Has Bass Strings Online fallen off?

[Lethgar]

Yikes.

 

[phishaholik]

Reading comprehension is not MY problem. Your problem was not a single order, it was multiple orders. The question is did you call the owner and tell him about ALL your orders and ALL your problems and the answer is no, you didn't.

I can see you always have the last word and my sympathies go out to BassStringsOnLine.

Off to the ignore list you go.

LOL, you are a silly person. I called their customer service rep and went over all of my problems with her exactly as I have in this thread. She was very nice. The owner was out of the office the last time I called, part of the problem with my refund. If you want me to state exactly what I said, just ask instead of making snarky statements and accuse me of not contacting them in the first place.


Michael

 

[SirMjac28]

Another thing to remember is I think some of these inventory systems count the items that are stuck in a customer's cart as sold and could possibly throw the system off?

 

[bftbassman]

not to go off topic, but i am a sales rep for auto locksmith's, (keys and fobs), when we are on back order, it has to go up on web and i must know what is not in stock at all times. people depend on quick availability to a common stocked product and a lot of confusion and mad customers can be avoided, but you know the drill, in slavery to the almighty dollar, people will take the order and capture the payment, now the wait is on you, the merchant got the money. 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 years, whenever, already got the money

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

Just bought fretboard conditioner and gruv gear wrap and I put a dispute because I didn't get the right tracking number, it said it was in san Diego and I live in Canada

I ordered some strings and they canceled it because they did not want me to file another dispute,

I now noticed that I had the correct number all along..

 

[mmbongo]

Huge Kudos to Jason at Bass Strings Online, the dude is amazing. I'm glad I don't have to do customer service at my job. Gotta hand it to him for having the best service in the industry.

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Just like with emails that come in through our website I will address everything here...

It sounds like you've already made great strides, or have already done, what's needed. I've always loved doing business with Bass Strings Online in the past and I'm definitely not even close to not ordering from y'all anymore. I'm currently waiting for a set of DR Sunbeams, 5-string set .030 to .105. I did not speak to you Jason, but the a nice lady on the phone.

I'm going to answer my own question and state, Bass Strings Online has not fallen off. It sounds like there are some growing pains implementing the new real time inventory. We're getting exactly what we asked for, it's just going to take a little time to get there.

Thanks for chiming in Jason and being so honest and forthright!

Michael

Thank you. It is a constant process. I can not predict when someone is going to call up and purchase our entire inventory of a specific product, that of course throws off everything else. It is great when it happens but at the same time is bad. As far as the DR 5-String E-C set, the problem with that is it just creates one more extra SKU and possibility of inventory sitting for that much longer. Purchasing a 4-STring set and single High-C will accomplish the same thing. I do have the ability to purchase custom sets from DR. If you would like to have it done I can have it done for you, it will save you a little bit of $ and I will require a 7-10 day lead time for this custom set. You would need to purchase 3 or more. And of course when purchasing in quantities I am always happy to work out something with the price.

good stuff man, the indicator has been active for a little while now, IMMENSE help. bought a couple sets from BSO and one set from elsewhere due to stock. i appreciate the honesty that you don't have them, some of us are addicts and have to have stuff now to play with. i always default to BSO first though, great guy and the point system helps man to save a couple bucks here and there.

i used to work for a manufacturer so i understand the whole shipping system delays, shop delays, production delays, strange order setup, etc. hopefully you are getting some serious bulk discounts and grinding down their sales guys on price man, you seem to be a big mover of product (first seller recommended on the labella site, kinda a big deal).

I am glad to hear that the inventory indicator has been a help to you! I also encourage you to message us to ask about something that is missing or out of stock, many times I have a way to make them happen. An example would be make a set out of a 4-String set. For example this morning someone emailed me about a 5-String set that was taking longer than originally promised. I sent out a 6-String set and they are now happy.

We move enough product that we get the maximum discounts however my main goal and main thing I stress to the manufacturers is getting product to us quickly. I'd rather get the customer their product faster than get a few extra points on my end... If the customer isn't happy I failed, that's how I see it.

