, recording gear, cases, gig bags and three instruments from MF and have been satisfied with them all and the service. That's not to say they aren't subject to whatever problems big box stores suffer from, just that I've been lucky in my dealings with them.

[mandolin tony]

well I got the case this Monday & I must say it's real nice , well worth the forty dollars. as for the string I got six sets of ghs a240 from Elderly with 10% off, total bill was $30.42 that's $5.07 a set. Glad they did not want to give me a deal. better off going to Elderly for string great staff there.

[ccravens]

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

Ditto here.

The only place I get my git, mando, fiddle, zouk strings from.

[Mike Bunting]

I like Strings and Beyond when ordering hard to get stuff. They don't charge shipping.

[Bill James]

We used to be a vendor of First Quality's. A few years ago they stopped paying us for the product they were purchasing from us, been trying to collect for years. I can 't speak for their other vendors but hey, if you get your product for free, you can sell it for any price and it's still 100% profit so I'm not surprised if their prices are low. I wouldn't patronize them, if they're that unethical, you never know what they're going to do. Just saying.

[MikeEdgerton]

Well Bill, that would certainly influence my decision to buy from them. That's sad. Bill Sullivan was a real decent guy.

[Miked]

Elderly is just down the road about 35 miles, but I use their internet sales all the time. I usually get stuff the next day with their standard shipping. They go out of their way to make it right.

[red7flag]

Most online stores will ship (and handle free) if the total is more than $75.00. I ofter buy 10 sets at a time and picks and all my needs at that time. I have found Elderly and First Quality very helpful, both have brick and mortar, as well as online. Most dealers will also give you a quantity discount for strings, some will even let you mix and match making up a total of 12.

[yankees1]

A number of people in our area have had bad luck with MF !

[epicentre]

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.

Strings and Beyond (NFI). Can't beat em. Free delivery for order over $35.00. Also a Café sponsor.