Search the Web

Custom Search

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Furtadosonline.com online shopping and service review.

Furtados is one of the biggest, best and renowned musical instruments importer and retailer in India. Started in Mumbai in 1865, they have been around for 145 years and also recently opened a new outlet in Ahmedabad. Their range of instruments covers almost all types and categories and also some renowned and reputed brands.

Their reputation of selling in stores is well known, what about their online business?

I recently bought an electric guitar from them, an ESP LTD M 10. Here is an account of my experience shopping online with them, and also their in-store after-sales service.

Here is why I bought online rather than from the store

I visited their store a few times to enquire about the guitar I wanted.They told me they did not have it in stock at the Pune store and they took down my number so they could call me later about it.

I also told them that I was ready to pay a booking amount of Rs. 1000 up-front, and would pay the rest when they had the guitar in-store for me to pick up. They hesitated to take my money to make a booking, letting me know that their system was down, hence, they could not check their stock in Mumbai, also that they were going to receive new stock in a weeks time and that they would phone me to come down and pick it up.

A week later, no phone call, no new stock.

I then decided to go ahead and buy the guitar from Furtadosonline.com

Some quick enquiries over the phone before buying it online

Q1. Is there any difference in price buying it online or buying it in-store?
A1. No. No difference in price.

Q2. Any extra 2% charges for using credit card as payment.
A2. No.

Q3. What about after sales service?
A3. After sales service can be availed at any store, anywhere in India where they have a store.

Q4. Are delivery charges extra?
A4. At the moment there is no delivery charges on bills of Rs. 1000 and more.

Q5. What about octroi payment?
A5. Octroi payment should be made by me on delivery which will be roughly 3% of the cost of the guitar and this octroi amount would be refunded to me, after I make the payment and mail Furtados corporate office the original octroi receipt. Instead of a refund I could also opt to use the amount to buy something else from Furtados, like guitar straps or plectrums etc..

And finally the actual sequence of events...

-->Monday, 21st of November 2011 13:54 hrs --  I ordered my guitar from Furtadosonline.com, paying by credit card. Upon placing the order, I immediately got an email confirmation of my order stating the order number, the product, its price and the shipping address.

--> On Wednesday, 23rd of November 2011 -- I called them up to confirm my order and its progress.

--> On Saturday, 26th of November 2011 at 19:00 hrs -- I received my guitar at home delivered by Blue Dart.

I immediately checked out the guitar for issues and buzzing. There was a buzz on the 12th Fret on strings 5 and 6. :(


--> Sunday, 27th of November 2011 -- I took the guitar to the Furtados store in Pune at ABC Farms and gave it to them for straightening the neck. The checked my paper work and immediately took up the job, under warranty of course, and said that they would let me know when the guitar would be ready.

(Monday 28th Furtados was closed as the Pune store is closed on Mondays.)

--> Tuesday, 29th of November -- In the evening I called them to check if the guitar was ready, they told me it was not and that they would call me to let me know.

--> Wednesday 30th of November 11:30 hrs -- I got a call from Furtados store to let me know that the guitar was ready and I could pick it up.

--> Thursday, 1st of December 2011 -- I picked up my guitar from Furtados and finally got to spend some quality time with it.

--> Monday, 6th of December 2011 -- I mailed Furtados' Mumbai office the original copy of the octroi receipt with a covering letter, sent by registered A.D. facility of the Indian postal department.

--> Wednesday 14th of December 2011 -- I received the registered A.D. letter in my post box and the octroi amount refunded to me, transferred to my bank account.

...phew...

All in all not a bad experience.


The Packaging
The packaging in which I received my guitar was pretty sturdy. The guitar was kept inside a  soft foam bag. The bag was 0.5 to 1mm thick. Then it was wrapped in a bubble wrap. The bubble wrapped guitar was then placed into the guitar's bag. The guitar bag was placed inside a two piece card board box at the center and the empty spaces between the guitar and the cardboard box were filled with plastic air bags.

Areas where they could improve

1) The delivery if made within 3-4 working days of ordering would have completely blown me away. I feel this way after the amazing delivery time lines I have experienced with Flipkart (I recently heard of Flipkart delivering within the same day and in another case, within 2 hours! of course the items delivered were a books but Flipkart generally delivers electronics within 3 working days).

2) Other than the initial order confirmation mail, I got no email/sms updates, or updates sent to me by any other medium about my order and it's shipping. I could only see the details upon logging into my online account in Furtadosonline.com and then checking updates about my order. Some pro-active updates initiated by them would have been good.

3) This one is a feeling I have with no concrete evidence. I somehow feel that my order was not acted upon until on Wednesday 23rd of November. when I called to check on it. If this is true then I have had to wait a couple of more days for it to reach me. And anyone waiting eagerly for something knows how annoying and painful that can be, especially if you spent the previous 3-6 months saving up and planning for it. The final days of wait after having ordered, are agonising!

4) A good proper setup job & checking for a buzz before delivery of my guitar would have been nice and saved me a trip to the store.


Final words
The neck straightening and setup job done on my guitar when I gave it to them at the Pune store, was extremely well done. This was confirmed by my guitar teacher, professional and Master guitarist Christopher Fonceca.

To sum it up, I would recommend Furtadosonline.com as your point of online shopping for musical instruments.

So that's it folks. That was my  experience.
Please share your experience and do leave a comment too.


