BEWARE of zzounds.com RIPPED $629.00 (long)
Ralph
with this company that I want EVERYONE who's considering purchasing gear
from this place to know of my plight.
On August 24, 2000 I placed an order for a Tacoma C1C Chief Acoustic Guitar
with zzounds.com in the amount of $629.00. I received the order on August
30, 2000 but the guitar was damaged on arrival. I immediately notified the
company via email to report the damage and asked for an exchange for the
same model. I received a response from Eric, the Customer Service Rep, and
he told me they would send me a pre-paid UPS label with which to return the
guitar and informed me that he couldn't send a replacement until they
received the damaged one; or he can charge the replacement to my account
and issue a credit when they received the damaged item. I agreed to the
latter and they shipped the replacement on September 1, 2000. I received
the pre-paid UPS label on September 5, 2000 and immediately sent the
damaged guitar back. My account was credited on September 8, 2000.
On September 11, 2000 I received the replacement and that one was damaged
on arrival as well. Again, I immediately contacted Eric to report the
damage but this time I said I wanted a refund. I didn't want to take
another chance with this particular model. Eric responded and again told
me they would send a pre-paid UPS label and credit my account upon receipt
of the item. I received the label and sent the item back on September 13,
2000.
On September 22, 2000 I received an email from the zzounds.com order
department stating that they had received the second damaged guitar and
another was being shipped. I immediately responded stating that I told
Eric I didn't want another exchange, I wanted a refund.
As of this date (11/27) I *still* have not been credited for this order.
My last email (quite angry) to Eric, sent on November 11, 2000, has never
been replied to. I called them on November 20, 2000 and spoke with a
salesman named Chris who said he personally couldn't help me and Eric was
unavailable at the time. I asked him if there was anyone else who can help
me, preferably a supervisor, and he said no.
I have since reported this incident to my credit card company and the
Chicago Better Business Bureau. I'm awaiting a reply from both/either. I
have included the email correspondence between Eric and myself at the end
of this post for those who wish to check it out. Although it's an easy
thing to do, I SWEAR ON MY LIFE that it is 100% unedited!
It begins at the bottom, dated September 22, 2000 with the notification
that the THIRD guitar has shipped; and ends with my final (frustrated and
angry) response sent on November 11, 2000. I haven't heard from Eric
since.
Thanks for listening!
Ralph Shephard
EMAIL BEGINS HERE:
Eric:
I sincerely hope this is the last attempt I have to make. You assured me
it
would be taken care of on "Monday" 3 weeks ago (see below)! It's now going
on 8 weeks since the return was made and I still haven't received credit.
Not only that but I am also continually paying finance charges because of
it. This is no way to do business. And I assure you that after this
fiasco
is over zzounds.com will no longer exist as far as I'm concerned.
If this matter is not resolved PROMPTLY I'll have no other choice but to
seek alternative action. $629.00 may not mean much to your organization,
but it means a lot to me. I don't want any more excuses or apologies and I
have no patience left! I want my money back and I want it NOW!
Ralph Shephard
ra...@mail.microserve.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "zZounds Order Processing" <ord...@zzounds.com>
To: "Ralph" <ra...@mail.microserve.net>
Sent: Friday, November 10, 2000 6:28 PM
Subject: Re: Your zZounds Order Status (KMM181404C0KM)
Dear Ralph,
I have notified our returns supervisor, and he will be issuing that
refund on Monday 11/13. Thank you for your patience and for choosing
zZounds.com.
Eric
zZounds.com Customer Service
Original message follows:
-------------------------
Eric:
I still have not received credit for this return! Please look into it
ASAP!
Ralph Shephard
ra...@mail.microserve.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "zZounds Order Processing" <ord...@zzounds.com>
To: "Ralph" <ra...@mail.microserve.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2000 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: Your zZounds Order Status (KMM172430C0KM)
Dear Ralph,
I do find that the refund was not applied. Unfortunately, because
of the moving of our warehouse, we cannot process any credits or refunds
until Monday. I will do this first thing on Monday, and send you an
email notification when the refund is issued. Thank you for your
patience.
Eric
zZounds.com Customer Service
Original message follows:
-------------------------
Eric:
As of today (10/17) I still haven't received credit for this return.
