Musicians Friend Scratch and Dent

Andy Summers · March 6th, 2008, 04:43 PM

ANy one ever purchase a scratch and dent from Musicians Friend

JimiBryant · March 6th, 2008, 04:51 PM

I would not recommend MF scratch n' dent stuff to a friend.. it's a real mixed
bag: some stuff that's merely opened and not able to be passed off as brand
new, some items missing parts and/or damaged, and some stuff that looks
like it's been sitting in somebody's showroom - smudged up and covered with
fingerprints.

not even especially good deals as far as prices, IMO.

getbent · March 6th, 2008, 05:00 PM

yep. I never found the scratch or the dent. It was a great deal both times.

dogfish · March 6th, 2008, 05:01 PM

The discussion on Harmony Central make it sound like MF lately has been shipping out new (but returned) guitars as new, and obviously broken and unplayable guitars as scratch-and-dent. I'd stay away, esp. based on personal experience (with two different instruments)

Pvee · March 6th, 2008, 05:10 PM

I bought a (Scratch and Dent) acoustic bass from GC a couple years ago and one of the tuners was missing.!!

I found one and fixed it.

mistermullens · March 6th, 2008, 05:32 PM

Gotten a couple of blems from them and couldn't actually find a blem. I think the blems are mostly returns that people just didn't like.

Don't know about about Scratch N Dents

VWAmTele · March 6th, 2008, 06:14 PM

I've bought a Gibson J-160E and a Vox AD30VT as 'scratch & dent' - couldn't find anything wrong with either of them. Saved a few hundred $$.

Telehackster · March 6th, 2008, 06:25 PM

I bought a Pro Jr. that way last year, no problem at all. The box it came in was a little ugly, but that was it.

smitty54017 · March 6th, 2008, 07:21 PM

I've never bought anything.

I would suggest not buying "scratch and dent" items that you can't look at before purchasing. Granted, the items are still guaranteed, but the trouble of returning the item may not be worth it.

SEK_Hakuna · March 6th, 2008, 07:30 PM

I bought a cheapo bass a few years ago. I did a setup and tweak job then played it for a year. Sold it for what I paid. The bass had a little scratch on the headstock.

I have returned things to MF before with no problems. Unless swapping something, they do take about 4 weeks to issue money back to the credit card.

Brian blaut · March 6th, 2008, 07:43 PM

I believe they still fully allow returns for any reason on Scratch and Dent, so Its a gamble yes, but not one that will burn you. Although you'll be out on shipping costs if you play the game and lose.

Usually the scratch and dent stuff I run across isn't much of a deal. I guess it can vary. Do they discount the price based on how bad the dents are?

Missing a tuner?!? Wow! you'd think they'd just return it to the manufacturer. I can't imagine most people being happy with that unless it was really a great deal.

DrewB · March 6th, 2008, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smitty54017

I would suggest not buying "scratch and dent" items that you can't look at before purchasing. Granted, the items are still guaranteed, but the trouble of returning the item may not be worth it.

Being a purveyor of the MF Scratch 'n' Dent specials, I mostly agree with this. That said, the stuff that's really beat isn't labelled as a "blem" and sold via their website. The MF outlet is actually about 15 minutes from my house, so I have been able to score some stupid deals on some blem gear. I've been through what I call "the decapitarium" a bunch of times, and that type of cost-recovery gear is limited to in-person sales.

FredDairy · March 6th, 2008, 08:12 PM

Doesn't the MF scratch and dent deals have a return policy? I'd so I can't see why you wouldn't do it. Look at the people here who have gotten perfect guitars.

I got a CIJ dented Jazzmaster for $350. It was just dented on the bottom. I sold it for 650 on Ebay.

Joe M · March 6th, 2008, 08:16 PM

You really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.....their return policy is the same as their "regular" stuff so if you don't like the product, for whatever reason, you can return it, no questions asked. I bought a CS Tele a few years ago and couldn't find anything at all wrong with it, and it was $400 less than anywhere else.

tazzboy · March 6th, 2008, 08:21 PM

http://mf.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mf.cf...i=&p_topview=1

boris bubbanov · March 6th, 2008, 08:42 PM

I think the ones I got were actually blems, I'm not sure. Nothing at all wrong with 'em. I think a Squier Tele Special I got there for $ 129 had been returned, but it was unharmed.
The main observation I make is that the price of these scratch and dents is no where near low enough any more; I want forty percent or more off and that ain't happening. At least not since the warehouse epic breakdown.

studio1087 · March 6th, 2008, 09:10 PM

I think it's simple. If they have a variety of colors of an item (black strat, red strat, white strat etc.) or if the item appears in the scratch and dent section for a whole week...it is not damaged goods - rather, they have a bunch that they want to sell below the prices that the manufacturer will allow.

