Dishonest

I'm leaving this here & it's obvious as to what took place. If you think you can trust certain entities / individuals online, do re-think. Also, it's good to document unboxing activities to help you mitigate the circumstances. Take care, everyone. Hope your mid-week is not as rotten as mine.

Black Friday @ Davis GMC

 

Davis GMC has Black Friday deals for you - 10% off all online purchases with the code depicted above. Reminder - there are no Black Friday deals at the showroom, strictly online.

BP online

Sign of the times, really - Bass Player magazine will cease publication & go online instead. I still love to read gear-related magazines but going to town & buying them is a hassle. I believe there's less readership when it comes to the physical publications & many of us don't mind reading the digital / online version. It's a green move as well; less paper used. Let's see if I can just grab the final copy before not seeing them any more at bookstores / news stands. Still remember those days when I spend virtually the whole day at MPH (Stamford Road) reading Guitar World, Bass Player & Metal Maniacs.

Pic: Future Music

10.5s

Just a heads up - the D'Addario version of the 10.5 set is now available at Swee Lee but it's not stocked in any of the outlets, you need to purchase them online. If you are playing the Fender offsets (Jaguar/ Mustang/ Duo Sonic) which sport a shorter scale length (24"), check this gauge set out.

SVG online

Would like to take this opportunity to wish SV Guitars all the best as they move online full time. As at time of posting, we understand that repair/ upgrade services are still available by appointment. Glad to see that things actually picked up for them during the CB period as the team attend to online purchases with items being markedly discounted. Cyber business might be the new gear experience for more of us & SV Guitars are heading in the right direction. Onwards!

Jericho: Fusion Ignition

This was how someone helped me with unboxing...

The new guitar is a Jericho Fusion (Ignition), purchased online. I'm not a fan of online shopping when it comes to musical instruments but I'm willing to trust certain brand names when it comes to craftsmanship & delivery. This comes after a lot of reading & sleuthing online pertaining to reputation. Kiesel definitely gets my thumbs up in this regard & I'm adding Jericho to the list. More appraisal soon.

Deep discount

In the mean time, the price for this E-II ST-2 is currently at a 40% discount, online. It was good enticement but I've decided to purchase something else. 

I'm keeping watch on prices. I'm not one who buy guitars readily from online sources but I'm gonna go the online way for a more worthy consideration. It doesn't make sense to be compelled by domestic prices when somewhere out there, better bargains could be had. The only risk here is that of playability pertaining to QC. Should you receive a lemon, it' rather cumbersome to return the product & mitigate damages. My take is this; if there is a custom option for online purchases, go for it. Chances are, the people handling your custom order offer a more personal QC than the standard production line. 

Price watch (6)

Was online shopping (didn't buy anything, though). Came across the above instruments. You'd agree (especially Ibanez fans) that the guitars on Side A are the same guitars on Side B, less the finish options but prices are different. Why the fuss?

Not fussing but online business entities can do better with pricing consistencies. As an Ibanez fan, I know these guitars were released at a different time hence the different pricing with reference to the currency rates of that particular year of release. Maybe it helps if there's a reconciliation of sorts in terms of price. There're implications when you stock the same items sporting two different prices. At the very least, it affects the business' goodwill. No offence to the business entity concerned but at this day & age, buyers are wary of the seller's reputation.

Wising up to prices

Many online stores are clearing their 2012 inventory, the Ibanez 25th Anniversary models included. A quick check revealed a USD699 price tag for the above RG3XXV. Say you decided to buy this online so a typical total cost consideration would be: Guitar price + shipping charges = Total price. So coming back to the RG model above: USD699 + shipping = SGD866 + SGD240 (max possible charges) = SGD1,106 & that doesn't include a bag for it. The RG3XXV retails for SGD980 here. I'm not trying to extinguish online buying enthusiasm but sometimes we need to re-think our purchase considerations. 

It's never a winning formula buying Ibanez online from USA-based stores because Ibanez products are not manufactured there, they are heavily taxed  just by making their way there & when the final item price sets in, they can cost more than American made guitars. Personally, I will only look up to online discounts for American brand instruments like Fender & Gibson (among others) because that reflects a true 'better price' compared to the prices here.