TL;DR: The hard case is awesome and Bondi’s customer service is the best!

My nine-year-old has been wanting a hard case for her uke for a while, but the selection around us was limited. She didn’t want just a boring black hard case to replace her boring black gig bag, so off to the internet I went. I found a beautiful pink case on Bondi Ukulele’s site, and I knew it would be love at first sight for my little girl. I quickly added it to my cart and then hit the order button without hesitation, like I was ordering life-saving oxygen for the entire planet instead of an accessory for an instrument. It was going to be the perfect Christmas gift!

But then came the email. It was an email from the owner, Marcus, telling me that he had looked everywhere in the warehouse, and inventory seemed to show they had one, but it was nowhere to be found. He told me they’d be receiving more from the factory in January, and we agreed that he’d send one out as soon as it arrived. Marcus kept me updated on the shipment’s expected timeframe and alerted me as to its arrival. I tracked its journey from Australia to the US and celebrated when it cleared customs and was handed off to the USPS for delivery. But then it didn’t arrive. Just for giggles I checked the shipping address I entered, and the giggling stopped when I realized I goofed up the address. Because the case was to be a surprise, I was having it sent to my parents’ house. In my haste to order this most perfect case, I entered their house number, but my street address. When I realized my error, I sped to my local post office only to find out it had been sent back the previous day because it was undeliverable. I emailed Marcus to conveyed to him my tale of woe. After verifying the address, he quickly sent another one out.

You, dear reader, will be happy to know that this story has a happy ending. The second case arrived, my daughter was extremely happy, and rainbows and unicorns came out of pink, glittery clouds above my house.

The only thing to consider when going with a hard case vs. a bag, is that a strap will not fit in the case. The uke is so nicely protected by the plush interior that there is no room for anything else. It’s not a big deal to take the strap off and put it on, it’s just something I didn’t take into consideration. I still would’ve ordered it if I knew; it’s a great case!