B stock tokai

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100watt

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I've just had to send back a LS75Q because of imperfections and dings on the back of the guitar. It was sold to me as new. I paid ?542. I've just got off the phone with another retailer who will not drop his price from ?699. I didn't tell him about the one I sent back, but he told me to avoid cheaper guitars as there are guitars out there that are flawed. He said most are not set up properly either! Does anybody know anything about this?
 
There were recently a thread with the issue, some UK dealer do carry second quality Tokais.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=30826&highlight=#30826
 
I see that some dealers wont bodge from the 699 price whereas others are happy to go for 550 or even below. Now either someone is making extra profits, or someone else is getting 2nd grade guitars at a better rate from the source.

Any ideas?
 
Having never had any B grade stock issues to deal with I can't answer in that respect.

What I can tell you though is that the big companies are able to buy at better prices than smaller dealers like myself. Cutting the price right down to their levels can on occasion almost make it not worth doing!

My tip: If you're trying to get a price down you'll probably be better off trying to negotiate freebies as a bundle sale rather than knocking tehir price right down to bargain basement offers.... at those prices dealers can rarely afford to offer you the back up and after sales service that you as a customer require
 
I assume this is another dig at Coda Music?? Can someone explain what the general issue is with that shop? Its my local shop but i've only ever bought 1 guitar there and haven't had to take it back. They were fine with me.
 
sscanlan said:
Can someone explain what the general issue is with that shop? .

Is there an issue with Coda selling B Stock then ?


I didnt know that :wink:
 
Hi ,
New to this group. I mail ordered a Gibson LP Standard from Coda in 1996 and it was a little 'ahem' rough. But then all Gibbos were back then. I swore I'd never buy mail order again but ... last week they had a nice translucent black LS75 on their website and I couldn't resist. It seems to be flawless and is IMHO not 'B' stock.

regards, Wafty
 
Amo said:
Whats wrong with Coda?

Who said anything is wrong with Coda ?




I would suggest you use that thing in your head ( called a brain ), read and re-read some threads on here and then put 2 + 2 together.......just like the other 99.9% of the forum members have :wink:

If your that thick that you cannot work it out , then you deserve to be turned over. Go buy a super electricity wonderful guitar of eBay. I hear the Chinese are looking for new customers :eek:
 
Donkey Oaty said:
Amo said:
Whats wrong with Coda?

Who said anything is wrong with Coda ?




I would suggest you use that thing in your head ( called a brain ), read and re-read some threads on here and then put 2 + 2 together.......just like the other 99.9% of the forum members have :wink:

If your that thick that you cannot work it out , then you deserve to be turned over. Go buy a super electricity wonderful guitar of eBay. I hear the Chinese are looking for new customers :eek:

Idiot.
 
Y'know thats exactly the sort of reply I expected from Donkey Oaty

The reason I asked is because a few week ago, about the same time as the Supreme and his Les Paul custom incident, I bought an ES120 from Coda unseen?

A: Because I live about a 400 mile round trip from the shop
B: Because I?m left handed and the chance of finding another in this country, let alone near enough for me to checkout firsthand is just about nil

?My guitar turned up just about perfect straight out of the box, so maybe I was lucky, maybe not.

The reason I asked the question was I?m planning to order an LS150 from them (Coda) in the near future and would be grateful if anyone, even Donkey Oaty, would let me know if anyone has had problems with them selling B stock as I don?t want a B stock 150 turning up


And don?t worry moderators, I wont be drawn or turn this into some ridiculous personal slanging match
 
Every time I've seen Mr Oaty post anything that can be attributed to Coda Music its always a back handed comment with a :wink: ! Its of no help to anyone.

Anyway, I purchased a LS60 of them 3 or 4 months ago and found them to be fine but then I haven't had cause to take it back so can't comment on their after sales service.

Thank you...and goodnight.
 
I've bought two Tokais from Coda this year mail order a LS150 and a Loverock II both have been spot on. I don't know if the lower prices in some dealers comes from shifting old new stock they have aquired as my loverock II was new but year is 2004.

Like any mail order make sure to ring them and confirm with e-mail and ask the right questions so they know exactly what you are expecting and ask for pictures of the one they are sending.

I have a problem finding Japanese Tokais locally which is why I used mail order. There are return policies and as long as you have copies of e-mails you've sent and recieved you will be in a strong position if it is not what you where expecting.

Unfortunately mail order will always be riskier.

LBUK
 
LBUK said:
Unfortunately mail order will always be riskier.