I just bought a scratch and dent Ludwig drum set. They had black, white and burgundy sets at $314. The fact that they had three colors was a good clue that they had a bunch of these drum sets in great shape.

The drums are perfect.

I'm a packaging engineer. I design boxes and I sell box erectors (and other things). These boxes were never opened since they left Taiwan.

Here is a slide show of the boxes being opened on a MF.com scratch and dent special. Check this out...........

Scratch and Dent Drum MF.com Slide Show

The cymbals were not part of the set but all the stands and hardware were part of the set at $314. Great deal!

John

CSS · March 6th, 2008, 11:19 PM

I agree. PLUS, if it is "scratched" or "dented" too much, you can STILL return it within 45 days. How can you go wrong?

Quote:

Originally Posted by getbent

yep. I never found the scratch or the dent. It was a great deal both times.

charlie chitlin · March 7th, 2008, 07:27 PM

Bought a Champion 600.
The chassis was out of the cabinet, screws rattling around in the bottom of the box.
The good news?
An RCA and a Tung Sol.

bowlfreshener · March 9th, 2008, 09:37 AM

Never bought any Scratch and Dents, but if you visit MF's website frequently like I do, I often notice that the Blem prices are the same whether there is or isn't a sale or discounts on Blem merchandise. So don't be tempted by the "Save an Extra 10% on Scratch & Dents" because most of the prices were the same as they were 2 weeks ago before they offered "10% savings" on Scratch and Dents...

hollowman · March 9th, 2008, 10:36 AM

More than a few things. Of course I just go to the warehouse which is here in KC and eyeball it in person.

With the volume of gear they sell, you'd be shocked at the amout of damaged and dinged gear that goes thru that place. I know a guy that buys PALLETS of gear sight unseen for next to nothing. There might be 8 Epi LP's with sheared off head stocks. He'll take them to the luthier who will re-set and paint for $150 apiece then he'll sell them on ebay for $300...

My bandmate just scored a brand new American Deluxe Tele, missing a tunning machine, for $650. Sweet axe!!!!

I don't think you can lose, if you dont like it, return it

tomi · March 13th, 2008, 10:18 AM

I just bought a blem Gretsch G100 acoustic archtop from Musician's Friend. It arrived yesterday, and as far as I can tell the only "blems" are some crud that looks like sawdust stuck to the underside of the pickguard and a few shallow scrapes in the top of the pickguard itself that look like they may have been made by sandpaper. I saved $150 off the new price. I'm more than satisfied.

I wasn't aware that there was a difference between "blem" and "scratch and dent" merchandise from MF. They seem to use the terms interchangeably on their website.

BTW, I like this guitar a lot. With the roundwounds, it has a nice Dobro-ish twang to it. I know that some people put flatwounds on these babies as soon as they come out of the box, but that's not what I bought it for. I'm thinking more Carter Family than Freddy Green for this guitar.

boris bubbanov · March 13th, 2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowlfreshener

Never bought any Scratch and Dents, but if you visit MF's website frequently like I do, I often notice that the Blem prices are the same whether there is or isn't a sale or discounts on Blem merchandise. So don't be tempted by the "Save an Extra 10% on Scratch & Dents" because most of the prices were the same as they were 2 weeks ago before they offered "10% savings" on Scratch and Dents...

They seem to weasel around it by using 'up to' an additional ten percent.

Meanwhile, the reverse headstock MIM Strat in black is $ 399 on the Stupid Deal, and with a coupon that's a way better discount.

I guess it depends on what one is lookin' for.

bowlfreshener · March 13th, 2008, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

They seem to weasel around it by using 'up to' an additional ten percent.

Meanwhile, the reverse headstock MIM Strat in black is $ 399 on the Stupid Deal, and with a coupon that's a way better discount.

I guess it depends on what one is lookin' for.

They had some Squier Standard Tele Blems on sale earlier on the week for $154, but no indication as to what color, otherwise I would have probably bought one...

Tele Fan · March 13th, 2008, 02:07 PM

I've bought a couple of things blem with no problem. YMMV.

