The BRJ Black Friday Thread (Only for updates for/by customers.)[Ad Free]

[chimp_spanner]

ok, this makes me think that maybe someone isn't being truthful here. Is the guitar %100 flawless or unplayable? We've heard at least 3 times now that some Ricos have had unforgiveable flaws or something along those lines, but no explinations or anything to back them up, and all from high-profile members here who are not, or no longer, endorsees of Bernie's. If I was unhappy with anyone's guitar, Rico, Vik, KxK or otherwise, I'd have no problem stating that. Am I missing something?

Nobody likes to be "that guy" and as has already been said, silence is usually a polite way of saying "I have nothing positive to say". In hindsight maybe that wasn't the best policy. I just assumed I would be conspicuous by my absence and that people would connect the dots.

For those that are curious my guitar had an intense sitar like buzz on all 4 treble strings when played open. This was after a prolonged wait for delivery which went through patterns of being told it was in transit, then being asked weeks later what gauge of strings I'd like on it. I tried adjusting the neck and shimming the already heavily shimmed (and evidently Pre-worn) nut but nothing worked. The neck appeared to have a slither of darker wood inserted under the fretboard near the heel and it looked like my neck thru was more like a botched set neck. I was told by a guy that used to work there (who was extremely helpful and apologetic) that it sounded like a twisted neck, which kinda makes sense because I'd seen pictures of a completed fully painted/finished guitar ready to go out, followed by a month or two of silence and then pictures of an unpainted neck and all the guts ripped out again. The only response I ever got from the man himself was that it was "fine when misha played it". Never heard anything else.

Seeing how this was an "artist build" I didn't want to come across as in any way ungrateful or fussy but after a few months of it sitting on my wall I just thought...fuck it. Now it has a new home and a new owner and I guess they managed to get it around. I had neither the expertise nor the money to do this. Shouldn't have needed it. I'm happy to be with Ibby. Had a great consistent experience with them.

That's my story. I will say, as others have, that bernie is a nice enough guy when you talk to him. I want this to work out well for those that are down on their cash. I do wish I had've said something sooner and more publicly.

 

[spawnsc]

the update for today is there is no update only darkness and gloom

 

[JPMike]

Sell your slots before you get some guitars with major flaws? lol

 

[Andrew11]

Anybody been able to contact Bernire lately? I have a buyer for my slot and I can't get a hold of him. All I need is for him to comfirm the transfer and specs.

Anybody else had trouble lately with selling there spots?

 

[patata]

I can see it now...

Invictus?
ohgodwhy

 

[JPMike]

Invictus?
ohgodwhy

Invictus?
ohgodwhy

Can you please do not post uber stupid shit? You make your fellow Greeks look stupid.

Anybody been able to contact Bernire lately? I have a buyer for my slot and I can't get a hold of him. All I need is for him to comfirm the transfer and specs.

Anybody else had trouble lately with selling there spots?

Man, I wish I could help you out but I am in the situation as you are. No answer on anything I asked so far.

 

[Khoi]

Bernie is gonna have a hell of a time with the mass exodus that seems to have occurred in the classified section

 

[SpaceDock]

I'll stay positive and think the blackout is him working hard to catch up, but this is really lame that he isn't responding to anything and Chris G is MIA.

 

[JP Universe]

Until we get some kind of update/he starts responding I think the spots are gonna be hard to sell. I'll just keep bumping mine

 

[esp_eraser]

I can see it now...

lmfao

 

[spawnsc]

I wish someone that is near his shop could stop by and see whats going on, we the customers should not be treated this way and it just ticks me off that we all go so much invested into this and we cannot get a simple update of "Sorry i'm sorry working hard to complete some orders ahead of yours, it could take a few more months before I start on it but soon as I make it to your guitar I will let you know asap".

I really wish I could have dealt with BRJ before the whole black friday thing because I bet he was a lot more pleasurable to deal with but this whole experience just puts a bad taste in your mouth.

I wonder if he will close his shop after all of this? and since his sick?

 

[Jonathan20022]

I don't seem to understand how some people sympathize with people who work this way.

Yeah Bernie might be a great guy, but this is his business and you all are his customers. In this fucked up system, there is no "corporate" to call and sort shit out Bernie is corporate at that point.

I feel like I dodged a bullet reading this thread through the last year, I almost put money down on one for the Black Friday Run a little over two years ago. But I could never bunch up enough cash to start a build.

But Mike's invested 10k in his fucking builds with practically nothing to show for it? Who the hell does that to a customer investing that much money into something? I've had plenty of times where I felt the need to push someone to get what I need to be done be it in retail or anywhere else. I advise you guys to seriously contact your credit card companies and get your money back. Call me heartless, but I couldn't give a damn if Bernie is sick or not which is questionable from what a lot of people have been posting.

In an ideal situation, I would hope that Bernie would refund 150 of those 200 orders and just keep 50 on his plate. I don't doubt that he's a good person, but don't overload yourself with demand you see this with countless other companies who end up with either disappointed customers, a huge wait list, and even worse sometimes bankruptcy. Wether or not some people have found issues with their builds or not is between that individual and the builder to sort out. I've had to replace my JP12 twice now because of overwhelming issues and every time MusicMan and Guitar Center have been nothing but helpful.

I feel like people invest much more cash than I did should be met with the same kind of attention and communication. Even if he has to hire a team of 5-10 people to work in a department like that. He can definitely afford it with the amount of money he's received from his 200 builds.

 

[SDMFVan]

If Bernie gave refunds to everyone who's trying to sell off their spot in the Marketplace his workload would be a lot more manageable.

