So much for strings...

[j_m_s]

Hi there.

My purpose in typing this post out is to voice out some comments.

Im rather dissapointed with Sweelee at the moment. I bought a box of 12 packs of Fender Pure Nickel Wound Original bullets .009 to .046 awhile back. It looked all great on the outside. No mould whatsoever. Just 12 packs of brand new strings for my strat. Left it in a box with a dehumidifier.

Lo and behold. Today i open the box of strings(the fender box itself). EVERY pack of strings has mould and rust on it. The strings smell very very very bad too. The other packs of strings in the box for my other guitars were perfectly fine. No rust whatsoever.

Im rather miffed at the situation. Dissapointed with the integrity of the salesperson as well. I think id expect much more from a company thats been around for such a long time, longer than most other music shops around the island.

So, my brother has a gig on saturday and has no strings to restring his strat(Which has a broken high E string).

Before you ask me to use the other packs of strings to restring it, the other packs of strings are of a different gauge. Theres one pack which is 0.09 to 0.46 but it was just slapped onto my strat.

Im not implying that you guys should know that each pack of strings has mould and etc. Id be crazy if i expect you guys to check every pack then re-seal every single one.

Im just trying to say that, you guys probably knew that the strings were old. In the warehouse for quite some time. Im sure there's a specific "time" by which the strings would generally start to rust, even though they are still new in packaging. Which by that time the strings need to be disposed. At least tell the customer about the state of which the strings are in, the salesperson who attended to me even assured me its 12 brand new packs of strings in a box.

I dont think its very ethical to sell a product in such a condition without notifying the buyer. Well, this is my view of things, I don't know if you guys have a different view of doing business though.

I hope to receive a response from the guys. The majority of my other shopping trips to Sweelee have been great and so far i can only think that I have only had one uneventful experience shopping there, which has been mentioned above. Appreciate your time for reading this.


God Bless,
jms

 

[subversion]

don't need to be upset with the dealer, Fender is known for its ill-resistence to corrosion. like you mention, great on the outside, but the contents are something else. do dealers keep track of how old the strings are on the shelf? doubt so...

 

[j_m_s]

Hey sub. Im not really upset with them so to say. Im not too sure about that either. Just wanted to know if they do.

 

[weckl-x]

That is ridiculous. I could understand if these were sold as-is during their sale and heavily discounted. But if purchased at the regular price during non-sale period, that is just unacceptable.

You should head back to Swee Lee, show it to them, and demand a replacement.

Otherwise, lodge a complaint with Fender. Let them know how their dealer in Singapore is representing their products. If you need help, I can word a letter for ya.

You may reach the FMIC Consumer Relations Department by telephone, fax or e-mail at:

Telephone: (480) 596-7195
Fax: (480) 367-5262
E-mail: consumerrelations@fender.com

http://www.fender.com/support/contact_fmic_consumer_relations.php

 

[snuffleupagus]

Actually its not only Sweelee that has this minor problem.I used to buy Fender Strings a long time back from a shop here(i'll not state the name) through a girl buddy of mine who worked there then, and almost every single time, the strings inside were pitted or rusty(slightly).

I checked with her here and there la and we found out that some of the "defective" strings were actually new shipment arrivals from USA or what-not.

It could be alot of factors la, humidity, the damp surrounding inside the container, condensation occuring in the packaging, cheaper inferior grades of steel/nickel/alloy/etc

they could maybe package it like the way Diaddario does for their strings.

 

[j_m_s]

Ah okay. Well snuff bro, yours slightly rusty. haha. The pack i opened was completely corroded.

Hah, this is why i dont use the fender bullets(I use ernie balls/curt mangans) my bro likes the bullets though.

Humidity does play a great part. The humid weather of our dear little island makes strings rust, necks warp, wood crack like a funfair.

Daddario's, i used to use them Yes their packaging is good. Then again, i have bought some packs of D's that had the packaging poked through, then again, check b4 u buy.

 

[slutgarden]

urgh, dean markley packed those strings better for sure.

 

[jdawg]

Have you given them a fair chance of rectifying the situation, by expressing your disappointment directly to them and either requesting for a replacement or refund? I would think that that would be the first recourse, rather than voicing out your grievances in a public forum without giving the aforementioned dealer a chance to make things right.

 

[j_m_s]

Yes i did so. I gave them a call. They said nothing could be done and the guy hung up...

 

[wasp]

So the moral of the story.....Don't buy Fender strings?

 

[jdawg]

Yes i did so. I gave them a call. They said nothing could be done and the guy hung up...

Dude, go there in person with the item and speak to the Manager, and ask for a replacement or a full refund. That's totally unacceptable.

This has happened to me before with one pack of Dean Markley Blue Steels that I got from Davis. When I opened the pack, the G, B and high E strings had some kinks (i.e. there was a dent on each string). I went back to the store, showed it to them, and the owner Auntie (who is typically not very friendly) took a look at it and gave me a new set with no questions asked. To be sure, I opened the set in the store to verify that the new set had no issues and the Auntie just told me that if I ever encounter that again to just return the faulty set and they'll replace it with a new set.

 

[j_m_s]

Hmm., thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a shot when i have the time to go down.

 

[EugeneSmasher]

Bro you should head down to Davis or Ranking Sports and Music and grab a set of Ernie Ball slinkies... They're in paper packs and they were nice and crisp when I opened them. Surprising the strings are in better condition in paper packs than D'addarios in sealed bags because D'addarios DO corrode even inside the sealed bag.

 

[wayne1991]

yeah!! i bought my daddario from swee lee during some mid year sale and the strings were slightly rusted inside the corrosion resistant pack.. maybe its the old stock they put there for sale and i was unlucky enough to get one of them..

 

[j_m_s]

Heh, wayne, similar situation bro.

im hoping to get some sort of response from the sweelee guys lurking on this forum?

 

[wayne1991]

lol.. i already used the strings already..
but still i want a response..

 

[j_m_s]

Im wondering, when the sweelee "representative" will coem in here and post something. Awaiting the reply.

 

[AaronSoFat]

hmmm reminds me of that time i bought a pack of XLR strings from Davis and the string snapped straight away from bad coiling. don't think it's my fault as i've changed my strings many times before, but i don't really feel like throwing around accusations. I thought strings were always vacuumed sealed and can last for years. Or am i just wrong?