It's
almost been 4 weeks and I'm getting a bit concerned; especially since my
first return was credited within a week. Can you please check into this
at
your earliest convenience?
Thanks
Ralph Shephard
ra...@mail.microserve.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "zZounds Order Processing" <ord...@zzounds.com>
To: "Ralph" <ra...@mail.microserve.net>
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2000 4:16 PM
Subject: Re: Your zZounds Order Status (KMM162516C0KM)
Dear Ralph,
Sorry about the confusion. We have stopped the shipment, and you
will be refunded today. You should be seeing the credit on your card in
the next three to four business days.
Eric
zZounds.com Customer Service
Original message follows:
-------------------------
I didn't want another one! I had already received 2 that were damaged
and
didn't want to take another chance with this model. I specified that to
Eric upon receipt of the second damaged one. I wanted a refund. I
already
purchased a different model. Please advise!
Thank you,
Ralph Shephard
ra...@mail.microserve.net
----- Original Message -----
From: <ord...@zzounds.com>
To: <ra...@mail.microserve.net>
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2000 12:16 PM
Subject: Your zZounds Order Status
>
>
>
>
> Detailed Status Update:
>
> Tacoma C1C Chief Acoustic Guitar, Cutaway (Natural Satin) (1 TACC1C)
> Status: S7
>
> S7 - We have shipped this item from the central zZounds warehouse in
suburban Chicago. If the item was shipped via UPS you should receive
tracking information in a separate email. If you have not received the
item
within 7 business days please email ord...@zZounds.com and we will track
it
down for you.
>
>
>
> If you have any questions about your order you can respond to this
email.
It is our goal to respond to all email inquiries within one business
day.
>
> Thanks!
>
>
Ralph
George4908
>with zzounds.com in the amount of $629.00. I received the order on August
>30, 2000 but the guitar was damaged on arrival. I immediately notified the
<horror sory snipped>
Ralph: You might try advising Tacoma of the problem directly. While I don't
own a Tacoma and haven't dealt with them, they have a good reputation for
customer service. They may not be able to intercede on your behalf, but I'm
sure they would be interested to know that two out of two guitars were damaged,
and that one of their suppliers is acting irresponsibly.
Jeff Woertz
nightmare. I wanted to cancel an order and it got shipped anyway, then they
wanted to charge me a restocking fee to return it and wouldn't even
reimburse me for the shipping (or something like that!). I feel your pain
brother!
Jeff
--
Jeff Woertz
mailto:jwo...@bergeys.com
http://jeffsbass.8k.com
http://jeffsale.8k.com
Ralph <ra...@mail.microserve.net> wrote in message
news:Xns8FF96B7DCralp...@204.186.201.11...
ExaltedOne
somewhere, you'll probably tell one person about it. If you get bad service
somewhere, you're going to tell ten people about it."
You have been heard loud and clear, Ralph. Way to get back at the
rat-bastards!
-ExaltedOne
"Ralph" <ra...@mail.microserve.net> wrote in message
news:Xns8FF96B7DCralp...@204.186.201.11...
: First off I wish to apologize for the many crossposts but I am SO furious
: >
: >
Larry Sprigg
These guys have been taking lessons from mail order photography equipment
places in NYC. Hope things work out for you.
Larry
To reply via E-Mail, please remove the "nojunk" from my address
themiz
over a year ago they sold VOX pathfinders with a foot switch
Only problem is they never shipped the foot switch
MANY of us who ordered them were told
the ad was a mistake
to cut the story short
There was strength in numbers because once it hit the web
zZounds paid for the switches and overnighted them to all 90 some who ordered
the AMP
Hang in there and don't let go!
TheMiz
the_tro...@my-deja.com
Zzounds, so I simply refuse to give them my business. They had (have?)
a policy of beating any competitor's price on identical merchandise.
