I purchased an old all Mahogany Martin off ebay a few years back. It really nice looking and under-priced from what I read, so I took a $700 chance. When I got the guitar it was packed pretty well, but honestly I hated the sound. I had only been playing for a few years at that time and mainly owned gloss finished guitars. So with the all chord style of music I was playing, the unfinished mahogany just didn't sound right. I ended up selling the guitar on ebay for around $100 more than I had paid for it, so it all worked out. I haven't bought another guitar with out seeing/hearing it in person since that experience.
Tell some of your WORST on-line guitar purchase horror stories .....
- Thread starter Dr. Tweedbucket
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I was looking for a Heritage, forund one on line and callled for more info. Talked to the owner of the shop regarding the guitar. Yes Sir it's NOS. I have the guitar in hand. Hang tags, case candy. I'm just a few miles from the factory. Prefect I'll take it! Gave my info and asked him to call with a tracking number the following day. No call the next day. The following day I call, Uh, Uh well I didn't ship your guitar. Why not? Well it's not here! What do you mean? Well I didn't have it in hand. I don't know where it at... Well at this point I have had plenty. Just refund my CC and we'll be done with this. Take a few days but the refund goes through. About 2 weeks later he call me. Yes Sir I found YOUR guitar. Turns out one of his workers has had this NOS Heritage at his house and it just shows up one day at the shop agin. Well he tried to sell this to me at a discounted rate as he says, $150 higher than the original price I was quoted. I haven't bought on line since and still don't have a Heritage.
blueshawk1
Member
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- 418
Guess I've been lucky, bought most of the too many guitars I've had, on-line, and not had any real horror stories. The worst was having bought a guitar on ebay, and it wasn't getting shipped, and I wasn't getting a response from the seller. I filed a dispute with PayPal and low and behold, I had a tracking number and the guitar a few days later.
I had one close call, a guitar coming FEDEX, who at the time, always delivered here around noon, and working nights and being home days, I was able to watch for it. One p.m., and nothing yet, I check the tracking and it said "delivered", so I got on the phone to FEDEX, they apparently got ahold of the delivery guy somehow and he must have gone to where he delivered to wrongly and retrieved it and I had it a few hours later.
Although there's been a least a couple others that should have been horror stories, bought from private sellers, and the way they were packed, I'm still amazed that they made it here in one piece and undamaged in any way.
I had one close call, a guitar coming FEDEX, who at the time, always delivered here around noon, and working nights and being home days, I was able to watch for it. One p.m., and nothing yet, I check the tracking and it said "delivered", so I got on the phone to FEDEX, they apparently got ahold of the delivery guy somehow and he must have gone to where he delivered to wrongly and retrieved it and I had it a few hours later.
Although there's been a least a couple others that should have been horror stories, bought from private sellers, and the way they were packed, I'm still amazed that they made it here in one piece and undamaged in any way.
SteveGaines
Member
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- 3,694
Don't know if this counts..But I bought an "AGED PICK GUARD" on Ebay once...Got the thing home and it wasn't a custom shop Pick guard but only a pick guard the guy had took off a Strat and rubbed some dirt and grim on it.. I swear I took a rag and some windex and the the thing shined up like brand new....Oh well...
Pikesoldier
Member
- Messages
- 484
i was drunk on amazon one night and i ordered an epiphone doubleneck es1275, (does anyone ever order these sober?)
when it arrived it was not an epiphone but rather a "maestro" (this was before gibson reissued the brand on their target guitars)
best part, i sent it back saying... um, guys... this isnt what you were supposed to send me....
then they accused me of breaking the neck and returning it because i broke it, all the time denying my claim that it was the WRONG FREAKING GUITAR.
my credit card company ended up getting involved, and i ended up out like $100 in shipping both ways.
when it arrived it was not an epiphone but rather a "maestro" (this was before gibson reissued the brand on their target guitars)
best part, i sent it back saying... um, guys... this isnt what you were supposed to send me....
then they accused me of breaking the neck and returning it because i broke it, all the time denying my claim that it was the WRONG FREAKING GUITAR.
my credit card company ended up getting involved, and i ended up out like $100 in shipping both ways.
wes37
Silver Supporting Member
- Messages
- 938
I bought a Melancon Pro Classic which had the worst warp I've ever seen on a guitar neck, it was about 5 months old. When I contacted he guy I bought it from to resolve, he told me the guitar wasn't his, he sold it for a friend, etc. I had paid through Paypal, so I lodged a dispute and the guy emailed me and asked me to sort it out with his friend since he needed his Paypal account to run his business. My reply to this was that he sold me the guitar, so the resolution was between us. He gave me my money back, but I paid to ship it back.
