Bass Direct

[bartelby]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My experiences have all been fine with BD.

 

Reading this thread from time to time, the issues seem to revolve around stock control. They seem to excel at orders where they can parcel up the item and send it out asap.

 

11 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Unfortunately they don't always even get that right. See my post previously in this thread about receiving someone else's very expensive pre-amp which they initially expected me to return at my own expense.

 

 

The first time I ever ordered online with them, they forgot to post the item. It was only after a week when I emailed them did they realise.

[woodyratm]

I tried to order a bass the other day - been showing in stock for donkeys. 

Ordered, but something said to call and confirm. Alas it had sold days before  Got pretty excited then my hopes dashed! 

[Steve Browning]

Emailed enquiry about Lindy Fralin pickup at 6pm Wednesday. Response received at 7:20pm. Ordered at 7:19 yesterday and fitted into the bass this afternoon. Can't argue with that.

[TheGreek]

Query about the Aguilar Pre that I bought - Ash (Marcus' younger brother) in the store on his own - Mark and Marcus away in Spain. 

[pst62]

On 17/07/2023 at 21:13, woodyratm said:

I tried to order a bass the other day - been showing in stock for donkeys. 

Ordered, but something said to call and confirm. Alas it had sold days before  Got pretty excited then my hopes dashed! 

Earlier this year I phoned them about a Tort Pickguard for a Precision they had advertised on their site, got an abrupt "They're out of stock!" and before I could ask if they were getting any more, I was listening to the dial tone. Yeah the guy may well have been dealing with a sale, but still, there's no need for that kind of crap.

[Chris2112]

It looks like the new Bass Direct website is up. First impressions are that it looks way more generic than the old one and way less user-friendly. 

[MichaelDean]

3 minutes ago, Chris2112 said:

It looks like the new Bass Direct website is up. First impressions are that it looks way more generic than the old one and way less user-friendly. 

 

Yes, it is more generic, but I wouldn't say less user friendly. There is a working search bar at least. And they confirmed on their facebook page that it's actually linked to stock levels, so no more ordering something late at night and getting an email the next day saying it sold already.

[40hz]

14 minutes ago, Chris2112 said:

It looks like the new Bass Direct website is up. First impressions are that it looks way more generic than the old one and way less user-friendly. 

I had a quick look at it on mobile and PC. While it looks a bit snazzier, I think it is less clear to use, and seems to mean you flick through a lot more 'pages' to find things, whereas before, everything was laid out in one 'area'.

[ahpook]

Gawd, what a train crash the new site is.....endless scrolling, even after searching.

 

Just out of curiosity, mind. I've only dealt with BassDirect twice, first time was annoying, second time...well, such an insulting experience that I'd not pish on them if they were on fire. Rudeness and lying - never again.

 

Shame, as they do gave some nice stuff.

Edited August 3, 2023 by ahpook

[Woodinblack]

Much more generic, but no less friendly. I mean that is the way web pages tend to be now. I found it pretty easy to find what I was looking for, possibly more so than before.

Looks fine.

[cetera]

Looks OK to me. Does the job but nothing flashy. It's a shop website so as long as it's up to date stock wise then job done.

 

Those who don't like Bass Direct will probably dislike it as a natural response regardless....

[ahpook]

5 minutes ago, cetera said:

Looks OK to me. Does the job but nothing flashy. It's a shop website so as long as it's up to date stock wise then job done.

 

Those who don't like Bass Direct will probably dislike it as a natural response regardless....

 

Quite possibly

 

Although the converse is true as well !

[Daz39]

I prefer the filtering options on the new layout. I can sort by high to low price and goggle at the items I can't afford. Some pre-stomped pedals I've never seen before too.

It looks professional and therefore more trustworthy. The last one looked like I could have knocked it up with a week's HTML/Webpage training...

[Frank Blank]

Can't get it to work on my Macbook, it's ok on my phone, probably me.

 

Edit: as soon as I typed that 👆 I got on... 🙄

Edited August 3, 2023 by Frank Blank

[tauzero]

A considerable improvement on the old site. It looks very much like the Bass Gallery's website. Rather slow - about 30 seconds to give me all the in-stock 5-string 34" right-handed used basses sorted low to high price, and a few seconds to come back with the details of a bass once I'd clicked on it. Much neater presentation of instrument details. Doesn't give units for weight. Oooh, isn't that AGH Alice 6-string gorgeous? Shame it's headed and I've already got as many 6-strings as I need...

[Sweeneythebass]

Looks way more modern 👍 and search tools/stock. Well done 

[simisker]

Yay - finally

 

Well, yeah - it's better than the old one. But I think we all know how low that bar was.

 

If you're reading this, BassDirect guys: it's probably a good idea to change your login URL from the default Wordpress one

[CookPassBabtridge]

The new website certainly looks nicer but I’m not sure if it’s any easier to use - kind of annoying that I have to filter the search for specific brands rather than click a link to a specific area. As a default it’s just a super long page of everything they have in stock. Maybe an extra landing page or two with that functionality would help things a bit. 

[simisker]

Their filtering is very last-gen at the moment, yeah

 

As well as dedicated landing pages for brands, they could do with using a faceted search instead [e.g. John Lewis].

 

But these are all things that can be added as the platform matures

[Daz39]

2 minutes ago, simisker said:

Their filtering is very last-gen at the moment, yeah

 

As well as dedicated landing pages for brands, they could do with using a faceted search instead [e.g. John Lewis].

 

But these are all things that can be added as the platform matures

Yeah - I guess they might have opted first to have a website that's at least in the current Century, then they can see how it looks, get some feedback and then decide how to bring it into the current Decade  

[TheGreek]

I'm disappointed...not with the website,  with Mark. 

 

It's been a bit of a saga getting the Aguilar preamp fitted to my Spector 6er but Mark kept making reassuring noises about helping the techs install it.

This amounted to sending the current techs a pdf with 5 wiring diagrams without clarifying which to use. Despite his reassurances he has been uncontactable by phone.

The last contact was Mark referring to Aguilar themselves,  in the States, and 8 hours time difference. 

Feels like he's washed his hands of the matter despite his comments about providing support. 

 

As I said,  disappointed 😞 ☹

[ezbass]

It looks and feels very much like The Bass Gallery website. When I say very much like, I mean exactly like.

[mr4stringz]

2 hours ago, tauzero said:

Rather slow - about 30 seconds to give me all the in-stock 5-string 34" right-handed used basses

Maybe they’re checking stock levels in real time 🤣

[ern500evo]

I was browsing pickups on their site earlier. They’ve got Aguilar DCB-P/J set showing as in stock, and for £150. That same set is more like £300+ everywhere else. Not sure if they’re showing the wrong PJ set, or that’s the price for P or J and not both 

[Chienmortbb]

I have been critical of Bass Direct in the past and the old website was awful but this is a big improvement. It’s not perfect and like and software, there will be bugs.

 

The filter choice that comes up when you selects a category should be on a sub menu. It rakes up too much “real estate”. The first thing you should see is some product. 

 

These are my first thoughts  and I have not spent a long time going all around the site. However it’s a start and good stock control should go some way to address in some of the problems other have encountered.