Why buy unseen?

[Neil Lang]

Good for you Ken!! Keep buyin & playin those Buds!! I have 3 Super Pros, 1 Pro 2, 1 fingertip & and LDG.
Doesn't seem to matter much where I buy 'em, E_Bay or otherwise, they all play & sound GREAT!! I also have bought several GREAT amps on E-bay. And other places too!

[Eddie Juke]

Hi Ken
Have you received any of the messages I have been sending you? I am happy to proceed with the deal but I need you to get in touch.
Regards
Eddie

[Ken Byng]

Eddie
I am away at the moment and accessing this remotely from my holiday home in Devon. I will try to contact you at the weekend.

[Jerry Meek]

I have known and dealt with Duane Dunnard of Duane's Music for years and you can bet what he sells you will be as good as he says and probably better and he will stand behind anything he tells you

[Scott Hiestand]

My 2 cents....

I have done business here, on Ebay, "directly" in stores and also bought new "site-unseen". The end result is, I can find no real correlation or pattern between a good or bad experience and how I purchased or sold the item. Any time you spend big $$$....you take your chances.

Ebay is risky but at least they have feedback ratings, which do up your "chances" for a good purchase.I bought my first steel from Bobbe and at the time didn't know a knee-lever from a ankle brace....he sold me a quality instrument at a fair price so he clearly did right by me. I have sold 2 steels to buyers who never saw the intruments and they were both very pleased as well. My current axe, a 70's ZB, I also bought just based on an ad and a picture. It can be quirky (aren't they all??)...but I love it. On the other hand, I had previously ordered/purchased a brand new D-10 from a major steel manufacturer and was less than thrilled. Finally, a few years back I bought a new Gibson SG locally, so I had played it. A year later it developed severe cracks in the neck. Gibson replaced it without hesitation but...I liked that guitar, and it's gone. So you never know.

As far as steels specifically, most of us have to do business indirectly. There just aren't any dealers even remotely close. We'd all love to sit down for hours and try every brand somewhere...unfortunately it's just not feasible.

[Steve Broatch]

I bought my Bennett S-11 through E-Bay a couple of years ago. The listing was very informative - it was clear the seller was a player himself and knew what he was talking about. He had plenty of photos of it on the listing. So I took the gamble because living in North East England I'd never even seen a pedal steel in the flesh before let alone try one out.

Happily the gamble paid off. Beautiful guitar and the seller even rang me to make sure I was getting on with it ok and offered a few tips on maintenance etc - what a gent!

How do you guys in the UK and Europe generally get hold of a steel. Do you buy from the U.S? It's something I'd be interested in doing in the future but the shipping and customs charges would seem to make it very expensive.

Steve

[CrowBear Schmitt]

How do you guys in the UK and Europe generally get hold of a steel. Do you buy from the U.S? It's something I'd be interested in doing in the future but the shipping and customs charges would seem to make it very expensive.

i buy 90 % of steels from the USA Steve
28 over the past years
many from the fo'bros right here
otherwise the steel dealers that we all know :
scottys, sgn, cooper, dunard, surrat, cormier

Custom fees should'nt stop you from buying in the states
there's a way to reduce them
otherwise there's Rainbow musik (ted nesbitt) in Ireland who'll do you right

[Steve Broatch]

Thanks Crowbear. I'll remember that for future reference.

When you say "there's a way to reduce them", how does that work?

28 steels - you look like you've had a bit of experience doing this!

Steve

[Bryant Aycock]

It's not uncommon to have other musicians tell me how fortunate I am to have The Forum. They find it hard to believe musicians can share this kind of brotherhood. I have purchased items off of Ebay for no more than $200 or $300. Several items with about a 70% satisfaction rate. I know the risk when I bid. I just bought a Sho-Bud Super Pro off the Forum from a man I did not know. All I had were the pictures and a few phone calls. I was also fortunate to have a friend who did know him and assured me he was OK. Except for some ergonomics, the guitar is everything I expected and more. I am very pleased. As a Steel Guitarist, I don't think I want to be on a Forum blacklist. It is your money, do what you like with it. I hope we can trust the guys on the forum.
Thanks,
Bryant

[Johnne Lee Ables]

... As a Steel Guitarist, I don't think I want to be on a Forum blacklist...
Thanks,
Bryant

Hey Bryant (or anyone else who knows),

Please tell me about this Forum blacklist!

As a Newbie to the SGF, I don't wish to be guilty of a faux pas that I am not even aware of!

I have to be honest about it, though. I've been kicked out of better dives than this one! ; - } (Actually, more times than I care to recall, but then some folks just don't cotton to RedNecks, huh?)

Thanks,

Johnne Lee

[b0b]

There is no forum blacklist!

