Experience with Bass Palace?

GrooveWarrior · #1 12-09-2004, 05:00 PM

I just saw an ad on Bassgear trashing the Bass Palace. I always thought they had some neat and off-beat instruments, but have never dealt with them. Has anyone had any experience there?

pistoleroace · #2 12-09-2004, 05:42 PM

I saw that one too and wondered. It's tough to say and you would have to e-mail the person to "hear" the whole story, at least his side of it anyway. I don't know anything more about the situation than what I read in the ad but one thing I know from working retail all my life is, there are some people you can't make happy no matter what you do. I'm not at all saying that the particular person who wrote that ad is one of these people.

bassteban · #3 12-09-2004, 05:50 PM

A couple of years ago, I tried to contact 'the swami' to see if they could consign a fretless SR 5 for me. I called at least 3 times, always left messages & emailed as well. Never answered the phone, never called back. So I can't say if they do good business or not, but they didn't seem interested in doing any with me.

goat1234 · #4 12-09-2004, 05:57 PM

i was interested in buying a bass from them once, but they never returned emails. I did call and they answerd and seemed pleasant. The bass i was interested in was marked up $150 more a few days after i called!

fenderjazz68 · #5 12-09-2004, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

A couple of years ago, I tried to contact 'the swami' to see if they could consign a fretless SR 5 for me. I called at least 3 times, always left messages & emailed as well. Never answered the phone, never called back. So I can't say if they do good business or not, but they didn't seem interested in doing any with me.

Had about the same experience.

I called them to buy a bass I saw they had online. Multiple emails and phone calls. Nothing. How do they sell stuff?

oddio · #6 12-09-2004, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

I can't say if they do good business or not, but they didn't seem interested in doing any with me.

Let me add my +1 to this thread.

Jeff Rader · #7 12-09-2004, 06:09 PM

I bought a '74 P'bass from him. Great guy, knows his stuff. Would not hesitate to do business with him again.

Jeff

claybone · #8 12-09-2004, 08:25 PM

Emailed them three times, left a message at their message board asking them to answer my emails, but nothing. afetr a couple of days, they deleted my post at their board.

How do they sell their basses? They go to "guitar shows", right? Maybe they should change their name to Swami's Rolling Store bass or something...

Yamarc · #9 12-09-2004, 08:42 PM

Bob and Bernie are great guys, the best way to get in touch with them is to call and keep calling. It is one of the busiest bass stores I've ever seen and you have to bear that in mind when you try to contact them.

fenderjazz68 · #10 12-09-2004, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamarc

Bob and Bernie are great guys, the best way to get in touch with them is to call and keep calling. It is one of the busiest bass stores I've ever seen and you have to bear that in mind when you try to contact them.

Maybe so, but if you are not going to answer the emails, do not provide it. If you are not going to answer the messages on the answering machine then put a general message with no recording time.

They may be good guys, but how do you find out?

incubus2432 · #11 12-09-2004, 09:55 PM

I had similiar problems with them. They had a nice Ric that I was trying to work a deal on and they kept saying they'd get back to me and never returned my calls so finally I just gave up. They may be great guys but I'll never know because I'll never deal with them again.

SCT1422 · #12 12-09-2004, 10:08 PM

Bob and Bernie are both nice guys.. They're extemely busy and have alot of e-mails and phone messages to get through everyday.. If you've ever been there to visit you would understand.. When you e-mail, I would suggest you put exactly what you're interested in and be very persistent with phone calls as well... It's a 2 man operation that gets tons of e-mails and phone calls everyday... You can't please everyone, somebodys always going to have a problem... I've been dealing with them for about almost 10 years now and have never had any problems...

tightbidness · #13 12-09-2004, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

I called at least 3 times, always left messages & emailed as well. Never answered the phone, never called back. So I can't say if they do good business or not, but they didn't seem interested in doing any with me.

Wow, this happened to me as well.

NJL · #14 12-09-2004, 11:45 PM

i was thinking about buying from them, but now i'm not

Larzito · #15 12-10-2004, 12:11 AM

I find it interesting that those that have had positive experiences with them make excuses for their lack of professionalism. If I wanted poor service, I'd go to Guitar Center. I've called Bass Central plenty of times and they too always seem to be busy with multiple things going on at once, but they always take time to answer my questions. A lot of us here buy and sell basses as our tastes change...nice to get some heads up about a store I'd be reluctant to deal with now that I've been warned. Maybe you guys who sing their praises could alert them that they are getting a bad name and suggest they hire someone to answer phones and emails...sounds like they could justify the cost by selling more gear.

PilbaraBass · #16 12-10-2004, 12:17 AM

I was just checkin these guys out on their website. They have decent prices and quite a selection. When I get another trip back to the states organized, I just may have to grab me another axe

Sufenta · #17 12-10-2004, 12:52 AM

JFTR: Bass NW(lots of dealings) and Bass Central(a few dealings) are both top notch operations if 'the Swami' isn't able to get the job done for you.

Dave Siff · #18 12-10-2004, 04:28 AM

I sold a bass to the Bass Palace about five years ago, and the first check they sent me bounced. They quickly sent me a second check, which cashed.

Wilbyman · #19 12-10-2004, 05:15 AM

Bought my Smith there (at a guitar show). Realized it had a cracked neck pickup. Bob said he would get it replaced immediately, and I gave him all my information. No pickup was ever forthcoming. I began sending emails a month after the show. I got an email saying he had personal calamities and hasn't been able to get to it. I sent another a month later, same thing. This went on for about six months.

I'm pretty sure these were form emails that he was sending to anyone who wasn't trying to buy an instrument.

The last email told him that if he didn't have the personal intergrity to follow up on the deal as a businessman, I would chalk it up as a loss and replace the PU myself. I never heard anything back.

I finally gave up and tried a different set of pickups in the bass. I've NEVER felt like I've been screwed by a dealer, but in this case I definitely WAS SCREWED by BP. I would never buy anything there again, and all the stories trashing the place I absolutely believe.

The mods can pull this if they want, but the thread asked for feedback.

Will

Doug Parent · #20 12-10-2004, 05:36 AM

I have owned and operated six different jewelry retail locations over a ten year period. Over that time I have processed millons of dollars of transactions. I accepted Visa/MC Discover and AMEX cards all during that time. As a merchant I am very familar with the guidlinesthat that merchants have to follow in order to retain thier ability to process credit cards.

Having qualified myself, I can now tell you my story about Bass Palace.
I orderd a bass to try out. They debited my credit card for the entire amount plus shipping. They shipped the bass. I got the bass. I decided against the bass.
I contacted them about my decision to send the bass back in a timely fashion. I was told to ship the bass back. I did so right away.

After ten days, I checked my credit card account. They never credited my account the $1750 for the returned bass. I was told that they had not received the bass. I called back one week later. They said "oh yeah, it IS here. I asked why they didnt credit my card back.

The explanation was they were "waiting for more sales to come in, then they could then credit my card back"

This is a financial irregularity to say the least.

Guidlines for accepting Visa/MC state that refunds must be processed RIGHT AWAY. I informed Bank of America (my CC processor) of the situation and they initiated a dispute handling on the spot. They agreed with my assertion that Bass Palace was not operating within the acceptable guidlines as a merchant.

"Floating transactions" is a bad indicator of a business. It indicates possible insolvency. At the least, it indicates shakey business practices or ethics.

Being "nice", being "busy", having nice basses is all fine. But there are other things a business needs to do to remain successful.

Everyone makes mistakes.Most people are good and learn and correct themselves. Those who continue to operate without correcting themselves are a liability to others.

Take it for what its worth.