I try my best to purchase from local businesses, but sometimes that is impossible. I recently asked here about any Ovation dealers. I wanted to buy two Ovation guitars...a nylon string and an acoustic double-neck. They're available to be shipped today from Musicians Friend and other on-line vendors for $449.00 and $999.00, respectively.

I had heard bad things from the local dealer, but went to them anyway. The nylon string was supposed to be in over a month ago. After multiple visits and calls, a third contact at the store finally got one in. It was from one of the store's other locations, a floor model, and damaged. Plus, it was shipped with a bag, and was supposed to be in a hard case.

I was supposed to make a deposit on the double when I picked up the nylon string, since they wouldn't normally stock one. That was fine, but after waiting for nearly 6 weeks and getting a defective product and no action on the other item, it's no wonder some retailers are losing business to places like Musician's Friend. In this case, it wasn't about price. Actually, Musicians Friend and others offered free shipping, and the retailer has a policy of meeting their price, so I would have paid $90.00 additional for Ky. sales tax.

Sadly, when shopping for things other than musical equipment, customer service and follow-through have also all but disappeared, in some cases.

All I wanted to do was pay these guys $1500.00 and get what I wanted.


That's pretty sad...


Russ