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Joined: Dec 2002
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Hi Folks, I thought I would do my bit for international trading, by ordering some guitar picks.........$6.99.  Great I thought.....went to check out......shipping costs $34  .....had to lie down in a darkened room for 30 minutes!!  I was thinking of buying Red Bear or Blue Chip? But why is there such a drastic shipping charge? Joe G. 
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I've noticed on eBay that some sellers will price their items in different ways, to see which way gets the best result.
Sometimes its a low price, but the shipping is jacked up, sometimes its a higheer price with free shipping.... but the price ends up being the same.
I think some sellers have caught on to the fact that many people don't pay attention to shipping costs, and so it is an area that's wide open for overcharging.
And it COULD even be a typo. If it's on eBay, you could email them and ask why the shipping is so much. I've seen several scams in which the vendor routinely overcharges, and if the customer doesn't complain... hey! More money! If the customer DOES complain, they just say "Oh, that's a typo" or "Sorry, I made a mistake when I counted out your change"
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I got caught one not paying attention and it cost me 23 bucks plus 45 for shipping. I've now smartened up. Partly thyroid meds.
'Two years I couldn't read more than a paragraph, got the meds and the fog lifted. Amazing.
And I got warm again (a bit), but still want to be a snow bird. The wife got about 6k in bonus for just 5 weeks around Christmas, and a huge boost in salary. They are trying to make sure she doesn't retire, however the money goes to retirement savings lol. I hope to last until she does leave. At least they fired off 2 more weeks of vacation, but she claims no time to take any before April!! Yikes.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Hi Pat, I should have said  ..........international trade was because I registered with #Musician's Friend' USA. I thought it would straightforward trading with them! Have a better New Year Pat. Regards, Joe G  .
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I love Amazon but one of their vendors burned me on S&H. They had listed 4 Gig Thumb Drives for US$2.95 each as Deal Of The Day so I ordered 10. The shipping charge was $9.50 which proved to be FOR EACH! The total package weighed about 4 ounces in one puffy envelope. I complained to the vendor and they wouldn't make any adjustment so Amazon stepped in, refunded ALL S&H then dropped that vendor. They were getting rich on S&H.
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Don I buy from amazon all the time only twice had problems which were soon sorted out by very efficient cs. Surely Amazon have guitar picks Joe ?
I've noticed a heck of a lot of private sellers & traders have rediculous shipping costs.
I was looking on ebay for some card stock for my wife ( she enjoys making her own greeting cards ) Saw a good deal for 100 cards & envelopes mixed sizes. £3.99
Lovely !
Postage £4.99
Extra charge to the highlands of Scotland. Grrrrrrr
A couple of third party traders have tried that whem I placed an order with Amazon. I got straight onto cs who were not at all happy with that practise.
After one item failed to arrive in time through amazon prime I got an apology of two extra years prime membership.
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On the plus side of the equation, I recently ordered a Toshiba 32" TV/Monitor and Amazon was temporarily out of stock so they subbed a 40" at no additional charge. That kind of CS is above and beyond and puts them at the head of the pack and abreast (can I say that on here?) of PG Music. They also gave me a free trial of Amazon Prime so I am enjoying free 2-day shipping and I watched one of hundreds of free streaming movies last night. Robin Williams in "Awakening", great story.
Now I need a way to download the movies to a thumb drive so I can transfer and view them on my Dynavox during the day. I feel that's "fair use". Any ideas? Pat? Mac? Matt?
Last edited by Don Gaynor; 01/10/13 10:01 AM.
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*laugh* I'm sitting here recalling the time when I was working with an old cat who would have me stop at a music store on the way to the gig and he would purchase 3 medium picks only, for a quarter (US 25 cents).
This was back when a local telephone call from a payphone was ten cents.
One evening I picked the cat up to drive to the gig, and, as usual, he wanted to stop and get those 3 new picks.
I pulled up to the curb, he hopped out of the car, and in almost no time at all he was back.
"Man! They wanted 25 cents for ONE #$%&(!@ PICK!" he said.
"I told 'em, no thanks, I'll just use this here quarter for a pick, and when the gig's over, I'll still have my quarter."
And that is what he did.
From that night on.
Actually sounded better, too.
