African Rhythm Traders

[kana]

Anyone have any experiences they'd like to share, buying from African Rhythm Traders?

I purchased 10 skins (various kinds) to get their quanitity discount. The box arrived with only 8 skins. When I contacted them, they told me they don't make mistakes. They finally agreed to credit me for the two missing skins, but didn't want to credit me for any of the shipping.

The kicker was because I had only received 8 skins (even though I ordered 10) they said the skins I got should cost more, because I didn't get 10! Talk about a Catch-22!

This was my first time buying from them, and my first time buying skins. I've decided that I really can only use the full African goatskins, and probably won't use the Pakistani goatskin rounds, or Pakistani cowskin rounds. I have since asked if I can return those, and exchange them for the full African goatskins, and they are now saying that an exchange has to take place within 2 weeks (there is nothing on their site about a time frame). Now, they are just not responding...

So...my experience has not been good. Unless you've all had great experiences, I would not recommend them.

Kana

[kana]

This is the only info on their site regarding returns. Nothing regarding time frame...

Important INFO:

Skins will be shipped of assorted thickness, unless specified.
Skins are may be exchanged or returned at customer's shipping expense ONLY IF skin has not touched water and is in its original condition.
We are unable to take back skins that have been soaked, mounted, or cut-- so please inspect them well!
DO NOT use discount form for orders of less than 10 skins total per order...your order will take longer to process and you will be charged full price.
All skins types and sizes may be combined for quantity discount.

[bubudi]

the only order i ever made with these guys was for cds and dvds. first of all, the order took a whole month to arrive (i have since ordered several times from other us based stores and have always received the goods within two weeks max, and usually in 5-7 days). i was sent vhs instead of dvd on one 2 volume title, and sent a cd of a ballet africains performance instead of the dvd that i requested. apart from this, one title was missing from the order. later they said they were out of stock on that title, and had not charged this on the credit card. had they notified me of this at the time, i would have changed the order. i wrote them that since i hadn't opened the cd or vhs tapes, i would like to send them back for exchange. they agreed to exchange them but said that i would have to pay for the shipping again (approx $40). i told them that since they had made the mistake, they should waiver the shipping, since i was already going to the expense of sending it back to them. i also got the line from them that they don't make mistakes, and they stopped replying to emails after that, leaving me with the unwanted cd and tapes.

[Garvin]

I've dealt with these guys a few times in person and by mail... I wouldn't consider myself a Rhythm Traders fan either. I sort of have a feeling that they are still riding on the fact that at some point in the past (like 20 years ago) they were the premier supplier of West African drums, CD's, DVD's etc... I sort of sense that from the interactions I've had in the store, but their drums are definitely sub-par compared to the big boys these days. i was in the store one day when a djembe was being re-headed and the dude dropped it straight off the counter onto the concrete floor. I was shocked at the laughter that took place after that and just hoped it wasn't already someones drum who might never know to look for cracks after having it worked on by "pros". Shipping takes forever, and while I haven't gotten the "we don't make mistakes" line, I can certainly imagine seeing it coming from them. They do stock lots of CD's and DVD's that you can't find all in one place, but I would never by a shell or skin from them.

OH! I do remember buying rings from them a few years ago and the sizes came all messed up. I had to have a friend resize them in his metal shop for me.

Sorry, but if you are gonna specialize in this stuff, you gotta expect to be dealing with detail oriented customers.

[bops]

I've ordered plenty of CDs and videos from them over the years. No complaints there.

I ordered a jembe case from them about 6 or 7 years ago. It looked really nice on the website so I laid down my $100. The day it arrived, I put my drum inside and walked outside to wait for the bus. I was feelin' pretty slick. As the bus pulled up, I picked up the case by the shoulder strap and RIIIIIIP. Not 1 hour after landing on my doorstep... POS.

I called them immediately and talked to Brad (the owner). He agreed to take it back for a full refund. I can't remember if I paid return postage or not. I thought he was pretty fair about it, though I got the sense that I was not the first to experience that malfunction - It was a serious design flaw. All in all, I would say the service was pretty good (I was talking to the owner), but the products ... not so good.

Edited to add: I do also own a RT puller bar. With a few modifications, it's a great tool.

[Dugafola]

i've known Brad, owner of RT, quite well for a couple years.

if you have any issues at all with your orders etc., talk to him directly. do not talk to their online sales retailer dude or shipper. brad is very fair and reasonable.

i've always received top notch service from RT.

