WahKeen Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 The local GC store did not have the 1960 vos lp I wanted in stock, so they'll be ordering it from their warehouse (website) to the store for me (Gibson was totally cleaned out). They do have sku #'s in their site and the one I'm looking at looks great. I only hope it's not a lemon. I realize I'm late to the party, but what has been your experience buying a Custom, or any guitar for that matter, through Guitar Center in the mail? What was the condition of it when you got it, was it a "bad" guitar? I know you should always pick up the instrument first and get a feel for it etc... Any feedback will be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 One thing you could ask yourself is how do these shops get their merchandise. Their not like a huge mega stores like Walmart were they have a feet of trucks. Most guitar shops rely on FedEx, UPS, and/or DHL. If the guitar is damage they will not sell it to you and they will find a replacement The only problem I can see is that you might not like the guitar once it arrives. Each Gibson has a personality of their own. If that's the case, they will probably find you another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I bought the two guitars in my signature through music123, and both of them arrived safely (international too) and both were flawless and perfect right out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockman82 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I got my Strat used from GC, it came just fine. Good service. I think I got my Epiphone SG through MF, not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Keep in mind, Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, and Music 123 all ship from the same warehouse. What's said for one of them will apply to the other two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbarker393 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I've had really good experiences ordering online as well. I have bought many guitars from MF and music 123 online. all came safely and undamaged and played well right out of the box. my most recent purchase online was a Gibson songwriter deluxe. my first acoustic bought online. I was a little nervous as to how it would feel and play since I did find one at guitar center that played and felt good. the one online was on sale though so I went with it. very glad I did! Plays every bit as good as the one I tried at GC! Maybe I just got lucky, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another guitar online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahKeen Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 Whew, your responses all put me at ease. Thank you guys so much. I've always bought what I touched, so this is a first for me. I should order it Saturday, so when I get it, I'll be putting pics on here and give my two cents worth. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiJAMM Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I know you should always pick up the instrument first and get a feel for it etc... Any feedback will be appreciated. Obviously' date=' it's nice if you have the opportunity to see and play an instrument first but it's not entirely necessary. In fact, I've bought six guitars over the years online and they all arrived in perfect condition. Open the box, tune her up, plug her in and enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I bought my R8 blindly from GC.com and it worked out well. Sealed box, mint condition, no problems. Really good guitar but not the best stock I've played. I'm always nervous with Gibson guitars because I've played more that I didn't like than ones I liked. I've done it twice (bought a Gibson blindly) and I've been lucky both times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahKeen Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 ^ Yum. Ok, I can breathe...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Up until now, the only guitar I've ever bought sight-unseen was a Fender Classic '50s P-bass. I bought it from a reputable dealer, and it was a good one, nicely delivered. I sent my burgy LPVM back to the factory a month or so ago - CS says they'll send me a new one when production resumes. Fingers are crossed, but I have little reason to think that the factory would send me a dud. I've got two LP '50s Trubutes on order... we'll see how that goes, but I'm not really worried about it. If anything sucks, it'll go back for a refund or replacement. The key is the reputable dealer/manufacturer thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 The only difference in ordering through GC is that you will have to pay the Texas sales tax, which is on the steep side. If you were to order the same guitar from Musicians Friend it would be tax free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 The only difference in ordering through GC is that you will have to pay the Texas sales tax' date=' which is on the steep side. If you were to order the same guitar from Musicians Friend it would be tax free.[/quote'] Do you think they count on that? (probably...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I've bought 3 Gibsons from Musicians Friend. Had 1 problem, it was fixed very quickly. No tax, no freight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 The only difference in ordering through GC is that you will have to pay the Texas sales tax' date=' which is on the steep side.