Be careful where you get your new Moon Bird from - it may not have a warranty

shanmoon

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Just thought I would share something I discovered. I had an Anuenue Moon Bird concert. A few months back I sold it and soon realized that was a horrible mistake and went looking for another. HMS did not have any listed, so I started checking Reverb and Ebay, where I found some very overpriced listings for new Moon Birds.

When I looked at the photos however, I saw that the holographic sticker of authenticy (which has the serial #) was removed. I asked the seller why the removed it and was told "because I think the stickers are ugly" which seemed like an odd reason particularly since the sellers sticker they replaced the Anuenue sticker was quite honestly rather ugly.

I was concerned that this meant they were either counterfeit, B-Stock, or maybe even stolen. I might be overly paranoid, but having had to return a Kala for serious maunfacturing defects, I contacted Anuenue asking if they would honor the warranty without the sticker. I was told no they would not (they directed me to this web page on the Anuenue site: http://www.anuenue-uke.com/en/story/index/2) which specifcally states that removal of the serial # sticker invalidates the warranty.

I know it is probably pretty unlikely that a North America or European buyer is likely to be sending a Moon Bird (or other high end quality Anuenue) back for a warranty issue, but I thought I would share this just in case, since just this week a friend of mine started to buy one and asked me about the same listings I had looked at on Reverb.

I steered him away, and sent him to HMS since they actually often have Anuenue's in stock not listed on the website (that's how I got mine from HMS... I called and asked when they would have more in stock, and Andrew told me they had more that weren't listed yet).

Besides, an uke from the reputable folks at places like HMS/Mim/Uke Republic/Eldery/World of Ukes/Southern Ukelele Store is going to have a proper setup, almost certainly better than something from a generic seller on Ebay or Reverb!
 
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Wow, thanks for posting that. I got mine from HMS. For a split second when I first got it, I thought about removing that sticker from the back of the headstock because it was a teeny bit off centered. Then I saw that the sticker had the serial # on it & changed my mind about taking it off. Sure glad I left it alone.
 
Thank you for this tidbit of info. I just ready to order a concert from World of Ukes (Carl via email is responsive and highly recommended) and called HMS/Uke Site at the last second. Andrew had two unlisted in stock and now I am staying very calm waiting for setup and shipping.

I would have ordered from World of Ukes but had a small concern about the CITES stuff (Carl told me the risk is all his... still). Southern Uke Store will NOT ship this model to the USA because of it.
 
I wasn't even aware of CITES when I brought my 1st Moon Bird uke from Hong Kong to the US. I was very glad when I found a US seller (HMS) with one in stock. I would have been very nervous about not having a proper CITES permit buying one overseas the second time around.
 
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I've just bought a Anuenue bird tenor and the round sticker with the serial was placed to the left of the the square label inside the uke.Hard to see and reach. You'll probably not be able to see it on normal photos of the uke.
 
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I've just bought a Anuenue bird tenor and the round sticker with the serial was placed to the left of the the square label inside the uke.Hard to see and reach. You'll probably not be able to see it on normal photos of the uke.

Mine, purchased from HMS is on the back of the headstock. The pictures of the ukulele on the HMS website clearly showed it in this location. I could zoom in on the picture & see the sticker in that location, as well as see the serial #. I have all my purchase paperwork, so I'll make sure I keep it safe.
 
There was a tenor last week that lasted about a day. The one on there now has the serial number sticker on the back of the headstock.
 
There was a tenor last week that lasted about a day. The one on there now has the serial number sticker on the back of the headstock.

That's where the SN is on the Moonbird that I bought from a UU member.
It would seem odd for Anuenue to not be consistent in where they place it? But, that's also not the usual place I look for a SN, so they're just doing things a bit differently.
It's a great ukulele, though!
 
My Moon Bird Tenor was purchased from HMS last fall and does have the holographic sticker on the back of the headstock.
 
I was just on the Anuenue website reading their warranty. There is only a 12 month warranty on the Anuenue ukes and that is through a dealer.
Only a one year warranty. Makes me reconsider buying a Moon Bird. I would expect better than that.
 
Even with a reputable seller there can still be problems. I bought a different ukulele (Italian) from a smaller " reputable" seller. Within a couple of months the neck warped. I had to jump through multiple hoops from the seller. And it took 4 months before I was finally reimbursed. Thankfully they eventually honored the warranty.
 
We're spoiled by companies like KoAloha and Lanikai that guarantee their workmanship, period.

I'm a little shocked that a company would void its warranty due to an external sticker. I've even had a label fall off the inside of a ukulele (it was in a school setting with bad humidity issues).
 
I am not shocked. The company works out of an environment where sharing and stealing ideas and copying are very blurred together. A fake that is sub-standard, even one, has the potential to destroy market share if a punter has a good story to post on Reddit or UU. East Asia has a huge consumer market base, copies of the MoonBird are entirely possible.
Ukulele makers in Hawaii live in a different legal and cultural environment where stealing ideas and making fakes is not acceptable and is harder to do successfully.
Having benefitted from the Koaloha warranty several years after buying my instrument, I know the amazing value of the Koaloha after sales support. But I did pay a premium price for the instrument. I had the opportunity to pay less and get a factory second, which has a completely different warranty and after sales set-up.
The MoonBird ukes are not selling at a premium price, part of their attraction is a lower purchase price. It may be unfair to expect to get a comprehensive warranty and after sales service if you are not going to pay the premium price. If Anuenue pushed up the price to allow for a lifetime warranty, would the MoonBird still be as popular as it is?
A key thing if you get a genuine MoonBird is the sticker. If you want to get the one year warranty, you need to leave it on for 365.25 days. Then on Day 326 you can rip it off and have a sigh of relief, unless you hope to resell the instrument, then you might need the sticker as a way to prove that it is genuine?

I have no idea where you're getting your prices, but Moon Birds absolutely sell at a premium price. On HMS, a Koaloha Hawaiian made concert is listed for $1,037, and a Moon Bird concert is listed for $1,398. "The allure of a Moon Bird is based on the lower price"? Only if someone has never priced a Koaloha and a Moon Bird. Koaloha manages their warranty while still selling some of their Hawaiian ukes for less. The allure of the Moon Bird is the Moon Bird itself, for those who want one.
 
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I bought a Moonbird tenor from this dealer in April. The ad said, "Make an offer," so I did. We settled on $1,050. Reading your post, I was uncertain about the decal, but I just looked, and it's there. I wouldn't call it ugly. It's more like stealth - barely visible.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=moonbird+ukulele&_sacat=0

Buying a used Moonbird, the warranty doesn't matter, since it applies only to the original buyer.
 
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