e-bay

[Roberta]

Has anyone ever bought a guitar on e-bay? They have some beauties but it would make me nervous to buy something that expensive and fragile that way. I am just curious if anyone has experience with that.

Love this forum. I am learning so much. I cannot believe how well informed I have become since reading this forum.

PS I just got my bonus today so I am going guitar shopping very soon.

[keith]

roberta: i have heard great stories and i have heard horror stories about e-bay. i am not experienced enough with e-bay to give you the fine pointers but what little i know i can say that:

a. vic varney trades a lot on ebay and has good remarks made concerning his transactions--i have dealt with him and he is a good doobie.

b. if the name sherry brener pops up, the guitar has a headstock that looks like a ramirez but everything does not, the label lists the woods used, or if the guitar is listed as a ramirez 2a, be very wary unless the price is a few hundred bucks. just do a search in the forum for sherry brenner and it will be obvious.

c. use common sense. the old adage "too good to be true" is most appropriate.

the downside with e-bay is that you do not get the chance to examine and play the guitar. that is enough for me to avoid it....but, if you can get the seller to let you put money in escrow (say, escrow.com) and try it out then you are a step ahead. whether or not the seller agrees to that is another story.

what guitar(s) have struck your fancy?

[Roberta]

I am actually thinking of going out to Lexington to the Music Emporium.

This is their web site with a list of what they have. This way I can try out a few.

http://www.themusicemporium.com/prodlist.asp?Category=Guitars&SubCat=Classical

Check it out and let me know if anything jumps out at you. I guess I still feel a bit of trepidation as far as not knowing enough yet to make a sound (no pun intended) decision.

[TheEvan]

Price range?

I'd be most tempted by the Kohno.

[Roberta]

Price range is between $1500 and $2500

[stevel]

The Kohno has a crack in the top. Unless you are able to judge the extent of the damage and determine the cost of repair you should not consider the Kohno, as it may end up costing you what you paid to repair it.

Similar advice, to a lesser extent, goes for any used guitar. Unless you know what to look for you should take someone with you who does.

The Vazquez Rubio Estudio, Loriente Clarita, Esteve GR09 and Bernabe 5, are all worth a listen in your price range.

[Zak]

I am VERY weary of buying on ebay.

The guitars aren't able to speak for themselves - the seller has to describe it. Many of the ebay sellers are collecters, rather than musicians, and I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Furthermore, since they're just trying to make a buck, I have noticed that every guitar listed on ebay is "the most beautiful guitar I have ever heard." :?

[flamencoguru]

I don't see anything wrong with buying a guitar on Ebay, especially if they give you a money back garantee if you don't like the instrument. I have a friend who bought a Pedro Maldonado and that guitar is incredible. It would have cost him almost double if he had bought the guitar directly from Pedro. That was a rare case.

As long as the seller and buyer run an honest show, I don't see any reason to be afraid.

One of the downside I see on ebay are the yahoos who don't want to pay what an instrument is really worth. Some people expect to get an Hermanos Conde halfmoon for $1000. NOT HAPPENING. Remember, you get what you pay for.

Cheers.

[George Richards]

I have bought and sold many guitars on E-Bay. It's perhaps easier when you're dealing with electrics, but I have bought classical guitars and steel-string acoustics this way as well.

If you get into doing this, you MUST research the instruments and be sure you pay a fair price. And if you don't like the guitar, you have to accept that you'll probably need to sell it on E-Bay. So if you pay a fair price, you can reasonably expect that someone else will too if/when you're ready to sell. Do a search on both current auctions and recently completed ones to get an idea of what a guitar usuaally sells for.

I always check a seller's feedback and ask questions if I have them. I received one guitar recently that was not quite as the seller described it. After some back and forth, he refunded me part of the purchase price while I kept the guitar.

It is possible to get taken on E-Bay, but I've been buying and selling there for years and I remain amazed (and somewhat encouraged) at how honest almost everybody is.

Of course, one real advantage to working with a dealer (like GSI) is that you can get the guitar on approval, and even if you want to send it back later, you can get a generous credit towards another one. With E-Bay, you have to be willing to tie up some cash for a while as you buy and sell your way to the perfect guitar. For people who like to shop and deal, it's not a bad way to go. But for those who are risk-averse, a dealer is a good option too.

[Stefan*]

My teacher says he'll never buy a guitar without playing it in person first .... but that said, I've got a collection of about 40 instruments, the majority of which came from ebay, many of them excellent for the price paid, and he agrees.

Keith made some very valid points. I haven't bought anything from Vic personally, but he seems a very nice fellow and a musician, so he should be able to tell you accurately how a guitar plays and sounds. Sherry-Brenner ... I've never had one, but there is definitely some monkey-business there. Stick with good brand names and then you won't be stuck after you get it, you can always re-sell. Guitars like Almansa, Alhambra, Ramirez, Cordoba, Yamaha, Takamine, etc. All have a set price per model and are easy to gauge. if you get it and don't like it and haven't overpaid, yuo can sell it again.