Acephspades · March 13th, 2008, 09:09 PM

I hope their online scratch and dent items aren't the same as what yo

March 6th, 2008, 04:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
Andy Summers Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: CT Age: 36 Posts: 462	Musicians Friend Scratch and Dent ANy one ever purchase a scratch and dent from Musicians Friend

March 6th, 2008, 04:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
JimiBryant Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chicago Chicago that toddlin' town Age: 46 Posts: 1,470	I would not recommend MF scratch n' dent stuff to a friend.. it's a real mixed bag: some stuff that's merely opened and not able to be passed off as brand new, some items missing parts and/or damaged, and some stuff that looks like it's been sitting in somebody's showroom - smudged up and covered with fingerprints. not even especially good deals as far as prices, IMO. __________________ I am very proud of the fact that I'm so humble!

March 6th, 2008, 05:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
getbent Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Benito County, California Age: 48 Posts: 8,814 37 Photos	yep. I never found the scratch or the dent. It was a great deal both times. __________________ I got a room at the top of the world tonight, I got a room at the top of the world tonight, and I ain't... comin'... down.

March 6th, 2008, 05:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
mistermullens Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Atlanta Age: 31 Posts: 1,756 56 Photos	Gotten a couple of blems from them and couldn't actually find a blem. I think the blems are mostly returns that people just didn't like. Don't know about about Scratch N Dents __________________ When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

March 6th, 2008, 07:21 PM	#9 (permalink)
smitty54017 Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: New Richmond, WI Age: 36 Posts: 332	I've never bought anything. I would suggest not buying "scratch and dent" items that you can't look at before purchasing. Granted, the items are still guaranteed, but the trouble of returning the item may not be worth it. __________________ ----------------------------------------------------- Happy cows (and Packer fans) come from Wisconsin!

March 6th, 2008, 05:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
dogfish NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 1	The discussion on Harmony Central make it sound like MF lately has been shipping out new (but returned) guitars as new, and obviously broken and unplayable guitars as scratch-and-dent. I'd stay away, esp. based on personal experience (with two different instruments)

March 6th, 2008, 05:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
Pvee Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 240	I bought a (Scratch and Dent) acoustic bass from GC a couple years ago and one of the tuners was missing.!! I found one and fixed it.

March 6th, 2008, 06:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
VWAmTele Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Palm Harbor, FL Age: 52 Posts: 324	I've bought a Gibson J-160E and a Vox AD30VT as 'scratch & dent' - couldn't find anything wrong with either of them. Saved a few hundred $$.

March 6th, 2008, 06:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
Telehackster Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas, USA Age: 42 Posts: 848	I bought a Pro Jr. that way last year, no problem at all. The box it came in was a little ugly, but that was it.

March 6th, 2008, 07:30 PM	#10 (permalink)
SEK_Hakuna Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Kansas Age: 51 Posts: 175 15 Photos	I bought a cheapo bass a few years ago. I did a setup and tweak job then played it for a year. Sold it for what I paid. The bass had a little scratch on the headstock. I have returned things to MF before with no problems. Unless swapping something, they do take about 4 weeks to issue money back to the credit card.

March 6th, 2008, 07:43 PM	#11 (permalink)
Brian blaut Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bay Area, California, USA Age: 34 Posts: 1,318	I believe they still fully allow returns for any reason on Scratch and Dent, so Its a gamble yes, but not one that will burn you. Although you'll be out on shipping costs if you play the game and lose. Usually the scratch and dent stuff I run across isn't much of a deal. I guess it can vary. Do they discount the price based on how bad the dents are? Missing a tuner?!? Wow! you'd think they'd just return it to the manufacturer. I can't imagine most people being happy with that unless it was really a great deal.

March 6th, 2008, 08:12 PM	#13 (permalink)
FredDairy Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: chicago Posts: 666	Doesn't the MF scratch and dent deals have a return policy? I'd so I can't see why you wouldn't do it. Look at the people here who have gotten perfect guitars. I got a CIJ dented Jazzmaster for $350. It was just dented on the bottom. I sold it for 650 on Ebay. __________________ The Stacks The Reluctant Aquanauts

March 6th, 2008, 08:16 PM	#14 (permalink)
Joe M Moderator Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,054	You really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.....their return policy is the same as their "regular" stuff so if you don't like the product, for whatever reason, you can return it, no questions asked. I bought a CS Tele a few years ago and couldn't find anything at all wrong with it, and it was $400 less than anywhere else.

