Musician's Friend Stupid SCAM of the Day

[MoD_Scotty]

There is a huge trend lately to offer daily "deals" all over the interwebz. One such deal (which has been around for a long time now), is the Musican's Friend Stupid Deal of the Day. I referred to it as a "SCAM," because after ordering an item featured in said "deal," I received an email saying my order was cancelled. The item wasn't showing as "sold out," and I'm pretty sure the price wasn't some kind of typo. They just flat out cancelled THAT PART of my order (I picked up some strings as well)...with no explanation.

This is the second time I've fallen victim to this kind of tactic in about a month. I say "tactic," because I'm pretty sure that websites are using these daily "deals" as nothing more than the online version of a bait and switch tactic.

I've had hit-or-miss success, where sometimes these deals are legit, and sometimes they get cancelled for no reason whatsoever.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[jumbodbassman]

only once and i got it. another time they had a 2 for 1 and the second didnt show after about 20 minutes with cs they sent me the second item

[bongomania]

So far no misses for me--in fact one time they sent me two gigbags instead of just the one I ordered!

[fhm555]

Never done any of the MF stupid deals but I've done plenty on hobby sites for r/c gear. Every one I've ever gone after had X number of units dedicated to the stupid/blowout/deal-o-the-day/whatever sale and its always strictly first come first served. if you miss out it's not so much a SCAM as it is you were just not fast enough to score.

Since they usually are loss leaders used to reel you in, because they know the "there's no point in just ordering strings when I also need a strap" mind set pretty much rules us all, there is usually no rain check issued once the set aside sale item quantity is exhausted, and you still wind up placing an order.

That said, with MF its a free call to ask for a rain check and the worst they can tell you is no.

Before you call though, read the fine print on the terms of the stupid deal of the day and I'm betting there are no rain checks or substitutions, and the sale is limited to stock on hand.

[Munjibunga]

They don't call 'em stupid deals for nothing.

[Roadkill]

I've always done well on MF SDOTD's .

[Wasted Bassist]

MF is one of the biggest online instrument dealers out there. If you had an issue, take it up with them. They have always treated me fairly when I've contacted them in the past.

[TheWoodShed]

I bought an acoustic that way- no issues.

[theundecidedone]

I bought a Hellraiser Avenger that way. no gimmicks, no probs

[pnut166]

I`ve never had anything but good service with MF.

[soulman969]

Originally Posted by fhm555

Never done any of the MF stupid deals but I've done plenty on hobby sites for r/c gear. Every one I've ever gone after had X number of units dedicated to the stupid/blowout/deal-o-the-day/whatever sale and its always strictly first come first served. if you miss out it's not so much a SCAM as it is you were just not fast enough to score.

Since they usually are loss leaders used to reel you in, because they know the "there's no point in just ordering strings when I also need a strap" mind set pretty much rules us all, there is usually no rain check issued once the set aside sale item quantity is exhausted, and you still wind up placing an order.

That said, with MF its a free call to ask for a rain check and the worst they can tell you is no.

Before you call though, read the fine print on the terms of the stupid deal of the day and I'm betting there are no rain checks or substitutions, and the sale is limited to stock on hand.

Good advice. Bait and switch advertising is illegal. If they advertise an item for a price they must be able to deliver that item at the time of the order or by raincheck if out of stock unless it's advertised as being limited to only what is in stock, first come first served.

MF bends over backwards to satisfy customers. If their website just cancelled your order you should have called to find out why. If the stock they had advertised had sold out there's always a chance their phone rep can offer you something comparable at a reduced price.

I know some people who have had that experience with them. I have not but I've had very satisfactory service from them whenever I've ordered.

[Epidrake]

No problems with them either. One time some computer glitch put a bunch of products on sale for incredibly low prices. I bought a bunch of stuff, fully expecting them to cancel my order, but they didn't.

[DanMiSupply]

Originally Posted by MoD_Scotty

There is a huge trend lately to offer daily "deals" all over the interwebz. One such deal (which has been around for a long time now), is the Musican's Friend Stupid Deal of the Day. I referred to it as a "SCAM," because after ordering an item featured in said "deal," I received an email saying my order was cancelled. The item wasn't showing as "sold out," and I'm pretty sure the price wasn't some kind of typo. They just flat out cancelled THAT PART of my order (I picked up some strings as well)...with no explanation.

