starbelgrade Advanced Member Posts:715  
| 10/3/2007 6:08 AM |
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I usually buy my musical equipment from Thomann.de .... apart from the diabolical way they ship their guitars (I'd to send back 3 guitars due to the necks being damaged during transport), I find them very good indeed - miles cheaper than getting ripped off by the shops here & a much better choice of goods available... plus they've a decent website, which all the Irish shops here lack severely (in fact, most Irish businesses do for some unknown reason).
Anyhow, we advertised in the comic "Shiznit" last xmas.. on the same page were ads for The Frames, Warlords of Pez & a company called 247guitar.. the ad said it was 100% Irish owned and operated & stated "check us out today & save yourself a fortune".
I did & found that although, they were not much cheaper than their retail outlet counterparts, at least the site was well set up. What grabbed my eye was an "E-bow" for just under a hundred euro, so I ordered one. A few days later, a guy from the company rang me to say there'd be a delay with the order.. apparantely, the guy who invented the E-bow is the only person in the world who makes them - he operates from a small workshop, assembling & packaging all the E-bows by himself & has being doing so for the last 20 odd years (mad but true!).. as he was on his yearly vacation, it'd be a month top 6 weeks before I got my order. The chap seemed sound - asked me if I wanted a refund so I could source it elsewhere, but as I wasn't in that much of a rush, i said I'd wait.
That was in April.. just over 5 months ago. Since then, I've messaged him thru their website several times, e-mailed them several times, phoned more than half a dozen times.. straight to voicemails (which I left messages on each time)... and? .. nothing - no return calls or e-mails..
Now, I dunno what the craic is - have the company shut down? (The website's still up & running), is there a problem with my order? (in which case a simple e-mail would be much appreciated?) or have they just taken the money & run?
I dunno.. anyone else dealt with them recently?
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Peejay Basic Member Posts:340
| 10/3/2007 7:26 AM |
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Ive never used them but I have been on the lookout for an Irish alternative to Thomann.
Thanks for the warning. Keep us posted on what happens.
(p.s. : I didn't realise E-bows were such a rarity. Are you sure he wasn't pulling your leg?)
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Unicron Veteran Member Posts:1696
| 10/3/2007 8:05 AM |
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I've been having the exact same problem, I ordered an e-bow from them a while back and they still haven't delivered mine, 6 weeks at this point.
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starbelgradeAdvanced Member Posts:715
| 10/3/2007 8:06 AM |
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I'm not trying to diss the business - they seemed genuine, but I've only used the site once & 6 months later, the goods have yet to show up. I'd love to say, "brilliant service", but it's not the case in my experience....
... defo wasn't bulls**tting though about the "rarity" of them.. check out the guy who makes them - his site is here...
www.ebow.com/ebow/flash/home/home.htm
I'll keep ya posted alright - I left yet another message on his phone today saying that if he didn't get in touch by the end of the week, I'd have to contact Visa to get the cash refunded. Pity.
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starbelgradeAdvanced Member Posts:715
| 10/3/2007 8:06 AM |
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Posted By Unicron on 03 Oct 2007 8:05 AM
I've been having the exact same problem, I ordered an e-bow from them a while back and they still haven't delivered mine, 6 weeks at this point. Try 6 months!! Have you tried to mail or phone them? |
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UnicronVeteran Member Posts:1696
| 10/3/2007 10:04 AM |
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Yep, mailed them twice and got no reply. Called them and left a voicemail message.
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starbelgradeAdvanced Member Posts:715
| 10/3/2007 10:57 AM |
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I just tried to get the payment refunded, but as it was made more than 60 days ago, they can do nothing about it - they advised me to contact the Ombudsman about it. My advice to you would be to cancel your payment... yr credit card company normally will automatically refund you, then it's up to 247 to dispute the claim & provide evidence that the goods were delivered and received...
I got stung by a hotel in Paris last year - they charged me upon arrival, which was fine, but when I checked my statement when I got back, they'd charged me an extra €300 the day after for absolutely no reason whatsoever. I got the money back straight away after one phone call.. it does well to keep an eye on yr statements!
Good luck with it - I mean, they might eventually deliver, but their lack of interest in keeping people informed is a f**king disgrace in my books.
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UnicronVeteran Member Posts:1696
| 10/4/2007 5:03 AM |
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I paid via laser card, I wonder if I've got the same degree of protection on that.
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UnicronVeteran Member Posts:1696
| 10/4/2007 5:04 AM |
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I should say that a friend of mine bought a lot of gear from them early inthe year, new AC30, new guitar, new pedals and they all showed up.
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starbelgradeAdvanced Member Posts:715
| 10/4/2007 6:16 AM |
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I'd love to say.. yeah, great Irish website, excellent delivery times, excellent customer service.. but after 6 months of being ignored, I'm sad to say that I've to resort to the Small Claims Court.
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UnicronVeteran Member Posts:1696
| 10/10/2007 8:55 AM |
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I spoke on the phone to them on Monday and they were very apologetic about the whole thing. Explained about the hold up and offered to refund me the money. I said to hang on to it and just send my the e-bow when they get it in.
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starbelgradeAdvanced Member Posts:715
| 10/10/2007 9:31 AM |
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Can you message me the number you rang? I've left about 20 voicemail messages at this stage - I've probably spent more on phone calss than the feckin e-bow... plus there's no excuse for them not replying to e-mails.
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UnicronVeteran Member Posts:1696
| 10/11/2007 1:52 AM |
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Posted By starbelgrade on 10 Oct 2007 9:31 AM
Can you message me the number you rang? I've left about 20 voicemail messages at this stage - I've probably spent more on phone calss than the feckin e-bow... plus there's no excuse for them not replying to e-mails. Sent you an e-mail |
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PeterQuaifeBasic Member Posts:436
| 10/12/2007 3:30 AM |
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I have bought a couple of guitars in the last couple of years from music123 in new jersey, get them shipped to a friend living in the states and he brings them back. One was a Martin jumbo for my dad, the price comparison to buying in Ireland was incredible, I'm talking about 70% cheaper, plus free shipping and and a hard case. The other was a 12 string black acoustic, cheapo for the house, again, some bargain, which just arrived last week.
PQ
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starbelgradeAdvanced Member Posts:715
| 10/16/2007 1:55 AM |
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Posted By Unicron on 11 Oct 2007 1:52 AM Posted By starbelgrade on 10 Oct 2007 9:31 AM
Can you message me the number you rang? I've left about 20 voicemail messages at this stage - I've probably spent more on phone calss than the feckin e-bow... plus there's no excuse for them not replying to e-mails. Sent you an e-mail It's OK... the money was refunded to my account a couple of days ago - it only took 6 months, a ridiculous amount of phone calls, e-mails & messages. They never even got in touch to say that the money had been refunded, so in the meantime, I'd already sent in a form to the Small Claims Registrar... the whole debacle was one huge waste of my time, money & effort. Customer service , my arse. |
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UnicronVeteran Member Posts:1696
| 10/31/2007 6:13 AM |
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Got a phone call today. They got them back in stock, he said mine should arrive tomorrow. Suck to be you dude  |
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starbelgradeAdvanced Member Posts:715
| 10/31/2007 8:58 AM |
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I ordered one from a shop in Sweden 2 weeks ago - it arrived on Monday, so nah, nah, nah, back atcha!!!
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