"Like many on here I had very good experiences prior. I had purchase a guitar and additional items here and there with no issues. This changed recently though. I had purchased a BA108V2 1x8 Bass Combo Amplifier and got it for a good price. Everything seemed good through the purchase experience. I'd updated all my information with new billing, shipment, and payment methods and it showed that all changes were accepted. I waited for a few days and the day came when it was to be delivered. That day passed, so I logged in to see where it was and to my surprise it said delivered. I checked with my apartment office to see if they had signed for it, but no luck. So I called guitar center and was told that it was accidentally, delivered to an old address. So, I asked what we do from here. The customer service rep told me he opened a ticket to have UPS go and get the package and that the package would be sent back to Musician's Friend and a new one would be sent to me. So I said ok. I waited for a few days and hadn't heard anything so I called musicians friend back and was told that the return was being worked and to call them back in a few days. So I did, which brings me to today, July 8th. I called customer service and was told UPS wasn't able to retrieve the package, but I was welcome to go try to get it back from the address. I explained that this was not my problem that all my information had been updated so I didn't feel it was fair or safe to send me to a house to try to get this back, especially one withholding a delivery. The girls response, well you ordered it online so that kinda makes you liable. I said I didnt understand how this was the case and she responded with nothing other than, I'm sorry we weren't able to help you. Save yourself some time, don't but from this vendor. Check out places like sweetwater.com or buy local. Savings isn't worth the gamble, that things may or may not go right with your order. "
"They sent me the wrong item twice. Finally have been promised a refund from someone who sounds professional, after weeks of mix-ups and mistakes. Best not to order major purchases from these guys. (Probably fine for accessories, etc...) "
"I bought two guitars from them. Both American Strats. Both had issues. They returned the first (which wouldn't stay in tune for even a few seconds), but as for the second one, they wanted me to pay return shipping and a restocking fee because I had a guitar tech try to fix the issue (sharp fret ends). I'm never buying a guitar online again."
"I have been working on guitars and tube amps for 20++ years, I bought a pickup from MF two weeks ago and installed it in a guitar the pickup was not working right, It was Intermittent, If you pushed on the pickup top it would work, if you removed your finger it would stop, so I called to let them know there was a problem and they told me I could not return it as I had done the work and I might of cut the pickup wires wrong. I have installed 100's of pickups and fixed tons of amps and built 10++ tube amps from scratch. What A Crock of ****, I will no longer be buying from MUSICIAN'S FRIEND. "
"I'm blown away after reading SO many very bad reviews! I've been dealing with MF for YEARS (since 1998 to be specific) and never had a bad experience with customer service or any of the items I've bought. My 2 most recent dealing for example: first, I ordered strings, a tuner and something else small. I noticed it was taking a while to arrive (which is very unlike MF to me) so I contacted them. They told me UPS made the delivery and left the box at my door (i hate that they do that btw). I told them I didn't get it so they have me a # to make a claim with UPS which I did. After a few days of no responses I called MF back. Without question or hesitation they refunded my money AND resent me my order!!!! Second, I was shopping for a Rickenbacker 4003 and came across an open box/blem 4003s for over $300 less than new so I took a chance, called and ordered it. Customer service was beyond excellent and helpful even waiting on the phone with me while saving the order for me while I was tranfering funds to make the purchase. The bass arrived WAY faster than I could've expected (only 5 days) and without paying extra! The bass was FLAWLESS! I swear I still cannot find a single thing wrong with it, not a scratch, ding or smudge to be found. All electronics and hardware work perfectly! I couldn't be any happier with my decision to buy this bass and all my other purchases with MF over the last 18 years! Sorry to read so many horror stories, guess I'm just one of the lucky ones.
Peace."
"I have had my one business dealings with Musicians Friend and WILL NEVER I repeat I WILL NEVER shop with Musicians Friend Again they are one of the worst people online ever. They tell a person with a brain injury to call when they are told of a speech problem. Being brain injured is bad enough but to be insulted too is just too much...never again."
"First off let me tell you I had a no hassle purchase in 2014 that went off without a hiccup. Now on 5/4/16 I purchased 2 software downloads first red flag I didn't pay attention that it's NOT instant download like everyone else it's delivered via email with a license key then you go to the manufacture and download the product. So it takes them 15 hours to send me my keys to said programs. I install the main program no problem the second key comes back invalid...... Mind you I have a brand new state of the art pc dedicated for recording first excuse is I'm having a hardware or driver conflict...... Um no sir I'm not new to this you sent me an invalid key.... Thier response well this could take up to 48 hours to figure out...... Note that today is the sixth it's been over 48 hours since my purchase. Then I get an email for a coupon so taking a chance I reply and explain I'm unhappy and would like this resolved.the response i got? "I haven't been in the office for 9 days and have just went through 200 emails ill look into it"
Ok so at this point I'm done being nice. It's not my problem for whatever reason you can't solve this issue in a timely manner as a customer i don't want to hear excuses solve the issue thanks.
