Cheap D'addario XL nickels (5 strings 45-130) on Amazon until end December

[police squad]

mine came, 2 sets in each pack

so I now have 6 new sets, which should keep me going for ages

[MichaelDean]

2 hours ago, basexperience said:

The ones I linked to are actually being sold in the Amazon D'addario shop, and the 3 sets I've had so far have all been legit.

It doesn't always mean that they're real though. Fakes would get in like this: Amazon get a delivery of D'addario strings from D'addario, they get unpacked into a container to be picked. I then set up a shop on Amazon selling "D'addario strings" and ship Amazon a box to store for me, they're dodgy but they have the same barcode so they get unpacked into the same container to be picked. You place an order from the D'addario store and then you get whatever it is that is pulled out of the container first. 

 

This scam used to be quite common with SD cards that would present as showing full capacity but it's a trick. Presumably, the margins were good on those. I don't know if they've gotten stricter with these things.

[neepheid]

20 minutes ago, MichaelDean said:

It doesn't always mean that they're real though. Fakes would get in like this: Amazon get a delivery of D'addario strings from D'addario, they get unpacked into a container to be picked. I then set up a shop on Amazon selling "D'addario strings" and ship Amazon a box to store for me, they're dodgy but they have the same barcode so they get unpacked into the same container to be picked. You place an order from the D'addario store and then you get whatever it is that is pulled out of the container first. 

 

This scam used to be quite common with SD cards that would present as showing full capacity but it's a trick. Presumably, the margins were good on those. I don't know if they've gotten stricter with these things.

 

 

I'm not understanding this - are you saying that a third party is able to inject dodgy stock into Amazon's stock that they sell under their name (so the listing reads "Shipper/Seller - Amazon" not "Shipper/Seller - A.N. Other") and are therefore responsible for the customer service?  I can't see how they would allow this.

 

[MichaelDean]

18 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

 

I'm not understanding this - are you saying that a third party is able to inject dodgy stock into Amazon's stock that they sell under their name (so the listing reads "Shipper/Seller - Amazon" not "Shipper/Seller - A.N. Other") and are therefore responsible for the customer service?  I can't see how they would allow this.

 

Yep. Amazon see it as a total bucket of that product, but know that company 1 have x amount of stock and company 2 have y and distribute payment based on which link to buy was pressed. Most people browsing Amazon aren't paying that much attention to who is shipping, they're just looking for the lowest price. I assume it's partly Amazon being "economical" (lazy) with where their stock is and trying to get stuff out as quick as possible.

[Bassman68]

All I know is that all the sets I’ve ordered from Amazon with this offer, have all had legit codes for D’addario’s players circle…boosting my points up spectacularly?

[MichaelDean]

Yeah, it sounds like these ones are fine. 

[Sean]

I’ve done the meths soak and it’s works even better than I hoped. It’s quite remarkable. I prefer them to new strings. All the zing and is back but they feel better than new! Brilliant! 

 

I wish I knew this years ago. 

[Skybone]

All the D'Addario's I've bought from Amazon have been legit.

 

At the moment, a 5 string set of Pro Steels is actually cheaper than the equivalent 4 string set. Go figure.

[Sean]

On 28/09/2025 at 13:58, Sean said:

Off I went to Home Bargains this morning and bought 2 x 500ml bottles of meths (£2.29 ea) and a large plastic tub with a lid (£1.29) and now I have 2 sets of EXL170BT coiled and soaking. I'll get them back on ready for Friday's gig and report back. 

 

Both sets back on now and it's magic. 

We'll see how long they last and whether it works a second time. 

 

So, this week I've saved 30% on strings and potentially doubled the life of them, which means an annual saving of a few bottles of wine, I suppose. Whatever, it's a win. 

[basexperience]

19 hours ago, Sean said:

I’ve done the meths soak and it’s works even better than I hoped. It’s quite remarkable. I prefer them to new strings. All the zing and is back but they feel better than new! Brilliant! 

 

I wish I knew this years ago. 

Haha, wicked! I've been telling people about this for years - picked the tip up a couple of *decades* ago and stopped boiling strings to switch to this, and it's so good! And yep, they kind of feel played in, but with all the zing you could want - my guess is, the stretch they've had has them at "comfortable playing tension", so they don't need playing in.

 

Such a cool trick, and it saves a fortune!

 

And it'll work great the second time around, and the third - at least. The only thing that happens is the paint deteriorates on the ball ends - but that's it. And thanks to the XLs not having any thread winding on them, the string tops always look good. Nobody can tell it's L'oreal (or whatever)

Edited 1 hour ago by basexperience