Show 'em the lower price and they'd beat it. What a crock. I ordered an
Akai (back before I knew of Dana Bourgeois' plight) Head Rush echo unit
from Zzounds. This was back when the Head Rush was a hot unit, and in
demand with a short supply. The day after placing my order I found a
dealer who was selling the same unit at $70 less than Zzounds. The
merchant was essentially blowing out Akai gear. I emailed Zzounds with
the information; I received conformation that the information I'd given
them was correct, and that they'd beat the price I'd found. The next
day I received an email from Eric; the Head Rush echo unit was
backordered, and as it was the holiday season and this was a hot
selling item blah-blah-blah, but I would receive it at the price
promised when it was in stock again. They even gave me a number to
track my order; it was always backordered. Meanwhile, the place that
had the Head Rush unit at blow out prices sold their inventory. Zzounds
didn't have 'em in yet. I emailed them regarding my order number; I
received an automated response about it's being backordered (where's
sorry, blah-blah....). Three weeks later I saw one for sale on Harmony
Central. I emailed the seller to ask him about the unit in general, and
where he bought his. He'd gotten it from Zzounds. He must purchased his
before the backorder thing, 'cause my order number still showed the
item as being backordered, right? I ended up receiving a Head Rush unit
as a Christmas present from the Mrs, so I emailed Zzounds and cancelled
my order. Several days after Christmas I asked my wife where she'd
gotten the Head Rush unit. They were tough to find. She told me she'd
found two places online that had them: a music store in California and
Zzounds. She went with the store in California because their price was
better and they offered free shipping. Zzounds had the damned thing in
stock, they just weren't willing to honor their promise and sell me one
at the price I'd found. Screw 'em. I take my business elsewhere, and
persuade anyone who'll listen to to the same.
jb
In article <Xns8FF96B7DCralp...@204.186.201.11>,
ra...@mail.microserve.net (Ralph) wrote:
> First off I wish to apologize for the many crossposts but I am SO
furious
> with this company that I want EVERYONE who's considering purchasing
gear
> from this place to know of my plight.
>
> On August 24, 2000 I placed an order for a Tacoma C1C Chief Acoustic
Guitar
> with zzounds.com in the amount of $629.00. I received the order on
August
> 30, 2000 but the guitar was damaged on arrival. I immediately
notified the
> company via email to report the damage and asked for an exchange for
the
> same model. I received a response from Eric, the Customer Service
Rep,
(ARTICLE SNIPPED)
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
WhammyBar
> dealer who was selling the same unit at $70 less than Zzounds. The
Why didn't you just buy it from this guy in the first place?
"Krush"
item's 2 time's.......
the second order was to get the first order straght?.......now I have 4 mike
stand's I didn't order.......and no contact from musian (fooling you!
friends......when contacted about a return........there need's to be a
rating's list of music equip seller's.......I'll use sam ash for now I
guess.........
--
Have a Q? need a fact?........
"http://go.to/kt7faq
http://go.to/ka7faq
http://www.hyperformance-pc.com/overclocking_faq.htm
http://www.geocities.com/amd_info/
"Jeff Woertz" <jwo...@bergeys.com> wrote in message
news:t25dokk...@corp.supernews.com...
Nick
quick from Sends....but I had no contact with customer service....
>
> I have since reported this incident to my credit card company and the
> Chicago Better Business Bureau.
Note that the BBB is not a federal agency. They have no power to do
anything...all they can do is make the compaint info. available when
requested by consumers. How many times have you checked with the BBB when
making a purchase online? Probably not too many...I would concentrate your
efforts in terms of complaints with the CC company...
> I want my money back and I want it NOW!
Woah, trust me, demanding stuff doesn't get anything done faster... I bought
a faulty monitor from CompUSA (DO NOT SHOP AT THIS STORE, PARTICULARLY THE
WESTCHESTER, NY LOCATION!!!!). I was given the run around for nearly 2
months, all that time without a monitor. Talking to "George", just
misinformed salesman and tech., he gave me the impression that he didn't
know his head from his ass... A quick call to both the central office and
the regional manager got me a new Sony Triniton E400, worth $200 more than
my crappy Acer, for free. May I suggest you try that. Attempt to contact BY
PHONE the highest level person you possibly can and calmly give him the most
detailed and boring description of what happened. Offer to fax him every
single e-mail message. Just don't demand or threathen, make them feel bad
for you. Crying might help :)
Nick
Nabeel Khan
On Tue, 28 Nov 2000, Michael wrote:
> I was just considering a purchase with zzounds.com, after reading your
> testimony, I'll go to my local guitar shop.
>
> "Ralph" <ra...@mail.microserve.net> wrote in message
> news:Xns8FF96B7DCralp...@204.186.201.11...