 

[theoctopus]

You guys are making the bold assumption that he has the capacity to refund your orders. I'm willing to bet that part of the problem with Bernie's system is that he's low on funds, so he needs to bring in income to finish orders and get them out the door. Kind of like a Ponzi scheme. If he still had the cash that you guys gave him 2 years ago, he would just hire more employees and crank the builds out. But, that's not happening.

 

[Jonathan20022]

You guys are making the bold assumption that he has the capacity to refund your orders. I'm willing to bet that part of the problem with Bernie's system is that he's low on funds, so he needs to bring in income to finish orders and get them out the door. Kind of like a Ponzi scheme. If he still had the cash that you guys gave him 2 years ago, he would just hire more employees and crank the builds out. But, that's not happening.

I never made an assumption, I just think it's fucked up for a customer to be left on the shit end of the stick. And like I said, IDEALLY the refunds would be the best thing to do in this case so he could clear his plate and actually manage to make some customers happy instead of scaring the already invested 3/4 of his waitlist.

And on top of that, how could you burn through 120,000 of course assuming that everyone only invested a 600$ build start multiplied by the 200 guys waiting on their builds.

And of course there's people who paid in full so that number is the BARE minimum. I can't imagine factoring in guys like Mike who have put in 10k, you don't just burn through cash that fast to build a guitar. He already had his tools and shop obviously so all of this is just all kinds of fucked up.

 

[Speculum Speculorum]

I hate to break it to you dude, but if the guy really has been in the situation he claims, all that money is fucking gone - especially if his insurance wasn't that great. When my wife had to go to the ER for 8 days because a flesh eating bacteria almost killed her (gnarly story) the medical bill pre-insurance was about $140,000 - and she didn't have to go back in after the first time. We'd have been fucked if the hospital didn't cover the bills because they figured it may have come from their facility.

So there is no money. It's not there. He took orders to try to get ahead of an already shitty situation, and then took more orders when he got his ass behind to try to catch up again. He basically sent himself into a spiral of insanity.

The only way people will get their money back is if they go to their credit companies and reverse funds. As harsh as that may sound, it might be the only way out of this hell-hole of a business crap-off that we're seeing right now. Good luck to you folks. I truly am sorry I ever got involved and hope that there is light at the tunnel for each and every one of you.

 

[JPMike]

I never made an assumption, I just think it's fucked up for a customer to be left on the shit end of the stick. And like I said, IDEALLY the refunds would be the best thing to do in this case so he could clear his plate and actually manage to make some customers happy instead of scaring the already invested 3/4 of his waitlist.

And on top of that, how could you burn through 120,000 of course assuming that everyone only invested a 600$ build start multiplied by the 200 guys waiting on their builds.

And of course there's people who paid in full so that number is the BARE minimum. I can't imagine factoring in guys like Mike who have put in 10k, you don't just burn through cash that fast to build a guitar. He already had his tools and shop obviously so all of this is just all kinds of fucked up.

I can't agree more with you, but there is not much we can do now.

 

[theoctopus]

you don't just burn through cash that fast

You'd be surprised. A couple medical conditions, a couple large purchases (say, a car and some more factory equipment), plus one or two bad habits, and that money is gone in a flash. Maybe it was a poor call on his part, maybe it was just bad luck. Either way, it's probable that this is the position he's in, otherwise you'd be seeing guitars move out with greater regularity (and not in small spurts after sitting unfinished for years).

Anyway, my point is not to fan the flames, only to suggest that each and every one of you do what you can to get what you can while you still can. Don't wait anymore, don't pass the buck to a new buyer, call your credit card company and see what can be done ASAP. I was in this same position with an e-drum company a few years ago after dropping $4k on a custom kit, and I wouldn't wish it on my greatest enemy. It was a terrible couple years before I received satisfaction.

 

[Jonathan20022]

The only way people will get their money back is if they go to their credit companies and reverse funds. As harsh as that may sound, it might be the only way out of this hell-hole of a business crap-off that we're seeing right now. Good luck to you folks. I truly am sorry I ever got involved and hope that there is light at the tunnel for each and every one of you.

Likewise, I truly wish nothing but the best for all parties affected. I hope most of you contact your credit companies and banks and sort this out with them. I don't wish ill will on Bernie but it isn't right for people to be out money that they earned. I don't feel Bernie's earned his money on incomplete builds, once shipped I would invest the final payment for a build. This and the wait is what turns me off of most custom builds.

You'd be surprised. A couple medical conditions, a couple large purchases (say, a car and some more factory equipment), plus one or two bad habits, and that money is gone in a flash. Maybe it was a poor call on his part, maybe it was just bad luck. Either way, it's probable that this is the position he's in, otherwise you'd be seeing guitars move out with greater regularity (and not in small spurts after sitting unfinished for years).

Anyway, my point is not to fan the flames, only to suggest that each and every one of you do what you can to get what you can while you still can. Don't wait anymore, don't pass the buck to a new buyer, call your credit card company and see what can be done ASAP. I was in this same position with an e-drum company a few years ago after dropping $4k on a custom kit, and I wouldn't wish it on my greatest enemy. It was a terrible couple years before I received satisfaction.

Of course I'm not saying it's without reason, I just find it ridiculous and completely irresponsible to dip into all the funds from this for things like that. Sure it's his living, but what if I needed a refund for something that came up in my own life?

"Sorry, I already spent your money so I can't give you your cash back, might as well wait for your guitar to finish now"

That seems to be everything summarized at this point. Illness and being sick is completely understandable, but like I said within reason.

 

[SpaceDock]

^ so, did you call your bank/cc company and get your money back yet?