Sweetwater Scam

[Bass Viking]

Enjoyment is not the same as convenience. I get it, I'd prefer to go to a shop, too. Sometimes there's too much "life stuff" going on to find the time.

It was also much easier when I was in NYC; now, I'm in another state in some small town where the closest music store is a GC that's some miles away (like two towns away).

And hey, if it's cheaper to buy online (and that's not always the case), why not? The stuff that money is made of does indeed grow on trees, but it doesn't grow processed and printed!

But yeah, that ain't helping. Like I said, we do it to ourselves.

I blame the internet! (Which without, we wouldn't be having our deep, life-altering exchanges here on TB)

I blame the internet and specifically Talkbass for stoking GAS!

I would pay a little more for a store item. There is value in being able to try a specific bass and taking it home the same day. Notice I said “a little more”. If buying on the internet is hundreds of $$ cheaper my wallet gets to decide.

 

[davec]

Don’t throw all buyers into the “poor financial choices” category.

Uhm … I didn’t.
What I implied was that when a buyer enters in expecting to not be able to return, at least myself and my experience having sold thousands of instruments, is that more consideration is given. (Mostly speaking for myself in the past I have purchased basses, knowing that if something came up, I could always return it. Funny enough none ever became “Holy Grail” instruments )
If I were King, the policy would be something like
48 hours: no questions, full refund
After 48 hours full refund less shipping and card fees
After 1 week shipping, fees, 10% restock. through 30 days.
Don’t worry I’m not the King, but that would be reasonable for the customer, the retailer and future customers.
Sorry, but the idea that private sale or what does as described mean sound like rules for thee, but not for me, IMHO
for full clarification, I’m strictly expressing my personal opinion as a long term member of the forum, and bassist/ consumer. I am in NO way speaking in any official capacity as a SW employee.

 

[Matt-J2]

I would pay a little more for a store item. There is value in being able to try a specific bass and taking it home the same day. Notice I said “a little more”. If buying on the internet is hundreds of $$ cheaper my wallet gets to decide.

This is pretty much where I'm at, for most things.

If it's the sort of thing I need to try and see how it feels, what condition it's really in (used stuff), and so on, then I'll go to a store if it's a realistic option. If not, then either I order it, or I just go without.

I'm willing to pay a little more for something I got to handle first. I'm also willing to pay a little more from stores that are genuinely local. A place that's owned and operated by people in the community is worth something to me. It only goes so far, though. Just because they're local doesn't mean they're competent, or that they're not jerks, and the price needs to be in the ballpark (remember to count shipping and such as well!).

This approach though has led to a few places telling me they can order me X, but I should just go online instead since it's out of their normal chain and they won't be able to get close on price. Otherwise, I just get what I can local.

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

You OK?

Fine as frog’s hair. Just dont appreciate being messed about.

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

I’ve had nothing but great experiences there going back to the mid nineties. But if you're threatening people over a set of strings ... maybe time for some self-reflection.

No- i failed to impress upon you the goal of the individual behind the counter. He knew precisely who i was, he handled the original sale, he was laughing when he told me he didnt have the strings, a rarity in ‘95,i had just spoken to him not two hours previously. He was pulling my chain. He was an absolute tool.

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

Tale of woe? Dude drove out of their way without calling first and showed up without a receipt, then threatened to fight the worker...

No- i clearly stated that i not only called the guy, i had JUST called the guy and talked to him.

 

[ericplaysbass]

No- i clearly stated that i not only called the guy, i had JUST called the guy and talked to him.

I was specifically referring to the first time you drove out of your way without calling to check, not the "dozen times" you called after that before you showed up again, presumably learning your lesson after that first time.

You still threatened to fight someone over a business transaction. I don't find that acceptable in the slightest.

 

[Steve Wiley]

Well, YMMV, but I' m not returning a $3500 bass that I like for a saddle you can buy for $16 (with height screws), and replace in 5 minutes. I'm thinking Sweetwater would have stepped up and credited $20 for the required repair (or provided the part).

I think this started with buyer's remorse. The ding occurred when the OP's partner hit them upside the head with the bass after revelation of the $3500 price. Sorry OP, just kidding.

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

I was specifically referring to the first time you drove out of your way without calling to check, not the "dozen times" you called after that before you showed up again, presumably learning your lesson after that first time.

You still threatened to fight someone over a business transaction. I don't find that acceptable in the slightest.

No- i called them before i made that drive. I was told to come in and prepay. Trust me, i was not going to make that drive just to see if i could order some strings. Not chest-thumping here by any stretch. It was abundantly clear to me i was being messed with. It was personal.

 

[ericplaysbass]

Well, YMMV, but I' m not returning a $3500 bass that I like for a saddle you can buy for $16 (with height screws), and replace in 5 minutes. I'm thinking Sweetwater would have stepped up and credited $20 for the required repair (or provided the part).

I think this started with buyer's remorse. The ding occurred when the OP's partner hit them upside the head with the bass after revelation of the $3500 price. Sorry OP, just kidding.

Re-read OP's post here: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/sweetwater-scam.1651411/page-8#post-28455063

They said Sweetwater said they had no parts available (which appears accurate as well looking at the Warwick US parts store, the official place to get Sadowsky replacement parts), so OP opted for a refund. Then everything else transpired, which at this point, seems Sweetwater-inflicted rather than OP-inflicted.

