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In reviewing this retailer you agree that it is based on your actual buying experience and that (except as fully disclosed in your review) (i) neither you nor any immediate family member is employed by the retailer; (ii) you have not received any payment or any other consideration for submitting this review; and (iii) our users may properly rely upon your review as an unbiased representation of your buying experience.

Review by rivierastrat, submitted 7/4/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment I ordered an Epiphone Valve Jr.This amp arrived DOA. The 12ax7 tube retainer had crushed the tube and cracked the PCB there was broken glass all about. I called for a return authorization and the guy put me on hold "FIVE" times. It was obvious he didn't know what he was doing. He stated that he sent return postage as we were conversing which I did not receive. After a week or so of calling back and getting hung up on repeatedly. I took the amp to the dump.

Review by Glenn56, submitted 6/5/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment This company is a complete basketcase. Just look at the reviews and ratings in the last 6 months. They are far lower than all the other major online music stores. They also own Music123 which has been the target of many complaints on the net. I ordered a set of items and one item shown in stock was never shipped. I was willing to wait but it was later abruptly cancelled. Though that was annoying I thought it was a rare occurrence with MF, unavoidable. But looking at their record and MUSIC123, its routine. Its like playing russian roulette when you order from them, you never know if you'll get an item. The thing that ticked me off, they specifically had a sale on an item 80% off and took tons of orders saying they would come in two weeks later. They then abruptly cancelled all orders with no explanation. Their problem is despite the fact they show in-stock, many items arent in-stock. Additionally, not only do you not know when you'll get the many out-of-stock items, a lot of items they list arent available. So you can get a out-of-stock notice much later for items that are claimed to be in stock and then additionally later never receive the item after receiving an abrupt cancellation notice! This is really aggravating when they claim to have a big sale on an item that is actually not even available. Since there are a lot of competitors and they all tend to sell the same items close to the same price, theres really no reason to order from Musicians Friend and Music123 which are both clearly a mess.

Review by nylint, submitted 5/19/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment This is the last time I will be purchasing from Musician's Friend. I ordered a tweed bass case and paid. I received a cheap, plastic guitar case that does not fit any instruments I own. I made sure to order in plenty of time for a gig I went to and I wanted to make sure my bass was protected. Because of Musician's Friend's incompetence, my lovely Fender '54 reissue P-Bass was protected by a flimsy gig bag instead. This is the second time they have shipped the complete wrong item. (ordered a Dean AEB gig bag and received a cheap keyboard bag) I will buy ANYWHERE other than this establishment in the future, and I will tell my story to every musician I gig with and meet. UPDATE: Their offered resolution was Next Day Air upon receipt of a tracking number. I provided it. On May 22nd, the tracking number was updated by UPS, which indicates that by Musician's Friends own promise I'd have my case in hand no later than the 23rd. Instead, they now say they missed the cutoff and because of Memorial Day Weekend I'll not have my case till the 27th. I am aghast at what this retailer considers customer service to be. They would not upgrade me to Saturday delivery even though they were late shipping out my correct item. Do not EVER risk your money here if you love music.

Review by AngryGuitarist, submitted 5/17/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment Well, I had ordered my guitar May 5, I recieved it a week later. I opened up the box to notice it was the wrong guitar. I called customer service and explained to him what had happened. He apologized and had sent me the label to return it. He said that my guitar would not ship, until the one I had recieved was back in their hands. I told him that would be a problem because I had a show to play in this week. He assured me that it would ship out and I would have it on time because they were going to two day ship it to me. I checked my e-mail numerous times on Tuesday, and never saw a ship confirmation. I let it ride that day, and gave them a call on Wednesday, they told me how sorry they were and would next day air my guitar that day. I checked my tracking number all day and all night. Nothing!!!. I called them back, they said it would ship at 4 am the next morning. Which now doesn't make sense for the next day air they had promised me on Wednesday. I called customer service and they had told me there was some confusion about the package at the warehouse, and that I was getting the last guitar like that. Well I recieved the guitar today, it was the wrong guitar again, it was the same exact guitar they had sent me the first time. The invoice inside the box had said "wrong guitar again" and had the guitar that I was going to get circle on the invoice with "right guitar" next to it. The only thing right about this guitar that they kept sending me was the name brand. It was like ordering a Corvette and receiving a Pinto, not once, but twice. I call them back, I asked to speak to a manager right away. They connected me to a manager. I told him how I received the wrong guitar twice in one week. Again I was told sorry, by now it doesn't really mean anything to me. I told him how I needed that guitar for my show, and how this really put me in a bind. Once again I hear sorry. Then I was told that my guitar went on back order this week. Now I asked him so you mean to tell me someone ordered the same guitar as me, after me, and they are going to get it and Im not? They offered me this and that. At this point I don't know wether to laugh or to get angry. I told them I'd call them back. I called around found my guitar somewhere else in stock. So I cancelled my order with them and probably will never spend another penny with them again.

Review by rusty4x4, submitted 5/4/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment It seems to be a recurring theme: I placed an online order for my son's birthday present, and everything seems to be going well until I get an email from them on the following day notifying me of it being on backorder, stating: "As you may recall from the Item Status on www.musiciansfriend.com or from speaking with us when you placed your order, the item(s) listed below are on backorder and not currently available to ship." There was no Item Status on the page, and no, I did not speak with anyone about the item. Because of the time-critical nature of the order, I telephoned and cancelled, but the web page showing my order has not been updated to reflect the cancellation. They had better not charge my credit card. These people have a long way to go to even matching someone like NewEgg. I seriously doubt I will buy from them again.

Review by reviewer513, submitted 4/18/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment I ordered a gift for my son for his birthday at musiciansfriend.com. I really needed overnight shipping to have his gift in time for his birthday. While I was checking out I noticed that musiciansfriend.com has an online chat facility. I used this service to ask if I placed my order right then, would I get it tomorrow (a Friday). The agent that responded said "yes". 30 mins. after I placed my order, I called the customer service center. After checking with several departments she indicated that it would go out in the evening shipment. When I checked my email the next morning I had an email that said that the item was shipped not in the evening shipment on Thur., but the morning shipment on Friday, so there is no way I will get the order as they promised. I spent over $500 and paid $38 for next day delivery so that my son would have his gift at his party on Sunday. By shipping the item ups, I will now be getting the item on Monday instead of Friday. I was completely mislead. I have asked musiciansfriend to change their website to reflect the true shipping processes, so that other customers do not go through what I did. However I have not yet heard from them. I will repost when I do.

Review by Quadrophenia, submitted 3/21/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment Hi everyone. Never, ever will I buy from musicianfriend.com again. I will keep this as brief as possible. I ordered a Fender Squier DLX Active Jazz Bass V ($299) along with some cables and a case. The package got here on time, but as soon as I picked it up from UPS, I noticed a problem. The guitar was shipped in a box loosely with about 6 inches open in each direction. In other words, it slid back and forth in all directions the whole time it was shipped. I was immediately sick to my stomach. I took pictures of the box AT UPS. When I got it home, I opened it only to find that yes, the bottom of the guitar had banged the ground through the entire shipment and was CRACKED and scuffed. There was NO PACKING inside the box to protect the guitar outside of some crumpled up brown paper (?). Now I know one would want to blame UPS because of course, they suck. But the way this guitar was packed was absolutely nothing less than insulting. A careless disgrace. I got a manager on the phone immediately, sent him pictures, and politely but firmly explained my plight. I told him that it makes me sick that it was sent to me this way, and that I couldn't with a good heart send it back in the same box. I told him that I'd keep the guitar for 50 (only because I knew it would probably be trashed if I sent it back) and he said he'd review it with his manager and call me the next day. He was sympathetic and agreed whole-heartedly with what I said. I also told him that if they didn't accept my offer, I'd be sending EVERYTHING I ORDERED back ON THEM because I do not want musiciansfriend.com to have a penny of my money. He offered me a free $30 credit regardless of what happened and I declined. Well his sympathy must've worn thin after a good night's sleep because he didn't call me back. When I emailed him the next night, he apologized that he didn't call and said that I'd have to send it back for credit. I reminded him that I wouldn't be receiving credit, and he quickly retracted and agreed - though he himself couldn't send me the tags to return it, I had to call again and re-explain everything. So here I sit, 12 hours after I called them and was told "We're emailing you the tags now" with no email, no tags. I'm going to guitar center to get a box for this poor guy - I can't bring myself to re-pack it in this box. Just like J&R, B&H, Sweetwater - these reviews are going to be plagued with fan boys who love justifying the money they spend by garrulously applauding the store they buy it from. Take it from me - even if this mistake is once in a blue moon, it's inexcusable and unforgivable. How could anyone pack a guitar into a box like that? I ask you - would they have shipped a Warwick the same way?

Review by Mammoth, submitted 3/18/08.

Rating   5 / 5 Comment I have been a long time customer of Musician's Friend and have nothing but great experiences with them. I purchase all of my supplies through them (guitar strings, guitar cords, guitar stands, etc...) because they have some of the best prices online. And as a previous resellerrating person listed, they have an accurate stock description on their website. They let you know if the item is in stock, and if it's not, they'll show you an expected time when it will be. My most recent order also went off without a hitch. Like usual, I purchased some guitar accessories. This time, I purchased a guitar strap, a few guitar cords, a couple of sets of guitar strings, and a new guitar stand. Some things were listed as being in-stock. Others were not, however, they were clearly listed as to when they would be in the future. The items were all shipped out as the received in-stock. So, I got 3 different shipments from Musician's Friend in less than 3 weeks. I can't complain because the stock numbers were clearly listed on their website. Musician's Friend kept me updated on all items, letting me know exactly when they were shipped. And they only charged me once for shipping (during the initial order), meaning they did NOT apply shipping charges each time they sent out an order as it came into stock. I cannot say enough good things about this company and I will continue using them in the future.

