NAMM Anaheim, CA 2006

Welcome to The GuitarInsider on Ebay. Thanks for taking a few minutes to read this page! (You're guaranteed to learn something new)

Our GOAL is to treat people the way we would want to be treated: with respect & integrity... while offering Better Quality Gear with Fast, Friendly, Service... Never pay retail again!

We offer products that not everyone sells at great prices. Many of our items are unusual or uncommon.  Some are one of a kind; all are authentic and truthfully represented with fair & fast shipping.  No one likes 1 cent auctions only to pay ten times the actual shipping cost.  

Feel free to e-mail us through the "Ask Seller a Question" link on the auction page.  ** We reply to questions promptly so if you haven't heard back, disable your SPAM filter and check messages in your 'My Ebay'! **  Check out feedback for GuitarInsider, this is a no-scam area of Ebay!

Frequently & not so frequently asked questions...

--Why is it called "eBay", anyway? It used to be called Auction Web and then changed to Ebay, short for Echo Bay, a name founder Pierre Omidyar preferred, but was already taken.

--How do I know my item will get here safely? We are experienced with shipping musical equipment & do our own packing--CAREFULLY!  See below on shipping information and hard cases for guitars.  With guitars & fragile items we take more time than necessary to pack them. Your online purchase will be positive and worthwhile, so expect the best experience!

--I am a NON-USA CUSTOMER, what do I need to know? Please see the below for international buyers. 

--What about Ebay Best Offers...can I make special conditions in comments with the offer? Please email us your special conditions before placing the offer because some of the best offers are answered with the Ebay auto-reply system. This is so you can get a reply to your offer before the auction ends if we aren't in front of the computer late at night or on a Sunday for example. Therefore your conditions & comments are ignored by the system, it simply denies or accepts your offer based on the price. So any special conditions must be agreed to by email prior to you placing an offer, otherwise the original terms of the auction prevail.

--Pictures & Auction Description-- do I need all that information? Information is power, and we'd rather spend our time describing the item you're buying than telling you all about our business which some sellers do in the descriptions. Listings are linked to this page so as not to lengthen the listing. If you want to read about us, you can do that right here -- About Me Page. We love answering questions so please contact us. Our photographs are taken by us. In some cases we use a stock photo of an item if it is one we sell regularly or the same model that is virtually identical. 

--I've never bought anything on Ebay before, how do I know its safe & secure? Surprisingly it can be safer to pay online than to give your credit card to a waitert.  Sound hard to believe? Hand your card to a stranger, & they often leave the area to process your card, & could steal your number, expiration, or worse run your card into a portable SKIMMER which steals your data. They can even photocopy the card.  When you write a check, you give your bank name, account number, address & phone, and signature. Most people do this ten times a month without thinking about it. With PayPal & Ebay, your data is encrypted and read only by PayPal's secure site.  Secure pages  show as "https" in the web address. Almost all credit card companies provide built-in fraud coverage. So Ebay & PayPal transactions are very secure.  We don't see your credit card number, we just receive funds in our PayPal account, then we ship; its that easy!  Hundreds of happy customers aren't wrong!

--Warranty and Returns--Is there a warranty and a return policy? Yes to both questions for most new items.  RETURNS Policy is stated in the individual eBay listing.  See below section for more info on returns.   WARRANTY--YES! Most new items we offer come with a warranty unless indicated otherwise in the listing. This includes new guitars in our listings!  Depending on the product, you will either have the normal manufacturer's warranty, or a warranty through us.  This gives us the ability to offer our own warranty coverage with superior service compared to a manufacturer's warranty, especially when the manufacturer's warranty doesn't apply on Ebay. For specific warranty terms & coverage information please contact us.  Ebayers want the best price without retail & a salesperson's commission.  Ebay is a true "free market".  Shop with us & get the same new product in better condition than at your local music store, with a warranty in most cases. CHOOSE EBAY!  

