Educator-Friendly Online Music Retailers

Music educators and music shops have a symbiotic relationship, but what happens when music educators go online? We asked classroom guitar teachers about educator-friendly online music retailers and the same ideas (and shops) kept surfacing.

First: What are you looking for in an online music retailer? The same things you’re looking for in the brick-and-mortar version: strong customer service, quality products and reliable shipping. Oh, and let’s not forget about reasonable prices. There are many reputable retailers out there who can help you get your classroom stocked and ready for strumming. Let’s take a look at a few of them now:

Musician’s Friend

The buzz about award-winning Musician’s Friend is that it has solid customer service, fair prices and fast delivery. They also offer a “Stupid Deal of the Day,” (backwards “p”) which arrives via email.

Music & Arts

Owned by Guitar Center, Music & Arts features a dedicated Educators tab that requires registration. What many might view as a benefit of the site is that the company also has over 115 retail locations. So if you want to try something out before you buy it in bulk, you can simply swing by. (If you’re in the area.)

Sweetwater

Customer service is king at Sweetwater, and they make no secret of it. They also offer free shipping and boast “more payment and financing choices than any other music dealer.”

Don’t hesitate to contact a few retailers directly and ask why you should choose them over their competitors. In the words of Smokey Robinson (and his mom?) “You better shop around!”