Sweetwater not what it used to be?

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Rich K.

Rich K.

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A friend recently put in a big order of heads at sweetwater and they didn't have 15s in stock, so he ordered from Amazon.
I've had no luck finding things there I needed.
I contacted my sales rep today to get a snare side 14" Gibraltar hoop. (I could have used any brand.) He said he'd have to order it. 3 weeks and $30.
Musicians friend had it in stock for $19.
I have some credit there from gear exchange sales, but every time I want to order, they don't have what I need.
I remember when they had everything.
 
I have a hard time finding 15s anywhere. 20 and 22 G1s also. Neither GC nor Sweetwater carried any of those.
 
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I can move it to general. Having recently bought a set with a 15” floor tom I noticed too the lack of availability of heads. I got mine from drum factory direct. The last heads I bought from musicians friend was shipping from a local GC and the box and head looked like it had been stepped on
 
I noticed since s w was sold to corporate, turn over has increased. I have been dealing more with d c p. No shipping, no tax. That adds up
 
The almighty dollar builds empires and subsequently tears them down. Surely we are witnessing the slow decline of Sweetwater.
 
I've always had good luck with Drum Center Portsmouth and Drum Factory Direct. Not affiliated with either. I still like Sweetwater for non-percussion items, but haven't used them in a while either, so it's possible they've changed.
 
Sweetwater went above and beyond on my custom Ludwig order. I do notice some stuff not available. I like Aquarians super 2 clears for toms but sweetwater only carries them in coated and as mentioned nothing for a 15”.
 
Ive always had great luck with Sweetwater. They've always beat every price and have offered me free international shipping on the past 2 purchases. I can find most heads and sticks i want locally. Anything else usually requires me to order.
 
When I get gift cards ,I always buy 15" Emps with vintage coating .
At least two of them each time.
From Amazon not S.W.
 
I like Sweetwater and all, but I swear one of my conversations went something like this:

Super-happy Sweetwater employee: "Well, will that be all for you today?!?!!"

Me: "I think that's it! Thank you so much. This is a pretty big order, but I'm looking forward to getting it."

Super-happy Sweetwater employee: "We are so happy to serve you! Do you need anything else?!???"

Me: "Actually, I do have a quick question...I've been shopping here for a long time, and I've spend thousands of dollars at Sweetwater. Do you currently have any discounts or coupons for my order?"

Sweetwater employee:
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blueshadow said:
Sweetwater went above and beyond on my custom Ludwig order. I do notice some stuff not available. I like Aquarians super 2 clears for toms but sweetwater only carries them in coated and as mentioned nothing for a 15”.
Click to expand...
I had a similar problem with Sweetwater and Aquarian heads. I he-headed the whole kit last year -- switching to Aquarians. They didn't have what I wanted in stock. Understandable. But then they wouldn't order what I wanted, from a company they do business with.

That lost them not only a sale, but my business unless they have a mega-sale or an exclusive I can't walk away from.
 
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Rich K. said:
A friend recently put in a big order of heads at sweetwater and they didn't have 15s in stock, so he ordered from Amazon.
I've had no luck finding things there I needed.
I contacted my sales rep today to get a snare side 14" Gibraltar hoop. (I could have used any brand.) He said he'd have to order it. 3 weeks and $30.
Musicians friend had it in stock for $19.
I have some credit there from gear exchange sales, but every time I want to order, they don't have what I need.
I remember when they had everything.
Click to expand...
Is anything anymore?
 
I have yet to have a single problem with Sweetwater, in that they always bend over backwards to try to make me happy if anything goes wrong. A few months ago, I made the mistake of ordering a coated head when I wanted a clear, and even though it was my mistake, they sent me a clear head for free and insisted I don’t pay for it after I said I will just order another since it was my mistake.

But I certainly understand why anyone would be upset that they don’t have every little obscure item in stock. After all, it can take upwards of 10 minutes sometimes to find another place that has it.

;)

Life’s too short, man.
 
15s are kinda like 8s, 18s, 26 and 28s, little demand so why stock them and get stuck with them for years.
 
Rich K. said:
A friend recently put in a big order of heads at sweetwater and they didn't have 15s in stock, so he ordered from Amazon.
I've had no luck finding things there I needed.
I contacted my sales rep today to get a snare side 14" Gibraltar hoop. (I could have used any brand.) He said he'd have to order it. 3 weeks and $30.
Musicians friend had it in stock for $19.
I have some credit there from gear exchange sales, but every time I want to order, they don't have what I need.
I remember when they had everything.
Click to expand...
You order obscure stuff and think its surprising they don't stock it?
 
I remember when Sweetwater had very limited drum offerings other than a few entry level drum kits. I only ordered audio gear from them. Then all of a sudden, I think around the time they hired Nick D'Virgillio, they had a much expanded collection of drum gear and accessories. I think they have a pretty good selection, and I've even found some more obscure items I never thought they would have available. I don't think they'll ever be the store that us drummers will find our hard-to-find parts and accessories at.
 
I've ordered from Sweetwater sporadically over the past couple years. Mostly cables, connectors and PA stuff.

I've ordered some drum stuff for a new kit four times in the past 3 months, and in each case I received the item in 4 days or less. The only exception was a Humes and Berg case that was back ordered from the factory, and that arrived in under two weeks. As far as I can tell they're a first class operation. Prices are good, communication is excellent, fast delivery, and items are well packed.

So, back on July14 I wanted to special order 3 REMO Ambassador heads for my Premier pre-international toms. That afternoon I emailed a price and delivery request to Portsmouth, a company I have also done business with in the recent past, as well as Sweetwater. My Sweetwater sales engineer got back to me with price, lead time and shipping cost the next morning. The price Sweetwater quoted for the special order heads was less than the standard REMO 12" Ambassador heads from Guitar Factory. I placed my order that morning.

It's been three weeks now, and I still haven't heard from Portsmouth.
 
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