Every retailer has a reason for being able to offer or *not* offer something at a certain price at a given time. I don't ever take anything personal or stop shopping with somebody simply because they won't bend to what I think they should be willing to sell for. With that said, over the years, I've probably dealt with 30+ gear dealers in the US including the biggies like MF & ProAudioStar. I just go with whoever offers the best deal at a given time.
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Musicians Friend
- Thread starter bassundergrace
- Start date
I have no problem with Musician's Friend trying to preserve their business. My comment about them losing me as a customer is only because I can get better deals elsewhere or faster shipping (Amazon). MF is still a good store.
re: proaudiostar
The bass I ordered has arrived and it's fantastic!
The bass I ordered has arrived and it's fantastic!
I agree with you 100%. While I have been very satisfied with my dealings with MF in the past, they are not the only game in town, and just about everything they sell can be found elsewhere, often for less $$$. And there's lots of places with excellent customer service as well, so really nothing makes MF the top choice any more...
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,941
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
I know ya'll are saying that, but I've yet to experience it. Once in a very blue moon I'll see a blow out on Amazon that will beat deals I can get at MF, but I search high and low and I can't get anyone to beat the prices I get at MF. And I buy loottts and lootts of stuff. I always get them to knock at least 15% off, and often get 20%. Please let me know of other places that will do that, and I'll have a go next time around. I honestly don't think anybody else is going to beat that (except on select special offers), and if there is a place that will I'll hop right onto that boat.
Therein lies the difference between our experiences. You continue to have this outcome, while I can't get them to budge on a damn thing anymore.
I have an item on back order. Full market price. The process of picking an item from MF, then calling, then trying to haggle, then getting told no....
They broke me, Joe. They broke me.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,941
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Got it. I'll admit it's gotten a tad tougher. Whereas I used to get 15% off no problem, now it takes a bit more work. 20% is near impossible. I was going to write more here (actually deleted some) but I'm fairly certain they're reading this stuff and possibly taking some cues from it. I've had a pretty good thing goin on at Musiciansfriend and I hope it stays that way. Even if they're making only 5% profit off of all I've purchased there, they've made a lot from me being a customer.
It all depends on what you're looking for. RMC Audio Direct does 15% off through their buyer's club, and they have extra 5% sales around holidays. They also let you make an offer on certain things, but their selection isn't as large. BassStringsOnline also has some good deals, and they have sales as well. Pyromaxe has deals on effects all the time.
I haven't tried to buy anything from MF in awhile, and they have sent coupons (and just got an email today for the Veteran's Day sale), so it's not as bleak as it could be, but not as good as it once was. I am not saying MF is the devil (although they are aligned with him/her), but there's other players out there.
...on qualifying products. That is new. They used to have the same deal with no limits before.
They always had limits with their coupons (usually none of the big names). But if you call them, they'd usually do it. I remember the exemption page used to have more brands than eligible ones.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,941
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Yes. They always said "on qualifying products". The page of products that DIDN'T qualify included EVERYTHING! Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Musicman, Sure, Korg, and on and on and on. There was nothing anybody would want to buy that wasn't on that page. And they always did it anyway, if you called. I'm not sure what that was all about, but I'm sure they must have had some reason. I know it prevented the deals from going through if you ordered online. Maybe that had something to do with it? Maybe they wanted to get people to call for some reason, to possibly sell warranties? Whatever. Bottom line is that's nothing new.
Agreed, but the new wrinkle is that rather just excluding a few brands, the discount is limited to a specific set of items.
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Probably because the brands all specify a minimum advertised price (MAP) and the discount would put them below MAP. If you call they can do it, but they can't advertise it.