Tom Plunket
> First off I wish to apologize for the many crossposts but I am SO furious
> with this company that I want EVERYONE who's considering purchasing gear
> from this place to know of my plight.
I have had loads of trouble with these people too. I've been
having good experiences with Musician's Friend mailorder lately
too. zZounds just isn't worth the trouble, if you ask me.
-tom!
--
Mesa Dual Rectifier driven by Time guitars
email if you have a Time for sale!
Redbox
> with this company that I want EVERYONE who's considering purchasing gear
<snip>
I hope everything turns out ok for you!
I ordered maybe $200 worth of stuff from zzounds a while ago (an SKB
roadcase and a rackmount power supply). They were great -- the power supply
wasn't in stock, and they didn't even charge my card until it shipped. You
probably found the two ditziest people at the place, unfortunately. If
possible, write a letter to the important people - Customer Service
Supervisor, Chairman/CEO, etc, telling them your plight. Maybe you can score
some free stuff.
the_tro...@my-deja.com
jb
In article <8vum1b$gio$1...@netnews.upenn.edu>,
"WhammyBar" <whammydoesno...@deathtoallfuckingspammers.com>
wrote:
> >The day after placing my order I found a
> > dealer who was selling the same unit at $70 less than Zzounds. The
>
> Why didn't you just buy it from this guy in the first place?
>
>
Ernie43801
them at the price posted at their site from the previous day ($50 cheaper). I
got 5 replies from 5 different people, none of which knew of the other's reply.
I knew from that moment on these people are flaky. They don't have a store and
I can't believe they can get dealerships without one. Your best bet is to be
patient because they are so screwed up. Obviously bad management.
Haadi Mahairi
Bob
>I want EVERYONE who's considering purchasing gear from this place to know of
my plight
You weren't clear on what steps you have taken with your credit card company,
but be sure to call them *immediately* and file an official dispute on the
charge. In many cases, they will issue you a "conditional credit", which will
at least prevent the interest charges from piling up until they can sort things
out.
I sympathize with your situation, as I just got hosed by Brockton Music Works/
Boston Guitar Works to the tune of six hundred bucks.
Best of luck.
=Bob
Michael
testimony, I'll go to my local guitar shop.
"Ralph" <ra...@mail.microserve.net> wrote in message
news:Xns8FF96B7DCralp...@204.186.201.11...
Chad
shipping on anything. It was all mostly small stuff, strings, picks, etc. I
did have trouble with them also...I recieved the wrong items a few times,
stuff was backordered constantly, and customer service was always
unresponsive. I did order a few items that I didn't need right away...even
after my first few bad experiences just because it was ultra-cheap, and
because of the free shipping. But I will not order from them now...it's
seems that they are getting worse instead of better.
Chad
"Ralph" <ra...@mail.microserve.net> wrote in message
news:Xns8FF9691B1ralp...@204.186.201.11...
Matt Seniff
that the problems come from a clueless inability to run a business
(well maybe they could manage a paper route or lemonade stand) rather
than outright thievery but I could be wrong. Dealing with these people
is a real pain at best and not worth the effort IMHO. matt
On Mon, 27 Nov 2000 14:39:13 GMT, ra...@mail.microserve.net (Ralph)
wrote:
GoobAudio
too.
Phil
Tom Plunket <to...@fancy.org> wrote in message
news:e3d62tcm2am1e1arq...@4ax.com...
: Ralph wrote:
:
: > First off I wish to apologize for the many crossposts
but I am SO furious
: > with this company that I want EVERYONE who's considering
purchasing gear
: > from this place to know of my plight.
:
: I have had loads of trouble with these people too. I've
Jeff Woertz
nightmare. I wanted to cancel an order and it got shipped anyway, then they
wanted to charge me a restocking fee to return it and wouldn't even
reimburse me for the shipping (or something like that!). I feel your pain
brother!
Jeff
Ralph <ra...@mail.microserve.net> wrote in message
news:Xns8FF96B7DCralp...@204.186.201.11...
utter...@my-deja.com
"GoobAudio" <phils...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> I have had several good experiences with Musicians Friend
> too.
> Phil
So did I, 'til I had a bad experience with them.
