It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
The issue of a 14 day return is that it is seriously open to abuse - Yes we have to abide by it, but come on, does it seriously take 14 days to decide you either like or dislike it - On a one to one basis we try to ensure that both parties are serious and respectful to each other and we can handle any returns within an agreed period that is suitable to both parties
The other side to the coin is what are you expected to do with a returned guitar that was new when sent to you but is now 14 days old ? - Do we still sell it as new ? - Legally we are entitled to - Morally I somehow feel it is wrong - Been pedantic, the guitar has to come back as sold, so new showroom untouched condition - So no hint of a pick mark, graze, finger mark etc etc, so there is a safety get out option if someone wanted to take the proverbial and gig it for 5 nights
I'm only a small specialist retailer and not a volume box shifter of unchecked goods - If I have to abide by a legal 14 day return policy then I would have to do so, no matter if I like it or not - But I seriously try to minimize any issues before hand - Granted you don't get to know you'll like the guitar before you try it, but we all know it doesn't take 14 days to test drive it - And again respectfully it doesn't need to be gigged or rehearsed to determine it will do the job - An in store customer doesn't get that option to try live
I'm confident in most instances, that if both parties respect each other we could run a returns policy without the need of the letter of the law- Yet it is there to support both parties if required - Bottom line is I want and need customers to return another day and spread a good word, but you'll never win them all, ever - To be fair it will be easy for either party to take the proverbial but that is not what I am about - respect each other and avoid issues is a better policy IMO
I'm still unsure if I want to do it, despite it being my right.
The problem with trying in a shop is that it's a short time and the environment is unfamiliar so you can't compare the sound to what you're used to hearing and can't really have a proper play.
There's a company that sells glasses who send frames to try on then you send them back once you've decided which you like and they make that style for you. Could be good for guitars if they had an example guitar you could take away for a few days and if you don't like it at least it doesn't spoil the actual stock. Obviously it couldn't be too specific in the model, I'd be happy with "a les Paul" in my example, doesn't have to be specific.
My other option is to buy a second hand Epiphone just to see if I like the LP in general then I can sell it without much loss and buy a better one.
One thing I did notice on the official website was that if a retailer fails to inform you about your right to cancel during the purchase then you are entitled to return the item up to 12 months from date of purchase! Wtf?
Many of the big retailers seem to mark returned items as 'B stock', reselling them at a small discount. If the goods are returned in a not as new condition, Bax, for one, reserve the right to make a deduction, which is taken from the refund and also deducted from the 'B stock' price.
This seems to be a reasonable approach, as I think most people would be very happy to be charged 10 or 20% of the sale price for using something for a few weeks that they then decided they didn't want to keep, but by this point was obviously used, and plenty of others would be happy to buy a returned item for an equivalent discount, especially seeing as the warranty is the same. On the Bax site I have seen as many as 3 or 4 'B stock' items of the same piece of equipment, with a range of prices ranging from 'almost the same as brand new' to 25% off. Take your pick!
BTW I don't think this is a new thing and the word will spread, I think it's been in place for years and seems to work fine.
Still, I don't know if I would feel good about returning it myself. If something was significantly different than I expected it to be when I ordered it then I'd have no issue sending it back but that won't be the case, I have a good idea what the guitar will be like, I just don't know if I'll like it.
Joking aside, there is a guitar shop that I felt "done me" out of 50 quid a couple of years ago, I don't think I would feel so bad returning to them.
When confronted they just say well return it if you don't like it... they keep selling until they find someone timid enough to not return it.
If retailers want a share of online business then they have to respect the law.
Actually I'm pretty dissspointed to see some of the retailers pretending to have policies that don't follow the letter of the law. That is also trying to take advantage of their own customers and pressure them into a quick descicion.
many good stores will adjust the set up as required after talking to the customer - evaluate the guitar before hand - Every guitar is played and set up as required - talk to you about the purchase and I certainly feel this is more of a service than just a label on a box - Maybe many don't want this, but I have no intention whatsoever of going down the 'Amazon' box shifting approach - It is souless
Interesting thought - Like many other dealers I offer a commission sale option for customers - So let's assume it is now your used. but mint condition £4000 guitar that has now been sent out on a mail order transaction - I pay you when sold and I might not know when that is - Might be 14 days or so - Then it might come back and we all hope it comes back with no additional grazes - How would you feel about your guitar been sent out on trial for 14 days ?
if you need to ask the question if it is morally acceptable to use the distance selling rules just to try out gear, then you really have answered your own question.
Marks policy of ensuring the customer is happy before the sale is the most common sense approach.
Waiting 14 days before deciding to send a guitar back is abusing the guidelines rather than using them.
Spent half hour dinner hour yesterday in asda picking 12 bottles of wine labelled 6 for £25 on numerous shelves..
got to the till and the mrs checked the cashier honoured the offer. the cashier told her the offer ended monday!. This was on wednesday.
The Mrs went nuts as we were surrounded by shop staff removing the bottles from our trolly. It was embarrassing and we asked to see the manager. The girl with the radio said shes spoken to the manager and the offer is finished.
My Mrs told her she wants to speak to the manager herself. Shop staff moved on and she was left waiting. Manager couldnt be contacted. tossers. I wonder how many people bought bottles of this wine and not checked their receipts at the till. I thought if they had it on display and labelled as a sale price then they should honour it.? ASDA.
ie. online they can say no at the checkout stage, but can't do so after it's been confirmed. In a shop they can say, no sorry that's a mistake. Big shops will sometimes honour it, if they have mistakenly shown the wrong price. Big supermarkets will often soak it up. I am surprised that in this case Asda didn't check the shelf labelling with you. If it is clearly shown, and didn't have an expiry date, I would have thought they would let you have it. The manager might well have done if they had been there.
Having said that I don't actually think I have ever returned something just because I changed my mind in any case...or maybe once. I'd think twice about something like a guitar though, because shipping is a hassle.
I am not advocating abusing the policy but retailers should just accept it as part of doing business. It makes for good customer relations - I know they are huge but the likes of M&S or John Lewis have a good reputation because people know they can always take stuff back.
Without the internet i would never have seen the guitars in question, the sellers enjoy unparralled exposure world wide of their goods for sale. For this to work there must surely be some give and take in some situations, spending a lot of money on something as personal as a guitar without playing it in person has risks, I am always happy to pay the postage costs BOTH ways, the abuse happens both ways and i would bet that on the whole sellers take the piss WAY more than the buyers do.
I spend many thousands every year on gear, its hard earned money, i live a long way from anywhere, i enjoy the access the internet gives me to a wide stock of instruments etc...i want to know that if i need to, i can return something, the alternative is what?
with regards to most music shops, that are regularly discussed on FB, then most care - In most instances, the owner is part of the daily shop floor activity and knows what goes on and cares about his store, business and customers - We might get it wrong the odd day - but we care enough to correct as required - I dare say in 99% of the mail order transaction we handle, there are no issues - Sadly it is not true of all products and internet sellers hence the extra protection that is required