Just Ukes

We are trained musicians from NYC (though we don’t many any money at it) and were on the Big Island for our honeymoon. For a nice souvenir of our time in Hawaii, I wanted to get a nice Uke to play. Before arriving, I did some research online for Uke shops on the west coast of the Big Island and found 3 (you can see my reviews for the other 2 on their Unilocal pages).
This shop is located in a small outdoor mall that is filled with tourist gift shops and this one is one itself. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by the the sales men (and owner, I believe) who was very engaging and friendly, but more in the manner of a car salesmen. Quickly the guy got to the point with «what is your price range?» With that, he immediately indicated the «exact uke for me», tuned it, then handed it to me to try. I tried to explain I was interested in a pineapple shape, he looked for a second, but simply kept ok with the other model. He was not listening to me at all or showed any genuine interest in what I was looking for.
Because my price range was fairly open, he soon began talking up his most expensive uke in his limited stock. Granted it was a nice one, he would not stop telling me how nice it was and how rare the wood was (tiger koa). He pushed the thing so far as to tell me it was worth 40% more than it was marked at and would only increase in value. I certainly don’t know enough about ukes to know it was true or not, but the whole thing was very high pressure.
Needless to say, I didn’t make my purchase from him.
The store is fairly small with a limited stock which consist mainly of ukes of under $ 400. It has a good stock of very cheap ones (under $ 100), so if you are in the market for a fun, but not too expensive souvenir and aren’t looking for for a «real» instrument, then this is a good place for you to stop. If you are looking for a serious uke for making music, it probably doesn’t have what you are looking for.

Excellent service! Very HAPPY customer.
I travel from the mainland at least 2 – 3 times a year and almost always stop in Kailua-​Kona to bring back gifts for my friends and family. On my trip this month I was in the market for a Uke as a gift to a good friend. I was referred to this shop by a neighboring store and thought I’d give it a chance. The gentleman that helped me was patient with ALL of my questions and helped me select an instrument within my budget, along with demonstrating it for me. I left with a Uke that was perfect in every way. A «musical» friend looked it over later that night and said that I was sold a very nice piece. I have already gifted the Uke to my friend, who was extremely HAPPY to receive it. Also, it sounded quite lovely when he played it.
My advice: Go in with an open mind regarding your wants, needs and in my case budget. You ARE walking into a «business» located in a high-​tourist area. Don’t be surprised that you are not paying flea market prices.
Aloha!

I walked over to this shop from the Fairmont Hotel, which is about a half mile away. I arrived on Friday mid afternoon and the shop was closed with a sign on the door reading «be back in 20 minutes.» So I sat outside and waited 20 minutes and nobody came to open the store so I left, and took my money with me. Waste of my time and I can’t recommend this place because they can’t even stay open during their business hours. Fail.

I live here and just via word of mouth, I happened upon Just Ukes. I have been playing an entry level Leolani for just a few months and decided I needed to invest in a nice concert ukelele. I wanted something with big sound, not flashy, just well crafted… a uke that I could bang around and learn on. My budget was 200.00. I visited the Mauna Lani Just Ukes store and was shown the instrument that I am now crazy about! It’s a mahogany concert Leolani… the PERFECT UKE and it came with a case! I disagree with the dude that gave Just Ukes 1 star because of price on so many levels. This store is for serious uke enthusiasts, and I got terriffic value for my dollar. To me, price is secondary to the perfect instrument.

I had an interesting exchange with Just Ukes. I had no internet access at the time so I couldn’t research before purchasing. My wife and wonderful sales gal wanted to fulfill my want for a new Uke. I had just got to the island and was playing the second Ukulele I had ever played period while my loving wife and salesgal purchased the one I was holding in the background.
I felt grateful and let them do the transaction feeling like I got what I wanted, but didn’t get to experience the hunt for the perfect Uke. My uke. I played it that night and came to the decision to go to my wife and tell her I wanted to return it. I just didn’t get the sound I had been seaching for. Not for the lack of being a beautiful instrument, just not the tone my ear craved.
In a leap of faith I went back to the shop to return and found the salesgal that sold it to me not working. I approached the counter and explained my situation to a young lady that looked like she was a dear in the headlights. She called the owner Anne to get instructions and then told me only a store credit would be issued. I am way too savy for that kind of game in retail (I manage a large mall with 34 tenants). I know the rules and the young lady called the owner back. I had hoped that I would not be put on the phone, but was… In defense of some of the reviews I have read about Anne… I could feel how «intense» she could be, but I also found a person of good character and understanding of a personal quest.
This gracious lady not only refunded my purchase in full but gifted me the strings and chord card my wife had purchased with the Uke. Yes, maybe the prices are weighty, but those are decisions of the proprietor and bracket of client intent. Meaning, she can price anything in her store to any price she wants. We as consumers have the decision to either buy or pass by… Anne, if you read this. I did find my voice. Ken at Hilo Guitar gave me what I needed, and not what I wanted. A beautiful amped cutway Fala tenor that fits my frame of 6’3″ and even now puts chills up my spine as I play it…
God Bless and strum the Uke,
Duke

Friendly service and great ukeleles, but the prices are horrible. Ukeleles selling for $ 159 everywhere are $ 275 here. If you are in Hawaii and want to buy a ukelele, try another shop.

BUYERS BEWARE: On one hand, very nice and knowledgable sales people. Large selection. The big negative is price. ALL ukes are at OR ABOVE suggested list price which is 40−50% more than the going rate for all other stores I found… Online OR retail. One can argue small retailers give good service and cost more, but no other retailers have these high prices. At Just Ukes, $ 275 for a Lakikai koa uke that has a suggest list of $ 259 and goes for $ 159 everywhere else ($ 169 is the highest retail price I found). A mango uke is $ 500 there and $ 320 everywhere else. I’d pay 20% over online rates, but not list.
I didn’t do my homework, and assumed that price was ‘reasonable’. Attempt to return my purchase of days ago have all been diverted by needing to talk to the owner who is never there when they say, and has not returned calls. Thanks to the power of the internet, I will do my best to warn others… unless prices are brought inline with the rest of the world, avoid this place.

Traveling south on 11, just before you get to Captain Cook on the western (Kona) side of the Big Island, you’ll find Just Ukes. As I was driving along, I spied the sign and a parking spot right in front pretty much at the same time. Good fortune I’d say. I popped in and Anne was on the phone with her mom. That gave me the time to walk around and fondle almost all the ukes. When she finished, she helped me buy a lovely Lanikai baritone uke for a very reasonable price. I took it everywhere for the rest of our vacation. Anne was very helpful and friendly. I highly recommend Just Ukes.

Just Ukes is a little south of Kona on Mamalahoa Hwy in Old Kainaliu Town. I happened to park in front of the store, and had to go in to see what they had. I was greeted by a Anne, the owner, and her beautiful border collie Kirby. He was totally mellow, checking me out.
The store sells a large variety of ukeleles, including imported Portugese handcrafted pieces in the $ 400 range. But she also has the «practical» less expensive versions that the school kids get, as well as something I had not seen before: pineapple ukes. Anne told me the uke that most of us recognize was introduced by the Portugese. Prior to that the native Hawaiians made a pineapple shaped instrument.
Be sure to go in and say hi, if you are in the neighborhood.