March 6th, 2008, 08:21 PM	#15 (permalink)
tazzboy Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2005 Location: Eugene, Oregon Age: 31 Posts: 2,613	http://mf.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mf.cf...i=&p_topview=1 __________________ tazzboy Guitar: 1982 Gibson Les Paul Standard AMP: 59 Bassman Reissue. EFFECTS: 2 Boss TR-2 Tremolo, Boss CE-2 Chorus, and Boss DM-3 Echo Delay.

March 6th, 2008, 08:42 PM	#16 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 6,724	I think the ones I got were actually blems, I'm not sure. Nothing at all wrong with 'em. I think a Squier Tele Special I got there for $ 129 had been returned, but it was unharmed. The main observation I make is that the price of these scratch and dents is no where near low enough any more; I want forty percent or more off and that ain't happening. At least not since the warehouse epic breakdown. __________________ Bubban0v

March 6th, 2008, 09:10 PM	#17 (permalink)
studio1087 Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Near Milwaukee Age: 44 Posts: 3,372 33 Photos	I think it's simple. If they have a variety of colors of an item (black strat, red strat, white strat etc.) or if the item appears in the scratch and dent section for a whole week...it is not damaged goods - rather, they have a bunch that they want to sell below the prices that the manufacturer will allow. I just bought a scratch and dent Ludwig drum set. They had black, white and burgundy sets at $314. The fact that they had three colors was a good clue that they had a bunch of these drum sets in great shape. The drums are perfect. I'm a packaging engineer. I design boxes and I sell box erectors (and other things). These boxes were never opened since they left Taiwan. Here is a slide show of the boxes being opened on a MF.com scratch and dent special. Check this out........... Scratch and Dent Drum MF.com Slide Show The cymbals were not part of the set but all the stands and hardware were part of the set at $314. Great deal! John __________________ JLG Carry On

March 7th, 2008, 07:27 PM	#19 (permalink)
charlie chitlin Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bucktown, Pa Age: 46 Posts: 1,988	Bought a Champion 600. The chassis was out of the cabinet, screws rattling around in the bottom of the box. The good news? An RCA and a Tung Sol. __________________ Nil illigitimi carborundum http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...6-bf3537901a07

March 9th, 2008, 09:37 AM	#20 (permalink)
bowlfreshener Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2007 Location: Virginia, USA Age: 32 Posts: 1,338 6 Photos	Never bought any Scratch and Dents, but if you visit MF's website frequently like I do, I often notice that the Blem prices are the same whether there is or isn't a sale or discounts on Blem merchandise. So don't be tempted by the "Save an Extra 10% on Scratch & Dents" because most of the prices were the same as they were 2 weeks ago before they offered "10% savings" on Scratch and Dents... __________________ RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

March 9th, 2008, 10:36 AM	#21 (permalink)
hollowman Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Kansas City Age: 44 Posts: 418	More than a few things. Of course I just go to the warehouse which is here in KC and eyeball it in person. With the volume of gear they sell, you'd be shocked at the amout of damaged and dinged gear that goes thru that place. I know a guy that buys PALLETS of gear sight unseen for next to nothing. There might be 8 Epi LP's with sheared off head stocks. He'll take them to the luthier who will re-set and paint for $150 apiece then he'll sell them on ebay for $300... My bandmate just scored a brand new American Deluxe Tele, missing a tunning machine, for $650. Sweet axe!!!! I don't think you can lose, if you dont like it, return it __________________ "In a land where all are blind, the one eyed man is king"

March 13th, 2008, 10:18 AM	#22 (permalink)
tomi Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 356	I just bought a blem Gretsch G100 acoustic archtop from Musician's Friend. It arrived yesterday, and as far as I can tell the only "blems" are some crud that looks like sawdust stuck to the underside of the pickguard and a few shallow scrapes in the top of the pickguard itself that look like they may have been made by sandpaper. I saved $150 off the new price. I'm more than satisfied. I wasn't aware that there was a difference between "blem" and "scratch and dent" merchandise from MF. They seem to use the terms interchangeably on their website. BTW, I like this guitar a lot. With the roundwounds, it has a nice Dobro-ish twang to it. I know that some people put flatwounds on these babies as soon as they come out of the box, but that's not what I bought it for. I'm thinking more Carter Family than Freddy Green for this guitar.

March 13th, 2008, 02:07 PM	#25 (permalink)
Tele Fan Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Louisville, Ky Age: 29 Posts: 1,000	I've bought a couple of things blem with no problem. YMMV. __________________ Life is better when you just make it up as you go along.

March 13th, 2008, 09:09 PM	#26 (permalink)
Acephspades Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Kansas Posts: 417	I hope their online scratch and dent items aren't the same as what yo