Flash forward to a different time and place when, from a Guitar Magazine article I found out that Billy Gibbons uses coins for picks...
--Mac
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For about $70 you can purchase a die for making your own guitar picks. Not that $70 is cheap!
Or just use scissors and cut them from credit and gift cards.
On a semi-related note, I was looking at inexpensive Chinese violins a while back, and the shipping almost as expensive as the instruments themselves. So I started looking at the used equipment for sale at places like Guitar Center.
I was surprised to see many violins, violas and cellos with necks broken. (And they still didn't have that great of a discount on them!)
I finally spoke to someone who had a music shop about it. Was the wood unseasoned, or were these poorly built?
The shop owner explained that in order to package something properly for UPS shipment, it had to be able to withstand a drop of 6 feet. For violins, the meant adding an extra six inches or so, which brought the shipping rate much higher. So instead of packaging things properly, it's more cost effective to ship an individual instrument cheaply with insufficient packaging and break a few in the process.
Go figure.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Speaking of guitar picks, I found a great way to stop losing them, … start paying $7.50 each for them. I bought 4 of them about 12-15 years ago and I still have 3. (Ok, … I lost one). They’re better than tortoise shell and you can’t wear them out. You can lose them, but you probably won’t. I use the TF-140, (140mm). http://www.wegenpicks.com/I actually bought them here. http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/wegen-guitar-picks.htmlAnd for the record, I’m not affiliated, bla, bla, bla.
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Journeyman
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Hi Bob, I also use Wegen picks for flat picking on guitar......( got them a couple of years ago from Wegen direct)  .....Dunlop Tortex for Banjo. I was thinking of trying Red Bear, or Blue Chip for guitar, but they are expensive enough, without extra-high shipping costs from USA! Your opinion Bob? Regards, Joe G.
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Joe,
I haven't tried those and I've never heard anyone mention them, so I can't give an opinion on them.
They may be great picks. Wish I could give you some feedback.
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I should get some. What a deal. Mine would last longer, I don't have a guitar.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Apprentice
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Quote:
"I told 'em, no thanks, I'll just use this here quarter for a pick...
Now that's a terrific business opportunity if I've ever seen one. Set up a business where the customer orders 3 picks for $6.99, charge them $34 for shipping, and then send them 3 quarters. If they want special custom-made picks, take a bunch of pennies out to the railroad tracks like some did as children, smash them, and offer them three for $40.99 with free shipping. 
JBlatz
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Quote:
*"I told 'em, no thanks, I'll just use this here quarter for a pick, and when the gig's over, I'll still have my quarter."
And that is what he did.
From that night on.
--Mac
Is it true that he could only play quarter notes
Principal: Your child always causes trouble in school.
Me: My child causes trouble at home, do I ever call you?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Quote:
Hi Bob, I also use Wegen picks for flat picking on guitar......( got them a couple of years ago from Wegen direct) .....Dunlop Tortex for Banjo.
I was thinking of trying Red Bear, or Blue Chip for guitar, but they are expensive enough, without extra-high shipping costs from USA! Your opinion Bob? Regards, Joe G.
Don't have experience with the Wegen... yet, seems like I'm about to, thanks Bob! ... But have been a user and lover of Dunlop Tortex since they were introduced. Seems like they suddenly got harder to find in music stores of late, though. Beginning to be concerned they might have stopped production or something, its not like a whole lotta players seem to like them. I love 'em. But I love 'em for the SOUND, seems a lot of players are more interested in other apparent features like perceived ease of playing or the likes.
--Mac
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Mac,
The Dunlop Tortex are pretty good picks, but they pale in comparison to the Wegen.
If you want to try one, PM me your mailing address and I’ll send you one. If you like it, it's yours to keep. If you don’t like it, just mail it back to me.
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Thanks for the kind offer, but since you've hung onto 'em so long, I couldn't take you up on that. I'll just find some one day and give 'em a try on your respected recommendation.
I heared you play, man.
--Mac
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Hi Mac, Yep! I also love the Wegens......take up Bob's kind offer before he changes his mind! They have a great TONE on acoustic....and on my Strat......fast & easy. On Banjo I use them for a lot of the Ragtime & single string work.........but I'm still persevering.....trying to get a good "roll"......I usually end up going back to the Dunlop for performing! Regards, Joe G.
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