Bax music / Gear for Music query

amyjhill · September 2023

Hey,

I am looking at buying a Fender Jason Isbell Telecaster from either Bax or G4M. The Bax one is B stock and both G4M are ex-demo. Has anyone bought from either and is the customer service good?

Thanks

nonesuch · September 2023

I've bought stuff from Gear4Music and when I've had to use customer service they've been very good.

Don't have any experience with Bax.

Jonathangus · September 2023

I ordered something from G4M recently at 6:45 on a Sunday evening. It was with me by midday on the Monday.

mrkb · September 2023

Bax are actually based in Europe, so their shipping takes a while as most of their stock in held there. Havent had to return anything, but not sure how easy that would be.

FreddieVanHalen · September 2023

My experience with Bax has been OK for standard stuff.

They once "refused" to ship an item to me that they'd priced a bit too cheaply which involved them just not shipping it for 6 weeks and pretending they didn't know what was going on.

In the end I had to cancel to get access to my funds then lo and behold the item went straight back up on their website at a new higher price.

Other than that example of box "shifty" behaviour, bog standard deals have been ok with them.

ScreamingDave · September 2023

I’ve had to return something to G4M and it all went smoothly.

Had a slight issue with Bax taking far longer to ship something than they promised, then I had to refuse delivery and they took quite a while to refund

digitalkettle · September 2023

Used G4M a few times...they've been solid.

Dumodal · September 2023

Gear 4 Music has been good so far, Bax is hit or miss, last purchase from them was 1.5 years ago, they used Evri which is kinda sadistic, obviously the parcel came 4 weeks later than expected, the Evri guy left the package (an amp) in the middle of the entrance to my flat building, he didn't ring, I only found out when I got the email "Your parcel was delivered" and apparently I signed it too! So I went downstairs just to find the box battered. The amp was ok (Fender GT100) but I did make a fuss to them, they actually replied to me after 3 weeks (forget about calling them, they don't pick the phone or at least they didn't at that time) offering me a discount for the item, which I accepted.

So I decided not to buy from them or anyone who uses Evri/Yodel as a courier.

notsopro · September 2023

I've used Gear4Music several times over past couple years, never had any issues. Would recommend.

LionAquaLooper · September 2023

Have bought from both and they're both good.

Calla85 · September 2023

Bax took over a week to dispatch and once it did ship courier somehow managed to send it to Ireland by mistake.

Thankfully arrived safely as it was double boxed.

Raised a couple of QC issues with them via customer services and received a standard "we understand you would like to return your purchase"

Wouldn't bother again unless deal is really good

PC_Dave · September 2023

I'm looking at a couple of guitars at Bax - Not sure if it helps, but if you use OTI23D at checkout it will get you 5% off the price, even on B Stock.

Sassafras · September 2023

G4M are excellent for everything, large or small.
Great customer service for a big retailer.

Philly_Q · September 2023

I've ordered just the once from Gear 4 Music and they were very good. It did feel very much like an online business as opposed to a shop which happens to have a website, but nothing wrong with that.

fastonebaz · September 2023

I bought from Bax and returned it - however returns need to be sent to Netherlands so it takes forever and that was before brexit so no idea what is like now. I don't think they are uk based.

jellybelly · September 2023

Second a lot of this

G4M have always been great (Though I don't think I've ever bought anything 'big' from them)

Bax have been fine. My Fender Tonemaster is from them and was B-Stock. Can't find a single mark on it and was on original packaging. They shipped super quick too.

I wouldn't be too worried either way. Don't know if you can get to G4M to try their stock and pick a 'good' one? Think they're in York though no idea if they stock stuff there.

ToastHat · September 2023

I've only used Bax once a couple of years ago, bought a b stock amp and it turned up on time and as described. No complaints.

guitarmangler · September 2023

I’ve bought and returned/communicated with both. They fine. For an extra layer of protection/help if anything goes awry pay on a credit card.

thermionic · September 2023

Bought a lot of things from G4M over the last few years all great experiences. I was looking for a specific gig back for a Christmas present last year, ordered it… then got a message to say it was out of stock. However, someone at G4M arranged for one to be sent from their warehouse in Sweden - it arrived in a couple of days. Recommended.

grungebob · September 2023

G4M is pretty good for service. Always dealt fairly with me.

Moe_Zambeek · September 2023

G4M have been fine for me too, though they don’t seem to deal in nuance. I bought an amp off them with microphonic power valves and rather than send out some replacements the whole amp had to be returned (for a refund because they only had one). That might be standard practice these days I guess, as the shops can’t assume a valve swap won’t go awry (which it has for me recently, even though I’ve done it plenty of times before!).

Whitecat · September 2023

Have used both with no issues.

Since Brexit Bax has established an office here in the UK so if you have to return anything it's fast and easy. I bought a pedal once in a clearance sale - insane price - that arrived faulty. They had no quibbles in taking it back, sent me the Parcelforce label, and got me a brand new one, ostensibly from the supplier since at the time they only had the one in stock. They certainly didn't have to replace something that they sold so cheaply, but they did and I give them kudos for that.

Stuff does ultimately get shipped from the Netherlands though so as has been mentioned it's difficult to get anything fast - I think they do two shipments a week to the UK so what day you'll get it depends on what day you order it.

That said G4M ships a lot of stuff from European warehouses now too and they can charge a LOT of money for small things, which is super annoying.

Grumpyrocker · September 2023

I've had lots of good experience with G4M.

rlw · September 2023

G4M is my local dealer and less than ten minutes in the car. They have always been good to deal with, even when I was on first name terms with the staff after a spate of returns (of Strats....).

BillDL · September 2023

Much the same experience as others.

Bax take ages to ship the goods and their progress update emails are thin on the ground and sporadic. I suspect that the process of having to return something would be as excruciatingly slow. I stopped buying from them primarily because of the delay.

Gear4Music, on the other hand, ship very quickly and their progress update emails are very good. As mentioned by @Whitecat though, some of their items are surprisingly expensive while others are competitively priced. They are a pretty big retailer now, so I don't think that some of the prices are related to not having enough buying power. I've bought a fair amount of accessories and a couple of guitars and amps from them, but only ever had to return one faulty item for a full refund. The return process was expeditious.

stufisher · September 2023

Bought from both and been well satisfied with speed of delivery and customer service comms, quality of product. Never had to return anything though so can't comment on that.

Bod · September 2023

I used Bax once and vowed never to use them again. Customer service was non-existent and the item took weeks to arrive. G4M on the other hand have been brilliant. I get responses to queries within a few hours and issues always dealt with well.

Fingers657 · September 2023

I stopped using Bax a few years ago but thought I would give them another chance a few months ago.
stupid decision I’m definitely not going there ever again.
Guitar Guitar are brilliant I’ve bought lots of guitars amps and gear from them over the years and had nothing but exceptional service from them over the phone and online.
I will say the same goes for GAK brilliant service.

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Bax music / Gear for Music query

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