LBUK

Yep

I must have talked the ear off the guy at Coda :lol:

Years ago I bought a Gordon Smith from Rokas unseen and when it turned up it had a tiny scratch near the bridge that was so small you could barely see it. Apparently it was caused by the guy in the shop putting new strings on prior to sending me it

In the case was a note saying "Sorry" and 10 sets of free strings!

Guilt is a strange thing :lol:
 
There seems to be a conspiracy abounding concerning "B-Stock". I would be suprised if there were dealers conciously flogging off B grade items as A grade in the hope that no-one notices. In the worst cases I'm sure trading standards would be involved and their reputation would soon suffer. Surely the number of returns would cripple their business?

I have another theory - these dodgy guitars all seem to come mail order from larger concerns (such as the one alluded to by the Donkey Oaty Code). Could it simply that as box shifters the guitars are either being drop shipped from the distributor or simply shipped in and shipped out - in either case there's no opportunity for guitars to be quality controlled.

Just for reference purposes, have a look at www.guitars.co.uk and their control process (they reject abour 10 guitars every week). That gives an idea of how many potential issues there can be on an un-inspected guitar.

One final thought - as buyers we all want cheap prices and next day delivery, in doing so are we just rewarding the volume orientated box shifter. Perhaps if we paid a little more and waited a little longer we'd get a better service?

I think the best way to buy guitars my web or mail is to find a dealer you feel comfortable with - talk to them and build a relationship before you buy - if a dealer is commited to customer servce they'll do all they can to ensure you buy whatever you want now and whatever you want next from them.
 
bruceboomstick said:
One final thought - as buyers we all want cheap prices and next day delivery, in doing so are we just rewarding the volume orientated box shifter. Perhaps if we paid a little more and waited a little longer we'd get a better service?

+ a million

If you want dirt cheap then I am afraid in many cases something has to suffer.

I try very very hard to give my customers the best possible service I can, but I can't do this at the prices that guys like Coda can. I don't personally believe that Coda shift out B-Grade stock, maybe by mistake on occassion, but not on purpose despite stories I've heard.

They buy cheaper than smaller dealers anyway because they by tens of thousands of guitars at a time.... smaller dealers simply can't afford to dedicate that much cash to one product line so they can't get the same prices.

There is a lot to be said for supporting your local store, and as mentioned above, finding a dealer you can get on with and trust to give you the best deal..... and remember I mean the BEST deal, which is not always teh cheapest deal.... there is a difference!
 
Jamieh said:
bruceboomstick said:
One final thought - as buyers we all want cheap prices and next day delivery, in doing so are we just rewarding the volume orientated box shifter. Perhaps if we paid a little more and waited a little longer we'd get a better service?

+ a million

If you want dirt cheap then I am afraid in many cases something has to suffer.

In the early '80's, NASA introduced a managerial doctrine of "FASTER, CHEAPER, BETTER".

By 1987, this doctrine bit them on the backside and cost them 7 lives and a space shuttle.

The engineers from NASA were quoted in saying "Faster, cheaper, better... sure, chose any two of them. You cannot have all three"

It is one of those things that has always rung true ever since I heard it and can be easily applied to guitars.

"Quality before quantity"..now that's what I want to hear.

Peter
 
I think there is a place for mail order and you can build up a relationship with a mail order dealer.

One final thought - as buyers we all want cheap prices and next day delivery, in doing so are we just rewarding the volume orientated box shifter. Perhaps if we paid a little more and waited a little longer we'd get a better service?

I don't think there is anything wrong in that as long as people understand that with next day delivery the guitar can not be checked or set up properly. Most of us set the guitars up ourselves or pay for a set up so no problem if the guitar is fundamentally OK. Of course we want low prices if it means we can afford a slightly better guitar.

There is a lot to be said for supporting your local store, and as mentioned above, finding a dealer you can get on with and trust to give you the best deal..... and remember I mean the BEST deal, which is not always teh cheapest deal.... there is a difference!

I understand this philosophy but if there is not 'a local store' or if you are unable to travel or there is not the choice available at your local store then why not use the internet. Its horses for courses. Afterall most 'local stores' have a website and sell mail order or sell through e-bay. Also I have been completely unimpressed by the service of some 'local stores'

Your theories are in an ideal world. What we need is choice and better QC.
As for cheapest not being best that depends on where your coming from on a financial basis. It all depends on YOUR priorities. Let people decide for themselves.

LBUK
 
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