Audubon Strings

One of the most non-​responsive businesses I’ve ever worked with. I called many times with questions. My calls were not returned. My emails were answered sporadically, but just enough to get me to place an order.
Shortly after placing the order, I was told there was a delay, no explanation. I waited ten days, but heard nothing. So I called and emailed, but heard nothing despite a charge on my credit card.
Eventually I called my credit card company to initiate a dispute, and that call got me the refund.
Bottom line: this store should not be running an online shop. They clearly can’t communicate. It’s more than inept. It’s lackadaisical, and I don’t want a lackadaisical organization handling my money.
Regarding the response below from Audubon, no, I was not contacted about a substitution either by email or by phone. All I knew was that my order had not gone out. Seriously, why spend anytime writing these reviews if the shop was actually in communication. Aside from being told of a delay, there was no phone call or email from Nancy, the associate I was in contact with.

Well, here I am again. I did get a refund, but the deliberately misleading reply of the business owner in response to my comment forces me to return. He tries to «imply» that I «implied» this went on for two weeks. Read my review. It says 11 days from ¹⁰⁄₃₀. Count on your calendar. The math is correct.
He also babbles on about a «delay» of one day at times depending on the shipping method. ONE day is NOT 11 days without shipping. I would cut him some slack on the fact I ordered it Friday and they didn’t process it until Monday, except that’s irrelevant once you hit 11 days with no shipment.
Read the other reviews here, too many people having the same problem, with the same bland and smooth «non-​responses» and distortions coming back from Harland. Audubon apparently feels the need to rush out and put bandages on things, but how much better to have handled it correctly from the get-​go. I note in an e-​mail from him that he has quite a different story to tell there as opposed to his face-​saving comment here. Here, why, it’s all my fault and I’m distorting things to make him look worse, poor baby. In the e-​mail he says, however, «Occasionally mistakes are made (once or twice a year perhaps). Unfortunately yours occurred and this is an exceptionally trying time in the face of Nancy’s unexpected and abrupt absence.» The Nancy bit is laughable, as if her leaving early yesterday or not being in today explains why the item wasn’t shipped in a timely manner LAST week. Harland should learn that rationalization and prevarication are no substitute for honesty and intergrity. Plus b.s. smells bad.
Please read the other reviews here, and you should google Audubon and see what people in various chat rooms and string resources online say about them. Ordered a set of strings, was told it was in stock and would ship shortly, and now, 11 days later, no strings, no tracking number, was told yesterday AGAIN package would ship, STILL no tracking number, not shipped. The owner has a classic line in his responses «We thank (name) for his/​her comment.» It’s complete b.s. Mainly he responds to try to gloss over that they routinely seem to have far more problems shipping product than Shar or Southwest or other reputable dealers and you can bet he’ll have a «misunderstanding» or «human errror» or else just outright spin things so somehow it’s «reasonable.» Again, if you are thinking of doing business with this place, look at ALL the reviews, and see how often this same complaint of non-​response, evasive response, lack of communication, comes up over and over. Then check reviews for the places I mention and other shops. The difference is clear and undeniable. And now they have my money and I have no strings. If you have 2, 3, 5 weeks to wait, this is the place for you!

I hate writing bad reviews. Let me start there. I’m a small business owner and understand that stuff happens, but the lack of concern and level of ineptitude from the folks at Audubon Strings has left me no other choice.
I live in Portland, Oregon, and found Audubon Strings’s website after learning I’m allergic to my new violin’s rosin. Everything I read pointed to Geipel Light Anti-​Allergenic Blend Rosin as the way to go, so I googled it and was surprised to find that this little shop in New Haven was the only place listed as selling it.
So I placed my order on January 11^th. The next day I got a nice message from Nancy at Audubon Strings saying that they expected to ship my order within 2 – 3 business days. «Great,» I thought. That’s good timing. So I figured I’d probably have the rosin and be able to start playing my violin by the 18^th or so, at the latest.
But no. On January 22^nd, eleven days after my order, the status on their site for my order was still «Awaiting Shipment.» So I sent Nancy a message asking why my order hadn’t shipped and when it would.
No answer.
Two days later, on the 24^th, I sent another message with the subject line «Please reply to my inquiry!» I also left a message on their voice mail that day. Finally, on the afternoon of the 26^th, Nancy replied, apologized, and explained that «the product was on a slight backorder and is now available. I am upgrading your shipment to priority and it will ship today. I will forward the tracking information shortly.» I did receive a tracking email with expedited shipping information just minutes later.
But THEN… on the 26^th I decided to check the order on the USPS website, and it said that the pre-​shipping info had been sent to them, but they didn’t have the package yet, so no shipping information was available. THEY STILL HADN’T SHIPPED THE DAMN ROSIN!
Today’s January 29^th. According to the tracking report, USPS got the package YESTERDAY!!! And it’s still on the east coast in transit to Portland, OR. So, eighteen days after placing the order, I still don’t have the rosin.
The worst part is that I have a feeling they never would have contacted me if I hadn’t asked over and over what was going on. They lied about when they’d send it out initially and then lied again when they said they’d ship it out on the 26^th. And not once did they offer to refund my money for having to wait three weeks for an order that should have taken no time to fill.
And honestly, if they would have just been honest, told me that the product was on back order from the beginning, and given me a realistic timeline, I would be writing a nice review about how glad I was to find this little music shop that carries the rosin I need. I would have given them at least 3 – 4 stars if they’d just shown me the most basic courtesy. In other words, they failed at a basic business axiom: under promise and over deliver. They over promised and under delivered, and that will piss people off every time.
I hope I won’t need to replace this new rosin for a very long time, and when I do, I will NOT be ordering from Audubon Strings!

