Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on January 25, 2014 at 12:46am

Buyer beware, it is a crap shoot when purchasing a guitar online, whether it is a Gibson or a CBG. Most players likely feel better when he or she can actually hold-feel-play-hear the guitar face to face before deciding if it's worth the dosh.

But with that said, would it not be better to contact the builder/seller first to see if this matter can be resolved before tarnishing an Ebay seller's reputation with a scathing feedback?

Permalink Reply by Dave Lynas on January 25, 2014 at 1:03am

I've bought a lot of guitars and ukes on ebay with generally great results. I fix up old ones. $25 shipping is about average for a guitar. I've shipped a lot of instruments and that's what it costs. I've only bought one CBG that didn't last long. The 1x2 neck bowed after about a year. It played great at first. Giving bad feedback will kill a persons chances of selling on ebay. Please think long and hard giving bad feedback. Did you contact the seller before lowering the boom? I get most of my guitars cheaply due to issues to fix. I love bringing old sad cases back to life.

Permalink Reply by Dave Lynas on January 25, 2014 at 1:11am

I've bought a great many guitars and ukes on ebay with few problems. I've sent out a lot of instruments also. It costs about $25 to send guitars if you pack them well. That's just what it costs these days. I get junker instruments to fix and repair. I love bringing old instruments back to life. I've only had one bad experience with CBGs off ebay. The 1x2 oak neck bowed within a year of purchase. It sounded great at first. Now its better used in archery. Beware the 1x2 neck in any CBG. You will virtually kill an ebay business with a bad feedback. Please consider contacting the seller before you hit him with bad feedback. The seller will usually bend over backwards to please you.

Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on January 25, 2014 at 1:50am

i don,t sell guitars buddy,but over the couple of years i,ve been on this site and the clubhouse,it,s hard not to notice people who make a guitar or 2 ,then they become sellers,look around there are many here and the clubhouse who make and sell very reasonable priced cbg,s,if you,re buying on the bay,check the seller out,get some feed back ,i can think of 3 or 4 guys who have made literally hundreds of guitars at just above cost price and there reputations stand up as far as i know,good luck next time

Permalink Reply by Marcus Darwell on January 25, 2014 at 6:56am

Looks to me like you bought a cheapie and got bitten. Happened to me too....so I started building my own....best thing I ever did! May I ask why you didn't buy one from one of the MANY fine CBG builders who frequent this site?

Permalink Reply by Buddy Carroll on January 25, 2014 at 7:31am

I won the bid on ebay for $122. I thought it would be a better guitar than it was. I took 3 strings off of one of my flat top guitars and I love it. I'll post a vid.

Permalink Reply by Buddy Carroll on January 25, 2014 at 8:31am

As far as the seller goes, he flat lied when he said, "You'll love the guitar. She plays really sweet"   BULL.

  I wont leave bad feedback. I think I can just raise the bridge a little and make it work. In the mean time. Im using my 6 string with only 3 strings. Heres a vid. (dont laugh..lol)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NK0LcJZYA&feature=youtu.be

Permalink Reply by Marcus Darwell on January 25, 2014 at 8:43am

Well, you didn't pay much for it so mebbe fix it up or scrap it and keep the good bits for a build of your own 8-)

Permalink Reply by Dave Lynas on January 25, 2014 at 10:11am

Hey Buddy, thats some sweet playing. Thanks for the 3 string demo. I liked the pickin. Keep it coming.

Permalink Reply by steve seymour on January 26, 2014 at 9:07am

I've been there, but all I can say is"join the club" (of disappointed buyers). I learned the hard way, & it even took me a while to learn as I should have known after the first few times, but  bought more because price was so good & I kept hoping it would be a steal... 

1. You get what you pay period*. Except for one maker whom you can "steal" one from occasionally.* See below.

2. Yes, I agree, they really do look better in the pictures than when you open the box & see them, & they look (sound) even more ugly when you play them.

3.Almost every seller says theirs plays sweet or something like that. One writes "plays as good as she looks" ya know, maybe that's not a lie when you think of it ;-@

4. I  bought more CBGs on the cheap thn I want to admit.- now I wish I'd spent $ 200 for a good one instead of four $ 50 ones. The same thing happened to me with ukuleles..My advice is save up & buy one for $ 150++ - I wish I'd done that. OK, - someones going to hit this blog saying he bought one for $ 60 & it plays great. OK, OK I suppose it happens once in a while but that's not the norm.

5. Contact the seller & ask anything you want - there are no stupid questions, he doesn't want to sell to a guy who may not like it either.. I was ready to push the button on a fretless  but didn't see any fret markers in pics so asked him - nope, no fret markers, no side fretmarkers & even if there were that doesn't mean the seller  has the keys right he coulda just put some marks down to say it had them.

Does anyone else in this blog have any other tips for not getting ripped? 

***In my opinion, by far the best CBG deal on eBay is "Weeklyhouse" -  (value vs money) He posts a video of it being played,up close which is pretty cool, (although I did sent one back as a string kept sliding out of place). - They are well make & you can "steal" one of these because since he was so many listed at one time, evey now & then one slips through the cracks so to speak. Bidding starts at $ 65 & sometimes a $ 66 bid will win - I saw one go for $ 145  because the box was so pretty, but it still had the same sound as the one I bought for $ 66.- Trust me, if you track them, eventually you'll get one for $ 65, & for the most part, they all are the same build. - Dam this turned out to be a long post~!

***& one more guy I gotta mention who gives a 60 day money back guarantee - FOR ANY REASON (even if you lose your job,  run low on cash, your wife give you a bad time about it - ANY REASON FOR 60 DAYS! - Now that's a guarantee! that's  "Mead Guitars". I bought a an amp from him that was dropped in shipping (opinion) & he had a new amp at my door before I even got around to sending his back + refunded shipping cost-totally unbelievable service-I can't see how he doesn't get ripped off himself sometimes. Same with Angry Wolf CBGs - they even refunded my money including shipping the same day I emailed them about the flaw. 

Permalink Reply by Dave Lynas on January 26, 2014 at 9:41am

Steve's got some good ideas. I've not been as lucky with Weekly House. I have one that bowed badly after about a year. It has a 1x2 neck. Nicely fretted and played great at first. I heard the guitar played on a u tube vid and he can really play. That impressed me. Of course you may not play as well as the fellow in the video and so the guitar might not sound as good as your heard. Anyhow, beware the 1x2 neck made of scrap wood. I like Music Go Round for being able to know my salesmen, hear and play the guitar and dicker. I like ebay for the national selection of guitars. It's vast. Like going to a flea market across the country. But you can't pick it up and play it. It may be damaged in the mail. It may be a dud. But i've got hundred plus instruments and only a handful of disappointments. Mostly because i didn't see something or the seller didn't have a clue about guitars. I didn't pay a lot for my Weekly House CBG 4 string and enjoyed it for a year. Not too bad, and i might add another stick of wood under the 1x2 to beef it up to strait. Worth trying.

Permalink Reply by steve seymour on January 27, 2014 at 1:20pm

OK, guys, y'all got "1X2 neck" over the place, I don't what that means & not ashamed to ask ...so ....what is..?.

If you've into neck quality check out "Angry Wolf" CBGs - they pick out their own lumber at the source (impressive),& were fair to me as well- refunded me full pop plus shipping before I headed to USPO.

Here we are taking about returns - makes you wonder.. but really,it's not a big of hassle than you think.

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