Disappointed to say the least

[Manitoba Freeze]

I'm not the most knowledgeable guitar guy in the world but after much research, I decided to buy a PRS S2 McCarty 594 Singlecut electric guitar. I placed my order last August because I was told it could take about 7 months for the product to be made, shipped, whatever. That was fine, i was willing to wait.

Today I receive a call from the shop that WAS a distributor only to be told that they were no longer a distributor and that my order was now cancelled. I waited 7 months for nothing. I couldn't understand his explanation as to why and how things fell through. I tried to call PRS but by that time it was too late in the afternoon to get a hold of anyone there.

I decided to see if that same guitar was available from a different distributor. I found the guitar online and there it was at the exact same price as it was in August. I then talked to another distributor (the online distributor I would rather not do busibess with for personal reasons) said they could get that guitar and that they have been PRS distributors for years. The person I talked to quoted the same price I originally paid for the guitar back in August after he looked it up. I told him I am going to try to get a hold of someone at PRS on Monday.

Now, three hours later I look up that same guitar and the price has jumped up?!? The same day I was told my order fell through the price of this guitar goes up THREE HOURS LATER. It was originally listed at $2,199 dollars Canadain, just a few hours ago it was still $2,199 dollars Canadain and now a few hours later it is listed at $2, 329 dollars Canadian.

I don't know what the heck is going on or who to blame but I am not impressed to say the least.

 

[andy474x]

Sounds more like a dealer problem than a PRS problem. I do see one common thread.

 

[Ovibos]

Yeah, I wouldn’t be impressed with that first dealer either!

 

[Manitoba Freeze]

What was going on with that price jump three hours after I was told my deal fell through? Did PRS touch base with all their distributors on the same day they just happened to be making some price adjustments?

That price jump is straight across the board in Canada.

 

[Ovibos]

What was going on with that price jump three hours after I was told my deal fell through? Did PRS touch base with all their distributors on the same day they just happened to be making some price adjustments?

That price jump is straight across the board in Canada.

Almost all manufacturers raised prices this year, within the last few weeks. Fender, Marshall, etc.
Demand is high, supply is low, COVID is impacting production, etc.

I recommend you find a more reputable dealer, get them on the phone and very nicely tell them your story - and hope for sympathy.

 

[Manitoba Freeze]

Thanks, everyone, for chiming in.

 

[docteurseb]

While supply of the single S2 594 was probably low 7 months ago, there are 55 new ones listed on Reverb right now. Unless you're very specific about the color or something else I'm hoping one of those will be to your liking and that you can work with one of those dealers.

 

[RC Mike]

Call up the second place and see if they’ll honor the price they quoted you. Then buy it—you’d be getting what you want at the price you wanted it. Not sure why you hesitated to do that when you first talked with them.

 

[Manitoba Freeze]

Call up the second place and see if they’ll honor the price they quoted you. Then buy it—you’d be getting what you want at the price you wanted it. Not sure why you hesitated to do that when you first talked with them.

The person I talked to at the second shop told me that there was someone else there that deals with those matters and they would be in tomorrow or on Monday.


It wasn't until three hours after that conversation that the online price changed.


I would also like to talk to someone directly at PRS on Monday to see what they have to say. It's been 7 months. What was happening during that 7 months?

 

[RC Mike]

I would also like to talk to someone directly at PRS on Monday to see what they have to say. It's been 7 months. What was happening during that 7 months?

I’m a little confused. You placed an order with a dealer, the dealer is no longer a dealer, and you expect PRS to have something to say? Like what? What’s your expectation there?

I get the disappointment, but it appears that it should be centered on your original dealer. You were doing business with just them, and they should have notified you that they’d lost their PRS affiliation when that happened. It sounds as though they did that.

 

[Manitoba Freeze]

I’m a little confused. You placed an order with a dealer, the dealer is no longer a dealer, and you expect PRS to have something to say? Like what? What’s your expectation there?

I don't know what the guitar making process is like. Was my guitar in production during that time? Is it out there somewhere? Does it take one hour to make one? Does it take three weeks to make one? Would PRS say something like, 'oh, yes, those guys, we had an issue with them. we have your guitar or 173 exactly like them. we can work with another dealer to get your guitar to you. we told them today we are no longer working with them' etc etc etc

Is it not worth a call to PRS?

 

[MoggyMel]

I don't know what the guitar making process is like. Was my guitar in production during that time? Is it out there somewhere? Does it take one hour to make one? Does it take three weeks to make one? Would PRS say something like, 'oh, yes, those guys, we had an issue with them. we have your guitar or 173 exactly like them. we can work with another dealer to get your guitar to you. we told them today we are no longer working with them' etc etc etc

Is it not worth a call to PRS?

