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"On 9/15, I sought to purchase a Perterson Stroboclip from this store. Having had a good experience with the "Easy Pay" plans offered by American Musical and Zzounds, I opted for the "3 Easy Payments" option at checkout. Minutes later, I was contacted by a "Sales Engineer" and informed that they were declining my request for "3 Easy Payments" on a $70 item. Keep in kind that this is essentially a request for $46 and change in credit. Did they REALLY pull my credit report for $46 dollars, and if so, what did they find that discouraged them so? Worse, after calling and e-mailing, I was unable to get anyone from their credit dept. to contact me with an explanation.
Mystified, I did some research into Sweetwater and found that their financing is arranged through a company callled GE Money. Despite what it's name suggests, GE Money is wholly owned by a European multinational conglomerate called Santander. Further research reveals that Santander is widely considered an abusive and predatory lender. The BBB has assigned them a grade of "F", and has logged over 2100 complaints on Santander in the previous 12 months.
While this info does little to explain why I was not approved for a $46 dollar line of credit, I may have dodged a bullet by avoiding contact with this company.
Deal with Sweetwater and Santander at your own risk, or better yet, shop with AMS or Zzounds."
"I've dealt with many companies in my 73 years,but never had a better experience dealing with them. From before the sale to after delivery,a technical person,(Greg Savino)was on hand to answer any questions,or handle any problems that I encountered,(Didn't have any).Great company to deal with!! "
"Carson McClain at Sweetwater has become my "go to guy" for all my sound and keyboard equipment needs. I've been shopping with Carson & Sweetwater for several years now, and I've never been disappointed!"
"I was new to the music industry and didn't have any technical knowledge concerning the product I was looking for, I just knew what I wanted the product to do. The sales rep at sweetwater was extremely helpful and explained different options in different price ranges. I compared prices and found that Sweetwater's prices were very competitive, usually the cheapest, and the shipping was very fast."
"Sweetwater Rocks! We have purchased a keyboard and several sound system components from Sweetwater. I have never experienced such great, personal, detailed customer service and follow-up in all my years of dealing with sales organizations. Sweetwater is about more than the sale, they work hard to see that your needs are met. They called me after the sale to be sure that delivery was prompt (which it was), and that everything worked well. We had one piece of equipment that had a problem with the power switch, and Sweetwater immediately shipped another unit and included a prepaid return postage kit. I could only be more pleased if they gave the products away for free!"
"They are much more professional as some other on line retailers who I will not name because you most likely already know who I mean. Sweetwater does what they say they will do and they (the staff) are much more helpful than most. And they follow through with all details and are speedy. In addition they advise you ahead of time if there is any specific issue that should be of concern"
"Started purchasing from Sweetwater a little over a year ago. I am now a dedicated customer and fan. The support of my Sales Engineer Mark is professional, friendly, personal and right-on. I started with a Strat, bought two amps and some pedals, just the other day I bought my PRS 305 and it was the best guitar I ever, ever, owned. Mark was often times making suggestions (and good ones!). He never made me feel I was being "sold" to, rather that I was a valued customer and my business and my satisfaction was important to him and Sweetwater. The Sweetwater follow-up was very well done and I have recommended Sweetwater to my friends. With absolutely no reservations I am saying it is the best place to do your business. "
"All my dealings with Sweetwater have been great. I have purchased a lot of gear through other companies over the years but none come close to the price, free shipping and great tech support. I don't feel the need to go anywhere else. Best Regards Kevin Sharar sonicinfluencerecording.com"
"I lost my entire recording studio to the F5 tornado that swept through Joplin Missouri on May 22 2011. I contacted my Sales Engineer (Mark Bruhn) at Sweetwater while I was living in a hotel with my wife and two dogs and looking for a place for us to live. I explained how everything I had was gone and would have to start from scratch once again. I also explained that I had way too much on my plate to spend time researching new technologies and products but had to get back to work again. Mark shared his relief that my family was safe and assured me that Sweetwater Sound would take care of me. He called me a week later with an equipment list that not only fit inside my insurance settlement budget but also met all of my needs and then some. To make a long story short I finally found a location and placed my massive order that filled a 3 room studio. Two days later the boxes started arriving and I think it finally hit me in just how well I was taken care of when I turned on my new reference monitoring system in my Engineering room and the most beautiful blend of sound filled my newly equipment production environment. Every detail from the bottom drawer of my recording desk to the fret size of my guitars was hand picked selected and inspected to meet my needs in this new dual Pro Tools equipped studio. What a blessing to have a company I can trust when I literally needed someone to make all of those decisions on my behalf. I just couldn't ask for a better process and end result. Amazing! "
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posted Sep-12-2011 
