"I tried to buy a Recording King rd16. This model was discontinued but one was shown on the web site. They explained this to me and offered a newer model a Recording King rd06w. This company went out of their way to help me with this. I will again do business with this company Instrument Alley. They sre top notch. Will tell all the people that I perform with that they should use Instrument Alley for all their musical needs. One fine company. "
"I placed an order on 08/23/2012 using PayPal. For the first time since I started using PayPal (years ago) I wasn’t taken to the PayPal site to verify the payment. Instead the checkout page had this message.
If you have chosen PAYPAL as the payment method, an invoice will be sent to you shortly so you may make the PayPal payment. If your PayPal email is different than the email you provided, please email it to us at ****@****
Strange but true. I decided to change the payment to a credit card and was able to put that information in my personal profile in my account. I emailed them to explain what I did and why and asked them to use the credit card. I never received a response to my email but a few days later the order status changed from ‘processing’ to ‘ready to ship.’ For the next 5 days the shipping status didn’t change. At that point you have to wonder about the ‘in stock’ listing. Maybe they mean at the factory where it’s made.
On 8/28/12 I called them and as others have found you never get a human. First you get a minute of Hawaiian music (!) then voice mail. I left a message asking for an update on the shipping date. I never got a call back.
The next day I sent an email asking for a shipping update.
On 8/30/12 I received an email stating ‘Your order has shipped. (Order#: 25084 placed on 08/23/2012)’ I checked the tracking number and the Fed Ex system had no information. I checked again later that evening and it had indeed shipped.
Five days later I received the guitar as advertised, well packed with a really nice hard shell case.
So in summary;
I got what I ordered within 2 weeks as advertised.
They have the best prices on the web plus free shipping over $175, no tax, a very nice hard shell case was thrown in plus another 6% discount was available at checkout.
They also have, without doubt, the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. You will not be able to contact them by phone and they answer emails when the feel like it. You’re simply left in the dark. Whether or not you want to chance using them depends on your priorities and patience level. All I can say is I got what I ordered in a reasonable time in good condition at a great price.
"
"Ben at Instrument Alley provided exceptional service and the best pricing available.
Communication is good - may not get a reply to a phone message or email until the next day but every inquiry was answered and actions followed up upon to my complete satisfaction.
I am a very demanding consumer and will not hesitate in ordering from Instrument Alley in the future and of course making positive recommendations to my friends."
"I ordered a Minarik Lotus Studio X treme Guitar from Instrument Alley and can't express how pleased I am.
I have never in my whole life had such great customer service from an online music store. They beat everybody and I mean everybody in follow up and taking care of my needs! Ben was a pleasure to do business with and really went out of his way to make sure I was taken care of.
I have bought from all the big names but not anymore.
My money and my business is going with Instrument Alley and I am so glad I found them on the internet.
"
"Got the guitar and amp I wanted at a price far below everyone else, plus they sent me a free string wonder and an extra set if strings no charge. Ordered on 3/31, shipped on 4/3 and received on 4/6 so the turnaround time was pretty quick. The setup was ok, I had to tune it up and adjust the bridge a bit but it wa rockin in about ten minutes! Had to try the live chat to ask about the warranty registration and that worked pretty smoothly. I'd definitely shop here again. "
"I bought a guitar from them . The price was very competitive and the shipping to Hong Kong very reasonable.
The guitar arrived promptly,was well packaged and in perfect condition. It played well straight from the case and required no setting up.
The vendor contacted me personally to verify that my credit card was not being fraudulently used.
All in all a great service and I can thouroughly reccommend this vendor. "
"Not real happy with the way things worked out with this company. There are a lot of terms and conditions listed on the web site and a lot of fees for certian things. That's just their way of safeguarding themselves from people who try and waste their time. Overall its a legit company, but customer service is a bit lacking. Next to no communication unless you order something out of stock. They let you know that right away so you're not left in the dark."
