Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/09/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Beware! ***** and unethical company. In July, I purchased a new ****** D-18 for over $2,000. The first problem occurred when I opened the case - I noticed significant bearclaw in the top of the guitar that was, somehow, not accurately represented in the high-res ****** of the instrument. This should have been a warning of issues to *********, I noticed the instrument was shipped with the strap pin set. Odd, because ****** doesn't install or ship with them installed - which means N Stuff did it.Then, I noticed nitro delaminating around where the pin was installed. ***. I suspect they saw and noticed the delamination (a factory defect) and decided to "hide it" by installing the strap pin.I also noticed a small divot on the top of the instrument where the top soundboard is seamed together. I thought it was odd, but probably not enough to consider the instrument B-Stock and not something that would justify a return.I was pretty unhappy. Fast forward to today - the top is now CRACKED down the center. I've had the instrument less than 5 months. Stored with a humidifier in a temperature controlled *******'s hard to not feel like N Stuff pawned a lemon off on me intentionally. From hiding the bearclaw in ******, to installing the strap pin over finish defect, to simply not inspecting the instrument before sending out (apparently.) What's worse, the customer service has been far less than stellar.Don't trust this shop - particularly if you're making a large purchase. I now have to figure out how to get what SHOULD be a brand new guitar fixed because these guys don't take any responsibility.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/14/2025

  I would like to start off by mentioning that the "Customer's Statement of the Problem" matches word for word a 1 star review he left for our business in January of 2025. After speaking to the customer and responding to the review, he has taken it down. I should also note that ****** guitars is currently assisting him with their warranty process.

  
  Mr ******* purchased a ****** guitar from us in July of 2024. He reached out to us on July 22nd via text message and said, "I just have to check on this for my peace of mind. The guitar has a pretty pronounced streak across the top that wasn't really visible in the photos." He attached a picture of the top of his guitar. The streak that he was referring to is called Bear Claw. We explained to him that this was simply cosmetic, and not a defect. At a later date, ****** would also confirm to the customer that this was simply cosmetic and not a defect. For context, the natural wood pattern known as Bear Claw appears exclusively in the Spruce species, characterized by delicate white striations that cross perpendicular to the wood's primary grain direction. It creates localized areas where the grain takes on a rippled or undulating quality. These waves in the wood fiber orientation produce the unique visual effect that a lot of customers and wood workers really like. It makes the top of your guitar unique and gives your guitar a distinct look. Again, this is not a defect. Once I explained this, he was fine with the bear claw. I also have to mention that this "divot in the top" that the customer described was never mentioned. That was the last we heard from the customer. At the time of his purchase, we had a 10 day return policy. If the customer was unhappy for any reason, we would have taken the guitar back. Our return policy is clearly stated on our website.

  
  Fast forward to January 9th of 2025. I'd like to note that this is now almost 6 months after the customer made the purchase and had no complaints. The customer reached out to us via text message to let us know that his guitar was starting to develop a crack in the top of his guitar. I'd like to note that crack repairs in acoustic guitars are considered one of the most frequent repair requests guitar shops receive. This is because the top wood is thin and designed for resonance, making it susceptible to cracking from factors like humidity changes. To avoid this, acoustic guitars have to be properly humidified. While the customer states he kept his guitar in a humidified room, the guitar needs to be stored in a properly humidified case. This guitar has now been in the customer's possession for 3 seasons. In most cases where we see cracks developing in an acoustic guitar, it's due to improper care or storage. Once we explained this to the customer, we advised him to take it to an authorized ****** service center for evaluation and repair. N Stuff Music and ****** guitars repeatedly told the customer that all he had to do was take his guitar to an authorized repair center, but he refused.  He then went on to tell us that he had some delamination happening around where his strap pin was installed. This is super common and can happen. This is a manufacturing issue, also something that ****** was aware of and advised him to take it to an authorized service center for repair, again he refused. While it's true that ****** ships their guitars to dealers without the pin installed, Authorized ****** Dealers can install them professionally prior to shipping.

  
  N Stuff Music has been in business since 1968. Anyone reading this can take a look at our *****+ ****** reviews. We have a solid reputation as a shop that you can trust. You don't get to where we are today by editing the natural wood grains of guitars in pictures, pawning lemons, or selling B stock inventory as new as the customer has accused us. I think that it's also worth mentioning that we're not the only guitar shop that Mr ******* has given a one star review.
  Through this entire process, we've been nothing but helpful in explaining what needed to be done. None of his complaints are actually about N Stuff Music. His issues are with the manufacturer. Despite the customers bad reviews, accusations and complaints, we still helped him each step of the way and even went as far as to contact ****** and have them reach out to him personally to assist. ****** has since reached out to the customer and is currently working to get his guitar back to the factory for warranty repairs. All this being said, for the customer to say that these guys dont take responsibility, thats just untrue and unfair. 

  
  N Stuff Music