Official Luthiers Forum!

Just want to ask a question regarding ordering luthiery items from suppliers.

I have no-one in mind at present so don't ask, but how long should (or are) you willing to wait in terms of days before an order is acknowledged, when you first submit it?

I know an incredible amount of suppliers on here and across the web make admirable efforts to fufil and ship an order within hours of submission, and one can get TOO used to that!!

Thanks. Your thoughts will be appreciated.

Are you communicating with the supplier?

Edit: Why would ask such a question if you are not experiencing a problem?

Depens on what it is, if it is a stock item or a custom made or at time of order fabricated item. call and check on it. You have the right to know eta but unserstand things like custom necks, body molds, radius dishis often are made on per order basis bu some vendors or may have been out of stock at the time of the order. A simple phone call should resolve any issues.

To be honest, I expect it to be ship the same or next day. (business day). Anything less is just not good customer service. Mostly luhthier suppliers are a fairly small operation. So within a day of recieving my order, I would think they could have it boxed up and ready to go. LMI and SM are quite responsive to orders and I have no complaints. It may feel like it takes forever, but that is just like watching a pot boil. I think if a product is in stock, it should be shipped once payment has been recieved and authorized.

Oh yea..as long as its not a customer order item!

YMMV

Joe

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Joe

What is the component? LMI and StewMac are major companies with millions of dollars of stock and employees dedicated specifically to filling orders.

Now lets take and example of the small shop independently owned luthier supply shops. Most are just one person doing everything from manufacturing to marketing and at best it is just a couple people.

The preceding is meant jovially.

Before you get to bent out of shape give the vendor a call!!!!!!

It will help both yours and the vendors understanding and relationship.

Sam...FWIW...I would expect an order to get acknowledged within one day...that's for the major LMI, SM companies as well as the one-man shop.

Shipping is another thing and that depends. The big guys generally have the ability to send out in-stock materials immediately whereas the little guy might take a little longer. I always give a lot more slack to the little guy.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Sam,
I think most larger companies post their policy. If you are picking something up from a smaller dealer or the order is something special, you should contact them to find out what their policy is. Anytime you have a need for a part very fast(especially if shipping is to be expidited) be sure you communicate that need for speed. Communication is always key, developing a blind assumption that say next day service is expected in all cases is not wise.

Next day shipping on every order works for companies that have people hired to grab the parts off the shelf and fill boxes for the UPS person that stops by each afternoon. If you are dealing with a smaller one person operation, that is not always as simple, especially if they try to give special attension to your order(selecting parts specifically to fit your request from stock). These smaller operations offer more flexable options and personal service then would be possible if you are having your order handled by a person that has to grab and go. Most of these small shops want those orders out the door as fast as possible, so there would be a reason behind taking an extra day or two to fill an order.

If I was ordering parts from say Bob C., and I asked him to pick out a couple parts for my next build. I would be perfectly fine with him taking a couple extra days to put my order together. Why? because he really cares and wants me to have the parts that are best for my project, and he may very well spend 5 times as long looking through his stock to give me just what I need. That is customer service, and also very expensive for Bob. He could just blindly grab bits off the top of the stack, stuff a box and be done with it(then he could spend his valuable time cutting more parts to fill other orders). So I don't think anything less than next day shipping is poor customer service, in some cases it is quite to the contrary.

Now, there is also the other side of the coin. I have ordered parts from online dealers (pickups for example) and have found out after the fact there would be a 2 week delay on shipping. Nothing mentioned about this on the site, but every part I had requested was not in stock. This could happen and I would understand if they had simply run out of stock on the specific items. However, I asked if they had several other pickups in stock that I could just order instead and the responce was they don't carry any stock. This should have been mentioned, and i cancelled the order and went to a dealer that had them in stock. Some small outfits are little more than a store front, they may even simply have parts drop shipped to you from the manufacturer(they will never touch the part), some carry no stock and simply place their order with your money, and forward the parts when they arrive. I don't care for that level of service if they present themselves as a stocked dealer that will offer me some service for the retail markup over wholesale I am paying.

Private party sales(ebay, auctions, classifieds). Communicate with them to work out an understanding. They don't do it for a living, and are not equiped with tools for selling and shipping regularly. So there is a higher level of flexability required, but transactions should still be reasonably timely.

Larger sales from wholesale operations that make allowances for some larger retail orders. Often will take longer. These companies deal in volume and controlling overhead. Don't count on next day, and if you want them to spend more time with your order to meet a mild special request. Figure on them doing it when it is cost effective for them to do so. Reasonable expectations of course, this would likely be within a week or two kinda thing(all depending on what you are getting).

Rich

I think that this is the core of Sam's question. It's the waiting for some kind of information about your order that's frustrating. I think we all understand the work load that the small vendor has to deal with, especially with packing and shipping. All we need is an apprisal of our order's status. Small companies can do this via email without breaking a sweat. It's just good business. I think that if you haven't heard anything about your order within a week, it's fair to make the vendor respond to a phone call or email, unless you had been given an inital time frame that hasn't expired. If they don't do that to your satisfaction, I'd say cancel your order.

Carlton

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Carlton Macksam
Muskegon, Michigan

Thanks everyone, for your replies. I have had no issue with any supplier here in the UK or the US, it's just understanding my position as potential customer, and the curiosity of other's experiences. Communication has gotten a lot faster with the internet, and expectations of efficiency increases as a result of that.

Wow Sam,
There for a minute I thought you had ordered something from International Luthier Supply from Tulsa, OK and got ripped off. They tend to take your money and forget you.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

I agree with the above. If you are paid right away, and the item is in stock, It should be shipped the same or next day at the latest. Stew Mac agrees also, that's why they ship the same day If the order is received by 3:00 pm.

I also practice what i preach. When i sell something on ebay, I'll ship it the same or next day, always!. even if I have multiple auctions ending the same night.

Ron M.

I googled them, earlier today. "Problematic", to say the least.

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https://soundcloud.com/jeffreylsuits/he ... -runnin-13

If someone gets trough to me through the normal channels (i.e. email or phone) i can usualy give them a imeadiate answer if the item is stock and how long it will take to ship.

allthough sometimes even these channels can be delayed.

for example if i am out of town on buying trip or even if my internet goes down (like this last week)and i have to answer my mail from home.
i had a few frustrated customers this week.

also being a one man show its really tricky for me get stuff out or even answer emails as fast some people would like.
i do however try my best at least to let people know whats going on.

the fact is that often i have mill wood deal with walk in customers,ship stuff and manage all my paperwork and even though i tend to work till 9 at night i still don't get every thing done.

The big guys with mountains of stock and dedicated shipping departments can offer you a much faster service but i like to think i can offer personal service that others can not.

i hope that no inconvience was caused on this occasion and if so i am sure the dealer in question would be happy to offer a discount on your order or some such compansation if you bring it up with them,

Joel.

We try and acknowledge and reply to an order as soon as payment is received. I am a small shop so there are time we may be overwhelmed. This does happen from time to time. Also I make 90% of my items and I am often at the mercy of suppliers , so I know the value of a good supply chain.
we may take 2 to 3 days to process the order and get it packed as we are just 2 people. Also if you don't hear from your supplier email or call to touch base. Every now and then an order may slip buy us not noticed. I am not the best puter guy but I am learning that sometimes email or communcation from the site breaks down. Every order is important so we try and fill it as fast as we can. To those that know us , we may not allways be the fastest but we back everything we sell .
agian thanks for you support. We are always trying to improve our service and inventory
John & Brenda Hall
blues creek guitars

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it