I ordered the Fretboard Roadmaps video (love the workbook) from MF
and was informed it was backordered (the site didn't say that). After
the second missed shipped date (read:4 weeks) I contacted MF to find out
what the problem was and spoke to a very unfriendly individual. They
said it was a problem with the Hal-Leonard corporation not shipping them
the video. I emailed Hal-Leonard and got a response saying their records
show that MF has plenty of videos. I called MF and explained what I'd
found out. They said they'd look into it and I requested a call so I
could be updated. 2 days later when I still hadn't been contacted, I
emailed them asking to be updated. After that email was ignored, I wrote
and explained that since I'd done their legwork for them, and they were
making money off me that I deserve at least a modicum of consideration
and should be updated on the status. I finally got a one line response
that they'd sent off the video 2 days before.
It took them about a month and a half. No apology, no thank you,
nuttin'. So that's exactly what MF will get from me (read:bupkus). I've
also had the opportunity to advise someone else not to use them.
So my list of places I don't purchase from grows:
zzounds
Musician's friend
Guitar Center
I'll only plunk down my hard earned cash at a place I feel treats me
with respect. Mistakes are mistakes, but an unwillingness to correct
them is unexcusable.
Later,
Adrian
stra...@my-deja.com
Ok, you found the unit for $70 less at dealerX (for example).
So if you go back to ZZsounds, all they are obligated to do -
(forgetting about the "backorder" issue a minute) if they
honor the beat any price thing - is beat dealerX by one cent, or
typically a buck or two.
Now, you have a dealer (ZZ) that is ripping off people with a huge
markup, if they don't check. And a guy (dealerX) that maintains a fair
price with no bullshit, but you'll wait for ZZ to beat him by some
nominal amount???
I don't know, but I'd rather support the guy with the fair price,
dealerX.
In article <8vuuel$kgk$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
Rafe
kind of hassle, but you can experience the same type of crapola from the local
shops as well. the advantage, of course, is that you can actually deal with
local stores in the physical realm hehe not this email tag bullshit
a few years ago a local store tried to burn me on some shoddy work they did on
a bridge replacement. the shop owner refused to give me a refund and after
several angry phone calls, I marched down to the shore with my receipt in one
hand and an unloaded shotgun in the other. (okay I was a little drunk) I did
get my money back tho. every fuckin cent
rafe
Ron Petersen
business.... No joke I'm out of work soon because of it! "The chains
MUST have cheaper prices cause they're chains." Bullshit. They'll beat a
price all you have to do is prove that some salesman somewhere else gave
you a certain price, and they'll match it or beat it. So the customers
go to the independants and get the fair honest price, then they go to
MARS and get it 5 bucks cheaper. Makes no sense to me, but it's how
things are.
Cheers,
Ron
stra...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> Ok, you found the unit for $70 less at dealerX (for example).
>
> So if you go back to ZZsounds, all they are obligated to do -
> (forgetting about the "backorder" issue a minute) if they
> honor the beat any price thing - is beat dealerX by one cent, or
> typically a buck or two.
>
> Now, you have a dealer (ZZ) that is ripping off people with a huge
> markup, if they don't check. And a guy (dealerX) that maintains a fair
> price with no bullshit, but you'll wait for ZZ to beat him by some
> nominal amount???
>
> I don't know, but I'd rather support the guy with the fair price,
> dealerX.
>
> In article <8vuuel$kgk$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
> the_tro...@my-deja.com wrote:
--
************************************
* Check out some rootsy power-pop! *
* http://www.ronlynne.com *
************************************
the_tro...@my-deja.com
something - you do it, period. Zzounds promised to beat a bonified
price, and ship me the product 2nd day - all for less money. You're
telling me that I should refuse an offer of "hot new product at a
cheaper price, delivered to your door sooner"? At the time I had no
real knowledge of either dealer; as far as I knew one was just as good
or bad as the other. I selected the one with the best price and turn-
around time. If Zzounds wouldn't/couldn't match the price, they should
have told me so. They told me they could and would, then refused to do
so. Furthermore they refused communicate with me regarding the whole
thing, at least until I canceled the order. That got an email response
the same day. They told me the unit wasn't in stock, when in truth they
had plenty of them and were selling them briskly, but didn't want to
honor their price pledge. If they didn't want to honor their pledge,
they should have just f@#ing said so. The whole thing was ruse, ZZounds
is a shit organization, and I won't do business with them again. Anyone
else I can dissuade from doing business with them is a bonus; I take
delight in it. That sales jerk Eric is a nimrod and a strong argument
for retro-active abortion. I think their entire operation should be
napalmed repeatedly until reduced to ash, and the earth salted so the
likes of them never appears again....
jb
In article <901dj5$kch$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
stra...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
>
> Ok, you found the unit for $70 less at dealerX (for example).