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"I\u0027ve dealt with many companies in my 73 years,but never had a better experience dealing with them.<br>From before the sale to after delivery,a technical person,(Greg Savino)was on hand to answer any questions,or handle any problems that I encountered,(Didn\u0027t have any).Great company to deal with!!<br>","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/864907#comment864907","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"DanNovak","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"Carson McClain at Sweetwater has become my \u0022go to guy\u0022 for all my sound and keyboard equipment needs. I\u0027ve been shopping with Carson & Sweetwater for several years now, and I\u0027ve never been disappointed!","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/860281#comment860281","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"GerenM","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"I was new to the music industry and didn\u0027t have any technical knowledge concerning the product I was looking for, I just knew what I wanted the product to do. The sales rep at sweetwater was extremely helpful and explained different options in different price ranges. I compared prices and found that Sweetwater\u0027s prices were very competitive, usually the cheapest, and the shipping was very fast.","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/859549#comment859549","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"tball301","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"Sweetwater Rocks! We have purchased a keyboard and several sound system components from Sweetwater. I have never experienced such great, personal, detailed customer service and follow-up in all my years of dealing with sales organizations. Sweetwater is about more than the sale, they work hard to see that your needs are met. They called me after the sale to be sure that delivery was prompt (which it was), and that everything worked well. We had one piece of equipment that had a problem with the power switch, and Sweetwater immediately shipped another unit and included a prepaid return postage kit. I could only be more pleased if they gave the products away for free!","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/859249#comment859249","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"baxstanley","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"They are much more professional as some other on line retailers who I will not name because you most likely already know who I mean. Sweetwater does what they say they will do and they (the staff) are much more helpful than most. And they follow through with all details and are speedy. In addition they advise you ahead of time if there is any specific issue that should be of concern","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/857091#comment857091","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"NeilAlvin","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"Started purchasing from Sweetwater a little over a year ago. I am now a dedicated customer and fan. The support of my Sales Engineer Mark is professional, friendly, personal and right-on. I started with a Strat, bought two amps and some pedals, just the other day I bought my PRS 305 and it was the best guitar I ever, ever, owned. Mark was often times making suggestions (and good ones!). He never made me feel I was being \u0022sold\u0022 to, rather that I was a valued customer and my business and my satisfaction was important to him and Sweetwater. The Sweetwater follow-up was very well done and I have recommended Sweetwater to my friends. With absolutely no reservations I am saying it is the best place to do your business. ","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/854509#comment854509","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"FourDown","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"All my dealings with Sweetwater have been great. I have purchased a lot of gear through other companies over the years but none come close to the price, free shipping and great tech support. I don\u0027t feel the need to go anywhere else. <br>Best Regards<br>Kevin Sharar<br>sonicinfluencerecording.com","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/853644#comment853644","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"sonicinfluence","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"I like Sweetwater really. Contact is great, pricing also. Absolutely no complaints.","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/850621#comment850621","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"iHeini","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"I lost my entire recording studio to the F5 tornado that swept through Joplin Missouri on May 22 2011. I contacted my Sales Engineer (Mark Bruhn) at Sweetwater while I was living in a hotel with my wife and two dogs and looking for a place for us to live. I explained how everything I had was gone and would have to start from scratch once again. I also explained that I had way too much on my plate to spend time researching new technologies and products but had to get back to work again. Mark shared his relief that my family was safe and assured me that Sweetwater Sound would take care of me. He called me a week later with an equipment list that not only fit inside my insurance settlement budget but also met all of my needs and then some. To make a long story short I finally found a location and placed my massive order that filled a 3 room studio. Two days later the boxes started arriving and I think it finally hit me in just how well I was taken care of when I turned on my new reference monitoring system in my Engineering room and the most beautiful blend of sound filled my newly equipment production environment. Every detail from the bottom drawer of my recording desk to the fret size of my guitars was hand picked selected and inspected to meet my needs in this new dual Pro Tools equipped studio. What a blessing to have a company I can trust when I literally needed someone to make all of those decisions on my behalf. I just couldn\u0027t ask for a better process and end result. Amazing! ","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Sweetwater_Sound\/comment\/848696#comment848696","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Sweetwater_Sound.jpg","store_name":"Sweetwater Sound","username":"datartar","rating":"5"}, "single");){kind=link}
"On 9/15, I sought to purchase a Perterson Stroboclip from this store. Having had a good experience with the "Easy Pay" plans offered by American Musical and Zzounds, I opted for the "3 Easy Payments" option at checkout. Minutes later, I was contacted by a "Sales Engineer" and informed that they were declining my request for "3 Easy Payments" on a $70 item. Keep in kind that this is essentially a request for $46 and change in credit. Did they REALLY pull my credit report for $46 dollars, and if so, what did they find that discouraged them so? Worse, after calling and e-mailing, I was unable to get anyone from their credit dept. to contact me with an explanation.
Mystified, I did some research into Sweetwater and found that their financing is arranged through a company callled GE Money. Despite what it's name suggests, GE Money is wholly owned by a European multinational conglomerate called Santander. Further research reveals that Santander is widely considered an abusive and predatory lender. The BBB has assigned them a grade of "F", and has logged over 2100 complaints on Santander in the previous 12 months.
While this info does little to explain why I was not approved for a $46 dollar line of credit, I may have dodged a bullet by avoiding contact with this company.
Deal with Sweetwater and Santander at your own risk, or better yet, shop with AMS or Zzounds."