PRS will have no idea which one is/was "yours". They fulfill orders only from dealers and have no idea which guitars in an order are for dealer inventory or ordered for a specific customer. PRS is very unlikely to divulge any information about their relationship or orders with a dealer, current or past, to someone who calls or sends an email. PRS also does not have access to dealer inventory so they will not be able to point you to a specific dealer with the model in stock or on order. The PRS factory is extremely backlogged at the moment and delivery times for core guitars are about 1 year and probably similar for the S2 line. Due to the backlog, the guitar to fulfill your dealer's order, whether in production or not, was probably allocated to the next dealer order for the exact same model. Calling PRS is not going to get you one any faster or move "yours" to the front of the shipping queue - they are going to honor existing dealer orders as received.

 

[Manitoba Freeze]

Thanks MoggyMel for the in depth explanation.

 

[Manitoba Freeze]

While supply of the single S2 594 was probably low 7 months ago, there are 55 new ones listed on Reverb right now. Unless you're very specific about the color or something else I'm hoping one of those will be to your liking and that you can work with one of those dealers.

There wasn't one there to my liking BUT my exact guitar was on ebay!!! Thank you for the idea, docteurseb, I jumped on it and it looks like I am now back in business!

I know when it comes to PRS guitars this is a modest model, but it is a big deal to me, I really need it now for some direct input home recording during Covid.

My wife used to buy and sell a lot on ebay, she trusts it, the seller has a 99 plus percent rating, anything I should be wary of or am I now in the clear?

 

[bluenova]

There wasn't one there to my liking BUT my exact guitar was on ebay!!! Thank you for the idea, docteurseb, I jumped on it and it looks like I am now back in business!

I know when it comes to PRS guitars this is a modest model, but it is a big deal to me, I really need it now for some direct input home recording during Covid.

My wife used to buy and sell a lot on ebay, she trusts it, the seller has a 99 plus percent rating, anything I should be wary of or am I now in the clear?

You’re in the clear and now that you’ve done it once, expect your annual EBay spending to go up on the order of thousands of percentage points.

 

[László]

I don't know what the guitar making process is like. Was my guitar in production during that time? Is it out there somewhere? Does it take one hour to make one? Does it take three weeks to make one? Would PRS say something like, 'oh, yes, those guys, we had an issue with them. we have your guitar or 173 exactly like them. we can work with another dealer to get your guitar to you. we told them today we are no longer working with them' etc etc etc

Is it not worth a call to PRS?

Probably not. Sounds like your dealer screwed up.

Generally, a dealer will only lose a relationship with a manufacturer if they have trouble, such as the dealer not being able to pay the manufacturer's invoices, or other business disagreements. However, you have to remember that the dealers are PRS' actual customers. PRS expects dealers to solve problems for the dealer's customers.

They don't crank them out in mere hours. The factory is a fascinating place, and they offer tours; I've taken the tour, and you'd be amazed how much hand work goes into a PRS, how long the wood and parts rest and dry before assembly, etc. It's not like an appliance or car factory, where they just bolt stuff together on an assembly line and paint it. You'd perhaps be surprised at the fact that the PRS factory isn't all that large, and that it doesn't employ thousands of people.

There's a series of videos about how the guitars are made in the shop; I've linked one on making the necks. I've also linked an interesting article on drying the wood and making the bodies. There's a lot of hand work after the CNC does its basic shaping. For example, the fretboards and necks are shaped by hand after the thing comes off the CNC. The stains are applied by hand. There's hand sanding between coats of the final finish. The buffing is done by people holding guitars at buffing wheels, and are they ever careful and good at it. All this takes time. Cars and appliances are, of course, not made this way.

It's really very interesting, and there's a reason that PRSes feel different and sound different than run-of-the-mill guitars. Here's the article on PRS' body drying room and body construction (there's also a large drying room for the large shipments of wood before it ever sees the drying rooms that come later, etc.):

https://heartbreakerguitars.com/blo...-reed-smith-wood-drying-and-body-construction

And the video I previously mentioned; there are plenty more videos on the web.

I understand your frustration. Your dealer really messed up. But it's certainly bad form to troll PRS. They're doing their job under pretty demanding circumstances (you've heard of COVID, right?).

Meantime, it's great that you found a guitar. Enjoy it!

 

[Manitoba Freeze]

But it's certainly bad form to troll PRS. They're doing their job under pretty demanding circumstances (you've heard of COVID, right?).

I'm not sure what this means, exactly. My intention would not be to antagonize them. My intention would be to find out what happened. As I have stated, I don't know anything about the process.

 

[RC Mike]

You already know what happened. Your dealer isn’t a dealer anymore.

 

[Warmart]

This is so simple, you blame Canada.

 

[Manitoba Freeze]

You already know what happened. Your dealer isn’t a dealer anymore.

I don't know what the guitar making process is like. Was my guitar in production during that time? Is it out there somewhere? Does it take one hour to make one? Does it take three weeks to make one? Would PRS say something like, 'oh, yes, those guys, we had an issue with them. we have your guitar or 173 exactly like them. we can work with another dealer to get your guitar to you. we told them today we are no longer working with them' etc etc etc