>
> So if you go back to ZZsounds, all they are obligated to do -
> (forgetting about the "backorder" issue a minute) if they
> honor the beat any price thing - is beat dealerX by one cent, or
> typically a buck or two.
>
> Now, you have a dealer (ZZ) that is ripping off people with a huge
> markup, if they don't check. And a guy (dealerX) that maintains a
fair
> price with no bullshit, but you'll wait for ZZ to beat him by some
> nominal amount???
>
> I don't know, but I'd rather support the guy with the fair price,
> dealerX.
>
> In article <8vuuel$kgk$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
> the_tro...@my-deja.com wrote:
Danny Russell
Ron Petersen wrote:
>
> This is why Guitar Center and Mars can drive honest independents out of
> business.... No joke I'm out of work soon because of it! "The chains
> MUST have cheaper prices cause they're chains." Bullshit. They'll beat a
> price all you have to do is prove that some salesman somewhere else gave
> you a certain price, and they'll match it or beat it. So the customers
> go to the independants and get the fair honest price, then they go to
> MARS and get it 5 bucks cheaper. Makes no sense to me, but it's how
> things are.
If I learned anything from watching "Nash Bridges" (other than the
fact that Don Johnson needs to quit smoking)
it's that in the Japanese language (and culture) there is a single
word which covers both the meanings of the two separate english words
"trouble" and "opportunity".
If a man goes to a doctor and say's "Hey doc, it really hurts me when
I try to twist my body into this horribly convoluted position. What's
your recommendation?" Does he really need to be there?
Don't even attempt to compete with the big chains on points you know
that your gonna get clobbered on (like price and volume), unless your
just looking for an excuse to fail. Instead, concentrate on customer
service. People crave to be shmoozed, coddled, cared for, and loved.
If you do this, you will dominate. -Danny
--
<<<GET BLITZED!!!>>>
http://home.flash.net/~blitz/tunes.html
AMD450- MIDI- MIC-&-BALLS!
Patrick
longer patronize the MEGA-stores. Instead, I've found a local guitar
shop(Splawn Guitars) and I patronize them.
In fact, I just took a guitar their to be set up and I couldn't
believe how Scott Splawn bent over backwards to make sure I had
exactly what I wanted.....I'd never get that with a MEGA chain store!
If anyone lives in the Charlotte, NC area, they aren't too far away.
Heck, they even have the ultra elusive and very amazing ENGL
amplifier. Their web address http://www.splawnguitars.com/
Hope this helps,
Patrick
stra...@my-deja.com
Yeah, but he initially was trying to sell something $70 higher then
street value (yes, street value, I bet you could have gotten near that
price from another dealer as well). in any case, if this asshole has
huge markup, don't you see a warning light?? I stick to my remark- go
to the guy that has a consistent fair price. I bet you will too next
time.
If the difference is less then 10% I usually go local. Or try to go
the other way around like some else mentioned. i.e. get the local
closer enough to the giant's price.
I'm also into the boo-teek thing (pedals/amps) these days, so I'm either
buying from a small shop directly, or going to a small dealer via mail
order that carries (or middle man's) the hand made products. I rarely
buy things at guitar center, unless I need something in a pinch the
night before a gig like a mic cable etc. I get depressed with all the
new mass produced amps/guitars/pedals. So you may call this snobbery,
but I am supporting small shops (not usually local) but just in a
different way.
In NJ where I live, if I walked into a small store and asked if they had
Dr. Z or Fulltone stuff they'd look at me like I had three heads and
say, no but we have crate and danelectro right here, sir.
I was talking to a local dealer, and he said can't [realistically] carry
fender guitars anymore because he can't get them for the price that GC
gets them about 10 miles down the road. They are going full hilt into
the kid market with korean washburns, mini dano pedals, and crate stuff.
I have no problem with that, if I was a kid I would have flipped out
over that $19 pastrami overdrive pedal. But I'm at a different stage in
my life now, and I have to rely on the internet to get the stuff I like.