As with any growing business, there will be "growing pains" as many people call them. I for one am thankful Jason is having them. He is a top notch great guy and he deserves our business in my opinion and deserves to see his business grow and expand. I for one have NEVER had an issue with anything, and I am sure there are a great many others who have never had issues as well. Granted, I understand what is quoted in the thread are issues you guys are having and they are very real to you. I totally get it. But I guarantee if you just PM, call, email, get in touch with Jason, he will make thing right. As I already stated, he is a top notch guy and he is worthy of our business. I buy all of my stuff from him, including bass strings, guitar strings, Aguilar pedals, guitar pickups, just to name a few items.
He will make things right. I know many people on here that can speak to that. Even though I have never had a problem, I have PM'ed and called Jason personally and ran him to death checking on pickups and different things he doesn't even carry on his site, to see if he can get them for me. He answers quickly on everything and never leaves me hanging. He goes out of his way to check stuff and pricing on thins that most businesses would not even think about doing for me. I go to Jason 1st before I order ANYTHING. I have no reason not too.

Thank you I really do appreciate that! We do all we can and really appreciate the support! Always happy to do what I can to make you happy!

Sometimes if it's a time sensitive order, I leave a note in the special instructions box to please inform me asap if an item is back ordered/out of stock. They let me know within 24hrs and that gives me a few options. One thing that ordering through BSO has put in perspective for me is the capability of the string makers to actually keep up with demand. My favorite brands happen to come from makers who aren't quite operating at the same scale as D'Addario, so there are inventory gaps at times, sometimes overlapping (which really sucks), but it's out of BSO's control at that point and I either wait it out or buy then elsewhere.

They'll always get my business when I can help it.

Thank you again! We treat every order with the same priority and do all we can to get them out as quickly as possible. We are happy to give things an extra push if needed. When it comes down to it the product availability from the manufacturer is not the customers problem, we do all we can to keep a good stock of everything on the website. Again it comes down to the issue of predicting all sales, simply impossible. We are doing what we can to keep larger quantities on hand of products we know take longer to receive.

BSO FTW

The ability to order custom sets - like the mixed scale set of TI flats I just got for a Dingwall, try getting that elsewhere, with a TB discount no less - means I'm going to choose BSO pretty much no matter what on any strings I need. Great service!

Thank you!!!

I did read the thread. You said you called them, but didn't mention what you said or what they said. Did you say, "hey what's going on" and detail your complaint to them as thoroughly as you detailed it here? From the owner's response it doesn't sound like you did.

If you read it you didn't comprehend it. I stated that I spoke to someone else, not the owner, and that she told they didn't know when the strings would be available and they had been on back order a long time.

Michael

I am going to have a discussion with the crew about issues brought up in this thread. I am constantly working with them on ways to improve productivity around here. They are real people and I like keeping them happy so I do not want to put too much on them. Please feel free to put it on me though!

Reading comprehension is not MY problem. Your problem was not a single order, it was multiple orders. The question is did you call the owner and tell him about ALL your orders and ALL your problems and the answer is no, you didn't.

I can see you always have the last word and my sympathies go out to BassStringsOnLine.

Off to the ignore list you go.

If a customer has a problem with anything it is a problem to me and I would like to address it. I have PM'ed the OP and he has replied with his email address so I can look at his order history and see the current order he is waiting on. We received a larger DR shipment today (that was ordered before his last order was placed) so it looks like his order will be shipping today.

Yikes.

LOL, you are a silly person. I called their customer service rep and went over all of my problems with her exactly as I have in this thread. She was very nice. The owner was out of the office the last time I called, part of the problem with my refund. If you want me to state exactly what I said just ask, instead of making snarky statements and accuse me of not contacting them in the first place.


Michael

I built BassStringsOnline to support bass players and make it easy for them to get what they need and hopefully improve their bass playing lives...

Another thing to remember is I think some of these inventory systems count the items that are stuck in a customer's cart as sold and could possibly throw the system off?

A product is removed from "stock" once it is purchased. So it is possible for two users to do this at the same time. We are not getting that kind of volume where users are purchasing the same items within minutes. Would love it if we were doing that kind of volume though!

not to go off topic, but i am a sales rep for auto locksmith's, (keys and fobs), when we are on back order, it has to go up on web and i must know what is not in stock at all times. people depend on quick availability to a common stocked product and a lot of confusion and mad customers can be avoided, but you know the drill, in slavery to the almighty dollar, people will take the order and capture the payment, now the wait is on you, the merchant got the money. 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 years, whenever, already got the money

We have a very large inventory and it is all now listed on the website in real time. Yes there are some errors as some things can happen to throw them off but we do what we can to keep it accurate.

Just bought fretboard conditioner and gruv gear wrap and I put a dispute because I didn't get the right tracking number, it said it was in san Diego and I live in Canada

I ordered some strings and they canceled it because they did not want me to file another dispute,

I now noticed that I had the correct number all along..

