Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - Dan - 20:42 24-11-05
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Anyone ever ordered a guitar from Musicians Friend catalog? Was it a good
or bad experience? It's a nice looking publication with what appears to be
great guitars at decent prices. Looks too good to be true.
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - Jeff - 20:52 24-11-05
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"Dan" <iron500@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:OJqdnZEIUdBy9hvenZ2dnUVZ_sSdnZ2d@adelphia.com...
> Anyone ever ordered a guitar from Musicians Friend catalog? Was it a good
> or bad experience? It's a nice looking publication with what appears to
be
> great guitars at decent prices. Looks too good to be true.
>
>
I just did a few days ago. Very well packed, came in without a scractch and
on time.
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - thomas@yourhomestudio.com - 01:28 25-11-05
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I ordered my P-bass and my daughter's Tele from Musician's Friend and
never had any problem with either one. They were both setup well and
arrived with nary a ding. As a matter of fact, I've ordered tons of
stuff from them. Returns were handled professionaly and the phone staff
has always been helpful.
Thomas
www.yourhomestudio.com
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - Jeff E - 01:45 25-11-05
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"thomas@yourhomestudio.com" <trabalais@sport.rr.com> wrote in message
news:1132900106.086432.302840@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> I ordered my P-bass and my daughter's Tele from Musician's Friend and
> never had any problem with either one. They were both setup well and
> arrived with nary a ding. As a matter of fact, I've ordered tons of
> stuff from them. Returns were handled professionaly and the phone staff
> has always been helpful.
>
> Thomas
> www.yourhomestudio.com
>
Pros:
-Speed/quality of service (as mail/net order outfits go): excellent.
-Product quality: as good as anyone else.
-Pricing: industry leader.
Cons:
-You don't get to try before you buy, which they remedy with an easy return
policy. This is hardly comparable to try before you buy, as a minor
dissatisfaction will invariably result in a "no sale" in a walk-in store.
The mail order customer will usually live with it if it's minor.
-MF and its sister company Guitar Center are rapidly drumming competition
out of the business. Gibson is actively shaking off as many independent
dealerships as it can in favor of high volume distributors like MF and GC.
It's like doing business with Wal-Mart: you may have found what you wanted
for cheap, but you might feel kinda dirty afterwards.
Jeff
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - Clutch - 02:18 25-11-05
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"Dan" <iron500@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:OJqdnZEIUdBy9hvenZ2dnUVZ_sSdnZ2d@adelphia.com...
> Anyone ever ordered a guitar from Musicians Friend catalog? Was it a good
> or bad experience? It's a nice looking publication with what appears to
> be great guitars at decent prices. Looks too good to be true.
>
They get good deals from high volume.. The combined volume of their on-line
deals, retail stores and I would imagine Guitar Center as they are all part
of the same company.
On lower end gear they're hard to beat for prices. On higher end gear you
can usually negotiate a better deal for yourself by walking into a store and
bartering. MF still has MAP to deal with (minimum advertised price in case
you're unfamiliar with the term.. it's the lowest amount a company will
allow you to advertise their product for).
Sometimes they have sales and incentives which can make the deals sweeter.
Here's the only warning I'd give to you... keep in mind they have a liberal
return policy. And as a result, people who get buyers remorse or just
realize they don't actually need/want/like an instrument they purchased have
45 days to return it. It seems to me that MF will take an instrument back
after 45 days and then sell it again as new.
I've purchased 2 guitars from them in the past, in both cases the
instruments had been previously returned. Consider it a trade off of their
return policy and you're good to go. But some people get hung up on it.
On the other hand, www.zzounds.com will always tell you when something has
been opened, returned or what.. and I've had good luck with them with a few
guitar purchases.
Cheers
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - tai fu - 02:30 25-11-05
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I got a deluxe strat in Taiwan and I was able to get the prices to something
like 1200 USD. It is slightly more expensive in Taiwan because of
shipping/taxes and stuff... im sure you can get better deals in guitar
center than musicians friend...
