Tips and
Tip-offs for buying guitars on ebay
Written by AriaProII
Many
of you already have accounts, and know one of the best (and worst) places
to find Arai/Matsumoku guitars is
Unfortunately,
ebay demands a whole new set of purchasing skills necessary to not only
find the guitar you are looking for, but to insure you make a wise and
fair purchase. I'll try to outline some of the things that I have found
helpful, and probably more importantly, cover some of the things to be
wary of. Wherever possible, I'll cite examples. From my viewpoint, ebay
is a cross between a sealed bidding system and open warfare. The information
here is intended to make you a better "soldier" and help improve your hard
earned money's survival rate.
The
"Golden Rules"
Above all, keep a cool head!
Part of the appeal of ebay is the excitement and the bidding frenzies it
tends to spawn. Don't get drawn into it. One thing that helps me is accepting
the fact that I might not get what I want at the price I want. On rare
occasions I have thrown some rather large sums at certain guitars, but
with those few price was not an issue. On the other hand, I sometimes have
to remind myself that the $200 guitar I am going after really isn't worth
$400 to me. Knowing how to, and being willing to walk away is a valuable
skill, and can save a lot of money. I do my best to avoid bidding "frenzies"
or "wars". It makes little sense to throw away my money "just to win".
It's not the olympics so there's no medal, and my false pride is my wallet's
worst enemy here. Decide what you are willing to pay for the guitar and
STICK TO IT. Only you can decide what it is worth to you, but YOU should
decide this, not the guy/gal trying to outbid you.
Always check a seller's
feedback rating! Know who you are dealing with BEFORE you bid. Pay
close attention to things such as prompt shipping, overall description
accuracy, prompt communications, and payment options. Often sellers with
a large amount of feedback will have a few negatives. It makes good sense
to look into those negatives. At times they are warranted, and it then
boils down to how the seller handled it. Other times it's the silly "spitting
contest" I despise so much. Check to see if it was a deadbeat getting even,
or a no-pay trying to get something for free. Yes, it happens. Get the
"whole story". Sometimes it's also helpful to see what kind of feedback
the seller has left for his previous customers. If they have an "About  "
page, check it out. A seller that is willing to quickly and amiably resolve
disputes is a plus. Sooner or later it will happen and how a seller handles
it should help you decide yay or nay.
Ask the seller questions
BEFORE you bid! A good customer will scrutinize what he/she intends
to purchase. If there are questions in the back of your mind, ask them.
Don't leave things to chance that needn't be. Already you are considering
purchasing something you cannot personally evaluate, so it's in your best
interest to get the answers to any questions or concerns you may have.
Even if you already know something, ask anyway. Not necessarily for the
answer, but to see how responsive the seller is. How prompt they are to
respond could be a good indicator of how they will handle the transaction
and how you will be treated after the fact. Some large volume sellers take
a bit to respond. Normally I give it 24 hours (unless I know it's a shop
or business that is closed sunday for example).
Do your homework!
It is up to YOU to know what you are looking at. Often a seller knows very
little about the guitar. Other times what they know is baloney to the well
informed bidder. Do your research BEFORE you bid. The guitars I cover here
are from 15 to 30 years old, and a lot can happen in that time. Parts get
changed out, damage gets done, guitars are re-finished, and guitars are
sometimes even mis-identified entirely. It's YOUR responsibility to know
what you are looking at. If you don't but are interested, get busy searching
the web or talking with people who do know something about the item you're
interested in. One of the reasons I began this site is because there is
not only a lack of information on these guitars, but a flood of mis-information
as well.
Proof of payment benefits
YOU! Always pay using a method that offers proof of payment! I use
PayPal whenever the seller accepts it as this provides automatic proof
of purchase. When I send money orders, I only send Postal Money Orders,
and I pay for the delivery confirmation myself. This does two things for
me. First, it provides proof that the seller received the money order and
when. Second, if it is intercepted or does not make it there, the Postal
service becomes involved and investigates. Both tampering with US mail
and mail fraud are federal offenses. Without delivery confirmation, it's
simply my word against theirs.
The
"Pitfalls"
There
are so many things to "be wary" of when searching for guitars on ebay,
so I am only going to cover the biggies here. I have heard many horror
stories, but with a little advanced warning and a little common sense,
much of the "unpleasant" experiences can be avoided.
.
Always
question excessive negative feedback. Anytime a seller appears to have
a large amount fo negative feedback it is cause for concern! As I said
above, familiarize youself with the seller's previous transactions. If
there are excessive negative feedback entries it could mean that the seller
is a slow ship, unresponsive, inaccurate in his/her descriptions, unwilling
to resolve disputes, or possibly even fraudulent at times. Check as much
of the negative feedback and the auctions they pertain to as you can and
you might see a pattern that will affect your decision. You could very
well save youself the same grief the previous purchasers have gone through.
