Hi folks! I just wanted to share my experience with you all and get your opinions and thoughts regarding my experience.
I decided to buy my first "forever/pro" uke a couple of weeks back. Reading from all the great folks here I was convinced that TUS or Mims would be who would get my business. At first I bought one from Mim, but it turned out that the uke had some things she missed and found during the setup, she reached out directly and offered a discount or a refund, so I opted for the refund since it was not a defect I felt comfortable having (tiny little cracks in the back). She was super friendly and communicative and great customer service overall even though I did not end up getting what I wanted.
Searching on TUS I found one that I really liked so I look at all the information and make my purchase. Checking out in my cart I see that I am not eligible for free shipping (I live in the US but a territory) no biggie, I really want the uke so I paid for shipping. I was curious as to why I was not eligible for free shipping (With Mim I was eligible) so I reach out by email to politely inquire 1) Why I was not eligible for free shipping and 2) If I can add a hard case to my order. The person writing back explained that (1) for Fedex purposes it was considered international and for USPS domestic thus the cost was very very expensive ($200+ with FedEx) and that (2) I could add the case to my order and they would offer free shipping for it/include it in my order. I was satisfied with their response and moved on with everything.
I get a follow up email that if I wanted to keep the included gig bag I would need to pay an additional $90 or leave the gig bag and keep the hard case I purchased. Since I wanted the hard case to protect during shipping I reluctantly agreed since this would be very excessive.
I made my purchase on Aug 21st it appears setup was complete either on 4th/5th of this month (Sep) and the uke was literally put in the mail today Sep 6th. I read that the turnout for non-rush setup was 7-10 days. I estimated that with setup and shipping (since it will be USPS it would take longer) So I assumed it would be fair to expect to receive it around 15-20 days.
Here are my issues and why thus far I have not been very happy with the experience with TUS. I understand that the cost to offer "free" shipping is exorbitant for them and not reasonable. So I was fine with paying the shipping, but found it excessive to quote me $90 for shipping for the gig bag. It was just put in the mail today and I'm not sure what service they used with USPS but the expected arrival is Sep 30th. I am patient, but my issue is that I will be on a family trip until early October and won't be home to open and make sure everything is in order. My fear is that if something happens during the trip that they'll say I took too long to report it or something.
I would not have even minded if they used the gig bag as padding instead of the cardboard insulation lol. Additionally I see that they use ShipStation which discounts rates for businesses, I did some quoting with ShipStation and the costs (overestimating package weight and dimensions) would be less than what was quoted just for the gig bag.
Not as important and very subjective but the communications as well were very dry and straightforward as opposed to Mim which was more conversational and made it more of a real customer service interaction. I understand that written communication leaves a lot out but just a small observation that was noticeable as well.
Is this a normal experience to expect to wait a total of 40 days and the back and forth with the shipping and asking for additional shipping payment when they said they would add the case for free to the existing order? Am I being irrational for being this upset or is this a normal experience?
Also if you've read this far, thank you 
