Same Day Shipment

Our most popular items will ship the same business day the order is placed.

Same day shipping is available Monday through Friday. A valid order placed before 2pm EST will ship the same day. Orders placed after 2pm EST will ship the next business day.

There are some important details you'll want to read below.

How Can We Ship Same Day?

Orders are sent securely from our website to our mainframe system for processing. Our mainframe coordinates a series of steps we take to verify your identity and authorize your credit card. For valid orders, a packing slip and label are printed directly from the mainframe for all items on your order that are ready to ship. For most orders, this is the first and only time any paper is involved in our highly efficient process. The mainframe keeps a record of any backordered items and automatically fills these orders immediately upon receipt of the item in our warehouse.

There are no worries that a store clerk will misplace your order, misprint your address on the shipping label, charge your credit card the wrong amount, or place your backorder in that "lost forever" status until you call to complain; our automated system makes sure you are treated right. We designed our system to near-perfection because we've had those same bad experiences you've had shopping with other music-instrument retailers.

When the warehouse receives an item from one of our vendors, this is recorded in our mainframe; likewise, each order that we receive from a customer is recorded in our mainframe. Because we record these inventory movements on every item in exact detail, the mainframe knows at all times exactly how many items we have in stock and conveys this information to our website. For good measure, we also routinely count the boxes in our warehouse and verify the accuracy of our already-accurate mainframe inventory counts. (And we have a lot of inventory.)

Once your box is packed, the contents (even including the packing slip) are scanned and compared to the mainframe's record of your order; we do this to confirm the accuracy of the shipment. Then your package is sealed and ready for pickup by the optimal shipping carrier, as determined by the mainframe (typically Federal Express or UPS). It is only at this point that your credit card is actually charged for the purchase - and only for the items that ship. The carrier typically scans your package at pickup in our warehouse or at their local hub. However, sometimes they expedite your package to the next hub before scanning it. As your package is scanned along the delivery route, this information is transferred back so you can track your order at all times from our website.

With all this automation, are mistakes even possible? Sure, but they are extremely rare. We designed the system this way so we could be confident in our ability to ship your valid order the same day you place it.

What items qualify for Same Day Shipment?

Items eligible for Same Day Shipment are labeled throughout the site as "In Stock" . This information is updated most frequently on the product page and at checkout and is almost realtime; the availability information on other pages on the site is updated less frequently (roughly every 6-24 hours).

Availability information updates from our warehouse to our website almost in realtime. We are highly confident of the status of each item whenever you view a page. However, we do not reserve inventory being viewed or even placed in shopping carts. So please be aware that we cannot guarantee this information until you have checked out. In particular, if you have been in the checkout area for more than about 10 minutes, we do recommend that you refresh the page to get the most current inventory prior to checking out.

What is a valid order?

A valid order is for a valid item at a valid price, placed with a US-issued credit card with complete and verifiable address and other information. Details

Exceptions

In extremely unusual emergency circumstances beyond our control, we reserve the right to suspend the Same Day policy. These circumstances may include, but are not limited to, the following examples:

Warehouse, call center, or web operations lose power or telecom connectivity.
Warehouse, call center, or web operations lose capability due to adverse weather (blizzard), safety threat, or other factors.

Do we guarantee when the package will arrive?

On all items, we will refund expedited shipping charges if the carrier's service levels for your shipping method are not met. However, our "Guaranteed Same Day" applies to shipment and not to delivery.

What can you do if you don't feel we've lived up to our promises?

If you ever feel we have not lived up to any of our promises, we want to know about it - and we want a chance to do right if we agree.