I'm in Belgium, so I avoid non-EU stores, as custom fees are huge and unpredictable.
Thomann
- good prices overall.
- some bargains to be found, if you look around (they're not always advertised as such).
- fast communication
- fast order processing
- well packaged shipments
- incredibly large catalogue, most items are in stock
- hard to find stuff sometimes due to the way products are categorized; customer feedback is often informative; sales ranking give you an idea of which products sell best; good bargains overview (but remember, sometimes the 'regular' price is a bargain by itself)
Bax
- good prices overall. They seem to fluctuate according to stock (items that are out of stock seem to be cheaper).
- when they advertise a product as discounted, don't trust the regular price that is shown
- good communication, apart from lag
- fast order processing
- well packaged shipments
- horrible search, it's easy to get the impression some products are missing from their catalogue while they do show depending on how you look for them
- often shipments include vouchers for further purchases
Gear4music
- bargains to be found
- fast order processing
- well packaged shipments
- UK shop, so mind the power outlets - they do ship a converter when you order from, say, continental Europe)
Muziker
- customers are offered permanent vouchers
- stock seems to be rather limited
- extremely fast, shipments arrive like clockwork 2 working days after ordering, despite the distance
- good communication
- packaging leaves to be desired
- they seem to be reluctant to do partial shipments (per order, even when you have a lot of open orders) or even unwilling to do those (may be down to their software, rather than a matter of policy)
musicstore.de
- more expensive generally (good prices for Behringer pedals though, if you don't mind the wait as partial shipments seem to be off)
- they seem to be unwilling to do partial shipments. It seems I'll have to wait 3 months for an order of 4 products, 2 of which were in stock both when I ordered, and when I complained after 2 weeks - after a lot of mails they're out of stock now). Their reply to my protest: "we don't mind if you cancel"
- one item arrived broken, was replaced
- slow order processing
- communication leaves a lot to be desired
- their printed newsletter has a one-time voucher
Key Music (Belgian brick and mortar store with webshop)
- expensive, but I did get one pedal rather cheap there. It was shown as being in stock, after purchasing I was told to wait a month. Having had a terrible and costly customer experience with them in the 90s, I angrily protested and they sorted it.