--If I need to return an item, what is the procedure? First, contact us & let us know the situation before doing anything. For a normal return, just notify us that you are returning the item right after your 3 day trial period for a refund.  A "return" means we've shipped & you've received the item & want to return it--(Winning an Ebay listing & then not paying for the item is not a "return"). Free shipping applies on a finalized sale, not on a return. We do not charge a restocking fee unless its an unusual situation or a very high value item but reserve the right as warranted. 

--Is insurance included? How do you usually ship?  Do you combine shipping?  If insurance is optional, please select it at checkout. Certain high-value items have insurance required in the listing for everyone's protection.  Insurance is provided through the shipping carrier or internal company at our discretion. Insurance makes you eligible to receive benefits if a claim is approved.  USA shipping is either USPS, FedEx or UPS.  Non USA: ships USPS & UPS.  Carrier is chosen at our discretion. If Ebay listing indicates a UPS shipping calculator, the package will be shipped Ground service, either FedEx or UPS. S/H costs are close to actual cost with a modest handling fee.  Combined shipping is usually available, just ask.  

--Do I really need to have the guitar shipped in a hard shell case? In a word, YES.  Many guitars come with a case but w/others the case is additional and plainly indicated.  There may be two or three cases that fit your guitar. No matter how well we pack a guitar, nothing protects from crushing & punctures like a hard shell case.  If you decline a hard case, the guitar should still arrive problem-free, but its always YOUR CHOICE to protect it in a hard case. FedEx, UPS, & USPS have the right to deny parcel claims without hard cases, so please opt for a hard case. Inter'l guitar shipments require hard shell cases.

--I am a NON-USA Customer, what do I need to know about shipments, insurance & Customs? With PayPal, your mailing address should be "Confirmed" and/or you should have a verifiable history with PayPal.  Guitar customers see above about hard shell cases.  We are often asked to write "Gift", "Used", or declare a low value of an item which we don't do. This is against the law & we can't properly insure an item for actual value if the value is lowered.  Not all parcels arrive with duties, some slip through duty-free! Most of our shipments are marked "auction goods". Check with your local authorities with questions & anticipate normal duties, also verify its okay to import the product in your specific country (most countries & most items this is not an issue).  Any duties are your responsibility--we don't get involved. More than likely you're getting a great deal on the item compared to buying it elsewhere, even if a duty applies. Shipping outside the USA generally takes about 5-10 days. 

--What's a PayPal Confirmed Address? We accept credit card payments, with or without a PayPal account. Payment is due at close of auction.  A Confirmed address is an  address that matches your credit card mailing address in PayPal. Please no work or gift addresses in PayPal unless discussed with us prior. Paying with an Unconfirmed Address affords us the right to make an item available to another buyer if our listings clearly indicate Confirmed Address. BidPay is another option for payment.  International customers should contact us prior to bidding. 

--Who should leave feedback first, the buyer or seller? the buyer should, and for good reason--the transaction isn't complete until you've received the item & are happy. What better way to tell us everything's cool than by leaving positive feedback?  If there's a problem, the buyer should contact the seller rather than post negative information!  Negative feedback should almost never be used, & then only after trying other reasonable measures. 

--Should I buy from anyone who doesn't have a 1000+ feedbacks like many 'Power Sellers'? Feedback ratings need not be in the thousands for a transaction to be safe.  There are good & bad sellers of all sizes. Some sellers have 20,000 feedbacks but manage so many transactions that they don't return e-mails or keep items in stock!  If your transaction goes bad with someone with 20,000 feedbacks, is YOUR feedback going to mean anything or will it get buried in the daily influx of feedback? Some sellers are too busy to reply to e-mail questions and say the buyer should base their purchase solely on the listing!  You won't have that problem here. Our usual experience with big sellers (I've had good experiences, too) is frequent delays in shipping & communication because they are managing so many transactions & can't keep up.  Or they DROP SHIP, meaning a third-party ships their product & controls their inventory. That could take ages...but not here!  Our products are screened & shipped by us promptly.  

Thanks for reading, enjoy yourself on eBay, & be safe.  God's best to you today and always...

The GuitarInsider