Review by deadlysyn, submitted 3/17/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment I had ordered a bass amplifier and new cord. It said everything was in stock and ready to ship on the website, so I thought I would have no problems. About a week later, I received and email about the amp being on back order. I called them, and they told me the amp was shipped, and gave me a tracking number. A few days later, the amp arrived at my home. I instantly started playing on the amp. About a month and a half later, I get a letter stating there is a balance on my account that is not paid in the amount of the price of the amp. The day I made the order, my card was charged, and was immediately paid by my bank. I called the number on the letter trying to get this issue straightened out, only to be told the person taking care of the case was out for the rest of the day, on a Wednesday. Very shoddy business practice if you ask me. I will not be doing business with them again.

Review by brucegn, submitted 3/8/08.

Rating   5 / 5 Comment I have been ordering from Musician's Friend for years without ANY difficulties. There have been a couple out of stock issues but they state on the website that their inventory is updated every 15 minutes and an item might be out of stock when ordered. If an item is out of stock they usually list a back in stock date and if too long of wait you call and cancel-no problem. I am now and always have been very satified with this company.

Review by renrui008, submitted 2/27/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment I ordered 2 guitar stands, 12-pack guitar picks and a guitar strap from this website last 01/17/2008. Four business days later I got the stand and the picks. I'm pretty much satisfied until I saw that they just threw the picks with the stands on the same box and I only receive 4 out of the 12 picks I ordered. Then I received an email saying that the strap is backordered. Four days later I got an email saying that my strap was shipped with a "supposedly" tracking number (D078737673005911303, anyone try this number please and this one too, D078737673005923920) but you cannot even use the number to track your package, I have tried FedEx, UPS, DHL, USPS. Feb. 02, I called their customer support to check about the package and as to how they shipped my stap and too also complain about how I received the picks. The lady I talked to said that it was shipped via USPS (but the tracking number still doesn't work); and that she will gladly send me another pack of picks. Another four days, I received the picks but no straps. After about fifteen days, I called them again to check about the strap and another lady told me to wait for a month from shipping date before calling them back again as it was their policy about USPS shipment. Today, 02-26-07, about a month after, I called them up again to check about my order. The guy told me to wait for another eight days as they will check what happened with the so called tracking number, I told him that it doesn't and it will not work, I ask them to either send me another one or cancel the order. The guy told me that they cannot cancel the order since I might still receive the package. Why after thirty days they still expect me to receive the package, are they shipping it by boat??? Ridiculous. So now we agreed that they will send another one and that they will also send me confirmation email about the new shipment. It's been 30 mins now and I don't still see any confirmation email about my strap. Worst experience ever shopping online.

Review by bluedev, submitted 2/16/08.

Rating   5 / 5 Comment I was in shock after reading the negative reviews a day after I placed my order. I fealt stupid because I placed a big order with 18 items and I am wembaster. I can say that the website layout and functions are top-notch second to none in the internet commerce industry, maybe thats why I didnt investigate their rating beforehand. Anyway I called them and asked about my order etc and when it would be shipped and so on. They seemed friendly and knowledgeable and I learned that this is a large company with a warehouse shipping unit that runs 24hrs a day. Anyhow, to sum it up I recieved all my items in 2 UPS shipments the first in 3 business days and the second the 4th day. Every item was perfect, even the 2 cheapest guitar stands that I thought would be flimsy were solid quality and the same for the microphone, much better than I expected. The rest of my items including a Behringer amp was as it should be, new and perfect. So, all in all, I can say I am very impressed with Musiciansfriend from their website, product selection, quality, prices, delivery and customer service. Could it be that the low rating they are receiving in resellers is because people with bad experiences are those providing feedback, or was I just lucky? so I thought, they are probably doing 200 orders or more per day, and feedbacks on resellers is about 2 per month. hmmmm. I think you will be happy buying from musiciansfriend too, I am setting up another for next week, and I'll write another review. If you buy something I hope you will write too.

Review by clone24, submitted 2/8/08.

Rating   1 / 5 Comment I placed an order for several items on Nov 27th and all showed "In Stock" on the website. After a few weeks, I received an email telling me that, "as we notified you by email or phone, your item is back ordered." But I hadn't been notified. Plus, when I called support, they said that all items showed in stock. I had to call back two more times and finally received part of my shipment on 12/19/07 and one additional item on 1/30/08 (which was defective and had to be returned). My biggest issue was that communication was very poor and support was essentially clueless. The first rep I talked to yawned at least 5 times during the call. I would order from these guys only if you don't need the item soon...and if you don't mind that it doesn't work.