zZounds Review: A Legit Online Music Store?

zZounds is a business that has been around for decades selling musical instruments and audio-related equipment. In today’s article, I am going to share with you my personal experiences ordering tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and how those transactions went for me.

This direct experience makes me completely qualified to share my zZounds review to help you decide if they’re worth trusting with your hard-earned cash.

What is zZounds?

zZounds is an online store dedicated to audio and musical equipment for everyone from hobbyists to professional musicians and everyone in between. Think of it as an online catalog that contains all the currently produced music and audio-related products.

When I first visited their website in the early 2000s they had such an amateur and frankly ugly looking website that it was hard to take them seriously. Luckily for them, they’ve survived and evolved over the last couple of decades into a modern and professional online store.

While it took a long time for my first impressions to wear off, what really forced me to give them another shot is their dedication to having the lowest prices. They are a major retailer in the multi-billion dollar booming audio and sound equipment market, so their continued growth makes sense.

zZounds are owned by American Musical Supply (AMS) which both operate out of the same warehouse. I actually didn’t know this when I set out to write this zZounds review, but it makes sense since they both share so many of the same policies.

I’ve worked as a professional gigging musician for years and both zZounds, as well as AMS, have allowed me to replace broken equipment fast and on a payment plan so that I could continue to work and make money playing music without having to take out a loan to do so.

What Exactly Does zZounds Offer?

Music Instruments and Audio Gear

First of all, zZounds has all the musical instruments that you would expect, like guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums. They also have live equipment for venues, bands, DJs, and schools as well as recording and studio gear. I could drill down further, but suffice it to say that if it is audio or music-related, there is a good chance they carry it.

Used Music Equipment

They also offer refurbished and used equipment, but I personally haven’t ordered any of that stuff from them, so I am unqualified to deep dive into those offerings. From what I understand, their excellent return policy also applies to their used equipment, so if I were to buy used gear online in the future I would feel confident getting it from zZounds.

Consumer Audio Products

zZounds has a giant selection of consumer audio equipment that I largely forget about since I am primarily focused on music production. For those who obsess more about listening to audio rather than creating it, zZounds has mp3 players, smart speakers, multimedia surround sound systems, Bluetooth devices, receivers, and other HiFi devices for use in home theaters.

How Does Ordering From zZounds Work?

zZounds wants your business, so they make it easy to order using your phone, email, or their website. I’ve actually been ordering equipment from their website for almost 20 years, so I’ve watched them implement improvement after improvement during that time.

The basics are like any other e-commerce website. You find stuff you want, add it to your cart, and then go through checkout. Here is what you should know about ordering from zZounds:

• Your credit card won’t be charged until the item is shipped from their warehouse. They will place an authorization right away, but won’t issue the charge until they’ve shipped your item.
• Most items are eligible for their “pay as you play” installment payment plan.
• You can pay the total purchase amount with gift cards, PayPal, debit cards, and credit cards. Payment plans require an actual credit card.
• Items ship rather quickly and you receive email updates each time the status or progress of your order changes.

Over the last two years, I’ve made three big purchases from zZounds, and each shipped within 24 hours. All three times my items arrived within 2 business days from the day I purchased.

I did have a condenser microphone arrive that didn’t work, but since it was damaged during shipment I was able to ship it back at no cost and got a replacement sent to me within a week, also at no cost.

What Sets zZounds Apart From Other Music Retailers?

When I first started purchasing music equipment online, I really couldn’t tell most of the platforms apart. The prices, the selection, the service, even the design of the websites… they all kind of blurred together in my head.

However, audio gear is expensive, so it didn’t take long for me to start to develop a preference for a couple of the sites based upon the things that they did differently and better than the competition.

zZounds scores a bunch of wins for having a bunch of consumer-friendly features, which include the following:

45 Day Price Match Guarantee

Personally, the reason why I prefer zZounds is that they have a 45-day price match guarantee which I’ve used in the past to get a $200 refund when an Ibanez guitar I purchased at zZounds went on sale at Guitar Center. I wasn’t expecting that $200, but it was more than welcome, and it’s the reason why I like to purchase from zZounds over their competitors.

I was worried because when I called in to talk about the price match, the representative told me that some Ibanez products were ineligible for their price match guarantee. My blood started boiling, my rage started building, and then before I could say a word that all went away as the rep told me that the price match would be honored, and then proceeded to initiate the refund to the credit card I had used to purchase the guitar.

Any time I recommend zZounds to someone, this is the story I tell them because it’s the one that made me respect them.

zZounds Let’s You Talk to Real Musicians for Advice

While zZounds is not the only online music store that lets you call or email actual musicians for gear advice, they are one of the few that do offer this. In addition to that, they also have over 100,000 users submitted reviews on gear, which is one of the largest audio-related review libraries on the internet.

These two factors combined help to make zZounds more useful of a resource than the competition for me personally.

This may not seem like a big feature, but when you need a real gear head that knows their stuff, give them a call. If you’re looking for the best preamp, the crispest microphone, the turn-table with the best tactical feel. These are the types of questions you can’t easily find an answer to online, but can quickly ask one of zZound’s musicians and get an answer in seconds.

If you have gear questions that need an actual knowledgeable human to answer, then give them a call. It’s free and can clear up questions in seconds instead of days or weeks of independent research.

zZounds Let Me Return a $2000 Drum Set Just Because I Wanted To

In addition to their 45-day price protection, they also offer a blanket 45-day return policy. I have only used their return policy once. It was to return an almost $2000 Roland electronic drum kit because I needed the money back to loan to a friend for an emergency.

When I called to start the return process, I was anticipating a battle with a customer support representative, but instead, I ended up talking with a compassionate person who streamlined the process and got me the money within a week of sending the drums back.