Sometimes I walk away from a guitar because I see something I don't like
in the feedback. The bitter taste of a raw deal lasts a lot longer than
the sweet taste of a good one!
.
Outlandish
or unverifiable claims. I know I partially covered this below, but
it also warrants seperate mention. Sometimes sellers claim a guitar was
owned or played by a celebrity, that the guitar is rare, it is a one-off
or one-of-a-kind, prototype, or otherwise specail. It's your money and
you DO have the right to ask them to verify their claims. Don't accept
a simple handwritten note either, as anyone could write it. When Fender
ships out a Custom Shop guitar, it is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity
(COA) which verifies the guitar's origins. Guitars truly owned by celebrities
often are accompanied by some kind of verifiable document such as a note
from the celebrity on the celebrity's own letterhead. Usually these documents
can be verified. When claims seem a bit hoky it's always in your best interest
to play the devil's advocate. It's up to them to verify their claims, and
until then you should see it as nothing more than colorful prose. Here's
a beatiful example of some of the hogwash you might see. It's loaded with
inaccuracies and claims that could never be verified! I find the "chocolate"
thing particularly amusing! I have more here somewhere, and will add them
later.
.
Condition
is relative! Often you will see guitars listed as "mint" or "near mint",
or other references to the guitar's actual condition. One thing to keep
in mind at all times is condition is relative to the sellers interepretation.
Much like "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder". Good pics will give
you an idea, lousy pics wont. If the pics are lousy, ask if the seller
can offer better ones. A ding to me may be a horrid crater to you, or the
converse. Action, tone, and other playability factors are also subject
to interpretation. I am able to adjust nearly every aspect of a giutars
handling to a point, and have even done some pretty hefty resurrections,
but not everyone is inclined or has had the fortune to learn from skilled
professonals as I have. Having someone you can trust that is able to do
this allows you more flexibility when considering a guitar in regards to
action, handling, and tone as all of this can be to some degree modified
to suit your tastes.
.
Originality
and modifications. Originality is something that once again, will be
up to you to determine. If this is an issue then (yup, I'm gonna say it
again) do your homework. More likely than not the seller is telling
the truth, but it's ultimately up to you to know (if originality is an
issue with you). Many of these guitars have been around a while, changed
hands possibly many times, and quite possibly been modified at one time
during their life. I have often asked a seller if all was original, but
sometimes they were not able to tell me. Others I received a positive response
from only to find out they had no idea and some parts had been changed
out or it had been tampered with. Doing your homework and asking the right
questons will often yeild a more accurate picture. Another thing to avoid
are the obvious counterfeits and fakes. For the most part this only
takes place when there is a great deal of money to be made and usually
only involves high dollar vintage american or very rare instruments. This
is not always the case, where a number individuals have been hawking otherwise
perfectly good vintage Japanese guitars with one difference: The headstocks
have been permanently altered with an illegal counterfeit Gibson, Fender,
or other trademarked logo. My advice is to steer clear of this sort of
thing, not only for your sake, but for the sake of the guitars being trashed
in this fashion.
.
Beware
the HypeSlinger! I cover this in my Rants page, but feel I should also
cover this here as it would appear it does get enough people in trouble
to warrant mention in both places. I am sure you have seen auctions where
the seller seems to spew forth with paragraph after paragraph of senseless
dribble, often dropping names, huge sums, and pepering the listing with
"focus words" such as premium, exquisite, rare, mint (or near). Sometimes
even comparing the guitar listed to ones obviously in a league above what
is being sold. One of the best examples I have illustrated HERE
and is a direct quote from an actual auction. Many sellers are catching
on that if they iclude the words Ibanez, Matsumoku, or Gibson in listings
for Uncle Matt's (and even completely unrelated) guitars the hype and frenzy
often pumps up the price. Pay attention to what you see, and what other
sources have to say and not solely on what the seller tells you. Do
your homework! Sites such as this one,
Univox.org,
and
Harmony Central
should get you started on the right foot.
.
Don't
forget shipping, insurance, and good packaging! It's easy to overlook
these expenses, but they do add to what you will end up paying in total.
Always insist on insurance for the TOTAL amount plus a little. Should there
unfortunately be a loss or damage your investment will eventually be recovered.
Inisist on good packaging! If you could see how a few guitars arrived at
my door you could very well go into cardiac arrest so I will spare you
the shock. Needless to say the guitars were in no way packaged properly
and had there actually been damage (a miracle with a few) it would have
required outside legal assistance in order to recover the loss.
.
I
know there are many others for both categories here, and I will add to
it as time goes on. I know some of the good folks on the message board
are seasoned ebayers and I welcome suggestons and help in this area! Hopefully
this helps at least a few people make wiser, more educated "wins" in the
future. Happy Jewel hunting! |
