Is Andertons a reliable shop?

[Rafael Giuliani]

Hi, guys.

I`ve been looking for a Standard P-bass and came accross this one:

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But their price is way below other prices I`ve seen (ranging from £499 to over £550).
My question is: are they reliable? Is there anything I`m missing here?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Alex Masters]

I've been to Andertons, and bought from them over the Web. They are a reputable outfit and I found them to be very nice to deal with in person. I haven't had a problem that's made me put their customer service to the test, but my Web order for my Ibanez SRM805 was trouble-free and the instrument arrived set up well.

 

[HELLonWHEELS]

Never bought from them, but love their Youtube channel.

 

[kodiakblair]

It's a Standard. The Standards have been replaced by the Players series. It's common practice to sell discontinued stock cheap so that explains the price.

As for Andertons,it's a well established UK shop.

 

[Microbass]

Have only bought strings and a pedal from them and everything was great. They get pretty good reviews else where.

Looks like a steal - may just have been sitting around for a while and they need to shift it. You could always give them a call see what the deal is.

 

[Briton]

I have had a bad customer experience with them. I would not purchase anything from them again.

 

[Rafael Giuliani]

I have had a bad customer experience with them. I would not purchase anything from them again.

what happened?

 

[LinusKarlsson]

Their Youtube channel made me buy some stuff from them at a discount a couple of times, from the web. Never had any problems with them. Would buy from them again.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I bought my first proper bass from Andertons back in the late 70s... they are a very reputable family business now in 3rd generation ownership (I think). I moved out of that area in the 80s but still buy from them online, no complaints.

 

[Crispyduck2018]

Well they won best retailer of the year a month or so back so I think they are pretty reputable

 

[Christine]

I've good service from them too, I've bought a couple of basses from them and they have just been fuss free, nothing special, just what you'd expect in this day and age

 

[Briton]

what happened?

I purchsed one of the new Player Series P Basses about a month ago, the first arrived with a very poor finish having black like scratches on the Bass so I phoned them to tell them they should have checked the Bass before sending it out which they agreed with. I asked them before they send out the replacement to check it out and they assured me that they would. When the replacement arrived I found that the pickguard hole nearest the jack had been drilled too large so when the cable was pulled out the pickguard would lift up from the body. I returned the Bass and got a full refund. The original problems were not Andertons fault, but they should check over all Basses especially those made in Mexico for possible faults, which is normal for any retailer to do. So it looks like mass produced Basses like the Player and Standard series are not checked over by Andertons before sending them out which is very poor service. As for you buying a Standard from Andertons,the difference in price has got to be something to do with quality issues so you are taking a chance in purchasing one. If I was you I would forget about the discontinued Standard and for a further £70.00 you could purchase one of the new Player series which are better than the Standards. But going off my experience in buying a Player Series Bass from Andertons I wouldn't be too confident.

 

[Mosfed]

Hi, guys.

I`ve been looking for a Standard P-bass and came accross this one:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

But their price is way below other prices I`ve seen (ranging from £499 to over £550).
My question is: are they reliable? Is there anything I`m missing here?

Thanks for your help!

I find them to reputable but I am stunned you find them cheap. Nothing in the UK music scene is cheap and even the cheapest, like Andertons is still way more expensive than Reverb shipped to the UK.

 

[hrodbert696]

I purchsed one of the new Player Series P Basses about a month ago, the first arrived with a very poor finish having black like scratches on the Bass so I phoned them to tell them they should have checked the Bass before sending it out which they agreed with. I asked them before they send out the replacement to check it out and they assured me that they would. When the replacement arrived I found that the pickguard hole nearest the jack had been drilled too large so when the cable was pulled out the pickguard would lift up from the body. I returned the Bass and got a full refund. The original problems were not Andertons fault, but they should check over all Basses especially those made in Mexico for possible faults, which is normal for any retailer to do. So it looks like mass produced Basses like the Player and Standard series are not checked over by Andertons before sending them out which is very poor service. As for you buying a Standard from Andertons,the difference in price has got to be something to do with quality issues so you are taking a chance in purchasing one. If I was you I would forget about the discontinued Standard and for a further £70.00 you could purchase one of the new Player series which are better than the Standards. But going off my experience in buying a Player Series Bass from Andertons I wouldn't be too confident.

I haven't worked in online retail, but honestly these do not at all seem like the kind of problems I would expect a retailer to check for; they are factory QC issues. A pickguard hole drilled too large so that the pickguard lifts when you pull the jack from the bass - who on earth, at least apart from the factory, is going to check for something like that? And we are talking MIM, not MIA, basses, which is a price point that you're not paying the premium for the more intensive QC in the first place. I certainly would not lay any of this at Anderton's door.

 

[Briton]

Well I run a business and we make sure everything is checked before it is sent out regardless of price. This is not good business practice by Andertons especially with the first Bass which had noticeable marks on the Bass which had not been visually checked. If they want to waste money on return postage then that is their problem.......Not Good!

 

[TrevorR]

Effectively my local music store and been so for years. Bought quite a lot of stuff there. Always good value. No qualms about buying from them in person or online. I think they bulk purchase/order a lot so can make the discounts by savings on bulk orders and/or squeezing margins and relying on throughput of sales.

 

[Briton]

Effectively my local music store and been so for years. Bought quite a lot of stuff there. Always good value. No qualms about buying from them in person or online. I think they bulk purchase/order a lot so can make the discounts by savings on bulk orders and/or squeezing margins and relying on throughput of sales.

I would say that is a correct assumption!......I have not posted on here to try and convince people not to buy from Andertons or to try and run the company down, but for me one mistake is forgiveable but two for the same order is very poor practice. Now knowing how they work I would not purchase anything from them again due to a lack of confidence in their structure, but I might at a push purchase plectrums from them if needed!

 

[SteveCS]

Andertons is my local store. On a saturday you can barely get through the door, and stuff just walks out the door - tbe stock turnover is huge. It comes as no surprise that, on occassion, something will go straight from the warehouse to a mail-order customer without being opened and looked over.
Personally I've not had any issues with anything from there. I got my EBMM StingRay and SBMM Ray34 from the store, but the Warwick Corvette was mail-order. It arrived well packed and on time. Pretty much all of my pedals came pre-owned from Andertons, and I know from part-exchanging my own stuff that they only take stuff that is demonstrably functional - they test it before taking it in.
@raphael giuliani I would suggest you can shop with confidence.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I find them to reputable but I am stunned you find them cheap. Nothing in the UK music scene is cheap and even the cheapest, like Andertons is still way more expensive than Reverb shipped to the UK or Thomann.

That's interesting, because in my view Thomann hasn't been the cheapest option buying from the UK for a few years now - Gear4Music, Richtone, Andertons, GAK all match them for prices and have the advantage of being in the UK. The other thing with Thomann is they quote exchange rates that are not realistic, so the £££ sterling price you actually pay is higher than quoted on their website.

 

[Ghastly]

Hm, maybe I'm missing something. Almost looks a bit high in price to me for a "standard" (not American Standard) especially when converting to dollars. Have I missed something?