This is a special situation. You emailed about the tracking of the product even after we sent you an email with the correct tracking info. While looking into your shipment I looked at the wrong order which in turn provided you with incorrect tracking information. If you would have looked at the original email or looked in your order history and clicked on the tracking number there the correct information would have been provided. I made a human error and typed in 12345 rather than 12354 and got the wrong number to you. You brought that to my attention at 5:35:27PM on SUNDAY and my reply with the CORRECT information was sent at 5:37:27PM (exactly 2 minutes later). About two hours later you opened a dispute. Disputes are expensive for us so it is my policy to do what I can to avoid any others. This situation is now changing how I reply to messages like this. I will no longer provide information about a package but re-send Shipping Confirmation emails. It is faster this way, less personal, but it will now hopefully avoid situations like this again. If you were to email me with that question again I will just say "I have re-sent your shipping confirmation email, please confirm receipt"

Huge Kudos to Jason at Bass Strings Online, the dude is amazing. I'm glad I don't have to do customer service at my job. Gotta hand it to him for having the best service in the industry.

Thank you! I really appreciate the continued support!

 

[bftbassman]

Just like with emails that come in through our website I will address everything here...



Thank you. It is a constant process. I can not predict when someone is going to call up and purchase our entire inventory of a specific product, that of course throws off everything else. It is great when it happens but at the same time is bad. As far as the DR 5-String E-C set, the problem with that is it just creates one more extra SKU and possibility of inventory sitting for that much longer. Purchasing a 4-STring set and single High-C will accomplish the same thing. I do have the ability to purchase custom sets from DR. If you would like to have it done I can have it done for you, it will save you a little bit of $ and I will require a 7-10 day lead time for this custom set. You would need to purchase 3 or more. And of course when purchasing in quantities I am always happy to work out something with the price.




I am glad to hear that the inventory indicator has been a help to you! I also encourage you to message us to ask about something that is missing or out of stock, many times I have a way to make them happen. An example would be make a set out of a 4-String set. For example this morning someone emailed me about a 5-String set that was taking longer than originally promised. I sent out a 6-String set and they are now happy.

We move enough product that we get the maximum discounts however my main goal and main thing I stress to the manufacturers is getting product to us quickly. I'd rather get the customer their product faster than get a few extra points on my end... If the customer isn't happy I failed, that's how I see it.



Thank you I really do appreciate that! We do all we can and really appreciate the support! Always happy to do what I can to make you happy!



Thank you again! We treat every order with the same priority and do all we can to get them out as quickly as possible. We are happy to give things an extra push if needed. When it comes down to it the product availability from the manufacturer is not the customers problem, we do all we can to keep a good stock of everything on the website. Again it comes down to the issue of predicting all sales, simply impossible. We are doing what we can to keep larger quantities on hand of products we know take longer to receive.





Thank you!!!





I am going to have a discussion with the crew about issues brought up in this thread. I am constantly working with them on ways to improve productivity around here. They are real people and I like keeping them happy so I do not want to put too much on them. Please feel free to put it on me though!



If a customer has a problem with anything it is a problem to me and I would like to address it. I have PM'ed the OP and he has replied with his email address so I can look at his order history and see the current order he is waiting on. We received a larger DR shipment today (that was ordered before his last order was placed) so it looks like his order will be shipping today.





I built BassStringsOnline to support bass players and make it easy for them to get what they need and hopefully improve their bass playing lives...



A product is removed from "stock" once it is purchased. So it is possible for two users to do this at the same time. We are not getting that kind of volume where users are purchasing the same items within minutes. Would love it if we were doing that kind of volume though!



We have a very large inventory and it is all now listed on the website in real time. Yes there are some errors as some things can happen to throw them off but we do what we can to keep it accurate.



This is a special situation. You emailed about the tracking of the product even after we sent you an email with the correct tracking info. While looking into your shipment I looked at the wrong order which in turn provided you with incorrect tracking information. If you would have looked at the original email or looked in your order history and clicked on the tracking number there the correct information would have been provided. I made a human error and typed in 12345 rather than 12354 and got the wrong number to you. You brought that to my attention at 5:35:27PM on SUNDAY and my reply with the CORRECT information was sent at 5:37:27PM (exactly 2 minutes later). About two hours later you opened a dispute. Disputes are expensive for us so it is my policy to do what I can to avoid any others. This situation is now changing how I reply to messages like this. I will no longer provide information about a package but re-send Shipping Confirmation emails. It is faster this way, less personal, but it will now hopefully avoid situations like this again. If you were to email me with that question again I will just say "I have re-sent your shipping confirmation email, please confirm receipt"



Thank you! I really appreciate the continued support!

