Sweetwater

In this digital age when far too many transactions are automated and it's becoming increasingly more difficult to speak to a real person when one needs assistance, I greatly appreciate it that Sweetwater takes the time TO CALL ME, to have a sales representative ready to assist me after I place an order AND to follow up after I've received it. This is precicely why I continue to order things with y'all (and I'm a professional musician, so really the only things I buy online are music-related, haha).

Not only were my purchases quickly and securely shipped, but the level of personal customer service is unbeatable online. Anthony called me to verify my purchase, as well as ask if I wanted items that were back ordered to hold up the rest or if I wanted the rest to ship since it was near Christmas. He was very knowledgeable about the instruments, accessories, and their shipping and handling process. I have never received such personalized customer care. And he was not pushing me to buy anything other than what I had already purchased. My card was declined for being over my bank's limit (over the weekend), my bank is closed over the weekend, but I was assured I would get the same discount price advertised once I raised the limit through my bank on Monday. Didn't get to order again until Tuesday, but they honored the sale price without hesitation. Everyone I talked to through the entire purchase, and receipt of my instruments was eager to be helpful, not pushy salesmen, and very knowledgeable, friendly, and enthusiastic. I loved this experience and will never shop anywhere else for any of my children's musician's needs. I was even told at one point that each customer is assigned a customer service rep to provide individualized assistance as I was. I don't know if this is a small business, but it had that hometown small shop feel, except with the speed and selection of a large corporation. Congratulations, Sweetwater! You've managed to meld the best of both!

I shopped at Sweetwater for years. Then my salesperson Tyler would not send me a RA to return a defective product. I called and complained to a manager. They sent me a RA right away and switched my salesperson to AJ. I ordered a new 2500 dollar guitar. I changed the strings to a lighter set. The guitar strings buzzed very badly. I called AJ everyday telling him about how upset I was and I just wanted to return it. He wanted me to take a tennis shoe and placed the middle of the guitar neck on it and start adjusting the truss rod. I told him I do not how to work on guitars. After a couple days of repeated phone calls I just asked for a RA. He would not sent me one and transferred me to a guitar tech guy at Sweetwater and I told him I do not work on guitars and please send me a RA also. He did not send me one either. I had to bypass the auto number that goes straight to AJ and reach someone else to get a RA sent to return this guitar. A manager emailed me to apologize and set me up with a third new salesperson! With that I had to start buying my music gear from anybody but Sweetwater.

Great Service. They had the best price and free shipping. Within a few hours they called and thanked me for my purchase. I've never had that happen before, ever. Great people and great products.

I ordered an Erica LXR-02 from them. First thing that seemed weird is when I opened the box, the unit was "dusty". Odd, but maybe it sat for awhile. Who knows? The next thing was that the SIM card was already out of the holder and placed in the unit. Hmmm. It was also updated as well. Now I'm starting to think they sold me a used unit, even though I bought it as "new". But it looked ok, so I figured, "maybe someone just didn't dig it, and returned it". I plugged it in, and noticed that any bit of vibration on the table would cause the unit to cut off and on again. In addition, lit buttons would "flicker" or not go on when pushed. So obviously an electrical issue. To be fair, when I called customer service they gave me no problems about wanting a refund. But now I have the aggravation of 1) having to return it, and 2) having to wait for my money. I would bet this unit was a return, probably for the same issue I described. When they couldn't "te-create" the issue on return they probably figured it was a faulty power line, tossed a new one in, and called it good. And that, my friends, is why I'm calling them "shady". I'll never do business with them again.

You have to visit the store! Everyone is helpful in finding the gear you need. Been shopping there for years. Online and in person. The only difference is no masks!

Tried to order from abroad a few months ago and the guy assigned to me Aric Ficek was a really bad sales representative, it took back and forth around 4-5 days via email so that he questioned me why I wanted to buy a $1,500 product and I just wanted to know the courier service they were gonna use, that took 4-5 days without an answer and If they knew If I could pay the parcel custom service via that courier service, never got an answer and I was just frustrated that he had to reply with a generic answer without reading the follow-up questions from the email. Went to Vintage Kind and they resolved this issue in less than 24 hours with an incredible customer service, fast and with attention to my questions and requests. Never buying from this site again, easier with Vintage Kind, Amazon or Thomann.