The biggest problems I've run into on ebay is misrepresentation or downplaying of physical flaws and horrendous packing. Be VERY detailed in asking questions so you know EXACTLY what shape the guitar is in before buying and how it will be shipped. Shipping Insurance is a must. Being able to try the guitar is great, but not a very common selling practice as sellers don't want to risk damage to the instrument.

On ebay you take your chances, especially on used instruments ... but the greatest risk brings the greatest reward :)

It's best to go to local stores at least at first to try the different brands if you can so that at least you know what to look for online. It's hard to buy one without having ever tried classicals first hand.

Oh, and you do find deals.... a guy I ran across JUST sold his son's Contreras 2A for $300cad. He said it was light like paper and had these stupid tuning pegs so he didn't think it was worth much. I almost collapsed when I heard. (it's a $3,000 guitar roughly)

If you're interested, I have a few in my collection that will be sold soon one way or another as I just have way more than I need. Msg or email me if interesed. Some of the ones I'll likely be parting with are an Alhambra 10C, Yamaha GC31, Rodriguez C3.

GOOD LUCK! .. the key is to get a good one and start playing!

[alaskaal]

So far I have purchased four instruments off of ebay. One Almansa 449 Flamenco that is really sweet (this has become my main guitar) for $600, a Cordoba 30F for $200, a Weber Gallatin mandolin for $900 and a violin of indeterminate origin for $100. I never had any trouble with the sellers of these instruments and living in Alaska I would never have had the opportunity to play one prior to shipping and living in Alaska I am an expert in shipping, if nothing else.

All things considered these were all excellent deals, but just the Alamansa alone made it all worthwhile.

Al

[Section_10]

The only security you truly have on ebay is the feedback part of the deal. I recently bought a guitar from someone in Australia. They "accidentally" shipped it seamail which takes 3 months. So it hasn't arrived yet and it's been 2 months. I paid them extra to get it shipped here quicker too. And the only evidence I have is a copy of the receipt so you definetly want to buy from someone with a higher rating that has + feedback. It is absolutely without doubt always best to play the guitar first of course. Stay away from "steals" I recently saw a Hauser III for $1500. Anyone else see that?

[Travis_Warner]

I've always had good success with ebay. I bought a 1969 no-name classical for 15 dollars that serves great as a travel guitar. When buying something off of ebay, i never buy from somebody that has less that a 98 % positive rating. Sometimes, people who are offering higher end guitars will let you try the guitar out for a few days, but not all. before making a major purchase, always email the guy, call the person if possible.

[Miguel Angel]

My experiences with E-Bay auctions have been very good. Two of my guitars were bought at E-Bay and were excellent buys not only for the price, but two excellent guitars. A couple of years ago I bought a used Hirade 8 for $800.00, and it came out not only to be like new, but a fine guitar. Recently I bought a new Ramírez R-4, from a 2002 old stock for only $1,299.00, most retailers have it new for not less than $2,700.00. 8)

[Libre]

Not sure if it's strictly applicable, but my company regularly sells diamond jewely on eBay, for prices in the 10's of thousands. Sometimes quite a few 10's of thousands. We offer a moneyback guarantee, and we have perfect feedback. So it's true that buyer beware, and you get what you pay for, and lots of other sayings. You do have to be careful. We see scam diamond auctions all day, because we know what to look for and what diamonds are worth. THe main thing is, if something is being offered for far less than its market value, less than the seller could easily get from a dealer or other ready buyers, it's a scam.

[maestro77]

I wish this discussion was posted a few weeks ago when I made my first post about buying a guitar on ebay. Luckily for me it all worked out when I bought an Alhambra 7FC off ebay. I did however contact the seller directly. I would never buy a guitar without talking with the seller first. To me, as long as there is a return policy, good communication, and good feedback I am good to go. I think there are great deals to be found on ebay and other auction sites, sometimes way less then market value. I am not wealthy by any means, so finding a deal makes my day! My humble advice - just research the seller...

[Libre]

My brother (who started this company) has a saying. Actually, he has lots of sayings. But the one I'm referring to is, "If sombody is selling dollar bills for 50 cents, run like hell the other way."

[GSI Fan]

"If sombody is selling dollar bills for 50 cents, run like hell the other way."

Libre,

I like it!!!

Mind if I use it?

[Libre]

Sure, use it. He has lots of GREAT sayings. How about this...
Success is the BEST revenge.

[Stefan*]

I wish this discussion was posted a few weeks ago when I made my first post about buying a guitar on ebay. Luckily for me it all worked out when I bought an Alhambra 7FC off ebay. ...

Great choice! One of my first was a 7FC off eay as well. The thing had more scratches than expected, but man, I still love the sound and playability. I'll never get rid of it I don't think.

[maestro77]

Good to hear it Stefan. So far I love this guitar. Well worth the price I bought it for. I always check ebay and instrumentexchange.com for instruments. The 7FC I purchased was brand new a few weeks ago. Next I have to look for a good case for this baby...

[Todd in FL]

I bought a yamaha cg101 for $81. I will resell it of course for much more. There are some good deals there. Be wary when of Nigerian scams. They want you to end your auction by promising an unbelievable price. I'm selling a laptop now and in the 2 days there have gotten 6 emails from that country.

This is a good site to check value and reviews of guitars:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/00all.html