I don't want to dis Ma and Pop, but they either have to go the kid route
like the dealer I spoke to did. Or go "boutique" way which takes a
little more expertise and risk, and you have to supplement with web
sales I'd imagine. The middle or mixed route is fine until a GC mega
store pops up down the road.
In article <902v4c$pe0$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
Chris Meissen
>news:Xns8FF96B7DCralp...@204.186.201.11...
>: First off I wish to apologize for the many crossposts but I am SO furious
>: with this company that I want EVERYONE who's considering purchasing gear
Have you contacted your credit card company to contest/cancel the
charges? A charge-back to zzounds.com just might get their attention.
Tom Plunket
> If the difference is less then 10% I usually go local. Or try to go
> the other way around like some else mentioned. i.e. get the local
> closer enough to the giant's price.
This works more often than some might think. When it's starting
to look like it's not working, remind the dealer that you can
either buy it from them and give them SOME profit, or buy it from
someone else and give them ZERO profit.
A local guitar shop that I used to go to did that. They'd match
Musician Friend's catalog price. He told me straight up that
he'd rather have the sale than not; he can always get another one
of the things that he's sold to me.
Unfortunately, he closed down the shop- got bored he told me.
The other shop wouldn't budge on price, and I told them straight
out that if they wouldn't sell me a POD for $315 (they were
listing it at $335) that I was going to buy it from MF. They
wouldn't budge, and next weekend at yet another store I saw it
for $295...
Some stores just get the clue. Others may never. Some that sit
the fence may see the light with a little suggestion. Give it a
shot; supporting the local business is always a good idea
(especially when you need a mic cable the day of a show where
mailorder won't cut it).
Meatpup553
Hey man, that's really hard work. The job entails WAY more book keeping and
"special preference" BS than it did back in the day.
the_tro...@my-deja.com
equipment snob as well (I used to build amps for Budda; Jeff Bober's a
good friend). For that type of stuff, and things that are really hot-
sellers, you won't find a lot of room for bargaining with most dealers.
If the things are flying out of the door as fast as they can stock
them, they've no real motivation to dicker on price, which was why the
hugh price-break on the Head Rush was so tempting. At the time, few
stores even had them in stock, those who did sold them at the higher
price (or even higher). Zzounds actually had the thing in stock,
offered to beat the best price I could find *and* get the thing in my
hands faster (the other store with the price break was on the left
coast, and charged a big premium for shipping and handling). I took
them at their word, which I'll never do again (since I won't deal with
them again). Bottom line, in my book you're only as good as your word.
Zzound's word ain't worth spit. To paraphrase that great hero of the
silver screen, Al Pacino's "Scarface" character: "A man has his balls
and his word; he shouldn't bust either one of 'em for anybody...."
peace,
jb
In article <90647r$d3s$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
stra...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
>
> Yeah, but he initially was trying to sell something $70 higher then
> street value (yes, street value, I bet you could have gotten near that
> price from another dealer as well). in any case, if this asshole has
> huge markup, don't you see a warning light?? I stick to my remark- go
> to the guy that has a consistent fair price. I bet you will too next
> time.
>
> If the difference is less then 10% I usually go local. Or try to go
> the other way around like some else mentioned. i.e. get the local
> closer enough to the giant's price.
>
stra...@my-deja.com
That's cool, I have to admit I've done that myself, and probably been in
every scenario that's been mentioned in this thread depending on my
mood, or previous purchase experience. Forget about ZZ and dealerX for
a minute. On you're next purchase if you were talking to dealerC and
dealerD and got in the same scenario, would you go for the high
markup-then-undercut guy? Is that caveat emptor(sp?)
Thinking about changes of attitudes based on prior experience....
I remember being really mad at stores back in the pre-grunge "hair
metal" era. There used to be some real dick heads working at a big
dealer near me (Sam Ash, Edison NJ) and there was no guitar center out
here at that time. So, if I said, well this product is not for me, the
smart-ass sales rep would snicker and say. Sorry dooood, too bad you
don't know how to use it (he really said that). And back when the only
battery wah was a dunlop, I asked this other guy there, do you have the
"hot potz" replacement for the dunlop. And because he had never heard of
the part, he got an attitude and laughed at me. I was in a bluegrass
phase then, so I also asked for banjo strings, and this guy had a belly
laugh right in front of everyone. I am not kidding! That was the
attitude pretty much in that whole place.
