RIGHT before opening Mudcat, I just made my LATEST online order from Elderly. (under my non-Mudcat name!) I've been ordering from them for many years, and it has ALWAYS been a great experience. They have a wonderful selection, excellent prices, and great customer service. When I have had a question, I've had no problem getting a prompt response.

Last year (or so) I made an order, and didn't hear anything for a few weeks. So I e-mailed them for the status (I think it was my first online order), and quickly got back a reply explaining they were waiting for one backordered item, which they specified by name, and as soon as it came in, they would ship the whole order. (I had checked off exactly that option on the order page.) Ok, that was fine, as long as I knew what was going on. I waited a few more weeks, and sure enough, the entire order showed up.

I don't have a problem with waiting in a situation like this, as I know not everything is in stock. Lately, I mostly check the "no backorder option" only because I might have the chance to buy the same item at a summer festival or concert within the next few weeks after the order. But If I really want something that's hard to find, I'm willing to wait as long as it takes if they can get it for me, which they generally can.

I once ordered an instrument from them, several years ago, that I decided not to keep and returned. The refund was posted to my charge card unbelievably quickly. I was impressed; I've rarely gotten that quick a response with refunds from other companies.

I for one am a longtime happy customer and will continue to order from Elderly and recommend them to everyone I know.
Zhenya

P.S. I've often found when people complain about something, that they didn't bother to read the instructions, customer service info, or whatever. (I am admittedly, sometimes guilty of this myself!) A lot of questions could be answered, and irritation avoided, if people would take the time to do that.