Music123.com -- No Longer a Mail Order Ric Dealer!

icelandair · Post by **icelandair** » Fri May 12, 2006 2:18 pm

I had three Rics on order, some for as much as 15 months, with Music123.com and its sister site Woodwind and Brasswind (WWBW.com). A random check of their sites today showed that searches for Rickenbacker where coming up empty. When I called they admitted that they had dropped the line due to inventory delays and were refunding deposits. Normally I buy from *real* stores and not mail order houses, but WWBW had provided decent prices and service to me in the past. I would have expected WWBW to notify me that my orders had been cancelled! Anyway, just passing on the not-so-surprising news as I wait for my refund.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Fri May 12, 2006 2:21 pm

Sorry for your luck Mike. I hope you can order what you were looking for and get your guitar soon.

icelandair · Post by **icelandair** » Fri May 12, 2006 2:35 pm

Thanks! I would have cancelled the orders sooner but I had non refundable deposits on them so figured I'd wait it out. The good news is I am getting my deposits back. The bad news is I'll probably have to wait another 2 years for my special orders. By then I'll be too old to play!

leesh · Post by **leesh** » Fri May 12, 2006 2:45 pm

I'd check around with what you have on order. There are so many retailers that have Rick's in stock....and people on the forum are more than happy to keep their eyes out and let you know if they see something. What is it that you had on order?

icelandair · Post by **icelandair** » Fri May 12, 2006 2:53 pm

Let's see...

I had a 4003FL in Mapleglo, a 330VPVB in Fireglo (don't ask why!) and a Fireglo Mandolin. Yes, I know, a kooky selection of Rics, but I was in no hurry and was willing to wait. Lately I've been buying from Dave's Guitar, who has the best prices on the planet. Again, I just didn't want to lose my deposits and didn't know about Dave's at the time of the orders.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri May 12, 2006 3:56 pm

They were dropped for, er, aging their invoices a bit too generously, shall we say.

icelandair · Post by **icelandair** » Fri May 12, 2006 4:08 pm

The instruments were already on order, and for quite a while. In your opinion, will they still be made and just given to another retailer, or will their production be cancelled?

wj350 · Post by **wj350** » Fri May 12, 2006 4:33 pm

"They were dropped for, er, aging their invoices a bit too generously, shall we say."

Paul, curious, assume you mean 123 was doing something improper?

Bill

geddeeee · Post by **geddeeee** » Fri May 12, 2006 4:39 pm

Another one bites the dust!

leesh · Post by **leesh** » Fri May 12, 2006 4:40 pm

What does aging an invoice mean?

ben_hall · Post by **ben_hall** » Fri May 12, 2006 5:09 pm

Not paying their bills...

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri May 12, 2006 6:38 pm

And what that means is that monies deposited will need to be refunded, and orders will be cancelled, not filled.

Bad, sad news, but dealers need to stand by their word.

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Fri May 12, 2006 6:38 pm

We’ve run around this issue several times here already and there is another long thread over at the Rickenbacker site.
And I’ve stated before my 100% success rate dealing with M123. (I just got the Vox 15R from them.)
Obviously I have no inside knowledge on the business dealings of M123, Rickenbacker Corp. or anyone else. Speaking strictly as a consumer and an outside observer, it looks like trying to purchase a RIC instrument from ANY mail-web-only retailer may not be the best way to go.
Fender, Gibson, Hartke, Ibanez, Washburn, PRS, etc. (the mass marketers, if you will) maybe suit them better.
I've bought my RIC guitars from a local store.
Doesn’t make one vendor better than the other. Just different.
I buy gallon-size laundry detergent from Costco and a cup of coffee from Starbucks. Each has their place.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri May 12, 2006 6:49 pm

Well, yes, Mark, except when a dealer gets cut off by the factory for not paying their bills, they become a non-dealer, and their customer's orders for that manufacturer's products then go out the window.

In this case, many orders which were quite old and much-anticipated. Customers are left out in the cold, and it's nobody's fault but said dealer. I'd be steaming mad.

All online dealers are not the same; neither equally good nor equally bad.

I've had good dealings with WWBW on some very pricey wind instruments, but these were "in stock" items.

icelandair · Post by **icelandair** » Sat May 13, 2006 2:15 am

Another interesting thing about 123/WWBW was the gradual reduction in Ric offerings. Up until about 4 weeks ago they listed the full line on their website (Dakotas up to 381s and fancy basses). Beginning about 2 weeks ago I noticed line had shrunk from 30 or so models down to about 15, with most of the pricier and rarer models no longer listed. Three days ago I noticed no Rics at all! From my perspective one could argue the merits of ordering via mail vs. from a storefront. The reality is that Ric stock is scarce for everyone, and even though I placed some large orders for Rics with Dave's Guitars recently (tax refund, yay!) and will again, these sales were still "mail order" sales for me. And yes, even Dave has been waiting years for several special orders that have yet to have arrived -- ask him about his JazzBo! I would have hoped that Rickenbacker would not penalize the customer (me)because one of their official dealers messed up and transfer my order to another retailer. But, one way or another I'll get those orders in again!