Buying on the internet!

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='RhysP' post='552952' date='Jul 27 2009, 05:55 PM']Buying anything privately if you haven't got much knowledge or experience of musical gear (or anything else for that matter) is asking for trouble. I know a guy in Cardiff that paid serious money for a secondhand Rick 4001 and didn't even know it wasn't supposed to have a bolt on neck; he just saw the Rickenbacker nameplate that had been put on it bought it.[/quote]

I rest my (bass) case.

[Grassie]

As someone who lives on the Isle of Wight, this subject is right up my alley (steady on...). We have one decent music shop here, and I have bought my last three basses from this particular place, with no problems whatsoever. However, this shop is very small, with a very limited stock in terms of the "big" names (Fender, Gibson, Ernie Ball, Lakland, G&L, blah blah blah...). Most of their stock is budget to mid-range, which includes some Squires, Cort, some of those Rickenbacker copies, but also some excellent used gear. Each time I've gone to this place with the intention of buying a bass, I've come out with pretty much what I went in for, but this is down to great timing on my part. I'm now looking to change my main gigging bass again, but the internet is looking like a good bet for what I want because if I want a Spector or a Warwick or a USA Fender, I'm going to have to get in my car, pay one of the ferry operators a small fortune to get myself and my car off the island (and back again), in which case I can kiss goodbye to around £50 for the pleasure, just because my local shop can't shift big budget basses quickly enough to make a decent profit. It's not their fault, but if I've got to fork out before I've even tried a bass out (and there is no guarantee I'll want to buy it, even if I have tried it) then it's money wasted. Internet shopping is killing local shops off for sure, but for someone like me, then this route is a bit of a godsend, because I can research the instrument to my heart's content on places like Harmony Central, hear what it sounds like on Youtube or Myspace, then look at sellers profiles on ebay or wherever. Then, if I get an instrument that is a dog, I'll just send it back, which is what I would do if I went down to Manson's or up to the Bass Centre and bought a bass which seemed fine in the shop, but sounded crap through my rig. Stick with established dealers, or someone with 100% feedback and you can't really go wrong. If they can't spell guitar (the amount of times I've seen "gitar"...) or have poor quality pictures, or even bad spelling and grammar, steer clear...

[skankdelvar]

As mentioned above, one of the problems with real-world stores is that most (exc specialists like V&R) don't seem to do interesting s/h stuff anymore.

Like many people, I buy all my consumables (strings, picks, components) from online stores or off the bay. Recently, I've got most of my guitars, fx and amps off BC, because you often get the chance to try before cash changes hands. It's better value for money and you get to meet nice people.

So the shops lose out all round. Which is a shame.

Edited July 28, 2009 by skankdelvar

[Adrenochrome]

Online for me. I can't afford not to use the massive savings.
The last 3 new basses I bought weren't setup by the shop, even though they said they would when I placed my order. Nothing lost by buying online for me.

[Starless]

The 'advantage' of try before you buy in a shop just doesn't cut it for me. Over the last few years I have chopped and changed instruments quite a bit. As a long standing Rickenbacker user I had tried the occasional P and J bass in shops over the years, and just didn't fancy them at all. Getting back into gigging last year meant I had to decide whether to cart £1500 worth of Rickenbacker (x2 if taking a backup) or get something cheaper. I read up on the subject of Fenders and bought a used Jap Jazz online at a great price. Sure enough the first couple of hours were not great, but I kept the bass and over the weeks and months finally 'got it'. It's now my number one instrument and the Ricks have been sold (funnily enough online for great prices).

The moral of the story for me is that trying a bass in person at a mate's house or in a shop for a couple of hours is really not enough time to decide. If I had strapped my fretless P on and only doodled around for a bit, I would have handed it back there and then. But again, because I had bought it, I held onto it and it too is now 'un-put-downable' for me.

I look at buying online as effectively hiring the instrument. If after 3 months it is still not floating your boat then sell it again - a decent enough instrument will have pretty much held its value (or in some cases increased), and even if you do take a slight loss, then that can be considered the 'hire fee' while you've had it.

I would never make a decision on a bass in a shop, so with far more choice out there on t'interweb, it makes sense to me to buy that way and then sell on later if necessary.

[lemmywinks]

It was the opposite for me, i tried a Rockbass Corvette in a shop and thought "wow, nice neck!". Had a quick play on it and was so impressed at the quality and range of sounds it could do that i ordered the German Warwick version there and then (for £150 more )

[karlbbb]

I've always (bar one) bought all my stuff online. I don't particularly spend a lot anyway, and I'm one to agree that half an hour in a shop is enough to know if you'll be comfortable with the bass. I never keep basses for long and usually go for budget basses so I'm willing to take the risk. As a plus, I've never been very uncomfortable with a bass, i.e. I can pick up most and just play. It of course takes me a while to get fully "comfortable" with the bass, but never had a problem ever with initial feel.


Maybe it's because I've never had a bass set-up/played a set up bass. *gets coat*.

[crez5150]

Go to you tube and type in bargain bargain not in stock........

[iamapirate]

Go in the shop, get some service and try it out, put a £20 note in the guy's top pocket, and then buy online.

[Marvin]

Went into LMS yesterday. Actually got some gear I'd been looking at on the internet cheaper in the shop. Quite busy in their as well, and the staff, cannot fault them. Their was a young chap in their buying his first guitar (he must of been only 11) and the staff went through everything with him. Obviously they slipped up a little because they let him buy one of those 6 string affairs that make that horrible squeaky noise.
This is then the catch 22. Are we to be selfish and for the sake of £10 buy online or support LMS, because let's face it when they get it right a LMS is a lot better than the internet i.e for those just starting out. What do we do?

[lemmywinks]

If you've got a good LMS that's decent, honest and not too pricey then you're in an enviable position. We're fast running out of those where i live. Most seem to be opportunists now, displaying stock with no price tags and making prices up on the spot based on how much they think they can get out of you.

I showed a lot of loyalty to one shop in particular (about £3,500 woth of loyalty) only to be repaid with botched repair jobs, ordering incorrect items and refusing to take them back (cos i didn't have the original carton the cab came in) and ripping off a few of my mates.

[Marvin]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='557042' date='Jul 31 2009, 12:50 PM']If you've got a good LMS that's decent, honest and not too pricey then you're in an enviable position. We're fast running out of those where i live. Most seem to be opportunists now, displaying stock with no price tags and making prices up on the spot based on how much they think they can get out of you.

I showed a lot of loyalty to one shop in particular (about £3,500 woth of loyalty) only to be repaid with botched repair jobs, ordering incorrect items and refusing to take them back (cos i didn't have the original carton the cab came in) and ripping off a few of my mates.[/quote]

In that instance I too would be off to the internet. My general rule with anything know is scr@w me over once I'll go elsewhere.

[Brave Sir Robin]

Some shops do 30 days returns. Best is not to rely on that though (you'd pay for shipping, and run the risk of damaging it).

I buy computer parts off the net with reputable shops (mostly overclockers.co.uk), but I'm a tinkerer. However, I would have bought my Samsung NC10 (netbook) quite happily from my local PC World (gasp), as it was the same price and it is more convenient for returns and customer support.

For me, no point saving a few quids going for ebay or some cheap online shop.

For trivial electrical appliances, I buy locally. Saves the hassle and cost just a little more.

All in all, it depends how likely the stuff is to break down and what customer supoort I can expect, how available it is, and how more expensive it is locally! For saving a few pounds, I would not bother with online.

[sdgrsr400]

Don't forget on the internet you are covered by the Distance Selling Regulations, which give you a cooling off period of seven days in which you can return the purchase in original condition for a full refund. See: [url="http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/distance-selling-regulations/"]http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources...ng-regulations/[/url]

One or two internet sellers try to weasel out of this mandatory obligation by saying "they will negotiate in the event of any dissatisfaction". That's bluff (though there are exceptions for a few things like sheet music and software which can be copied).

Know your rights!

[thodrik]

I always try and support the local shop in terms of buying strings, straps and pedals etc. If everybody bought online then shops would close which be shame, (well mostly be a shame, the music shop bashing thread could convince you otherwise!) But for the sake of a couple of quid I don't see the point and find the online thing more awkward;waiting for delivery, the long awkward process if it doesn't work right. Buying locally has the bonus of the product being there already. However, if the difference is more than £100 quid on an item priced between £200-800, then I'm liable to buy online.

Also, when it came to my main purchases, they have all been online (or at least discoverd online) but mostly because there was nowhere near to me that stocked what I wanted and since they were not registered dealers, they were not exactly going to order them in!