I ordered an instrument stand and case from a well known internet retailer. After months of backorder notices, I emailed the manufacturer and was informed that the items were available. I then contacted Audubon Strings and talked to their cheerful customer service person who said that they could get me the needed stand and case. I received the items in days and for less money than the other business.
Thanks Audubon Strings!

PLEASE do NOT go to Audubon Strings if you can help it. I would very much have liked to write a positive review of the store because the employees there seemed nice, and this is one of the few string shops within a large radius of New Haven. However, a friendly façade cannot excuse a complete negligence of service.
Many months ago, I sent in a cello for a bridge repair. I was told that I would receive a phone call when the repair was completed (within a week, they said) but the call never came. I went to the store three weeks later and they promised to have it done within a few days. A few weeks later, still no phone call. Meanwhile, I had to quit an orchestra for the lack of instrument. I went in again and they still had not touched the cello, and despite their claims to have it done by the next day, they failed to keep their commitment. Weary of confronting them, I sent them an email and received no response. Luckily, I did not have to pay until I picked the cello up. I wasn’t a serious player and let the issue drop temporarily, focusing on other instruments.
I went in recently, six months after I first sent in the cello, and the store clerk could not locate the instrument. I was asked to wait an unknown amount of time until her colleague returned, but in the meantime we found it. To my surprise, it was fixed. To my greater surprise, I was told that I could leave without paying.
If the matter had been closed at that point, I would have been OK with the experience, since they at least took accountability of the delay. However, I found a bill in my mailbox a few days later charging the full price, with an inexplicable late fee. I could not imagine a more distasteful way to conduct business. I would now rather drive two round trips to New York City to fix and pick-​up an instrument than walk a few blocks to this shop again.
EDIT: This is a little late, but the store did end up dropping the charge. Thus I have added an extra star. It seems like if you have a few months to kill and want a free cello repair, this would be a perfect place to go.

I have had mixed feelings about this shop since it first opened (I was ~11). In the beginning, when I went with my private violin teacher, and he would act as a liaison, I was fairly satisfied (yea I know-​what a bratty 11 year old). For the past few years, I have become increasingly disappointed and absolutely appalled.
Pros: It is inexpensive. It is conveniently located in New Haven, right by Yale and other music resources.
Cons: Obviously that comes at a cost. I recommend Audubon Strings as a good resource for music products, but you can also do that just as easily (and probably cheaper) during one of SHAR’s sales or online anywhere. But more importantly, save yourself the devaluation of your instruments, stress and inability to play from a poor repair (or even just a supposedly simple maintenance…) job, and long term higher expenses by taking your service requiring instrumental needs to a specialist.
I have had far too many poor rehairs I had to get redone elsewhere to even consider this place reputable any longer for services-​even for the ABSOLUTE SIMPLEST MAINTENANCE JOBS. Do yourself a favor and take your repairs and maintenance jobs elsewhere.

I recently had Audubon Strings fix my Andreas Eastman 405 Violin which I bought in Boston 6 years ago. They were wonderful and fixed it, along with new strings for $ 142. I highly recommend them.
Here is my story: The original bridge had warped. I took it to the shop in Boston where it was bought and the estimate for repair and new strings was $ 590! The luthier noted the repair would include: bridge: $ 275, projection boost $ 165 and finger board plane: $ 150. OUTRAGEOUS!
Since I knew abit about violins and also researched on– line the appropriate repairs for my top of the line student violin (cost $ 1200 without the bow, –bought a graphite Coda one instead). I went searching for a luthier when I returned from college for the summer. When I brought in the violin and explained the problem, the luthier at Audubon knew immediately what to do — it did not need a projection boost nor an expensive bridge nor a FB plane. Instead he replaced the bridge which corrected for the action (was too high to begin with for my playing), put the exact strings on it I wanted, and cleaned it. Most importantly, it plays better then ever! Thank you –Hayley J., Northeastern University Orchestra, Boston, MA

For my new year’s resolution, I vowed to put more «on» my children, rather than to make an empty promise to better myself. Hey, why not? Isn’t it much easier to focus on someone else’s life than to come face to face with true self? Plus, being an immigrant, my parents had lived vicariously through my life, and now it was my turn to do the same.
So came my new motto: If you’re too lazy to learn a new instrument, force your child (ren) to learn instead.
And this is how I came across Audubon Strings.
What an awesome place! You can buy, rent, sell string instruments for a reasonable cost. You can get the details on their website:
For myself, I came to rent a violin (for my daughter that is) but my hope is to be able to purchase a violin at the end of this trial. The best thing about this place is, that the cost of the rental can be fully transferred for purchasing later on. This rental option was best suited for my growing child.
The staff here was friendly, the service was efficient, and the choices/​options were many. For being open for only two years, this place is doing great with over 500 instruments.
I’d highly recommend this place for anyone who plays string instrument.