Save Up to $1000 at MusiciansFriend.com

 1. First hand impression:

 
Musician’s Friend is really Guitarcenter’s little brother. Their stores around America is smaller than Guitarcenter’s and
there aren’t as many. It’s the same case when we look at Musician’s Friend’s online music store.
The design of the site is very basic. They haven’t spend much time getting the site to look fancy in any way which is a shame. I know it’s more important that it’s a good shop with good prices but it is always nice to be on a site that looks good as well.
There is a lot of information on the front page and that makes it harder to get an overview of the page. When that is said, it’s really build in a very standard way with a menu bar on top and in the left side of the page

2. Usability:

The usability of the site is pretty good. It’s easy to find the products that you are looking for. From the menu bar on top of the site or in the left side you can easily go to the product group of your choice. Under each product group there are different ways to find exactly what you are looking for. You can shop by brand or by type of instrument or find accessories to the instrument.
 
A good thing about this site is that there is a lot of information about each product which is good when you want to compare products. I could use some more pictures of each product, often there is only one or two pictures which I think is to few. Why not put 4 or 5 pictures up so the customer can get a good look at the instrument. It makes it a little hard to decide if you really want the instrument just by looking at it on this site.  

3. Selection:

 
The selection of instruments is very good and there is a lot of accessories as well. There are a few brands that I couldn’t find here but all the major brands are here and no shops have all brands.
 
Musiciansfriend.com has a feature where you can get cash for your used instruments. Simply send your old instruments to them and they will give you money. Of course they will decide the price and that will probably not be that high but if you are to lazy to sell it on eBay this is an easy way to get some cash to buy a new instrument.
 
If you got gear related questions Musiciansfriend.com has a knowledge base where you can find answers the most common questions and if you can’t find an answer to your question you can send it in and their experts will give you an answer.
 
There are also contests, articles and other stuff that you can spend your time on but for us is the most important thing what you can buy, how and the prices.  

4. Customer service:

 
Musicians Friend have a toll free number you can call. Its not available 24 hours a day but almost. You can call from 4 am til 11 pm.
 
There is a FAQ page where you can see answers to previously asked questions. There is answers to questions about anything from how the instruments is shipped to how to set up a drum kit so check this before you write your question. Chances are that the answer is already there. If the answer to your question is not there there is a contact form where you can ask anything you want.  
 
5. The purchase:
 
It’s very easy to purchase the product you want. Just find the product and click the “Add to cart” button. Here you have to chose if you want a warranty. You can chose between 12 month, 24 month or no warranty. You can also chose different kinds of accessories. Then you click the “Continue” button which will get to your cart. You can now shop some more or stop here. When you are done shopping you go to your cart and push the “Secure Checkout” button. If you are a new customer you will have to fill out the form with your name and address etc. and your credit card information.
 
It’s all really easy and if you just follow the guide there should be no problems. 
 
You can also chose to check out with PayPal which is the easy way if you have a PayPal account. This is a really good feature and many people feel that PayPal is the safe way to pay which it is. 
 

6. Delivery:

 
When you have verified your order it will normally ship within 24 hours. Delivery time is 3 to 5 business days. They don’t deliver in weekends. For an extra fee of 30$ delivery can be made on Saturdays in most cases.
 
They advertise with free delivery but this only if you buy for more than 99$. Also if you buy large products as P.A. and guitar cabinets an additional delivery cost will be added.
 
If you want to return the product you will have to return it in the original case with all the original parts, including all the paperwork that came with it. There is a return label on the invoice that should go on the box. Also you have to call Musicians Friend to get a Return Authorization Number which should be written on the return label. This is very important because they won’t accept it without. As a safety for yourself you should take a copy of the invoice before you ship it back.
 

7. Store evaluation:  

Even though Musician’s Friend is Guitarcenter’s little brother it’s still one of the best online music stores out there. The selection is big and there is a lot of activity on the site such as competitions, articles, reviews, demonstration videos of new products and more.
It’s pretty easy to find your way around the site and to find the product that you are looking for.
If you don’t know what you are looking for or if you have other questions the FAQ part is pretty good and covers a large range of questions.
The shipping is almost like Guitarcenter’s where it is free if you buy for more than 99$. It’s a little bit difficult to return the product but if you follow the given procedure you should be alright.
All in all a really good music store online with fair prices.