The only negative is that I had to pay for the shipping on the return, but that was because I was honest about the reason why I was returning the drums. If the drums were broken or defective, then they would have paid the return shipping as well. Speaking of shipping…

zZounds Has Free & Free Shipping on Almost Everything

Imagine how much money it would cost to send a 400lbs bass amplifier across the country. You’re probably thinking hundreds or maybe even over a thousand dollars. At least, that’s what I was thinking, as I have personally handled the logistics of shipping oversized items via LTL freight, and each time it cost me hundreds of dollars.

Well, imagine my surprise when I went through the checkout and the shipping was still free. I thought to myself, sure, the shipping was free, but will it take a month to get to my house?

The answer to that question was just as surprising to me because the amp arrived the next day. I was flabbergasted! zZounds has their faults, but fast and free shipping is obviously not one of them.

zZounds Has Been Around for Years & Had Time to Optimize Everything

I mentioned earlier in my zZounds review that I’ve been using the website for nearly 20 years and during that time, a lot has changed with them, all for the better. Despite their massive catalog, their website is fast and responsive, their customer service is knowledgable and friendly, and their policies and deals are usually pretty good.

zZounds has evolved into the website it is today through decades of mistakes, experience, and incremental improvements.

Overall Pricing on zZounds

Lowest Price Guarantee

I already mentioned the 45-day price protection policy, so that should let you know that zZounds is committed to having the lowest price no matter what. This applies to their massive product catalog across the board.

However, they do have a lot of exceptions to their price guarantee, which I understand but also think is a bit ridiculous, especially since they reserve the right to not price match if they don’t want to.

zZounds Pricing Compared Their Competition

If you compare the same products on zZounds against Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend, or Sweetwater you will generally find around the same pricing. Sure, some products will be slightly cheaper here or there, but for the most part, all these stores try and stick with the MSRP.

However, one area where zZounds pulls ahead is on shipping prices, which are disclosed right away instead of waiting until checkout like the competition. As I mentioned earlier, it is actually kind of hard to find items on zZounds that charge shipping, as the majority of their catalog qualifies for free shipping… even really large and heavy items.

“Pay as You Play” Payment Plans

zZounds also offers easy payment plans that allow you to pay for your purchases using an installment plan. This is similar to what AMS offers, which makes sense since they’re technically the same company.

For smaller amounts, you don’t even need to go through a creditworthiness process, all you need is a credit or debit card with the first payment available for charge.

You can still run into weird issues though, even with smaller amounts. For instance, a few months ago I purchased a PA for live vocals and I at first used my PayPal Debit Card to initiate the “Pay as You Play” payment plan.

However, moments after placing the order I got a phone call from a zZounds customer service agent who informed me that I needed to use an actual credit card instead of a debit card tied to and issued by PayPal.

I was a bit confused, so I asked the lady a few questions, which started with “don’t you accept PayPal payments?” to which she replied, yes, up to $10,000 but not for their payment plans.

She explained that while debit cards are authorized for payment plans up to $500, an actual credit card would be required for any total that exceeded that amount. That was no problem, so I gave her my credit card information over the phone and got my PA a couple of days later.

zZounds Pros

I am a fan of both zZounds and AMS. zZounds takes all the risk out of buying music and audio equipment online due to their policies. Because I’ve been treated so well by them over the years I’ve repeatedly recommended them to my friends, bandmates, and other musicians.

Here are 4 of my favorite things about zZounds:

• Price matching for 45 days after purchase means that if the item I bought from zZounds goes on sale at another retailer, zZounds will refund me the difference.
• zZounds has great shipping policies. Most items have free shipping, but even some of the really heavy equipment have minimal shipping costs. The shipping arrives fast and there are no hassles exchanging or returning items damaged in transit.
• Their payment plan has saved my butt while gigging and having to replace broken equipment without the funds to actually outright buy the replacement.
• You can purchase using PayPal directly, which is handy and unique among other musician orientated web stores.

zZounds Cons

No company is perfect and that includes zZounds. I have had damaged items arrive from them before, but thankfully they replaced them at no cost. I’ve had to answer the phone and verify information after several orders, and I’ve had a few orders canceled without warning that I had to resubmit later.

These are some of the issues I’ve encountered with zZounds, but here are my 4 least favorite things about them:

• Credit checks for higher-priced payment plans. Also, debit cards are often denied, meaning you need to use an actual credit card when using their “Pay as You Play” plan.
• They collect sales tax in most states, meaning big purchases are often several hundred dollars more in sales tax. I get it, they’re following the law and I’d be paying “use tax” in my state anyway, but it still sucks.
• You must pay return shipping for non-defective returns.
• Price matching has a lot of caveats and cannot be combined with their payment plan options.

Verdict

Alright, we’re at the end of my zZounds review, where I like to ask a question such as: who is zZounds for and why choose them? To me, the answer is simple: zZounds should be the default online music store for musicians and audiophiles because of their 45-day price protection and no-hassle return policy. I say that because I’ve used both of those policies to save hundreds of dollars and get cash back when I needed it.

To sum it all up, zZounds is the safest bet, with the widest selection and the best customer service. I honestly only use Guitar Center, Musicians Friends, and Sweetwater when they have a sale so I can get a price match at zZounds.

If you’re on the fence regarding zZounds, I get it. I was on the fence about them too, especially 15 years ago. Nowadays, they’re solidified as my go-to risk-free source to try out any musical instrument or audio gear without fear of getting stuck with a lemon.

If I don’t like it, I can return it. Period. It’s lovely.

I recommend anyone looking for instruments or equipment, use zZounds now, and take advantage of their price matching, free shipping, expert staff, and easy payment plans. You have nothing to lose and a world of music awaiting you! Have fun and thanks for reading!