Epi Thunderbird Classic-IV Pro now on their site ...

[uwe]

Gibson and dates ...   

The Sweetwater guys are really nice and forthcoming though. Thanks for the update, Mark.

[TBird1958]

That's Epi and dates!.............

Gibson got that G-3 out PDQ. 

[iamthatguy32]

That's Epi and dates!.............

Gibson got that G-3 out PDQ. 

The Sweetwater guys might be some of the best customer service reps I've ever dealt with. Bless their hearts for being able to put up with as much as I'm sure they do, and still being able to be nice to impatient jerks like me. 

[Pilgrim]

The Sweetwater guys might be some of the best customer service reps I've ever dealt with. Bless their hearts for being able to put up with as much as I'm sure they do, and still being able to be nice to impatient jerks like me. 

Drop them an email some time and let them know it.  I'll bet that never happens.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The Sweetwater guys might be some of the best customer service reps I've ever dealt with. Bless their hearts for being able to put up with as much as I'm sure they do, and still being able to be nice to impatient jerks like me. 

...just don't buy PA or recording gear from them. The turnover for those guys is horrendous and if you ever buy anything from them about every three months, you get 'assigned' a new CS rep (because the old either quit or got canned) who will SPAM the shit outta your email and call your house desperately trying to unload PA/recording gear to keep his job. I bought from Sweetwater for years before they went big and had the same salesman for a decade. I think I've literally been through a dozen in the past six years.

[Dave W]

From what I've read, once you buy from Sweetwater, you get repeated calls or emails. They have their fans who love the personal attention, others seem to hate it with a passion. Just about everyone agrees that they deliver what they promise.

[uwe]

Via Mark (they are aware of the arrangement and I was copied in the email correspondence Mark had with them) I bought the Explorer and the RD there last year plus wanted to buy an Explorer guitar for my son (which didn't go through in the end because there was an excellent offer in Germany). Since then I have received maybe five emails from them making me aware of certain new Gibson products, nothing ever pushy at all. They might be flooding Mark's email account but certainly not mine.

[dadagoboi]

From what I've read, once you buy from Sweetwater, you get repeated calls or emails. They have their fans who love the personal attention, others seem to hate it with a passion. Just about everyone agrees that they deliver what they promise.

In my experience once you buy from any serious on line retailer you will receive regular email from them.

Any successful business knows the best source of new sales is from happy customers.  Staying in touch and letting them know what's new can only help.  It used to be relatively expensive in the old days of snail mail and printed flyers. It costs almost nothing today.  

[Pilgrim]

Any successful business knows that the hardest thing is making the first sale to a customer.  After that, it's easier and less expensive to bring them back than to get a new customer...so they market to you.  I have no problem with that.

[Dave W]

In my experience once you buy from any serious on line retailer you will receive regular email from them.

Any successful business knows the best source of new sales is from happy customers.  Staying in touch and letting them know what's new can only help.  It used to be relatively expensive in the old days of snail mail and printed flyers. It costs almost nothing today.  

What Sweetwater does, according to many reports I've read, is way more than just staying in touch. Quoting from a thread at another forum, "They will call you 'til you're in the grave. Very annoying." Some people are very happy with this level of customer service. Others don't like it at all. I wouldn't either, I don't like to be smothered. No personal experience with them, though, and I would hope you can just tell them to back off.

It's been reported that they will start calling you like this even when you buy from them off eBay, even for something small like a pack of strings. IMO that's cold call selling and it's improper; one of the reasons I use eBay is to avoid situations like this. I don't want unsolicited follow-up phone calls from an eBay purchase, no matter who the seller is.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I don't mind follow-ups, but they take it to a whole new level. As I said, I bought from them for years before they got big and there were sporadic emails and a pretty nice printed mailed newsletter which had some interesting columns and was actually better than alot of the magazines of the day, especially in regards to function and new products. IIRC, the last thing I bought from them was my Aardvark interface twelve years ago which was DOA, but to their credit, they swapped it. I do like the candy in the shipping boxes.

Full Compass is my goto now. I've had two of my salespeople retire, the first was my salesperson for nine years and the second for ten, their prics are better, and I get no SPAM, electronic or otherwise.

[TBird1958]

 So far Sweetwater has been fine to deal with.
The original Rep that Uwe and I dealt with has moved tho, so some truth in the turnover thingie. Service has been real good with free shipping to me on the basses Uwe orders, I get an email with tracking numbers and occasionally an email with a sales offer and their periodical catalog. No phone calls, unless I've left a message wanting a return call.

As big box retailers of gear go, I like them - MF has been a similar good expierience as well.

[vates]

It needs CHROME! 

I'm thinking of getting white one and putting chrome hardware onto it. Maybe some real-deal AlNiCo pickups as well.

[iamthatguy32]

Update from Sweetwater: Gibson still hasn't shipped them the basses, and so far has been completely unresponsive with information regarding when they should expect them. I was told to expect them to come in before the end of the year, but that they have no idea when that might be.

[maxschrek]

Just found this, why is the bridge moved so far forward?