Business ProfileforMidlothian Music

Midlothian Music had a listing on their website for an ******* electric hard shell guitar case priced at $49.99. The listing stated the case was new" old stock and had a nice blue plush interior. The picture and description of it on their website made it look brand new and never used. I called the store to see if a left handed Stratocaster guitar would fit in the case before I ordered it. The guy who answered the phone said there was an ******* case next to him and while I was on the phone, he found a guitar similar to a Stratocaster that he tried in the case to see if it fit and since it did, he said my style guitar would definitely fit, so I went ahead and ordered one from him for the $49.99, shipping $17.84 and tax $4.88. Before I hung up, I asked him if the ******* case was in new, never used condition because I wasnt sure what the words "new, old stock" in the description meant. He explained to me that they had several of the ******* guitar cases in stock and that they were new, but just old models that hadnt sold at their store in the past and aren't being manufactured anymore. He assured me they had never been used or sold. Sadly, when I received my ******* guitar case, I must say I was truly disappointed. First, the cardboard box it came in was the box of a Gator brand guitar case, not an ******* case box. It was way too big for the ******* case and it was both banged up and taped up badly, with a large rectangle cut into one end so large the case could have fallen out of it during shipping. The guitar case slid around unsecured in the huge box and when I took the case out, I could see it is obviously not the new old stock as described to me over the phone. There are scratches, dings, **************** all over the outside of the guitar case. Even one is too many for something new. The color of the fur lining inside the case is grey, not blue as stated in the listing. Though it is supposed to be new, the inside of the case has an at least 3/4 hole in the fur lining where a right handed guitars metal strap button holder would sit. Nothing described as new should have a large hole in it. It looks like someone tried to force a right handed guitar that was too big into the case and damaged it with the guitars metal strap button. The moulding and wood behind the hole in the case is broken inside to the point pieces move around in there and poke out the other side under the fur. I probably wouldnt have noticed it so soon if my guitar were right handed because then my guitars metal strap button would have covered the hole, but mine is a lefty and when my guitar is in the case, the hole is fully exposed on the other side. I immediately took pictures of the damage and emailed them to the store along with details on the marred guitar case they sent me and asked for a replacement case to be sent to me as soon as possible. No answer. I called the store a few times, but no one answered there either, so I left several messages. When I finally got hold of someone, the manager and or owner (not sure which he was), told me the employee I bought the case from over the phone had to go to the hospital earlier that morning and was still there, so I couldnt speak with him. I asked him if he had listened to my voice messages, read my several emails, and saw the pictures I sent about the used, damaged ******* guitar case. He told me yes, but said he had been busy and thus hadn't had time to answer. I let him know I was disappointed that they had sent me a used, damaged case advertised as new" old stock when it clearly was not, but that I needed to keep the case because I really needed a hard shell case to protect my guitar, in fact I didnt anything to protect it at all, so the need was pretty dire to protect my guitar from damage and humidity. Even a few days of exposure could harm the guitar. That is why I was so adamant in making sure with the employee who sold me the ******* case that it fit my specifications before I bought it. If I would have known it wasnt what was advertised, I would have bought another case elsewhere. Once I received the faulty case, I had to keep it in order to have some type of protection for my guitar, so I asked for a replacement ******* guitar case or a discount commensurate with the case damage. He said flat out no. I didnt understand why he refused to try and make it right and come up with a solution for both of us. He didnt acknowledge or show any remorse for having sent me the damaged case at all. In fact he acted like not disclosing in the listing that the case isn't new, has a hole in it and is banged up all over its outside is no big deal. Instead of at the very least apologizing, he told me how I was lucky to get the case so cheap because that particular case could selling on the internet for way more. I told him maybe new, but not damaged with a hole in it. He just kept telling me what a great deal I had gotten and that I only paid $49.99 for it and I couldnt find that ************* for that price. If it was such a great deal, why didnt he disclose the damage. That is no way to run a business-to not at least be honest and disclose the damage before your customer buys. Also,replacing a damaged item or giving the customer a discount is standard practice offered for a store mistake, especially on damaged items, regardless of whatever the customer paid for it. It should be resolved with the customers satisfaction in mind to make the customer happy since there was a situations where through no fault of my own, they sold me a faulty item. Instead he told me I should be glad I got the case because other people would love to buy it for what I paid for it and I had gotten a really good deal. He dismissed my concerns about being sold a damaged, used case described as new and kept interjecting that I only paid $49.99 for it - like he didnt feel I'd spent enough to get one of the new, undamaged ******* guitar cases he was advertising and had pictured in his listing. To him its just $49.99. He cant see that to most customers, it is hard earned money they dont want to be swindled out of and they spend very carefully on exactly what they want after painstakingly researching just the right thing for themselves. If it was such a great deal shouldnt he have added the case's actual condition in the listing description? He proceeded to tell me that new old stock could be damaged because it is old" stock. I reiterated to him the definition of new old stock his employee who sold me the case had given me and when he saw I wasnt buying what he was saying, he flipped back to telling me what a great and rare find Id gotten for the price and that was why he wouldnt discount or replace it. Initially I thought that perhaps the case was an in store demo, floor model or sample that was somehow accidentally sent to me, but he made it sound like he knowingly sent it to me damaged like that on purpose thinking I wouldnt complain about it because it was such a "great deal" according to him. We discussed it back and forth for a while when he finally blurted out that he would refund my money. I was surprised and of course said thank you. We hung up the phone and I waited for the refund which never came. I called the store back several times partly because I hadnt received the refund and partly because it wasnt clear whether he would give me a full refund or just the $49.99 for the cost of the actual case. I couldnt get a hold of him, but spoke to employees, some of whom were aware of the situation, but they all said they couldnt help me. When I finally got hold of him and asked him why he hadnt sent the money, he said I had to return the case and he would refund me. I asked why he hadnt said anything in our previous phone call about me having to return the case. He had no answer. I told him it was ridiculous for him to expect me to ship the case back to him "at my own cost" for a mistake Midlothian Music made.,especially when he never asked me to. I also reminded him I didnt have any other protective case for my guitar if I was to send it back. Even if I did use my own money to return it, I was leery of sending it back to him not being able to trust hed refund me once he got the case back. I had good reason for concern as I had read reviews where other customers had the same experience with Midlothian that I did. Please see: bbb.org/*****/midlothian ,*********************** advised me to do business over the phone and outside of Reverb.com so that he could avoid their fees and I would not be charged taxes. The T5 he assured me was brand new has a broken saddle and is not brand new as advertised. I have called all week and sent him several emails with pics of the broken saddle; he has not replied. **** has not conducted himself as an adult nor a professional, and I do not recommend doing business with him nor Midlothian Music.No business integrity! They advertised a ****** Guitar as brand new and the price was reasonable for a new 312 CE V-Brace. However, even though the guitar was indeed "brand new" it was a 2014 model. This was discovered after receiving the guitar via internet sell by researching the serial number. It should have been advertised as a "brand new 2014". If you buy a car that is advertised as brand new, it would be a 2020 model, not a 2014. Asked for a return or exchange, no luck. I own 9 guitars valued in the $35,000 range and have purchased some on-line with no problem. He just kept repeating that I had to return the case. I reminded him that I had asked for either a replacement ******* guitar case or a discount refund commensurate with the case damage. He said no, though he later in the conversation did say he would email me a prepaid label. I asked him again to refund me or send me a new case since the image they represented in their listing was not what I received. He refused and kept insisting I return the case. I tried to reason with him too, but he continued to say no even though he knew I needed to keep the case and thus I would rather have the discount or replacement.