Update 5/7/16 ok so my code miraculously works now no email no notification on it working. I had a mind to call them but ill wait and see if I get anything from them....... doubt it "
"I know a lot of people here had a terrible experience but I can only say that my one and only purchase experience went perfectly. I ordered a fairly big item (a piano bench) late into the work day. They shipped it out the next day and it got to me fairly quickly and in excellent shape. Maybe I got lucky, but they also had the lowest price (with 15% discount) and offered free shipping, so I was pretty happy!"
"Saw a guitar on their website (A Taylor) and ordered it. The next day i noticed my order sais "Cancelled"!! So i called and the rep told me they no longer carried that model and said they would give me $250.00 off their current model but i didnt like the current model at all. So i chalked it up as a Bad experience. Two days later i get an email stating that the guitar was in stock and ready to ship. Ok....mso confused i go onto MF website and there it is again as available and even had a serial number to go with it. So excited ounce again i order the guitar. The next day i got the same BS email saying it was cancelled. I call MF AGAIN and get the same BS as before!!! Saying its discontinued!!! This place is a freakin joke. Dont waste your time with this incompitent company!!!!"
"I have had a back ordered item for 6 weeks now - there response...We are at the mercy of the retailer. This is awful! I have only received 1 email from them asking me if I want a different product. At least have the decency and offer a future discount! Nope just oh well you are just going to have to wait. We have 200 back ordered items. BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!!
I wouldn't recommend them if you paid me! "
"Very dissatisfied with their customer service. They DO NOT stand behind their product. They sold us 2 reeds that did not work and the customer service rep said "well, some just don't work" - well then why do we still have to pay for them? They don't stand behind products they sell. I wanted to exchange for the same 2 reeds to see if it was a bad "batch" that we received. But they only offered $5.00 off! Will NEVER stop with them or recommend them again due to their poor customer service and not standing behind their products."
"I'm just not sure how a company like this stays in business. They cannot get anything right. Every shipment is wrong or simply never shows up. I wonder if MF is a scam. I've spent so much time calling them, trying to figure out where my orders are. Their "customer service" (haha) staff is clueless. I'll never buy from MF again, and cannot understand why anyone else would."
"THEY LIE AND RIP YOU OFF!
I ordered a set of recording mics and paid extra for 4 day expedited shipping so they would arrive in time for a weekend event I was recording. Paypal notified me within 30 minutes that my payment was waiting for Musicians Friend to ship.
Musicians Friend didn't even pack the order until 5 days later. UPS received it 7 days later.
I complained and Musicians Friend lied and told me that PayPal delayed my order. I sent them the PayPal approval and pointed out they were lying.
Then they said they would credit me for the expedited shipping charge but they never did.
They lie.
"
"I came across the reviews for Musicians Friend here, AFTER I had already ordered an open box synth from them. After reading several negative reviews with only the occasional positive review sprinkled in, I got a little nervous. Luckily, my experience turned out to be quite excellent.
I ordered my synth on a Friday morning around 8am est. I paid the 4.95 for express ground shipping, as the website stated that express orders ship out the same day as long as they are purchased before 5pm est. Come Saturday morning I still had yet to receive any type of shipping confirmation. All the negative reviews I read had me quite anxious so I went ahead and called MF customer service. I spoke with John who let me know that my order had not shipped Friday because my card was under a 24 hour verification delay. He offered to refund the 4.95 shipping charge, and assured me that my synth would ship out Monday. I received a shipping confirmation email later that evening. Knowing that Saturday isn't a business day, I didn't expect to see any kind of actual tracking info until Monday. My package showed up in Hodgkins, IL early Monday morning and left the IL hub later that same afternoon. I received my synth Tuesday, less than 24 hours after it left IL. Even if my package had left on Friday as I expected it to, I didn't think I would get anything until at least Wednesday or Thursday.
Although MF had exceeded my expectations shipping-wise, I was still nervous about the condition of the open box synth that I had purchased. I opened the box and was pleasantly surprised to see that my synth was physically brand new, and likely never used at all. The protective plastic still covered all the keys and screen, the power supply still sealed in it's original box, and after a thorough inspection I found no blemishes. I immediately plugged everything in and tried everything out. It works perfectly.
I got a brand new Dave Smith synthesizer for 450 dollars less than retail, and I got it in 2 business days. Needless to say, I am satisfied with my first MusiciansFriend.com purchase.
"
"Worst company ever!! I stay in Glasgow and couldnt find a local retailer with what I needed, ordered a 10" tom with Mucisians Friend and received a 13" so refused delivery which Ups told me to do and then the item is sent to germany and declared abandoned!! Ups wont deal with me but request that Musicians Friend contact them and pay for return shipment. They wont do this as it costs too much and so I have payed £150 for nothing!!! Im more than un-happy, dont ever use this company!!!!"