Cordoba 15cm keep or return?

I bought a cordoba 15cm online from guitar center. What arrived was different than the advertised image. The 15cm doesn't have a glossy finish like the picture instead it is a chalky super thin smooth finish. It also doesn't fit into the standard case I bought for it. Is this normal for the 15cm? I won't be able to make it to a store to return for days and my curiosity is killing me. Guitar center customer service said I should just return it and get an entire new brand!

I loved the sound of the cordoba from YouTube reviews. I liked the Mitchell 70 too but the cordoba had way better sound to me. But if durability is going to be a problem I'll trade it in.

What I am worried about is that finish, is it harder to keep the nonglossy from cracking or staining from hand oils vs. Glossy finish?

It just wasn't what I expected from reviews and photos. Anyone seen a recent 15cm and experienced this?

I don't have a case for my 15cm so couldn't say about the case. What case did you buy?

I have had mine for close to two years and with it being a laminate isn't so prone to cracking, so I would say they are durable. Mine has a finish somewhere between a gloss and a matte finish(I wouldn't really call it either). If you are unhappy with the sound I would say return and try a display model if possible(same style or different). Many ukes come with a thin matte finish so the wood would resonate more in theory. I haven't had any stains on the body from oils and I clean the fretboard every string change with some cheap lemon oil(close to every 2-3 months).

I bought the standard concert ukuele size case with lock from Guitar Center. Customer Service said it should have fit but it won't the ukuele is just too wide.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Musicians-Gear/Concert-Ukulele-Case-Black-1274115039646.gc

Jagadeesh, that was what I was worried about. In all those 5 star reviews the only bad thing was some people said it has consistency issues. Being a newb I can't tell if I have a good uke or not. I am worried Guitar Center will just try to upsale or just hand it back to me and it does have issues.

Can't tell if it's a "good one" or not. the 15CMs are generally better sounding than any all laminate uke in it's street price range. Andrew at the Ukesite agreed. I like to polish my satin ukes up a bit to a rich low sheen. If it's set up properly and sounds good, I'd say keep it. I bought a Cordoba tenor from a UU member and had no complaints of any kind.

PhilUSAFRet said:

Can't tell if it's a "good one" or not. the 15CMs are generally better sounding than any all laminate uke in it's street price range. Andrew at the Ukesite agreed. I like to polish my satin ukes up a bit to a rich low sheen. If it's set up properly and sounds good, I'd say keep it. I bought a Cordoba tenor from a UU member and had no complaints of any kind.

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What do you use to polish it?

This uke really looks like it barely has any finish on it. I am definitely going to compare it to another in store. I was so excited for it and now I am bummed out.

You should at least return the case. No point in paying for something you can't use. I only bought a case separately once (for a soprano) and it also didn't fit. The instrument wasn't an unusual size, so I was a bit surprised by that because I had figured that all soprano cases hold all sopranos, unless the soprano is unusually big (it wasn't). The other two hardshell cases I have came directly with their respective cases.

Lots of folks use auto scratch and haze remover. I used Flitz plastic polish with good success, but I bought some Stewmac fine polish, and some swirl remover. I haven't used any power buffers, use an old t-shirt a' la' spit shine and buff it off with a dollar store microfiber wash cloth.

Ha, so I guess I am going to keep it for now. I've been playing with it and it is just too fun to return.

Good call, I think! This happened to me with an iPad Air 2. I didn't pay attention when I ordered one and assumed the silver ones would have a black bezel like the old iPad 2. It didn't, and came with a white bezel. My first reaction was to not keep it, but since it was the weekend, I figured I might as well play some with it until Monday. By the next Monday, I loved it so much (and found the white bezel actually easier on my eyes than the black ones I always had) that I kept it. Still loving it almost a year on.