"For a company that sells through Amazon (the store front that I purchased through) this company has been nothing but a pain. I ordered a microphone that I needed quickly for a podcast I work for, and Musicians Friend (through Amazon) was the only place I could find this microphone. So I put in an order.

Shortly after... I received a notice that the item was backordered... so I waited a week and called again. Phone service told me that the item was in the warehouse... but wasn't ready to ship. So I waited TWO weeks, and called again. This time... it was ready to ship... but hadn't yet. It has been 'ready to ship' for 4 days now, and they tell me it will ship sometime this week.

This whole time... they've been blaming the delay on a 'warehouse move'. I couldn't be more frustrated and behind on my podcast schedule.

I WON'T be buying from them AGAIN."

"On June 26th I ordered a guitar set for my son. I was then sent an email that it would be backordered until July 27th. On July 6th I received an email that they had shipped the order and gave me a tracking number. They USPS never had any tracking data after 13 days, and I had not received the package. I contacted MF and they stated that the USPS had lost the package and had to wait until the 29th before they could refund or reship. On the 30th I contacted MF to see about the order and they said they could not reship or refund until 8-4 because they had to wait 30 days. I have called my Credit card company to dispute the charge. Their customer service is the worst I have ever experienced, and I think they send fake shipment notices so they can charge the credit cards to get the money sooner. I will never do business with them again. I found out Guitar Center has the same pricing and local support."

"This entire order has shyed me away from musicansfriend and I do not recommend anyone buy from them. I ordered on the 8th of July knowing that the guitar I wanted was backordered until the 15th. Closer to the 15th I get an email saying that it wouldn't be in until the 24th. I called the support lines to find out when it was shipping and the guy told me that he really didn't have a clue but that it could be the 24th. July 23rd came along and the order status changed to being packed. July 24th, still being packed. At about 9pm I called to find out if the guitar I had ordered nearly three weeks ago would ship out soon. The lady kindly informed me that it would be another 9 days and did not offer anything for my wait nor did she try and keep me from cancelling my order. Considering that by the time I recieved my guitar it would have been almost exactly a month since I ordered. The only explanation for this, they are moving warehouses. Moving warehouses does not mean that you treat your customers like crap. I'm urging the other people I know with current orders to cancel them and never shop there again. This is one online retailer I will not be using again.

Update:
After sending a letter to their management I was called during the next day (during the hours I said I could be reached) and spoke to a lady on the phone who appologized and agreed that it was just odd that it didn't ship. She offered me some compinsation for the wait period if I wanted to order from them again. I checked their site and the guitar is now $50 cheaper, plus the discount and ending up being about 2/3rd the initial purchase price so I did indeed re-order. She guarenteed me that this was only temporary and that there warehouse move will actually speed up orders when it's finished. We'll see how this last leg of the journey goes. "

"I will certainly not be doing business with this company again, and would not have done so had I found this site beforehand. More than anything else, customer service will either bring a customer back, or compel them to take their business elsewhere. In my case, it is the latter. When numerous CSRs can't come to the same conclusion following a multitude of phone inquiries, one can only surmise that either the CSRs are blatantly lying, untrained, or both. My most recent phone inquiry as to the status of my order finally resulted in the CSR supervisor relating, "We don't know when your order will ship." - obviously, not what I wanted to hear, but at least more honest than, "Your order will ship today." from the reps.

Being in the market for both PA and lighting systems, I had seriously considered Musician's Friend for these large purchases. I'm glad I gave them the opportunity to fail on a much smaller purchase.

At this point, I have doubts as when, or if, I will ever see my order."

"They sold me an opened, blemished item as new. I noticed the dents too late for the return period so now they won't do anything about it. I understand them not being able to do anything because of their policy but the fact that they would sell a b-stock item as new will prevent me from shopping with them again."

