Buiying a guitar over the net..question.

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jimistone

jimistone

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I have been looking for a certain acoustic and I bid on one on ebay. I didn't win the auction unfortunatly. I found one I like better for a price that is $100 less than my top bid on the ebay one. In other words it's probably the right guitar at the right price for me.

My question is this...
How does one go about buying a guitar over the internet from an individual...one on one...and not stand a pretty good chance of getting screwed?

On ebay there is protection against that. If the seller dosent send the guitar you can recoup your money and they will go after the seller. Plus sellers who sell alot of guitars are not going to screw someone over and mess up a good thing.

But, what about the guy who is selling one guitar and that's it. He is not going through ebay. He may be a crackhead who is selling his guitar for a fix or two. If he gets the money and says "screw it man" and sends nothing what recourse does one have?

There are alot of guitar transactions made between individuals over the net, outside of ebay, so I know there must be a way to do it that is safe for both parties. That's why I'm asking you guys.
 
Beware of who you buy from for sure. What kind of listing is it? Is it on craigslist? Is is something that you can pick up locally? If so then you can check it out when you meet up with said seller. You might want to ask him/her if they will take a check, then if you don't get the guitar, you can stop the check through your bank. On the other hand, this person might think you are a crackhead and might send a bum check and then he is screwed out of a guitar. My suggestion would to be, if you can meet up in person, do that, but if you cannot, ask the person to post it on ebay and buy it directly from him when it is up there. Have them put it up with a buy-it-now price that you agree on and tell him to tell you when he puts it up - this way you have the security you are looking for. He might want to charge you a bit more since Ebay takes a cut but it would be worth it IMO to have the added security.
 
you are pretty safe dealing with ebay imo...Ive used it tons of times for music equipment, bike parts, snowboarding gear on both sides of the atlantic and asia

but Id never buy a guitar of it.....if the sellers got rep you will get it...but what if it has a duff neck or a shit tone? you are not covered for that..even new Id still never consider buying something as personal as a guitar..you need to play it

craigslist would be where Id be looking
 
kcearl said:
you are pretty safe dealing with ebay imo...Ive used it tons of times for music equipment, bike parts, snowboarding gear on both sides of the atlantic and asia

but Id never buy a guitar of it.....if the sellers got rep you will get it...but what if it has a duff neck or a shit tone? you are not covered for that..even new Id still never consider buying something as personal as a guitar..you need to play it

craigslist would be where Id be looking
Click to expand...

I hear ya.
Lower priced guitars have consistantcy problems and 2 guitars, that are identical as to make and model, will be like night and day. One will sound 10 times better than the other.
Recording King guitars are a good example of that...one will be nothing short of awsome and the next one will be falling apart on you.

I don't see how quality control can be so lax in a chinese factory...it's slave labor and they can be whipped with a cane if there are flaws in the guitar...you can't get better quality control enforcement than that for crying out loud!:D

Before y'all flame me I'm just kidding.

That being said the guitar I'm shopping for (guild DV-52...made in Westerly R.I.) is a more high end guitar and pretty consistant.
Higher end guitars don't vary in tone and quality nearly as much as the cheapos.
Do any of you guys have a DV-52 for sale?
If so PM me.
 
You are protected with most credit card sales, so do it though paypal that way. But - like already said - you are s.o.l. if the guitar is a dud. If it arrives with a cracked body, warped neck, etc. you're stuck.
 
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