[/quote']Does GC ship out of Texas? I thought that was how US tax worked - if you buy something and the retailer isn't based in your state, it's tax free? I didn't pay any US tax on that R8 or any other guitar I've bought from the US...but I usually get hosed when it crosses the border - an additional 13%. Here in Canada, if you buy something from another province (our states) and have it shipped, you pay that province's sales tax. That's great if I buy something from Alberta, which only has 5% sales tax, but I like the US system better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Does GC ship out of Texas? I thought that was how US tax worked - if you buy something and the retailer isn't based in your state' date=' it's tax free? I didn't pay any US tax on that R8 or any other guitar I've bought from the US...but I usually get hosed when it crosses the border - an additional 13%. Here in Canada, if you buy something from another province (our states) and have it shipped, you pay that province's sales tax. That's great if I buy something from Alberta, which only has 5% sales tax, but I like the US system better.[/quote'] I think, Tim, if he buys from a GC in Texas, it would be like buying it in his home State, whereas MF is based out of Oregon. I think..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Right, but if he says he's buying from the mail doesn't that mean through GC.com? And if GC's headquarters isn't in Texas or if they don't ship out of Texas, there shouldn't be any tax...right? I bought that R8 from GC.com and had it shipped to the GC in Buffalo where I picked it up a week later. I didn't pay any tax on it. I also bought an Egnater cabinet through GC.com and had that shipped to my cousin in Michigan. I did pay MI sales tax on the cab because the GC guy told me they ship out of MI. Heck, I'm just a Canadian talking about a foreign land - what do I know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 You are probably right. I read it like he was ordering it from his local GC because it wasn't in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I've always been under the impression that online stores that don't have a physical location in your state will not charge tax to residents of that state, unless state law specifically requires it. It's your responsibility to pay it on your taxes at the end of the year. Of course, Guitar Center orders should be taxed since there are stores in every state, as far as I'm aware. R9's amp shipped to Buffalo wasn't taxed because it was paid for with an out-of-state billing address, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 It's your responsibility to pay it on your taxes at the end of the year. Buzzkill....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 If you have a guitar center store in your state you have to pay the sales tax. Musicians friend and 123 do not have store residences in my state so no sales tax there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Tari Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I bought a ES-339 from Guitar Center on line and I'm still waiting for it. It's been 2 months now. Their waiting for Gibson to ship it to them from the Custom shop. I've bought 2 guitars from them before and no problems. So as far as getting guitars from them again, I wouldn't hesitate. Good luck on your new guitar. This is my second guitar from the Gibson Custom shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoRedFoot Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I have only ordered 2 instruments via mail. I bought my Ibanez RG7621 through MF (same as GC). I had to wait like 2 months. It was the first time Ibanez started making 7 strings again. It was delivered via UPS or FedEx. The second time, I ordered a Fender mandolin also from MF. I ordered it on a Tuesday and got it on Thursday. Just in time for a rehersal where i REALLY needed an A/E mandolin. It was on sale. ($529 down to $350). Both instruments arrived in perfect condition. I won't be doing that again, despite the good experience. I just prefer to try 'em before I buy 'em. Goes for amps too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlsmith Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I have bought three guitar from MF and I'm here to tell you I had absolutely no problems in the deal. One way of looking at it is that if this Company continually screws up and send out bad equipment the word gets out pretty quickly and they are no longer in business. So it is their best interest to try to do it right. Sure, there are occasions where something goes wrong, just as there are in big box stores, but by and large the problems are minimal. At least that is my experience. tlsmith gear: Takamine EF360S (1981 lawsuit model) 1998 Epiphone Les Paul Standard 2001 Hohner HS 35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 The first ES-335 (like a dumba$$) I bought from GC was flawed, and I didn't immediately see the flaws. Luckily, there was a 30 day, no questions asked, return policy. When I returned it, they immediately had one shipped from another warehouse. It arrived a few days later at my house, and it shipped okay, but being a Gibson, it was also flawed. I returned it to the local GC store, and another was shipped from another warehouse. It arrived in good shape and had no serious flaws. I bought my Studio LP from an Interstate Music Supply back around '95. It was shipped in a gig bag, and the treble/rhythm switch was broken due to poor packaging and rough handling. The LP was otherwise flawless. I took it to a liscensed distributor in another town, and they replaced it on the spot, no charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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