"I bought an Ohana solid wood concert ukulele from Elderly Instruments this April which had become hard to find, probably due to the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese manufacturing. Elderly had one in stock, which I purchased. It showed up to my doorstep banging around inside a too-large mandolin box and had dings on the headstock, the kind usually seen on instruments out in a store. Sure enough, on the packing slip it indicated it was a showroom model, something not revealed on the website listing. The ukulele had wood marquetry binding, and some small pieces of this were missing from the end of the headstock. This was a graduation gift for my sister, and I did not have time to find a new one. I saw another instrument on their site which piqued my interest, another "last one in stock," and decided to inquire about it. I engaged salesperson Joel P. in chat and discovered that this too was a showroom model. This particular type of instrument was prone to certain kinds of damage, so I asked about that and was told that it was in "great condition." Not once did the salesman say it was in brand new condition, and he never gave me a straight answer about marks and dings, only saying that it wasn't worn and that it had a full warranty. He said they would entertain an offer, so I made one at 20% off retail, quite generous for something used and sight unseen. After being kept waiting 15 minutes, he came back with a 10% discount. I said it was acceptable if it included free shipping back to them if I wasn't satisfied, which he okayed. As I attempted to pay, he said he misread my terms and stated I would have to pay return shipping if not satisfied, which would be quite expensive on this large an instrument. I have purchased several instruments from Elderly in the past, but their business practices of late have prompted me to take my business elsewhere."

"I bought a 1940 Ricky lap steel from Elderly and the whole experience was perfect. I ordered it on 7 January and it was delivered to regional Australia (not a capital city) only 7 days later. The packaging was exemplary. The lap steel definitely exceeded my expectations, especially as it was sold "as-is."

I should also say that a couple of years ago I bought some rusty strings from them and they replaced them without question. Fantastic people to deal with and they can be trusted with international transactions. I'd definitely buy from them again. "

"Their selection is really overwhelming. It’s amazing that you can literally try out all the instruments of high value to see how they play etc. I bought my first higher end used Banjo at Elderly. I had recently had a couple guitars appraised thinking I might trade them in on a high end Banjo 4K or more. First off the dude that helped me was kinda rude, short/curt with me and hard to understand since he mumbled. He seemed annoyed this old guy was even bothering him. I know they need to leave room for a profit which I was willing to take a loss but because of the attitude. I declined any trade in. It’s odd if you do a consignment they charge you for a set-up fee but when I bought my Banjo they didn't do anything to it or even offer. It didn't even come with a Tone ring head key a $3 part. I had to have someone adjust everything so it played correct. I'd give them a 4star if it wasn't for the repair/appraiser dudes attitude. Maybe if I had some tats I might have gotten better service.? This won’t deter me from returning I just won’t trade or have anything appraised there.   That visit left me a little bitter. :(
"

"I've placed two separate for cases for my instruments that you most likely would not find anywhere else. Jeff Renton and the staff there helped me find exactly what I needed for both instruments. Of course, I also picked up a few other items, too, since Elderly Instruments has a great selection of books and accessories, again, that you may not find at most music retailers. My orders were well packed and actually arrived earlier than expected, both times. I will continue to do business with Elderly Instruments since they provide excellent selections of items and superb customer service."

"I bought an ESP M2 off of Elderly, and they shipped very quickly, and was told guitar was in good condition. When guitar arrived, I was extremely happy with the purchase. I talked to the friendliest person (Rauol)and he's the reason I bought from Elderly.. I will be a future customer...."

"This company is quick to hide behind technicalities and legal disclaimers. Customer service could best be described as "combative." Save yourself a potential headache and look elsewhere. These are NOT nice folks..."

"spoke with four people total regarding the description, condition, purchase, and shipping of my instrument..all were short, curt, unfriendly, apparently annoyed by my questions, unhelpful..
The instrument was not shipped as I requested, and paid for-Elderly was in no way willing to accept any responsibility for this.. very unpleasant experience overall.."