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - RockaBilly - 06:51 25-11-05
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"tai fu" <sdfgsdfg@aol.com> wrote in message
news:dm6ejl$sk1$1@geraldo.cc.utexas.edu...
> I got a deluxe strat in Taiwan and I was able to get the prices to
something
> like 1200 USD. It is slightly more expensive in Taiwan because of
> shipping/taxes and stuff... im sure you can get better deals in guitar
> center than musicians friend...
>
>
Sound like you got a good deal. My friend here in the usa paid $1200 + taxes
to walk out of the store with one.
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - TONED.F - 17:24 25-11-05
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I bought a "blemished" '72 Fender Tele Thinline and the only thing that
I could see that was blemished was a loose strap button. An "easy fix"
with superglue for a $210 savings. I think that you have up to 30 days
to return anything and get your money back too ? I'd previously bought
smaller items, but this Guitar plays and sounds sweet :)
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=4508&alid=-1
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - kitekrazy - 23:27 25-11-05
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Jeff E wrote:
> The mail order customer will usually live with it if it's minor.
> -MF and its sister company Guitar Center are rapidly drumming competition
> out of the business. Gibson is actively shaking off as many independent
> dealerships as it can in favor of high volume distributors like MF and GC.
> It's like doing business with Wal-Mart: you may have found what you wanted
> for cheap, but you might feel kinda dirty afterwards.
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
I have to disagree with you. It's actually forced small stores to
lower their prices. I know a small store who prices their gear to match
MF. They move a lot of stuff.
Another store prices $20-$50 higher on a guitar. I could justify
spending a little bit more because their guitars are set up and continue
to offer discounts on adjustments, strings, lessons, ect. This is
probably one of the better business models.
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Re: Guitars from Musicians Friend Catalog - Mike Hartigan - 09:38 26-11-05
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In article <11ofp0j45oo0fb6@corp.supernews.com>,
pyoungnospam@mfire.com says...
> Jeff E wrote:
>
> > The mail order customer will usually live with it if it's minor.
> > -MF and its sister company Guitar Center are rapidly drumming competition
> > out of the business. Gibson is actively shaking off as many independent
> > dealerships as it can in favor of high volume distributors like MF and GC.
> > It's like doing business with Wal-Mart: you may have found what you wanted
> > for cheap, but you might feel kinda dirty afterwards.
> >
> > Jeff
> >
> >
> >
>
> I have to disagree with you. It's actually forced small stores to
> lower their prices. I know a small store who prices their gear to match
> MF. They move a lot of stuff.
This is a topic that has been debated to death in other newsgroups
over the years with Starbucks and Wal-Mart among the more prominent
villains. It's generally accepted as fact that these behemoths move
into an area and undercut the small mom & pop stores with the
specific goal of driving them out of business, so that they can have
that market to themselves and raise their prices (which, much to the
embarassment and chagrin of the do-gooders, they don't do). What
people fail to see, however, is that it is the customers who
patronize these superstores who are to blame for the failure the
smaller stores by abandonimg them -- the very customers who lament
the fact that the small stores failed! Mom & pop can't make a living
if everybody goes off in search of a lower price.
Evidently, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Guitar Center, et al offer a better
value, or they wouldn't attract the droves of customers that they do.
What they sell is the total shopping experience which includes
ambience, convenience, price, return policy, etc. as well as the
product, itself. I would happily pay a bit more (sorry, I read
ahead) for the individualized service traditionally offered by a
smaller guitar store, so I might shop there instead of at Guitar
Center for a Taylor or a PRS. On the other hand, service after the
sale is not as important on, say, a box of Saran Wrap or a $99 Squire
Strat, so I'll buy these at Wal-Mart or GC.
> Another store prices $20-$50 higher on a guitar. I could justify
> spending a little bit more because their guitars are set up and continue
> to offer discounts on adjustments, strings, lessons, ect. This is
> probably one of the better business models.
>
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