Wow, real time company feedback !! i appreciate this, from being in business and customer service.This is how to rock it in business and i am impressed Will order my strings from your company !

 

[phishaholik]

Just like with emails that come in through our website I will address everything here...



Thank you. It is a constant process. I can not predict when someone is going to call up and purchase our entire inventory of a specific product, that of course throws off everything else. It is great when it happens but at the same time is bad. As far as the DR 5-String E-C set, the problem with that is it just creates one more extra SKU and possibility of inventory sitting for that much longer. Purchasing a 4-STring set and single High-C will accomplish the same thing. I do have the ability to purchase custom sets from DR. If you would like to have it done I can have it done for you, it will save you a little bit of $ and I will require a 7-10 day lead time for this custom set. You would need to purchase 3 or more. And of course when purchasing in quantities I am always happy to work out something with the price.




I am glad to hear that the inventory indicator has been a help to you! I also encourage you to message us to ask about something that is missing or out of stock, many times I have a way to make them happen. An example would be make a set out of a 4-String set. For example this morning someone emailed me about a 5-String set that was taking longer than originally promised. I sent out a 6-String set and they are now happy.

We move enough product that we get the maximum discounts however my main goal and main thing I stress to the manufacturers is getting product to us quickly. I'd rather get the customer their product faster than get a few extra points on my end... If the customer isn't happy I failed, that's how I see it.



Thank you I really do appreciate that! We do all we can and really appreciate the support! Always happy to do what I can to make you happy!



Thank you again! We treat every order with the same priority and do all we can to get them out as quickly as possible. We are happy to give things an extra push if needed. When it comes down to it the product availability from the manufacturer is not the customers problem, we do all we can to keep a good stock of everything on the website. Again it comes down to the issue of predicting all sales, simply impossible. We are doing what we can to keep larger quantities on hand of products we know take longer to receive.





Thank you!!!





I am going to have a discussion with the crew about issues brought up in this thread. I am constantly working with them on ways to improve productivity around here. They are real people and I like keeping them happy so I do not want to put too much on them. Please feel free to put it on me though!



If a customer has a problem with anything it is a problem to me and I would like to address it. I have PM'ed the OP and he has replied with his email address so I can look at his order history and see the current order he is waiting on. We received a larger DR shipment today (that was ordered before his last order was placed) so it looks like his order will be shipping today.





I built BassStringsOnline to support bass players and make it easy for them to get what they need and hopefully improve their bass playing lives...



A product is removed from "stock" once it is purchased. So it is possible for two users to do this at the same time. We are not getting that kind of volume where users are purchasing the same items within minutes. Would love it if we were doing that kind of volume though!



We have a very large inventory and it is all now listed on the website in real time. Yes there are some errors as some things can happen to throw them off but we do what we can to keep it accurate.



This is a special situation. You emailed about the tracking of the product even after we sent you an email with the correct tracking info. While looking into your shipment I looked at the wrong order which in turn provided you with incorrect tracking information. If you would have looked at the original email or looked in your order history and clicked on the tracking number there the correct information would have been provided. I made a human error and typed in 12345 rather than 12354 and got the wrong number to you. You brought that to my attention at 5:35:27PM on SUNDAY and my reply with the CORRECT information was sent at 5:37:27PM (exactly 2 minutes later). About two hours later you opened a dispute. Disputes are expensive for us so it is my policy to do what I can to avoid any others. This situation is now changing how I reply to messages like this. I will no longer provide information about a package but re-send Shipping Confirmation emails. It is faster this way, less personal, but it will now hopefully avoid situations like this again. If you were to email me with that question again I will just say "I have re-sent your shipping confirmation email, please confirm receipt"



Thank you! I really appreciate the continued support!

Thank you for taking the time to reply! I actually did order the DRs as a 4 string set and just added on the single C string. I just wanted to add, the customer support person I spoke to on the phone was very professional and extremely nice. I don't want you to fee like she did anything wrong or upset me in any way. As I said in the PM to you, I was just concerned because it went from every order being processed and shipped immediately to 3 back orders in a row. It make sense that the new inventory system takes some getting used to and you have allayed all of my concerns. I have bought almost all of my strings from you in the past and will continue to do so.


Thanks!

Michael

 

[friendlybass]

BSO rocks, I had no idea how labella did their stuff, now I know and I totally get it'll be worth waiting for my quarter rounds. Looking forward to it! Love that you're active on forums too interacting with customers

 

[loveandbass]

when items are carted, does the availability of items appear to the item in the cartview?