"Very happy with what I just got from Elderly instruments - and I bought online ! I recently bought a vintage 1966 Gibson SG from Elderly Instruments and, after going over it, Id say its in better shape than they described on the website. That tells me I can trust their descriptions of vintage guitars and that's really everything when buying vintage guitars, especially online. This is the first time I've bought from Elderly instruments although I have been browsing their online inventory for years. I will say this - I've noticed that elderly instruments seem to regularly price their vintage guitars on the high end of the range of the market. But trust is worth something in vintage guitars. If a vintage dealer is reliably picky about what they sell, I'm willing to pay something for that. BTW the guitar I just bought was not at all over priced, rather the opposite, but it was a consignment piece. "

"I'm trying to delete the review."

"I ordered an Gretsch g6121 from elderly. It was listed as EC+ (excellent condition) and all stock. After I ordered the instrument, I did some checking around at fender because the tuners on the guitar didn't match the stock specifications. I called back and the sales person, who was very helpful, went and opened the guitar for me and check it out. Long story short the guitar wasn't stock and it wasn't EC+. We agreed it was in good condition. The sales person said he talk with his manager and see what they would do. Here's were the story get interesting, the manager came back and quoted a higher price then what I paid on the instrument. Well, you can image the deal fall thru. As a customer, be very careful of elderly's quoted condition of the instruments and of there fluctuating prices. The instrument in question, in the condition it was in, was listed $400-600 above fair market value. Elderly didn't seem to care that they lost my business and didn't try to correct the mistake they made. I probably won't ever buy from Elderly again after this mishap. Given the money I was going to pay, I expected to be treated better."

"I ordered an AS IS classical guitar from Elderly. I received it fast, but they failed to mention that the case it came with, stated on the hang tag as ORIGINAL hard shell case, did not fit it and left quite a bit of space and no padding, as well as shed yellow fiber. Also the pickup did not work, even after being told it did. And the worst of all is the top, being deformed and no longer flat, domed outward below the bridge and a corresponding concave indention above. None of these problems were mentioned and condition was stated as excellent. I can get a full refund, minus nearly a hundred dollars in shipping, both ways, all because they refused to accurately describe, or outright lied, about the condition. If I had been able to try this in the store, I never would have purchased it."

"I bought about $24 of merchandise from them and was rather disappointed when one of the items I had purchased was cancelled because they ran out of it without even telling me about it. I sent them an email right away to see if I could get a different variation or a different product and they were rather nasty to me. They told me that I could always just buy it again on my next purchase and that they had already shipped the rest of my order. They could have at least asked me before hand what I wanted to do about it. I am not pleased and feel slighted. I will not buy here again. "

"I was nervous at first about ordering from this company since I usually order from larger companies. I'm very happy with the service and communication. Shipping was very fast. I ordered on Monday and received items today (Friday). One item was backordered and is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. I'm very happy with this company. All items arrived in excellent condition and I will definitely order from them again."

"I ordered a PRS guitar from these guys. They spent time with me on the phone and had plenty of pictures of the guitar on their site. I told them I was a picky customer when it came to buying guitars. They pulled the guitar and looked it over for me to make sure it was flawless. They set it up with my brand and gage of strings. It shipped out the next day and I had it very quickly. I was given a 48 hour period of time to check it out and let them know if I decided to not keep it. I fell in love with it and kept the guitar. It was everything they said it would be. I definitely trust these guys when it comes to purchasing from them. I have purchased other not so expensive items from them in the past. They always get me the right items in a quick amount of time.

A+ in my book"

"Placed order on the 14th. Got automated response on the 15th. No followup email that the order shipped. After 3 days I called to see what was up. On the phone I was told the order would ship on the 17th. I asked if I would get an email confirmation and was told "No". On the 22nd I got an email confirmation that they shipped the order. This was over a week after placing the order. and 5 days after they said they would ship it. I should have cancelled the order but I needed the item and believe them when they said they would ship it."