 

[bootstrap]

No- i called them before i made that drive. I was told to come in and prepay. Trust me, i was not going to make that drive just to see if i could order some strings. Not chest-thumping here by any stretch. It was abundantly clear to me i was being messed with. It was personal.

That was my read.

 

[porterbass]

Geez, what a thread. I've read the entire thread since it started and the only thing I've settled on is that I wouldn't again purchase from SW based on the posts from the second SW rep's posts here.

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

My whole point with my Chuck Levins rant was to illustrate how poorly i was treated at a brick and mortar establishment, and to further, that experience was endemic to that outlet in particular. I phoned later and spoke to a different individual who reiterated my experience. The guy was yelling and screaming at me over the phone, and he had no clue who i was. The place was a sh**show. I was by no means a neophyte to music stores at the time; my local haunt, Veneman’s had just closed, and while i had nothing but positive experiences with those guys, anyone who has ever been in a bustling music store prior to 2000 can tell you that every one of them has their own particular culture. Sweetwater lacks that vibe. It is sterile in a way, although i enjoy a great relationship with my rep. I can tell you this: Sweetwater would never treat a customer, ANY customer the way Chuck Levins treated me. It was almost 30 years ago, and I’ll never forget it.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Geez, what a thread. I've read the entire thread since it started and the only thing I've settled on is that I wouldn't again purchase from SW based on the posts from the second SW rep's posts here.

Yeah, he doesn't come across as the guy you want to call.

 

[Mike Vee]

It happened to me once with SW, bought a bass that was in no way going to work for me, I felt guilty about returning it, so I purchased another bass on the same phone call. I didn't have to, SW was going to take the original bass back no questions asked, but I felt it was the right thing to do.

that just doesn't make any damn sense.

 

[ericplaysbass]

Sweetwater would never treat a customer, ANY customer the way Chuck Levins treated me.

Hate to break it to you, but Sweetwater is ran by humans who are equally capable of whatever it was you went through. They're no exception. You making sweeping generalizations isn't helping further any narrative other than blind Sweetwater devotion, and we really don't need any more of that right now.

This thread is spiraling into unnecessary anecdotes. What's the update? Is OP just out $600 for a grain of rice ding that could've happened at any point, and also appeared on another serial number of the same model of bass? Is there more to this than that left to unveil?

 

[Mike Vee]

Geez, what a thread. I've read the entire thread since it started and the only thing I've settled on is that I wouldn't again purchase from SW based on the posts from the second SW rep's posts here.

IMO they shouldn't be posting on behalf of the company.

Again I say, I love Sweetwater! Let me tell you about something super nice they did for me. Way back around 2013 I asked my former sales engineer if he could do anything on the price on a piece of software. This particular sale engineer wasn't the greatest, and he often said somewhat cocky/arrogant things to me. On this particular occasion he said something like "that's not worth my time" or something very rude along those lines. Well, I got pissed and wrote a rant on Gearslutz. The main thing was that I was literally about to spend around $2800 on an API 2500 compressor the next week, but that now I would go somewhere else because of this rudeness.

Someone at Sweetwater saw the post, called my directly and gave me the API 2500 at COST as an apology, which was I think at least $600 or 800 off. That's the kind of people the can be. My new sales engineer, Ken, has put up with a lot of VALID defect/issue returns from me and maybe 1 or 2 regretful purchases. I buy and a lot too, probably at least in the 25K range or more, but he never talks poopie about my returns. I am sure I make him mad sometimes, but he has always been kind an polite and to this day offers me the best price on anything.

Also, i asked them to stop sending me those cheesy salesmen emails and follow-ups years ago and have never seen one since.

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

Im not necessarily a fanboy of SW. i respect the OP’s experience and it does come across as troubling. That isn't lost. Believe me, the folks @ SW have taken note. My rep cold called me yesterday and asked me about a recent purchase. He’s never done that before. I don’t think it was a coincidence. If you have a good experience with a retailer, you might pass it on to a couple of people but if you have a powerfully negative experience with one, you’ll shout about it from the rooftops. It is human nature. It was not my objective to derail this thread, but I’m up on the roof about my dealings with this retailer in particular and i think it illustrates the mistaken concept that smaller independent dealers are necessarily better than online giants because their sales base is local, and thus superior in customer service. This simply is not the case, at least not for me. It has been put to me that my reaction was unhinged, but the result speaks for itself. I walked out of the store with my strings. The salesman knew he had them, knew i had paid for them, and he chose to poke the bear.

 

[Steve Wiley]

Re-read OP's post here:

I read the whole thread.

Speaking of reading, look up YMMV. Regardless, if I liked the bass, I'd keep it.

 

[davec]

IMO they shouldn't be posting on behalf of the company.

I guess I’m not making my point very well.
There are many many, members of TB, with various connections to the industry, From big companies to small. I was on TB long before I started working at SW.
and the idea Us (Talkbass) against them (Big Retail) is both impossible to defend and absolutely wrong. US is made up of them.
TB has a very healthy amount of active members in multiple facets of the music retail world, past and present and if I personally come off as “not the guy you want to call” maybe it’s because I’m NOT on a call !?! (Should anyone with an industry connection not be allowed on the forum?)
Hopefully this gets resolved in a way that is fair to all. sorry if my behind the curtain comments have offended anyone, Truly and honestly. My goal was to speak as a member of the community, with insight due to working at SW, not on behalf of SW.
I’m guessing that might be impossible or at least imperceivable. Last commit on this thread, I promise.