tnt365
Member
- Messages
- 3,052
Bought a 2008 Heritage H157 in Natural flame maple on eBay about 5 months ago. Got a fair deal at $1100 BIN but it shows up and obviously needs a setup, new bridge and the 1st and 2nd string didn't make any noise when fretted about the 14th fret! I didn't claim anything on eBay or Paypal because I loved the guitar so much and it only ended up costing me $55 at my local shop to get it to play like new (or probably better than new).
I think I'll try before I buy from now on though....^^^ was too damn close.
I think I'll try before I buy from now on though....^^^ was too damn close.
severinsteel
Silver Supporting Member
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- 1,466
I've bought a ton of guitars online, and I've had very good luck for the most part. I did end up with A Music Man John Petrucci that needed a fret dress.
My fault, but this is my story, Local shop buying a guitar for my son. They sold be a Epiphone G310 Jr for $300. Good playing guitar. Just not worth what I paid.
I knew nothing about guitars at the time.
Get home and see I could have purchased it all day long for $100-150. on the net.
Since that time I have purchased over 17K in gear, none of it from them... I buy "picks" from them every once in a blue moon.
I knew nothing about guitars at the time.
Get home and see I could have purchased it all day long for $100-150. on the net.
Since that time I have purchased over 17K in gear, none of it from them... I buy "picks" from them every once in a blue moon.
Oakley
Silver Supporting Member
- Messages
- 990
Not a horror story but interesting:
Sold my Taylor 655CE for something over $2000 to a guy in Washington state. Over a year later I got a call from a NY cabbie who found the guitar in his cab. He had called Taylor and got my number from them (I registered the guitar for warranty). I told the cabbie that I'd try to find the guy I sold it to
I dug out the email address of the guy I sold it to. He got back to me a few days later. He had moved to NYC in the interim. He got out of the cab after a gig thinking his girlfriend had the guitar (!) Didn't notice it was gone until way too late.
Unfortunately, the cabbie wouldn't give me a phone number to call him back. He said he'd call me the next day to find out if I'd contacted the owner. He never did call. Seems shady, but OTOH he'd made a good effort to find the owner - calling Taylor; calling me.
I have no idea of the final outcome. Maybe the owner - or, more likely, his GF - remembered which cab company he'd taken. That would explain why I might not have gotten the follow up call. Still, I check the backs of the 655CEs whenever I see them on eBay. I'd recognize it in a scond.
Sold my Taylor 655CE for something over $2000 to a guy in Washington state. Over a year later I got a call from a NY cabbie who found the guitar in his cab. He had called Taylor and got my number from them (I registered the guitar for warranty). I told the cabbie that I'd try to find the guy I sold it to
I dug out the email address of the guy I sold it to. He got back to me a few days later. He had moved to NYC in the interim. He got out of the cab after a gig thinking his girlfriend had the guitar (!) Didn't notice it was gone until way too late.
Unfortunately, the cabbie wouldn't give me a phone number to call him back. He said he'd call me the next day to find out if I'd contacted the owner. He never did call. Seems shady, but OTOH he'd made a good effort to find the owner - calling Taylor; calling me.
I have no idea of the final outcome. Maybe the owner - or, more likely, his GF - remembered which cab company he'd taken. That would explain why I might not have gotten the follow up call. Still, I check the backs of the 655CEs whenever I see them on eBay. I'd recognize it in a scond.
SackvilleDan
Platinum Supporting Member
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- 2,085
Did this really happen, or am I just missing the joke?
GreenKnight18
Member
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- 2,278
Bought an 'as-is' 80's Epiphone bass off eBay.
'as-is' in my case meant a bowed neck with a busted truss rod that was garbage. It took it to a store to have them take a look and it would cost more to fix than it was worth.
While leaving I threw it into the dumpster outside the store.
'as-is' in my case meant a bowed neck with a busted truss rod that was garbage. It took it to a store to have them take a look and it would cost more to fix than it was worth.
While leaving I threw it into the dumpster outside the store.
Meriphew
Member
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- 8,943
[joking]I bought what was supposed to be a 2008 Gibson Historic R9 online from some guy, but it turned out to be an actual really old 59 Les Paul that was in mint condition. I was so pissed...[/joking]
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