Flipkart.com

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi I have gone through your guitar story and my case is different after placing order of cort AD 880 Acoustic Guitar on 1st Sep on 3rd Sep customer care guy called me and told me that due to some problem in Cort guitar they gonna offer me Fender CD 60 Acoustic Guitar which was quite little bit expensive from Cort and i said okie to the customer guy and he told me that he will send me the tracking number after dispatching my guitar but still it has been more than 1 day no more activity of Tracking number of Blue dart courier but the guy in Furtados Customer care has given me an assurance that i will get my guitar within 3 days lets see how long it will take...........!!!!! When i will get my guitar I will definitely post my comment of Guitar delivery date and its condition when i will receive it. Rest i can only do wait and call the customer guy if there is any solution for this delay in Furtados Online shopping then kindly let me know..........!!!!!!!

Regards
Sam

Makdt said...

Hi Sameer,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Unfortunately no matter how good a retailer is, a few do always end up having a terrible experience.
Please do let us know the outcome of your episode. Best of luck.

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing. your is a kinda historical which placed all details of online retailers. I used http://www.naaptol.com/ sometimes

gutarthing.. said...

Just ordered a Epiphone Dove natural after reading your review. Fingers crossed :)

Makdt said...

Hey gutarthing. Thanks for reading and posting your comment. Do update us on how your experience goes with Furtados...and some words about the guitar.
Thanks again.

Rosh said...

I ordered an essential skill guitar book and it was in pathetic condition, it was torn, old and appeared used. When I contacted them about it, they told me to wait 24 hours and told me it was the only copy they had and if I wanted mail it back to them and they'll refund the book. Won't ever order from this site again, the only thing going for them was that they delivered within a week.

Unknown said...

if you want spends your holiday with your near ones then book your ticket know to visit different tourist places. Bus rental service amritsar

Singh said...

Wonderpost Sir really awesome
read our post for
Customized iphone 6 plus Mobile Cover

james ledger said...

Thanks for sharing a your experience for buying a new acoustic guitar you must check guitar reviews go to this site

pranavshree said...

"Really interesting post. I was looking for this kind of information and enjoyed reading this one. Keep Updating. Visit Here For <a href="https://www.ejohri.com/jewelmantra-22kt-bis-hallmark-gold-earrings-jm387e.html</a>

Phuljhadi said...

I believe there are many more pleasurable opportunities ahead for individuals that looked at your site.



https://www.phuljhadi.com/

meena said...

Nice Blog. It is very interesting and more information.

water treatment plant in chennai
water treatment companies in Chennai
sewage treatment plant in chennai
sewage treatment plant in bangalore
waste water treatment plant
effluent treatment plant
sewage treatment plant
best water treatment companies

qempty said...

Post your Business add free, promote your business Free, Any type of add you want to post india as well as Canada, Malaysia, Russia, Spain, Netherlands, Singapor and United States on QEMPTY.COM

Go With QEMPTY.COM

vats4208@gmail.com

Kerrthika K said...

It looks deeply awesome article!thanks for sharing such a information with us..
Data Analytics Courses in Chennai
Big Data Analytics Courses in Chennai
film making courses in chennai
film direction course in chennai
part time film direction course in chennai
Blockchain certification
Hadoop Admin Training in Chennai

Anonymous said...

I am really happy to read your blog. your blog is very good and informative for me.
Your blog contain lots of information. It's such a nice post. I found your blog through my friend if you want to know about more property related information please check out here. With the experience of over 3 decades, Agrawal Construction Company is the biggest and the best fltas in bhopal and the trust holder of over 10000 families. Agrawal Construction Company Bhopal is serving society, building trust & quality with a commitment to cutting-edge design and technology. Agrawal Construction Company's vision is to 'building trust & quality' which extends to developing residential, commercial and township projects in all the directions of the beautiful City of Lakes Bhopal and hence it is among the top builders in bhopal. Currently, it has four residential such as Sagar Pearl, Sagar Green Hills, Sagar Landmark and Sagar Eden Garden.

Anonymous said...

Dwello is the right place to buy Homes. Buy your new homes with confidence with dwello. Dwello - Right Address is Waiting.
Ajanta
Shreeji Atlantis
Datta Ramanand
Ruparel Skygreens
Grandness

Anonymous said...

Dwello is the right place to buy Homes. Buy your new homes with confidence with dwello. Dwello - Right Address is Waiting.
Aramus Galassia
Aramus Residency
Ashirwad Residency
Ashoka Residency
Ashraya Apartment

Ace Divino said...

Usually, I never comment on blogs but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You're doing a great job Man, I really appreciate your work. Ace Divino Noida Extension introduces a line of skyscraper towers to accommodate a wide variety of 2 bhk flat in greater noida west and 3 bhk, 4 bhk Apartments which are raised on different floor areas of various layouts. Following the customs of ACE Group, these ACE Divino Apartments are according to Vaastu living arrangements to guarantee positive vibes in the insides of the homes and thriving of the inhabitants living in these flats. contact us now :- +918076042671

Zoniraz said...

Interesting blog. Read more: Online Jewellery Store in India

BBG India, BBGindia said...

Hi Nice post great Information thank you so much BBG India
BBG India
BBG India

Galaxy Magnum said...

WELCOME TO GALAXY MAGNUM - Galaxy Magnum is surging ahead with innovation in today’s fast evolving real estate scenario.

Golf Course Extension Road Commercial Projects
Premium Office Space Gurgaon
IT Office Space In Gurgaon
Commercial Property Gurgaon
Office For Lease In Gurgaon
Office Space For Rent Gurgaon
New Commercial Projects Gurgaon
Office For Rent in Gurgaon
Commercial Office Space Gurgaon
Commercial Property For Sale Gurgaon
Commercial Space For Rent In Gurgaon
Commercial Projects In Faridabad
Commercial Space For Rent In Faridabad
Office Space for Rent Faridabad
New Commercial Projects In Faridabad
Commercial Property for Sale In Faridabad

real estate said...

Great information shared in article, which as help most of the viewer.
Provident Welworth City
Ramky One Karnival
Royal Pavilion