[e2c]

I've had some problems with them, too - all customer service-related, though nothing really horrible. Still, I would rather not use them as a go-to unless I have no other choice. The sense that I got from calling, etc. is that the staff I've dealt with are young and poorly trained.

I've only bought CDs and DVDs from them, which is likely how it will stay.

One thing I think is ridiculous: their base shipping charge for small items. $10.00 USD for a single CD is pretty outrageous! (I used to do book and music retail...)

[Beerfola]

I've had mixed results dealing with them also. There has only been a problem dealing with them, amazingly enough, when there is a problem. They didn't believe me when I told them that an item arrived broken. They did send another one out promptly but they laid on a bit of grief first. Not enough for me to want to stop dealing with them ever again but, I do have options.

[bubudi]

if you have any issues at all with your orders etc., talk to him directly. do not talk to their online sales retailer dude or shipper. brad is very fair and reasonable.

brad is the one i dealt with after the package arrived. he was the one who gave me the 'we don't make mistakes' line and then stopped responding to emails. when the owner acts like that, you know there is a problem.

knowing the owner does go a long way in terms of getting good service. that would explain why you have a different experience dealing with them.

One thing I think is ridiculous: their base shipping charge for small items. $10.00 USD for a single CD is pretty outrageous! (I used to do book and music retail...)

It's a lot worse if you live outside the US, and even if you do a fairly large cd order like i did, the rates don't go down (or not significantly). how they can charge the same shipping rate 20 times for an order of 20 cds and think it's ethical, i don't know, when a package of 20 cds would cost relatively little to post. in comparison, drumskull offer a 'buy 5, get one free deal' on their cds and dvds and their shipping rates reflect a fair adjustment for bulk orders.

also, garvin is right about the quality of their drums being lower than others recommended on this site. they don't do a particularly good job of mounting a skin on a drum. i just remembered several pictures of their 'master series' djembes, where the top ring looked like it was about 3 inches below the bearing edge. ouch! here are some examples:









if that's what they are selling as the top of the line, 'masters series' djembes and charging $595 - $650 plus shipping ($71 in USA or $250 international), then you'd hate to see their medium or lower range drums! plus they take 6-8 weeks to make and another month to arrive (unless you pick up at the shop). the above pics are straight off their website in the master series gallery

[bubudi]

dawn, did you get in contact with brad? how did it go?

[James]

He's like batman...so misunderstood.

ha ha haaaaaa

[e2c]

I've worked in retail CD sales and think RT's advice about choosing alternates is a very good idea. With imported discs (and books), there can be long spaces of time between deliveries - it's not like ordering from a distributor or warehouse that *always* carries X, Y or Z and knowing that they guarantee turnaround time. It's just the way things are, y'know?

Due to the fast changing nature of the recording industry, at any given time, some of your CD selections may be out of stock. To expedite your order, please select alternatives. You can do this by manually adding your alternative choices, the name of artist and title are fine, in order of preference, under the "Special Requests" section on the order form. This way, if we do not have all of your selections in stock, we can send your alternatives instead.

Re. my earlier remark about their minimum shipping charges, I should have qualified that by saying that I wish they offered alternate means of shipping for CDs, books and DVDs. The carrier they're using for domestic shipments has a fairly high flat-rate charge for single items.

[bubudi]

it's a cool idea to offer alternatives (not sure how long they been offering that). the person ordering should still be sent an email if the item they ordered is out of stock.

[kana]

Hey guys,

I forgot to mention that I thought my shipping was outrageous too! Granted, I live in Maui. I can't remember exactlly what it was, but it was double what everyone else was charging to ship over here.

I don't know who I talked to when I called about my shipment being short two skins. My requests to return the "rounds" and exchange for "full skins" (all at my expense), where all made via email. There would be nothing out of their pocket...even exchange, me paying for shipping both ways, and they still say they can't do it, and are not returning my emails.

This is their last email to me on 2/13:

"We usually don't take items back after two weeks, if it has been more than that, I will have to check with my superiors. I'm sure there might be no issue but I just want to check before you go through the trouble and cost of sending them back. I will contact you early next week, since we are closed for the weekend.
Thanks for your time,
-Mario Sandoval"

I'll try giving them a call, and asking for Brad to see if it makes a difference. Sure wish I knew you guys before I forked out $200...

Kana

[bubudi]

kana, were you able to resolve this issue?