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Wow, real time company feedback !! i appreciate this, from being in business and customer service.This is how to rock it in business and i am impressed Will order my strings from your company !

Thank you I do look forward to working with you!

Thank you for taking the time to reply! I actually did order the DRs as a 4 string set and just added on the single C string. I just wanted to add, the customer support person I spoke to on the phone was very professional and extremely nice. I don't want you to fee like she did anything wrong or upset me in any way. As I said in the PM to you, I was just concerned because it went from every order being processed and shipped immediately to 3 back orders in a row. It make sense that the new inventory system takes some getting used to and you have allayed all of my concerns. I have bought almost all of my strings from you in the past and will continue to do so.

Thanks!
Michael

I see that is what your order was for. I believe this order could have gotten out sooner (easiest by our guys pulling a Low-B from a 6-String set), I will admit the last couple of weeks I have not been going through all of the orders as I usually do looking for situations like this as I am spending more of my time now updating the on hand inventory on the website (looking for a way to automate it). I do not see this being a problem going forward as the High-C and 4-String set you purchased is normally stocked. With the additional stocking order I sent DR this morning I will have plenty. I also spoke with Lisa about how she re-orders product for stock once purchased to ensure better on hand inventory quantities going forward. Please if you do feel there is an issue going forward get in touch with me directly.

BSO rocks, I had no idea how labella did their stuff, now I know and I totally get it'll be worth waiting for my quarter rounds. Looking forward to it! Love that you're active on forums too interacting with customers

Thank you! The Quarter Rounds are all of a sudden becoming more popular. La Bella now uses a new packaging that they call "MAP" packaging (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) that is sealed and will have a longer shelf life, so we have kicked up our stocking levels of many of their sets... Just waiting on them now

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

when items are carted, does the availability of items appear to the item in the cartview?

At the moment it does not, only before they are added. I need to look into that. I will look into that tonight as well as making the inventory marking more visible. I may end up changing the entire look of the site (again) tonight.

 

[loveandbass]

At the moment it does not, only before they are added. I need to look into that. I will look into that tonight as well as making the inventory marking more visible. I may end up changing the entire look of the site (again) tonight.

that would be a nice feature for sure...if people are ordering multiple items and one or more items may not be currently available maybe an alert will pop up prompting the customer with this info and the option to wait until all items are available to ship or to ship whats available now and ship the rest when they are available.

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

that would be a nice feature for sure...if people are ordering multiple items and one or more items may not be currently available maybe an alert will pop up prompting the customer with this info and the option to wait until all items are available to ship or to ship whats available now and ship the rest when they are available.

I will look into that. Thank you for the thought!

 

[butcher]

If an item is listed as "IN STOCK" we do what we can to get it out the same day. At the same time we process orders in the order they come in. We do not sit around and "get to it within a shipping window"

Sorry, I think I wasn't clear in my post about that. I didn't infer that you or any other online retailer was sitting around waiting to get it out but instead may have systems in place to get products purchased shipped from their distributors as quickly as they could have if it were in stock. It isn't a criticism, but rather a speculation as to changes in the landscape of online retailing/inventory control etc.

I was thinking that may have been the case when I ordered my Pressurewounds that were in stock and then they shipped from GHS directly. I don't really care where my strings were when I purchased them, just that the arrive when I expect them.

Honestly sorry for any confusion - I continue to be thoroughly impressed with BSOL and will probably always get my strings there.

 

[rockinrayduke]

All I can add to this is that BSO is by far the best online place for bass strings first of all and with the new instruments, amps and other accessories he's added to his inventory it's only gotten better. He's got a good crew at BSO, great prices, selection of brands, and excellent customer service. If somethings wrong he'll make it right. I've been a customer for a few years now and since I left Texas for Los Angeles two years ago I'm lucky enough to have his store close to my home, maybe 5 minutes away depending on traffic, I'm really lovin' that part of it. BSO is run by an ass kicking bass player who is totally devoted to our needs as players.

 

[76jazzbass]

Huge Kudos to Jason at Bass Strings Online, the dude is amazing. I'm glad I don't have to do customer service at my job. Gotta hand it to him for having the best service in the industry.

I totally agreed with you, great prices and service!! I used to drive out of my way on way home from work to get strings, half the time they were out of stock and always too expensive. Now they show up at my door and they're cheaper!! I've never had an issue with BSO!

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

Jason:

Thanks for all your good work and service. You are a great asset to the bass players of the world. You should be congratulated and put on the cover of Bass Player Magazine.

 

[bass12]

I've received nothing but stellar service from BSO over the past few years and am always happy to do business with Jason.