I used them off and on for years. This last April, I had a surprise gig that weekend and needed new strings. I couldn't find what I needed locally, so I called Sweetwater and ordered some strings. It was a Tuesday, and I needed them before Saturday night. I was told that they would be shipped out that day, and I paid a good sized shipping fee for two day shipping. The next day, they still hadn't shipped. I called, and was told they didn't know the reason why, and would call me back. No one called. Same thing happened on Thursday. Finally, on Friday, I called and was told that they would ship out that day, which did me no good. I did my gig that weekend with a different gauge of strings and made it through the gig. When I checked on Monday, the strings STILL hadn't shipped. I called, and was told that they were actually out of the strings, and had to order them, and that's what took so long. So, I asked for my shipping charge back. I was told someone would call me back, and no one did. I sent two emails, another call, and still nothing was resolved. That's the last time I did business with Sweetwater.

+1 for only good experiences with Sweetwater since 1996.  Now I try to shop a locally-owned store that matches Sweetwater's prices, but only because I know the owner and NO SHIPPING COST.  Hawaii is an expensive vacation destination for larger pieces of audio gear. 

Jimmy
Hey, Sorry about the delay, but Sonar typically only allows us to sell their software to the united States. I am working on getting approval to make an exception for you, but I will likely not get a response from Sonar until monday. Let me know if you want to change anything :)

Talk Soon!
Jimmy Hart

Maybe someone should tell Jimmy that he's never going to get any sort of response as Sonar is just DAW software and as at the last update doesn't include any AI or anything approaching sentience.

I just like the candy I receive in the box from Sweetwater when unpacking my item,  I get all Giggly inside! 

   I have purchased many items from Sweetwater.  Top of line service.  They have earned my respect.  Maybe not always the lowest price, but if something goes wrong, they will make it right.  They represent the ideal of excellence in American business.
  My two cents.

"It Depends!"
 
I've had good and bad experiences with Sweetwater, ultimately one really bad experience was (more or less) righted, but it took years. Recent experiences have been uniformly good - their sales engineers are not as knowledgeable as they think they are, and subject to the usual market forces. But they are a heck of a lot better than the folks I run into at most other large music retailers (on-line and brick&mortar).
 
Among my friends they get mostly good marks. I know one or two folks that won't do business with them, and that's their prerogative.

No, their prices aren't the best, but the small premium provides some peace of mind, and it is usually pretty small. Then again, I was happy to pay a premium to do business with a locally owned music store - when such things existed<G>!
 
I will recommend them as a dealer, but I still suggest one does their homework first, and if anything goes awry do not be bashful, they will eventually fix it.
 
disclaimer - I bought my first sampler - a Mirage Rack - from some guy named Chuck who owned a studio somewhere in the middle of the country. These days I will email him if I am running into difficulties. In hindsight I wish I had done so back when I ran into a huge problem with them. Lesson learned.

Typically, their prices are usually the same as the other online stores, but what I like about then is the free two year warranty, the next day shipping (usually in my case), the return policy, the sales agent (Michael Grebe), no tax, no shipping, huge printed catalog, and huge inventory.  Therefore, I always go there first and can almost always get what I want for the price and service that I want.  Cheers Sweetwater!

digimidi
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left...

 
Same here digimidi, however, I am always willing to share some of it with others who don't have enough! 

I just like the candy I receive in the box from Sweetwater when unpacking my item,  I get all Giggly inside! 

Peace,
Jesse G.
 
 
I totally forgot about the candy!

Hi RSR, thought I would say my part, which is the way you feel, just to counter-balance all the positive reports from everyone about SW.
After spending an hour on the phone with this guy who I had to explain some things to about the Indie music biz, he took my order--although I was still suspicious about his "cool guy" routine.
 
Thinking that all was well, after a couple of days I got a phone call from him saying that my order was cancelled because of my credit (although it had passed just fine before).
 
My credit was fine but the interesting thing is that I bought it without credit and they still didn't want my money I guess.
 
I explained that I had already paid for it and they refunded my money anyway. I guess I am on a "bad guy" list somewhere maybe.
 
No problem though, I just went back to where I get all my gear--guitars, keyboards, software, strings etc--good 'ol Guitar Center. They have never let me down after years of service and thousands of dollars. Not one issue ever.
 
I do not know why people brag about SW ( I have read their comments though), but apparently they are well taken care of much like I am at GC.
 
Just wanted you to know that I was no fan of SW either and have never attempted to use them again and never will.
 
Keep on rockin' dude!
 
bob