"swee lee is ripping us off" (update)

Frummer said:
ive heard GC ripps ppl off too sometimes...haha

So far I've not heard ppl complaining abt the prices at GC only random stories of the young incompetent staffs that they have.. Basically Musician's Friends is run under GC and the prices at MF r soo low.. Esp the occasional stock clears that they have... 8O
 
I personnally feel that a reasonable margin is good for the music instrument industry. It will be bad if all the shops goes into a price war to kill one another. The consumer benefits for a short while, but so what.
 
pooo said:
Take for example TomLee in HK, their Epiphone SG, the white one with 3 gold humbuckers, go for like 3-400 SGD and the Epiphone Les Pauls 500 SGD give take.

any idea if i were to go to hk myself and buy the guitar, carry it over myself.. need pay any tax or what not?
 
pay and pay?

surprisingly there's a thread sponsored by our truly SweeLee
with all these attacks on Swee Lee, I wonder will they continue
to sponsor the threads... hey guys, we are living in a capitalist
society.

so what can we do not to get rip off?
boycott?

go Bentley music KL, get your gear instead ?
no choice, Swee Lee is authorized dealer!?

*sigh*
 
gordonzz said:
any idea if i were to go to hk myself and buy the guitar, carry it over myself.. need pay any tax or what not?

yeah..does we need to pay any tax or other $ matters if we bought a guitar overseas and bring it back?

sorrie to hijack the thread :wink:
 
no matter hw u boycott swee lee or come online to comlain about their services. they are probably nv gonna change becasue most new players would still trott over to swee lee with their parents to buy gear.

and people who want ibanez and fenders or the stuff exclusive to swee lee will still go there to buy.

if u guys wanna complain against swee lee, maybe a letter to the respective authorities incharge of fender and the other companies telling them about the way swee lee markets their product might help.

jst my 2 cents.
 
glblues said:
any way he went on to admit that the reason why swee lee stuff is so ex is because swee lee marks up its prices way above retail.

Definitely. For one thing Gibsons at Swee Lee are marked up crazily before they are displayed. Then when they deduct the price, it makes no difference to them.

I have heard gibsons marked up by $2,000.
 
I just like to tell my experience about Swee Lee which makes me NEVER EVER want to step into Swee Lee Music again . I was carry a photographer bag , inside the bag is my professional degital camera and a few lens and my ibook laptop . As I was looking at the guitars on display , a sales person ask me to put my bag at the door . This is an insult to me as the only reason I can think of if they do not trust a customer .

purplehaze3691
 
dats y they say Swee Lee's way of running the business is already outdated... back in the 80's or early 90's u can see bag-deposit counter at shops... but now??? where can u find such counters man ??? sometimes quited pissed to put the bag there at the door... esp. if u got expensive stuff inside the bag.... have to look at the guitar and bag at the same time......
 
purplehaze3691 said:
a sales person ask me to put my bag at the door.
Hey doode,

City Music does the same thing too... think it's a shop policy. I'm fine with it. But I understand you are carrying expensive equipment too... :D

Hey, when can I meet you to get the photos eh? :D
 
they should at least put the bag deposit counter behind the casher...
in that way it would safer for both the customer and seller at the same time
 
satch said:
i wonder what will they do if ur cam bag was stolen.
haha.. think they won't claim responsibility for any loss of items.. maybe you should write down a 'contract' stating that if your bag is stolen, they have to claim full responsibility and get them to sign it, otherwise i guess u just have to suck thumb if its realli stolen..
 
while other companies today are working hard to create value for customers and try to retain them, sweelee still has this mentality that their customers owe them something
 
most established music shops in singapore can afford to be less customer friendly because musicians and wannabes are like addicts, needing that fix that the music gadgets can give them.
 
establishment and market share means nothing if your sales staff lack the proper attitude. a clear example is Davis uncle of 2yrs ago and the davis uncle of today.

imho i think he smiles aLOT more... even patted me on my back.
This from a guy who asked me " got money to buy anot? " when i wanted to try the prs.
 
haha.. think they won't claim responsibility for any loss of items.. maybe you should write down a 'contract' stating that if your bag is stolen, they have to claim full responsibility and get them to sign it, otherwise i guess u just have to suck thumb if its realli stolen..

they have this policy, if you notice, just on the glass panel where u put most your bags at, that's printed on this white piece of paper. say that they're not held responsible bla bla bla...

but i guess that it shd be the way..imagine the amt of 'refunds' ppl will claim against them? but i think still, ppl at City Music is still better off as they do provide a cabinet for u to put ur stuff, at least, u knw that no John or Jane will 'accidentaly' bump against your expensive stuff..that's happened to my poor digi cam as well...



i've got no probs with swee lee though, i check out the retail, and street price of the US, and i bargain according to the street price with shipping included and all..sometimes, if you go to the right guy, you get a good price too!

still, swee lee and city music do let ppl try out their gear, unlike one other shop, where if you want to try, you'll be hawked under with glazing eyes that reads: That's a samick..pls don't damage it? (no offence to samick owners though..)

check out Luthers' for the best in trust and quality. I walked in there with my bag, and you know what they told me? Hey..its you...feel free to try anything you like... really. don't need to ask me. just go on and try.

Their pricing is also fair, as they don't really jack up the price...but i guess..that's the way ppl will do business. Cash=nt enough, more cash=not so bad, big big big load of cash=at least it makes me smile...

i guess...every shop's got their ups and downs, but hey...at least there's someone who brings in stuff into Singapore! yupz.

just my few cents worth..
 
imho i think he smiles aLOT more... even patted me on my back.
This from a guy who asked me " got money to buy anot? " when i wanted to try the prs.

agreee with u...he's changed quite a lot over the few years...but sometimes, he's still very protective over his gear, esp. when ppl touch them w/o respect, like ppl who walk in, just strum the strings of every acoustic available like its alright to do that.

just really hope that one day, someone from those shops read all our posts, and see what reputation they've got for themselves, and whether they want to change the way we see them... that's really up to them though..yupz.

=)
 
glblues said:
i shipped an amp from the US (a 3x10 combo) via fed ex express and it cost me US$350.

Hmmm......is that the custom built "bandmaster" clone in tweed cabinet combo??

I do agree about dealer price and bulk container shipping rates. But don't forget, shop or property rental & manpower over here is really a premium price. Which makes a lot of businesses non-viable.

Thus I guess SL still have the right formulae after all, no matter how the customer feels otherwise.

Again for me it's not I totally agree on their marketing strategy, just that you have to give due respect for them being so long in the market. They are they, you are not they, so when we run our mouths, we must consider that.
 
i went to KL last year...tried searching for Bentley...in the end it was me who remembered the unit number wrong!ERGH!

when can i ever go to bentley...

i wished Luther sells more drums...lyk once i asked for the Pacific FS series drums price...he cudnt giv me coz that series is not shipped.
If a retailer sells a certain brand, it shud bring all the series from the certain branD!!!

hmm...thats the oni reason y ppl turn to sweelee...i tink...
 
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