"Have had mixed results with MF. Bought studio monitors and had a great experience ($300 product). Then bought a simple $15.00 headphone extension and all of a sudden it was backordered, then they would advertise the arrival date, only to back it up again and again and yet a third time. Customer rep could only say "it will be here in the next couple of days". When I checked back, same story, with nothing but "I'm sorry" and refusal to upgrade to overnight shipping as a way to make up for it.

Disappointing."

"Ordered from them before and was very happy with prices, selection and prompt shipping. This time was no different. Ordered a direct box that was $10 cheaper than I could find anywhere else. It arrived promptly in excellent shape. I'm extremely satisfied with this company."

"I order often from Musician's Friend and find them always to be honest in pricing, shipment information, and order status. My last order was for an expensive, private reserve Gibson Johnny A guitar. It was delivered on time, in a good packing box, and arrived without damage an...get this...in tune!

I've ordered many items over the years from MF, and don't hesitate to recommend them to any and all musicians; especially for merchandise your local music shop doesn't carry."

"Do NOT buy from them when you want to receive your products within a few weeks. When I ordered on December 11, 2006, the online system stated that everything was in stock. Four days later, I checked the order online where it stated that the items are being packed. Since four days of packing is unusual, I called and then was told that a number of items were on backorder, i.e. merchandise would not arrive on time for Christmas. Apparently, their internet store is not updated in real time with warehousing information and the warehouse system is not updated in real time of new orders. As a result, even days after your order, you still do not know whether your order can be filled or whether other orders ahead of you will deplenish the stock... Archaic for a store that serves thousands of customers a day...
"

"Good prices and fast shipping. A bottle had spilled in the box during shipping, so I called and told the company. They immediately shipped me out a whole new order at no cost. Friendly customer service. Would recommend Musician's Friend to anyone. "

"Great prices, awesome selection of products, friendly customer service, and free shipping on most orders! The shipping speed of nearly a week to receive an order is fine with me, as I didn't even pay a cent for shipping fees. This is a great retailer, and I look forward to doing more business with Musician's Friend. Their weekly contest is a lot of fun, too! I highly recommend them!
"

"I bought a Snarling Dogs Blues Bawls Wah pedal from Musician's Friend, and I got a great price, and fast shipping. The pedal arrived quickly, and I found everything intact and together. The one thing I was displeased with was the packaging. The box that contained the pedal was snug against the packing box, and there was no protection between it. I also ordered the 9V adapter, which was in its proper box, but other than that, there was minimal protection, only a little bit of brown paper. I would expect better packaging on expensive electronics. Other than that one complaint, everything was fine, smooth transaction, confirmation email, everything arrived on time. I was quite satissfied overall with my transaction."

"Another reviewer has noted the poor packing that this vendor does with all items including high end equipment. I have received three guitars and othet misc. items that have been very poorly packed. The cheap thin cardboard box that each guitar came in does not do enough to protect the contents and one of the guitars was damaged as a result. The box had noticeable damage (holes punched in and crushed corners) and while MF was good about shipping a replacement it's still sad to see any instrument damaged from lack of care. I've got an amp on order and I hope UPS does not do a number on that shipment also. I know that they have free shipping on $99 + orders but I would gladly pay for a more sturdy box that could withstand the abuse that UPS does to shipments."

"Though there seemed to be a disconnect between the manufacturer and MusiciansFriend.com regarding the number of straps that were to be included in two sizes of a Lanikai ukulele bag, it all got worked out to my satisfaction. I called MusiciansFriend customer service after the receipt of two shorted orders. On both occasions the service response was prompt and accurate. I received the missing straps within the promised time frame.

Though I have no proof that they have checked their stock to make sure that each bag contains the advertised pair of straps, I have a hunch they have talked to Hohner (Lanikai) about the missing strap issue. The service person I talked to last seemed pretty sincere when she said that they were in error and they needed to investigate the stock they had on hand. A good response!

True, it wasn't a perfect shopping experience, but I didn't get any bad vibes and I'm inclined to give them a try again sometime in the future."

"Great customer service, very helpful and the order arrived before expected date."