Just confirming what others have said. This store appears to not exist, except perhaps to steal your credentials. Someone did reply anonymously to my email query, and canceled the orders I attempted to make, nonetheless a store without a proper checkout system is a red flag. read more

I ordered two music books from their website using PayPal. The transaction is now sitting in perpetual limbo. I can't file any action via PayPal because it's just sitting there as an authorization rather than a payment. So I'm sitting here with no books, zero responses from emails, calls, and texts, and just waiting for them to take my $40. And my son still does not have the music he needs. I will have to buy elsewhere, I guess, as I'm assuming I will never receive these. This website is either a scam or EXTREMELY poorly run. Stay away. read more

Submitted and paid for an order online; never received it. Machine at the phone number said to text or email. Did both more than once. Have yet to receive a response. Planning on reporting them. read more

SCAM ,BEWARE!! I should have checked for reviews of this supposed company. Placed an order for three items. My credit card was billed for the three items. After money was billed to my credit card only one item was shipped to me . After receiving the one item I heard nothing from the "business " about the other items that I had ordered. After approximately a week I attempted to call the company. The answering machine simply said to "text a message" to that phone number . A few days later after no response attempted to use the "email address " giving on their internet site. Days later after no response. I contacted my bank about a fraudulent business transaction from "Audubon Strings". This Scam site ended up with a little less than $200 that was billed to my card. Pretty awful:( I will also be contacting the BBB about this company. read more

This business seems to be a scam. They took my order and payment, sent nothing, and will not respond to repeated requests about my order. They cannot be reached by telephone and ignore email. One star only to be able to post. read more

FRAUD I placed an order online to ship to me in another state. I received an o confirmation. Well, yesterday I received emails informing me that part of my order shipped but they canceled part of my order (a string book) because the price had changed. They then offered to sell me the book at a much higher cost. So basically they wanted more money than what they themselves had advertised and agreed to sell the product for. When I reached out via email, their response was "You havent been charged for the book with the incorrect price. The other items in your order have ahipped." This is fraud. Not ethical. Poor customer service. Caveat emptor. read more

Ordered off of their website and a few days later they sent me an email saying that they wanted to charge me more than the price that I had purchased. Strange way of doing business, I would avoid them at all costs. read more

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: www.audubonstrings.com/ 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. read more

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 facade 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. read more

Reliable, flexible, and kind. Willing to work with new students and help the parents patiently. They have lots of little gift items in addition to music necessities. read more

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. read more

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 11th. 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 18th or so, at the latest. But no. On January 22nd, 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 24th, 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 26th, 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 26th 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 29th. 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 26th. 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! read more

I gave my violin to this store and paid hundreds of dollars to have it refurbished. After the job was done, I requested they take some digital pictures of my violin and email them to me. I am disabled and live about a half hour away from New Haven, and it is difficult for me to travel. I was promised they would send me pictures and they never did. I left the violin there on a consignment basis. After years of not hearing from them, I wanted my Violin back. I called and was told it had been loaned out. I never said it could be loaned out and said I wanted it back. They asked if the loanee could keep it until the following Monday. I (mistakenly) agreed to this and said I want it back right after that Monday. They agreed. Monday passed. Another Monday passed. I tried calling them several times, no answer. I left messages, no reply. I had to resort to contacting the State Consumer Protection Department. They were awesome! They went to bat for me and I had my violin back in a few weeks. The stress of all this took a toll on my already poor health, I will be much more cautious about who I do business with in the future. read more

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! read more

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. read more

I just ordered a Musilia cello case from Audubon Strings and am very happy with my purchase. When I was deciding if I should purchase the Musilia or the Accord, they were very helpful with their own input and personal experiences with the Musilia case. When the shipment of the case was delayed a couple months, they compensated me with free shipping and had the case expedited to arrive as soon as possible. I appreciated the follow-thru. Thanks Audubon Strings! read more

People, do not contact, buy or order anything at Audubon Strings! It's a worst place J've ever met.Nonresponsibility,nonmandatory... They don't earn even 1 star- ''minus'' is their score!!! J can't receive my order for 20 days and do not know wnen it may happens... read more

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 read more

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! read more

I wish I came here and read the reviews before I ordered the violin for my daughter. I made an order on Sep 2nd and 10 days later I don't hear anything from this store. The status is still showing awaiting for shipping. I called their phone number and left messages for so many times. But nobody told me what is going on with my order. I am waiting for the violin but I can't reach them. This is the worst service I have never had before. read more