Buying a Uke without a Test Drive

Just seems like there are an awful lot of people buying ukes just on written reviews and video's. Personally I would want to hold/play & hear a uke before I purchase it. I live in an area where there are not many ukes close by. I purchased one online which is top of the line and I read nothing but good reviews about it. When I got it, I did not care for the sound or feel of it. Luckily they had a return policy and I only had to eat the cost of shipping. A uke should be like a pair of shoes. You put them on and they either feel good or they don't. You don't purchase them thinking that eventually they will stretch and feel better.
I'm interested to hear what others think about this..

I agree but a trip to Hawaii every time I want a new uke wouldn't be cost efficient.

Out of my 7 ukes, only 2 were acquired without a "test drive". My Martin S-O (Gift), and my Sopranino (From MGM).

I'm happy with all my ukes. Sometimes you just get lucky I guess.

It's all about who you deal with if you ask me. If you have an honest to god ukulele lover who's not out to cheat you, you've got nothing to worry about. When I bought my KoAloha from Kent at AlohaU, I only saw a few pictures of it and heard him play it on the telephone. Furthermore, he sent me some clips of it via email. He has a 7 day return policy I think. But I loved the ukulele when I first set eyes on it and played it; IT'S A KOALOHA!
Of course there's no way to really get the feeling until you get it into your hands, but most ukulele dealers aren't usually out to push the sale, just slightly persuade. So you don't have to worry about them shipping you a crappy uke. But tastes are hard to convey through any form of media, so I the dealer can be blamed for that.:smileybounce:
Although its ideal to play an ukulele before you buy it, it's often not practical. Living in GA, there are only two main dealers. UkeRepublic, and AlohaU that are relevant to me. I am aware of some ukulele dealers in FL, but I haven't found anything down there that I want; not yet anyways. MGM sells a bunch of different ukuleles and if I were to say "hey MGM, let me try them out before I play them." he'd might agree to that for a few ukes, but no more if you don't buy anything." Think about it. The costs associated with "trying out" before buying ukuleles would be astronomical. Each ukulele would have to be insured with guaranteed delivery confirmation, therefore rising the cost of the ukulele itself. In the end, if you try the ukulele, and you don't like it, you've gone and wasted probably $50+ on shipping already. That fifty+ dollars eats into your cash that you could have invested into a keeper ukulele. Why doesn't the dealer pay for the shipping and handling? Why should they? They can just as easily make a sale to people who are willing to buy it without trying it out.

Those who don't try stuff out rely on reviews. That's why consumer reports was created. You can't buy every single 60in. television to test out to see which one you like best. You eat up the companies inventory. By not considering other peoples' reviews, you are implying that your opinion is above theirs and carries a higher standard. This might prove to be rather offensive to those who genuinely love their ukuleles and are not trying to get a kick back or something. No offense intended.

So.. now that's I've ranted a good bit.... anyone up for an ukulele leasing company? We could charge crazy high interest rates!

specialmike said:

...By not considering other peoples' reviews, you are implying that your opinion is above theirs and carries a higher standard.....

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Not higher. Just different.

deach said:

Not higher. Just different.

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... Why you always doing that? patronizing me:bowdown:

Except one ukulele that I bought used I ordered ALL of mine from the internet.

It would be nice to try before I buy, but since I don't live anywhere near a good ukulele shop, the only way is to buy online. I think only 2 out of 20+ ukes I've bought were tested in person. I try to be informed about ukes I buy by paying attention to reviews and comments from others online. So far just about every uke I've bought has met my expectations for it.

well i have to and had to buy my ukes just by chance hopeing there good, living in australia there are no places to buy a decent uke, and im not going into the 1 local store which sells some decent ukes and paying $780 for a fluke tenor (with no rosewood upgrade) and $2600 for a kamaka tenor so i gotta go off reviews and youtube vids, my next uke which i hope is going to be a mele all koa which im ordering is again by just hope and luck and off what other people say, you have to do what you have to do, and flying to hawaii is just not feasable

Check out East Village Music in New York, they have a good uke selection.

For Example

For me I play the A minor chord using my thumb coming over the top of the neck. I have short fingers but I am able to do it. When I switched ukes the neck was a little wider and I had difficulty playing the same chord with my thumb.
Maybe eventually I would have adapted. But why should I have to adapt when there is problably the right uke out there for me.

sure it's risky to buy sight unseen, but of the several ukes i've bought, i've only been disappointed enough to return one.

as an aside, i've had much worse luck with trying new restaurants.

Here's a listing of music stores that carry ukes. Just scroll down to NY. I have no idea if any are close to you.

I bought my Marca Aquila and my Aloha blind over the internet. I am very pleased with both. If you exclude buying over the internet from consideration you deny yourself an incredible selection of ukes that you could potentially enjoy. It's like love. Ya gotta take a chance.

GX9901 said:

...So far just about every uke I've bought has met my expectations for it.

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Well it's not exactly like you're getting middle of the road instruments either. I would hope you're going to be happy with them at their average price point.


I've had a few missteps as far as buying online, but I'll agree that at the very least purchasing from somebody who plays usually ups the likelihood of scoring a player.

And since the problem with the uke you sent back seems to stem more from your own personal playing quirks than perhaps the instrument itself, I'd also suggest taking the nut measurement of a neck that you find comfortable and using that as a guideline in the future. (or just learn to play Am like a normal person )

Everybody has their own little personal preferences as far as their likes and dislikes in an instrument, the main thing is not to fault a manufacturer or an instrument with being wrong or defective because you do things a bit differently or because you've got to make adjustments to the action to your particular liking.

Lanark said:

Well it's not exactly like you're getting middle of the road instruments either. I would hope you're going to be happy with them at their average price point.

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That's true, but I try set my expectations accordingly. I mean, I did buy a Fender several months ago and was pretty happy with it. Had I expected it to be like a Kanile'a, I would have been disappointed.

russ_buss said:

sure it's risky to buy sight unseen, but of the several ukes i've bought, i've only been disappointed enough to return one.

as an aside, i've had much worse luck with trying new restaurants.

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Didn't the restaurants have a return policy?

Kanaka916 said:

Here's a listing of music stores that carry ukes. Just scroll down to NY. I have no idea if any are close to you.

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Four in the state, of which three are in New York City. So one uke store listed in upstate New York, which is around 300 by 300 miles in size.

I mail ordered my uke.

Kanaka916 said:

Here's a listing of music stores that carry ukes. Just scroll down to NY. I have no idea if any are close to you.

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Wow! Kanaka..I didn't know that this thread existed.

Excellent work and thank you for compiling that!!! :shaka:

Deciding on a uke is a much more complicated business that it might seem. OK, you can go into a store and try a uke (if you are lucky enough to know a store that stocks decent ukes), but even THAT is no guarantee that you will be totally happy with your choice. I find I have to live with a uke for a while before I know whether I will take to it or not.

How many of us have sold a uke, and then wished they'd kept it? I know I have. Sometimes - like it says in the song - you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

I've got at least a dozen ukes, but if I had to keep just one, and let the rest go, it would be an impossible choice.

I've been very lucky buying on line, I've never yet had to return a uke.

Ukantor.