Musician's Friend (yay or nay) please share

Controller_7

I ordered a 16 channel mixing board from Musician's Friend and it came today. There was no original manufacturer's box and the only "packaging" to the support and protect the mixer was some wadded up brown paper (like grocery bags). This was placed in an oversized box, so it spent about 5 days with Fed Ex, just knocking around. Some of the faders and knobs were bent. It's going back tomorrow. They seemed cool about the return. I thought they were pretty reputable. Maybe not. Anybody have any experiences (good or bad) with them? I don't see how a store that big could have thought that kind of shipping was ok. There was no styrofoam supports, no peanuts, no bubble wrap, just three wads of brown paper. It literally flopped around inside the plain box. I'm also confused why a brand new mixer has no manufacturer's box.I checked Bizrate to see if they had bad reviews. it seems the majority are positive. I liked this review:"Online Shopper Apr 21, 2007The ukele I bought was cut with a knife through the box and gig bag. The tuners will not hold a tune. I will be following up on this."

spelunk

Musician's Friend = Guitar Center. The shadyness all stems from both places trying to sell products that have been opened/used/tested/b-stock and passing them off as new. I know many people whom this has happened to. Thankfully, they will let you return just about anything for any reason (except software), and if you get angry enough they will eventually listen.

You live in the Bay, right? Get over to Leo's Pro Audio in Oakland, where the staff is made up of professionals who can give you real world advice, great prices, and will treat you with respect like a real customer.

Controller_7

Yeah, I thought it was Guitar Center online, that's why I wasn't worried.

I'll check out Leo's in the future. It's rare that I buy equipment and I don't have a car here in the city, so it was kind of easier to just order it. I probably won't do that again.

bass_fever

Yeah, Musicians Friend and Guitar Center are sister companies...They can be shady at times, but there return policy is second II none...If you want to try something out, or just need a piece of gear for a gig...use it and return it no ?'s asked!

mumbosauce

I ordered a 16 channel mixing board from Musician's Friend and it came today. There was no original manufacturer's box and the only "packaging" to the support and protect the mixer was some wadded up brown paper (like grocery bags). This was placed in an oversized box, so it spent about 5 days with Fed Ex, just knocking around. Some of the faders and knobs were bent. It's going back tomorrow. They seemed cool about the return.

I thought they were pretty reputable. Maybe not. Anybody have any experiences (good or bad) with them? I don't see how a store that big could have thought that kind of shipping was ok. There was no styrofoam supports, no peanuts, no bubble wrap, just three wads of brown paper. It literally flopped around inside the plain box. I'm also confused why a brand new mixer has no manufacturer's box.

I checked Bizrate to see if they had bad reviews. it seems the majority are positive. I liked this review:

"Online Shopper
Apr 21, 2007
The ukele I bought was cut with a knife through the box and gig bag. The tuners will not hold a tune. I will be following up on this."

I have dealt with them in the past and haven't had any issues.

I normally stick with www.8thstreetmusic.como and www.americanmusicalsupply.com cause on bigger priced stuff they will let you break it down into 4 or 5 payments.

Unherd

Having worked in the business a little, I'd be willing to bet that its standard practice across the industry to sell returned/opened/refurbished stuff as new. These guys just cant survive if they send every opened piece back to the company. Not that I think its cool, just letting you know. I would opt to buy from stores where you can see the condition on the spot, or buy from places with a good return policy. Most large scale corporations (GC, etc) have policies which dictate this shadiness about selling 'new' gear, but then also back this up with a lenient return policy.

Symin

Yeah, Musicians Friend and Guitar Center are sister companies...They can be shady at times, but there return policy is second II none...If you want to try something out, or just need a piece of gear for a gig...use it and return it no ?'s asked!

they will not return needles. years and years ago i drove to the concord GC, the day of a gig to pick up a new needle. got it, went back and the shit was broken. i ran back with my show starting in a very short while and they refused to return it. i was out 40 or 50 dollars. so i had to just buy a new one on top of that. i wasnt happy about that living on a highschooler's salary. plus i had to drive to concord twice in one day.