I did get that guy back, a few minutes later- a girl that worked at the
guitar parts counter, she wasn't particularly nice but knew her shit...
I asked her, Gina do you have the hot potz and she reaches under the
counter slaps it down and slides it over to me. The dick head Winger
boy's face was tight!
So for a while I was on a vendetta, and would only buy from mail order
catalogs, and after I cooled down, I'd go in there with a musicians
friend catalog in my back pocket :-)
B U T N O W, there are guitar centers surrounding them: a few miles to
the north and one nearby south, and a Mars soon to come. So now you
walk in there, and a maitr'd bows and receives you and asks if you had a
nice day, then directs you to the department of your choice. The
people in the guitar dept, no longer have valley boy lingo, and even the
ones into today's scene are pretty nice to deal with.
So competition does raise the bar on customer courtesy.
This doesn't really say anything about the local mom and pop shop, but
like I mentioned below. The mom and pops do entry level stuff around
me, and make their dough on kids taking music lessons.
Sorry about pontificating, but it really does feel good to get this
stuff out- and thousands of people (even some that shop in that store,
and remember the attitude days when our Sam Ash was the only giant)
could be reading this.
Pontification over.
I have another thing to consider: I was just thinking how after the
browser was invented. Alot of this stuff became a non issue for me. I
do all my research up front, and usually know a heck of a lot more then
any floor salesman.
So If I go on an independent music store's website, like 48st guitars
dot com, or chapin guitars dot com and read their gear write ups, specs,
listen to their sound bytes. And then buy local, is the moral issue
reversed??
In article <9088ds$3eq$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
the_tro...@my-deja.com
my purchases come from a mom & pop store. Other than patch cords and PA
speakers, etc they come from the small shop. I've a couple of really
good friends who work at the local Guitar Center. I deal with them only
if I've need of electric guitar gear. As for the poodle-haired know-it-
alls who permeated the 80's, I told 'me to piss off. I built the damned
amps they read about in magazines and memorized the stats on. When
their amps blew up they brought 'em to me to fix. Tweaks and mods were
my thing. I'd hotrodded Marshalls that sounded better than anything
they had for sale in their shop. I reality all of this really didn't
add up to a rat's ass, but they didn't know that. It did keep
their "holier than thou; I'm a genious and you don't know squat"
attitudes at bay.
These days, with all of the info available, you'd think the floor
salesman would be more up on gear. Quite the opposite; they learn when
their customers come in asking for cool gear they know nothing about.
Fo figure.....
jb
In article <909ath$233$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
StratKat
in with them.
I was looking at the trace elliot bass heads and cabs and decided to
print out all of the items and mull them over. The next night i ordered
a head. 1 hour after i made the order they raised the prices on the
cabinets 150 bucks! I had thought i may be able to gather enough money
to buy a cab that week and perhaps it was just a coincidence. But, ive
run into others who have noticed the same thing. Its as if they are
monitoring what pages and items are being looked at the most and then
raise the prices as soon as an order comes in so if you decide to "add"
something else to the existing order they make a little more profit. A
ftriend of mine i mentioned this too tested my theory. A week later he
orderd a head and the cabs went up again in the span of two hours.
Coincidence?
Anyway, i canceled my order and gave the above reasons for it. They sent
an automated reply indicating the order was terminated but no "real"
person ever got in touch with me.
Zzounds WAS a sponsor on the FDP for awhile but emails ive gotten from
other guys around that site (after mentioning it on another site and a
couple NG's ) led me to believe this is a standard practice at Zzounds.
The only good thing about all this crap is that they will eventually go
out of biz. But it shocks me that they are owned by HC. Ive had a couple
problems with HC but they made good on them immediately when i notified
them. Either they are not aware of what Zzounds is doing or they dont
think the association with HC will be made by most of us.
Robby
Website: http://www.StratKat.20m.com
Gear pics: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=194259
Lessons: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=194259&a=9462000
Favorite Site: The F.D.P. http://www.fenderforum.com
maxx...@my-deja.com
Tim
CompUser
<maxx...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:90b102$7n4$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> So zzounds sucks, right?
from all the folks who responded with negative
experiences, it sure zzzounds that way.
Steve