This is the second time I've fallen victim to this kind of tactic in about a month. I say "tactic," because I'm pretty sure that websites are using these daily "deals" as nothing more than the online version of a bait and switch tactic.

I've had hit-or-miss success, where sometimes these deals are legit, and sometimes they get cancelled for no reason whatsoever.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Hey Scotty,
I work for Musicians Friend and this post popped up for me and just wanted to claify a few things and see if there's anything that I can do to further assist you.
Our Stupid Deal of the Day is a daily offer that we post on our site. If you click on the link for the item, our site specifically says "Limited to stock on hand" right below the price of the item. We have thousands of customers looking at that page at any given moment and there are sometimes when we're running low and extra orders come through before the previous orders finish processing through. The inventory doesn't get pulled right when a person places an order as there is processing time involved. Sometimes we may have to cancel orders if we do not have any stock left to fulfill the order and at which point, we cancel the order immediately and email the customer letting them know.
You have not been scammed in any way as we never took your money from your account as we do not charge for items until they ship out (unless you used Pay Pal or other online billing services and we'd refund the account immediately). This is not a "bait and swith" either as a bait and switch would be if we posted an item at a lower price and sent you a different item than what was posted on our site.
I'm sorry that you missed out on the deal, but with our stupid deal of the day items, they're first come first serve with limited quantities on hand.
If you let me know what item you were interested in buying under our stupid deal of the day, I can definately look into seeing what we can do about getting that item to you at a great price or if you have any other questions or concerns, you can email over to: forums@musiciansfriend.com and I'd be more than happy to further assist you with anything.

- Dan Sasaki
Musicians Friend Support

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by DanMiSupply

Hey Scotty,
I work for Musicians Friend and this post popped up for me and just wanted to claify a few things and see if there's anything that I can do to further assist you.
Our Stupid Deal of the Day is a daily offer that we post on our site. If you click on the link for the item, our site specifically says "Limited to stock on hand" right below the price of the item. We have thousands of customers looking at that page at any given moment and there are sometimes when we're running low and extra orders come through before the previous orders finish processing through. The inventory doesn't get pulled right when a person places an order as there is processing time involved. Sometimes we may have to cancel orders if we do not have any stock left to fulfill the order and at which point, we cancel the order immediately and email the customer letting them know.
You have not been scammed in any way as we never took your money from your account as we do not charge for items until they ship out (unless you used Pay Pal or other online billing services and we'd refund the account immediately). This is not a "bait and swith" either as a bait and switch would be if we posted an item at a lower price and sent you a different item than what was posted on our site.
I'm sorry that you missed out on the deal, but with our stupid deal of the day items, they're first come first serve with limited quantities on hand.
If you let me know what item you were interested in buying under our stupid deal of the day, I can definately look into seeing what we can do about getting that item to you at a great price or if you have any other questions or concerns, you can email over to: forums@musiciansfriend.com and I'd be more than happy to further assist you with anything.

- Dan Sasaki
Musicians Friend Support

I kinda figured this. I've never had any issues with MF.

[fhm555]

Originally Posted by DanMiSupply

Hey Scotty,
I work for Musicians Friend and this post popped up for me and just wanted to claify a few things and see if there's anything that I can do to further assist you...

Top notch customer service from people with a genuine desire to see their customers happy.

Typical of EVERY experience I've ever had with MF.

[gidbass]

Originally Posted by fhm555

Top notch customer service from people with a genuine desire to see their customers happy.

Typical of EVERY experience I've ever had with MF.

+1

Love dealing with MF.

[kevinmoore73]

Originally Posted by fhm555

Top notch customer service from people with a genuine desire to see their customers happy.

Typical of EVERY experience I've ever had with MF.

Same here. They've always treated me like royalty.

[C.Linton]

Gotta chime in with a big +1 for all the MF love here. I think maybe the OP overreacted a bit.

[stratovani]

A couple of weeks ago I bought some AKG earbuds from the Stupid Deal. Originally $34.95, they sold for $9.95. The order went through with no problems, and I got them a few days later. Excellent earbuds, and I'm very satisfied with the deal.

[kulit17]

+100 for great customer service. I purchased a good amount of things through MF especially with stupid deal of the day and it's always been positive.

I had missing package once because of UPS, but they helped me through the whole process.

Perhaps the OP should've contacted MF first before posting such a negative post. Oh well I do notice they sometimes cycle through items so it'll perhaps they'll have those headphones again.

I say give give them another chance, since it wasn't really anything they could've done.