"Scam Alert! Stay far away from these people! I ordered a guitar, guitar case, and four guitar straps. Terribly slow order fulfillment. Email only communication that they don't respond to. Finally after weeks of waiting order ships but is missing guitar straps I had ordered and been charge for! After many frustrating attempts to get it resolved they sent an email basically calling me a liar. In other words they said the straps were inside the guitar case but they were not there when I opened the shipping carton??? Somebody is lying alright and it's not me. Trust me, I've got better things to do than write raging reviews like this but hopefully I can prevent someone else from getting ripped-off like I did. I ended up buying the straps directly from the manufacturer.
So long story short: I GOT MUGGED IN INSTRUMENT-ALLEY!dot com. My advice is to not risk getting through that alley unscathed! Buyer beware! Low prices don't always equal the best value! Certainly not here anyway! "
"I was pleased with the customer service I received from Instrumentalley.com. They were prompt to let me know that the banjo I ordered at first was out of stock and worked hard to find something else in my price range. After changing my order I still had a banjo in two weeks time. I couldn't be happier with my Morgan Monroe Cascade from Instrumentalley.com. Thanks Ben for all your help. I would do business with them again."
"If you prefer having personal contact with the people from which you order, DO NOT order from Instrument Alley! You will never contact an actual person by calling their phone number listed. It will only go to an answering service and they WILL NOT call you back. The only contact you will have from Instrument Alley ('IA') is via eMail, that is, when they get around to returning your eMails.
With that stated, the remaining review: I ordered a mandolin package that was "In Stock". I placed said order 1/27/2012 and did not receive my shipping notification until 2/7/2012 (11 days later for an in-stock item?). I tried contacting 'IA' on 2/1 and 2/2, requesting any updates on my order. Finally, on 2/3 they replied via eMail, stating they were waiting for their shipment to arrive…again, for an "In Stock" item? If the item is truthfully in-stock, they would not need to wait for a shipment. If 'IA' would have been truthful from the very beginning, I would have a different image of their business practices.
Cons:
No personal contact – at all
Very poor customer service and poor business practices
Lack of truthful advertising and honesty to customers
Pros:
Pricing
Everything listed in 'Package' was included in shipment
Bottom line: If you are looking for the cheapest price, but willing to wait for shipment whilst not having timely contact with 'IA', go ahead and give this place a shot – But at your own discretion. Personally, I would rather pay a little more up-front and have greater piece-of-mind by ordering from a more reputable and trustworthy company, such as "Banjo.com" (only 9 and 10 ranked reviews at 'Banjo Hangout'!). Had I read the reviews of 'IA' first, I would not have ordered from them. Even though some have had positive experiences, there are more than enough complaints against 'IA' to make one weary. Sure, everything I ordered did in fact arrive, but I will not be a return customer to Instrument Alley – Not worth the hassle to save just a few bucks."
"Order took over a month to fill. Several estimated delivery dates missed. Item was flawed when received, was not ahipping issue. Instrument Alley failed to respond to inquiries regarding a return. I'll never do business with them again. It's Musician's Friend for me from now on. I never have these problems with them."
"KILLER SERVICE. Price for my VHT Special 6 Combo amp was cheaper than anywhere else. I ordered on Monday, received it on Wednesday. WOW! From my experience InstrumentAlley.com gets FIVE SOLID EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!! "
"very pleased ordered on thursday Dec 15 Recieved order on Dec.24"
"Received the resonator yesterday. It arrived in great shape, packaged very well, and received an extra set of strings which were a nice touch. Fast response to email communication. Very professional. Couldn't beat the price"
"got the guitar I ordered took two weeks, for a three day trip to get here, worst people I have ever dealt with, rude very unprofessional sales and customer service reps, I don't see how they stay in business. I told them to cancel my order since it was in processing for days on end but they never replied to me when I finally told them I was going to contact my visa co. they replied fast with they would not cancel it and if I returned it even unopened I would charged for shipping and restocking I see now how they make their money through ripping off people I would be very wary of these people the guitar is a good one but the hassle of getting it was not worth it, good luck to buyers
just got another email from the punk they call customer service rep typical coward that hides behind a computer but would never face a guy asking if I could read, only a moron would write to a person asking if they could read lol what a punk
e-mail from the tough guy at instrument alley :
Haha, you can't even write a sentence correctly. You are an intellectually
inept idiot. Next time you make a mistake don't try to blame someone else.
You are a childish individual. Good luck with life
"