Still waiting on a Lanikai 8-string ordered in August!

I wonder if any of you have insight on this situation.

On August 30, I purchased a Lanikai o8-e from ebay. The seller is a well-established brick-and-mortar store and online seller of musical instruments. (Not mgm or elderly, but well established. I don't want to mention their name in case this situation is normal, or solely due to Lanikai, etc.).

Anyway, a day or two later, the Store e-mailed and said the ebay listing was in error -- and that they did not actually have any of those models in stock yet, but would be getting some in 6 weeks or so. If I didn't want to wait that long, the Store offered to refund my money or send me another uke and refund the difference. But since the uke was a gift from my fiancee (we'd just gotten engaged-- a story I will tell another time), I told the Store i would just wait till it came in.

So, the months go by, and every couple of weeks I'd send an e-mail checking in on this (a by-product of my UAS). They'd say "hopefully soon." In November I was told that according to the store's rep, the shipment of ukes was "on the water" and would be in by the end of the month, if not sooner. That didn't happen. I last heard from the seller on December 1, 2009 saying they didn't have the uke and didn't know when it would arrive, but I'd be the "first to know."

Anyway, now it's December 16, 2000 -- 3 1/2 months since I ordered it -- and it still hasn't arrived, and I haven't heard when it will. The seller has been nice about this -- it was a VERY good price for this uke, with free shipping, and they've said that for my troubles they are throwing in a free hard case. So I'm NOT worried that I'm getting cheated. But the delivery time is mystifying to me. This is an "off the rack" non-custom instrument.

Is this kind of delay typical? Perhaps Lanikai ships instruments to its dealers only sporadically?

I'm no expet but this could be b/c it is an 8 string. If I'm not mistaken i think that there is some kind of priority with dealers and companies (that is why some dealers seem to have more selection than others or they get new items before others). Maybe your dealer is lower on the priority list or maybe Lanikai isn't making as many 8 strings. 8 strings are not very common. Have they already charged the card or are they waiting for the shipment of the item? Is this brick and morter store close to you so you can pop your head in and say Hi?

Thanks for your response. The store is 1,000 miles away so a pop in is not possible. They've charged my card, with my permission. I have all of the records and correspondence, so Im not worried about being cheated.

I had a feeling that it might be as you say --that the manufacturer just doesn't ship many 8-strings and doesn't ship that often.

The local music store here will only get one 8 string at a time with a hefty wait. Say's he can't get them any faster and he is lucky to get what he does. It's my impression that they don't make a whole lot of them, they are a little unusual, after all.

cjensen91910 said:

The local music store here will only get one 8 string at a time with a hefty wait. Say's he can't get them any faster and he is lucky to get what he does. It's my impression that they don't make a whole lot of them, they are a little unusual, after all.

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That is true. I talked with Cheryl at Mele once and she told me that if I wanted an 8 string i better get one when they have them in stock b/c they aren't as common as the other style ukes.

I have also talked to another online dealer, whom will remain nameless, and was informed that he gathered the impression that when ukes are made they are made in lots and only so many get made at a time. he thinks that this number is 12 at a time (not sure why) and that if there are 15 dealers wanting one then 3 will have to wait for the next batch.

With E-Bay, general rule of thumb, if your item doesn't arrive in within 40 days, file a dispute. I had a dealer email me prior to that 40 day deadline asking me "please don't fle a dispute, I'm aware of your situation and am getting it shipped, you should have it very soon." Never got it. And the dealer is GONE! Checking his feedback, he did the same thing to a bunch of people. So my rule now, no exceptions, 39 days and a dispute gets filed. I can always inform ebay (or paypal or the credit-counters) that the dispute has been settled.

At this stage I would start with an email to info@lanikaiukes.com Let them know the situation and tell them you want your merchandise. Give them the name of the vendor and ask if there is some other dealer who may have one in stock who could send one to your vendor. If they don't respond, contact your credit card company and ask them what options you have. If that doesn't work, go viral. Start a Blog-site called "Lanikai Ukuleles Hates Babies and Puppy Dogs". Other than that, chalk it up to experience.

edit:

Who is the vendor?

Ugh. I just contacted the vendor, and asked if they had any idea when the instrument would come in. There response was little more than "Not yet." Very frustrating, since in early September i was told "six weeks" and in early November I was told "this month."

I understand that the vendor may be waiting in line to receive the instrument, but it's mystifying to me that they would have no idea when it would come in. I'm going to take HoldinCoffee's advice and contact lanikai to see if i can at least get a ball-park date. The waiting isn't the problem, it's being left in the dark. . . .

Wow, this is beginning to sound like the Duke Ukem Forever franchise.

--Mark

Put this in the file under "squeaky wheel gets the grease" .... so right after my last post, I follow HoldinCoffee's advice and send off an e-mail to Lanikai, explaining what has happened, that I am not upset with the vendor, but would like to get an idea of when the shipment will come in.

2 1/2 hours later I get an e-mail from the vendor -- the uke is on its way! I then heard from Lanikai who explained shipment had been delayed many times. When they got my e-mail they called their rep and the vendor to verify my story, and now the rep is sending it directly to me to save time. Should be here next week!

Thanks for the advice and well-wishes! All's well that end's well!

There is actually a good story that goes along with this uke, which i'll post sometime after it arrives.

Eight strings for the New Year! :cheers: