Bought my axe sight unseen from a complete stranger a week before I bought my father a violin sight unseen from a complete stranger, both from ebay. Don't knock it man, best instrument I've ever had, and my father agrees about his. A few careful questions and it's pretty easy to establish legitimacy.
We can't all live in Seattle or Paris, but sceptiscism is a worthy virtue i will grant
I've bought a few instruments on eBay over the years and have generally been very happy. The deals you can find can sometimes outweigh the risk of buying sight unseen. Some locations (NYC is a perfect example) are particularly ill served when it comes to stores carrying selmac guitars. Sometime the "only" way to try one is to buy one sight unseen (from eBay or otherwise) and hope for the best...
Purchased sight unseen from a complete stranger... $2800 is a bet not a deal, IMO.
A complete stranger with 100% feedback on 50 transactions. Not bad. People buy guitars on this site "sight unseen" all the time. Obviously it's not for everyone but for as much talk that goes on on this forum about not buying a guitar before playing it, lots of people are doing it. When was the last time a Holo remained listed for more than a couple of days.
I bought both of my guitars online. One on eBay and one from a private seller on a site I can't even recall. It took me over a year to find one of them, and the other almost three years. I can't imagine how long it would have taken without the facility of the web. Works for me.
"Without music, life would be a mistake." --Friedrich Nietzsche
klaatuNova ScotiaProdigyRodrigo Shopis D'Artagnan, 1950s Jacques Castelluccia
People buy guitars on this site "sight unseen" all the time. Obviously it's not for everyone but for as much talk that goes on on this forum about not buying a guitar before playing it, lots of people are doing it. When was the last time a Holo remained listed for more than a couple of days.
Of course, buying "sight unseen" from this site isn't quite the same as eBay or most other online transactions. First of all, Michael generally posts a video of newly arrived guitars (except in the case that something gets snatched up before he has the chance, like the aforementioned Holo or my Dupont), giving us all a chance to both see AND hear the instrument.
Second, Michael has a 48 hour return policy, something you usually don't get with an eBay transaction (although some sellers do offer it).
Finally, there's the matter of knowing your seller. Any eBay seller, no matter how many positive feedbacks they have, is still pretty much anonymous to the buyer. Michael is well known to all of us and a person of integrity.
I have actually bought guitars on eBay (not gypsy ones, though) and have been pleased with them. But it's always a bit of a crapshoot. Not so with Michael.
Benny
"It's a great feeling to be dealing with material which is better than yourself, that you know you can never live up to."
-- Orson Welles
Comments
Nice deal.
eBay huh...well I guess that's what its worth on the trade market. Ive seen some ridiculous deals lately, I'm always looking.
Frank Zappa
We can't all live in Seattle or Paris, but sceptiscism is a worthy virtue i will grant
I bought both of my guitars online. One on eBay and one from a private seller on a site I can't even recall. It took me over a year to find one of them, and the other almost three years. I can't imagine how long it would have taken without the facility of the web. Works for me.
Second, Michael has a 48 hour return policy, something you usually don't get with an eBay transaction (although some sellers do offer it).
Finally, there's the matter of knowing your seller. Any eBay seller, no matter how many positive feedbacks they have, is still pretty much anonymous to the buyer. Michael is well known to all of us and a person of integrity.
I have actually bought guitars on eBay (not gypsy ones, though) and have been pleased with them. But it's always a bit of a crapshoot. Not so with Michael.
"It's a great feeling to be dealing with material which is better than yourself, that you know you can never live up to."
-- Orson Welles