Buyer beware!!! This company will go out of the way to hide the fact that they have a ALL SALES FINAL, NO RETURN POLICY until after a purchase is made. They also advertise merchandise on their website showing used merchandise pictured in their store when in fact the merchandise does not exist.
I know this for a fact as I drove to the store personally to purchase a cello. Once we got to the store we found that they only had the Vienna String Cellos on hand. This also happens to be the cheapest line they carry as well. None of used Cellos existed in the store that they had posted on their online internet store even though they could be bought directly online via buy buttons which would lead a person to believe the data was realtime. To me that looks like the oldest bait and switch tactic in the book, place the order and then get a phone call indicating that we just sold that item and this is what we have in stock.
Back to our purchase. I had spoken to a store representitive by the name of Troy Laabs. He knew that I was looking for a cello for our daughter and had implied if we bought a cello that it could be returned. What he failed to inform me of was that yes it could be returned but only for an exchange, not for a full refund. We decided against our better judgement to try a Vienna Strings Munich model.
At no time during purchase did the salesman we worked by the name of Jeff indicate that cello could not be return for a full refund. When he handed me the invoice for the purchase he indicated that my signature was needed to indicate I had recieved the cello. Again, no mention of return policy or lack there of. After getting the cello home my daughter was then able play the instrument in an evironment that was more comfrotable.
It was at that time we then discovered the shortcomings of the cello which I will not get into. At that point we decided to return the cello. We bought the cello late afternoon on a Thursday and had back in the store just after the store opened Saturday morning at 10 am less than 48 hours later. That is when I learn about the no return policy. Jeff stated that we could exchange for another Munich cello or pay more money upfront for a upgrade, sight unseen for a different make and model none of which they had in the store.
Needless to say some lively debate took place about the no return policy. It took about 20 minutes but I was finally able to convince them to refund all but 75.00 dollars which they called a restocking fee. I'll call it a blantent RIPOFF. I emailed Troy about the issue as he was out of town at the time and purchase and return. His response was that because they operate with such thin profit margins they cannot offer a return policy. What a line of BS!
Apparently they can't afford to be upfront with their customers either as 9 times out of 10 they probably see them running for the door once they found out about the no return policy. The reason for writing this RIPOFF notice is to hopefully help avoid some other person from going through the same experience we did with this company and to expose their unethical sales tactics.
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