My personal experience with TheLowEnd:
I have a herd that I am proud of but still I am open in listening and trying as many instruments as possible (even though I think I have found my "Holy Grail" of Basses)
I was looking for a specific Fodera with woods similar to my "Uber Alles" Dingwall. The reason for that is that I wanted to compare the different receipies of these luthiers, having used the same (similar) woods.
When such a bass appeared (Emperor Deluxe 5) we discussed the possibility of a trade and we agreed on the basses to trade.
We shipped the same day. The day after, my agent informed me that, contrary to what the shipping company told us, the basses would be shipped something like 15 days later. I had to retrieve the basses and have them shipped with another company. When the basses arrived (with the first incident related delay) the paperwork had disappeared(!!!) from the side of the basses and I had to fax the paperwork again to the related authorities. That caused a delay of another 2 days. At the end, the basses were received and all were happy.
Still all of this time, I was very very upset for the sequence of events (I have a perfect ebay feedback with over 100 transactions and I am a man of my word) and I was in contact with TheLowEnd (I faxed and emailed every piece of evidence to augment the tracing and content of the package; I was on the phone every day talking to Brian and exchanging all bits and pieces of information regarding the shipping of the basses). Brian from TheLowEnd was very understanding and helpful from his side (even though he run into some inconvinience with the "missing paperwork"). We worked as a team to resolve all problems and the deal was sealed when he received the basses.
I am very happy with the whole deal, but most and above all for the trust that TheLowEnd has granted me with.
In short:
TheLowEnd
Very helpful, very knowledgable, Highly recommented
