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My Music 123 great deal crashed and burned.

#21
That sucks.

I've rolled the dice with Musician's Friend on a Scratch and Dent K cymbal pack at 33% off. It was a return and could have passed as having been played for a session and had some fingerprints. Happy to save the +$300.

Musician's Friend and Music 123 are the same. Nothing really has been happening on Music 123's site. Their warehouse is the same as Musician's Friend. If you are looking at an actual item, the images are the same on MF and M123.

I once emailed the Music 123 site support about their rewards program and the responder had no clue what I was talking about. I asked a Music 123 question - the support was Musician's Friend.

Sweetwater discounts for returns and floor models often stop around 10%. At MF, they frequently go into 20% and 30% off. I don't agree with their "superior" customer service. Maybe it is just my sales engineer. On one occasion I asked if an adaptor would work for a specific use case, the sales engineer was like (paraphrased) "Yeah. Let me tell you about my buddy's big sound system…". I ordered multiple. Dude obviously didn't check. They didn't work. I proceeded to email him to explain (again) the adaptor I needed. His response (paraphrased): "Send 'em back. I'll sell you Speakon cables!". He still wasn't paying attention. I ordered the adaptor from another company and sent him the link "This is what I was looking for". On the upside, I have had better experiences from people other than my sales engineer. I once entered a weight specification for a guitar in the order notes and somebody phoned me up and said "I have this and this and this". So that was on the unexpectedly good side, although it was unnecessary.

The appropriate thing to do for this thread, I think, would be to rate internet retailers based on individuals' experiences:
Good: The Bass Place, Music Store Live, Musician's Friend, FaberUSA, Individuals on Reverb, Stratosphere Parts, Pro Audio Star, Manchester Music Mill
Zero issue: KCA NOS Tubes, Dave's Guitar Shop, Just Strings, The Tube Store, Pick of the Ricks
Mixed/So-So: Sweetwater, Doug's Tubes, The Guitar Store
Bad: Chicago Music Exchange

Then people can get an idea of what retailers are doing a good job.

PS: I think Musician's Friend as Good as being kind of funny because I put Brick and Mortar Guitar Centers in the Bad camp. I killed 2 hours there and got a "Hey" from one sales guy on a slow night in every department I visited. He didn't stop. The guitars were locked down. The guy at the accessories counter then answered "Yes" to a question he didn't know the answer to. Of course, I usually can't go into GC because I have a backpack more often than not.
 
#22
if your debit card is a visa or mastercard debit card, you may be able to charge back - i was able to with mine.

GC, MF and AMS have all been super helpful when i have a question or an issue. i've never dealt with music123; did you talk to one rep or more than one? i'm just wondering if you got a poorly trained rep on the phone or one who was having a bad day.
 
#23
Hoss Groovealot said:
I ordered 2 Ampeg PN-410HLFs from Music 123, one a “scratch and dent” and the other a “blemished”. The “blemished” one showed up as a brand new Acoustic 810 worth half of the cabinet I ordered. It was an 8x10, I ordered a 4x10, those should be hard to mix up. I asked if they could do some research and figure out where my item was as I still wanted it and it was a great deal. They said there was nothing they could do and would not research my item’s location. The “scratch and dent” one was pretty busted up and was more than scratch and dent, plus without the matching 4x10 that was to go with this, it was of no use to me. They set up a return shipment with UPS scheduled to come pick up (3 attempt type deal ). I left work early twice and missed them. That is not Music 123’s fault, however, to catch UPS I had to leave work early anyway so Music 123 did cost me a few hours of pay. I eventually had to borrow a truck because the 8x10 didn’t fit in my car, and bring the packages to UPS myself. Now the packages have arrived at Music 123 and when I called to inquire about my refund, they said they are busy and it will be another week before they process it! I am willing to bet it won’t be for the right amount and I will have to call them back again. I was charged the minute the shipping tag was created, I should have been refunded the minute this was in UPS hands for return! I needed new cabinets, this whole process will end up costing me over a month with no gear and I can’t order somewhere else until they give me my money back.

When I have my money back I am ordering two Avatar 410s with Neos and the Line X coating. These will come to about $700 per and be rated at 1000 watts each compared to the Ampeg 850. The website says that can take 10 days. Someday I may have some new cabs.



I wanted to share my experience and suggest you keep in mind there are lots of alternatives to Music 123, online, you might want to use them.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have schlepped it. I'd tell them to get it together or lose the cab. I did that on a home depot order years ago - they didn't get it together, so I ended up with $1500 with of tools for free. So it goes.
 
#27
This is why I prefer to purchase from a brick and mortar store. I can see and try out the item and if I don't like it I can get my money back no hassles. If there is a problem I can get it repaired, usually under warranty. Granted some people don't have access to a store so the internet may be the only way to buy, but if at all possible, the brick and mortar store is best. On an internet purchase, what you may save on purchase price, you will lose on the return shipping if there is a problem not to mention the wasted time and having to deal with UPS. :);):thumbsup:
 
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#33
Killed_by_Death said:
MF, GC, & Music123 all use the same invoices.
Click to expand...
Ebay store "Woodwinds and Brass" is also part of the group(in spite of the name, they do carry guitar accessories); having all of these entities(under the Guitar Center umbrella)gives off an illusion of competing companies, but all the stuff comes from the same warehouse in Kansas City, MO.
 
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