I just want to make that clear. There have been a very small number of people who have been banned from the forum over the years. There is no list of them anywhere.

[John Hopkin]

i have bought 3 steels on (off?) ebay with no problems...you can get a feel from the tone of the narrative whether the seller knows the instrument or whether he acquired it in an "estate sale" (whatever that is) and is just passing it on...i say, if you can't trust another steel player, who CAN you trust?...you can always ask for additional pictures, but the ones i've seen ALWAYS had plenty of visual information...if the seller demurs or is in any way evasive about the instrument, a red flag should appear...

[Joey Ace]

Buyers: PLEASE READ THIS


Mickey Adams posted this in another thread:

Let me go one step further and advise anyone that considers buying an older steel guitar before they get a chance to play it to at a minimum, ask the following:
Year of manufacture
Has the guitar been altered, drilled, tapped anywhere?
Does the guitar currently have damage, or repaired
Is the guitar Standard Height?
What type of lubricants are present/changer dirty?
Has the guitar ever been serviced, if so, by who?
Is all the hardware stock?
What is the pickup output level
What is the case condition?
I always ask this before i even look at the pictures, just in case I miss something..

[Aaron Wayne]

I have aquired 4 pedal steels on E bay. Out of the 4, one was a good experience. I would suggest that if you are considering this, make sure there is a return policy listed.

[Alan Brookes]

..I think that the big difference between buying here and eBay, Craig's List, etc. is that here on the Forum you have real, knowledgeable players. People ask intelligent questions about the guitar and don't get "I don't know anything about it" answers. You see that so so much on eBay, where the seller often doesn't know how to screw the legs on...

It always amuses me when people sell instruments on eBay and state such things as "one string is missing", or, the best of all, "still has original strings", as if that were a selling point.

Generally speaking I've been happy with what I've bought on eBay and I've picked up some bargains from people who know so little about what they're selling that they spell the instrument incorrectly, or advertize it under a completely wrong description. Lutes and citterns are often described as mandolines, and dulcimer can mean almost anything. Lap steels are often described as slide guitars.

Search eBay under Musical Instruments for strange, unusual, unknown, etc. and you'll be surprised what you find.

[Ron Leegate]

Simple solution - just by a Rains from Gary - great guitars, smooth, reliable, sound great - and Gary will ALWAYS do you right - - - problem solved

[Niels Andrews]

For what it is worth, I have bought a PSG and sold a PSG on the forum and was pleased with the transaction. I have bought multiple steel related items and everyone I have dealt with has been straight. Not to say they are all that way, but I have had good luck.

[Joe Stewart]

. . . to buy a used pedal steel without at least playing it first doesn't make sense.

I'll assume that the author of this thread (who apparently resides in the U.K.), has ready access to legions of new and used PSGs locally, thereby enabling him to avoid purchases of "un-played" instruments from Sellers on the U.S. Mainland, and if true, that's absolutely fabulous, but as a consumer from the most isolated chain of islands on earth, I respectfully submit a one-word answer to this thread . . . . . . . . Hawai'i

[Rob Munn]

Well, not to go against the grain, one should definitely, if they have the opportunity of trying a guitar first. Unfortunately, like one respondent, here in Canada they are not only few and far between, but the distances are incredible. It is impractical if not impossible.
On the other hand, if the Ebay sellers have a rating of 100% or very close to it, it should be a good transaction, especially if the communication is good. Personally, (and to my significant others great chagrin), I have recently(in the past 5 months) purchased count 'em, 5 lap steel guitars and without exception, they look and sound as good as my expectations. Warning: Other than the extra costs ie/ border duty and shipping costs, I am very happy. They were all in excellent condition. One was damaged in transport but the seller has agreed to cover the damage and I have ended up with a fantastic Rick B6, earliest vintage with a screaming Lollar rewind. I love the guitar. So, my experience has been a good one except for the shipping fees. For instance, the Gibson Console Grande cost a major amount of money to ship, which I don't expect to recover, but this is the finest instrument of them all. Unfortunately, I am a leftie so I cannot play the double neck as I have reach over and down to get to the 8 string. Sincerely,
Rob

[Alan Brookes]

The only problem I've encountered on eBay (other than one guy who had sold the same guitar five times and never delivered to anyone) was when I bought a banjo from a dealer in England, who was too dumb to slacken off the strings and remove the bridge before sending. As one would expect, during shipment the bridge was pushed through the vellum, so I had a repair job on my hands.

[David Bardenstein]

THis might have been said already if so I apologize. A cousin of mine who collects high end guitars says taht standard policy is that the buyer has a few days ( not just 24 hours) to play the instrument have it gone over at a shop etc to verify its condition. If it does not meet standards even if it is intact, ie no physical defects, it can be returned and refunded. Refunding of shipping is dependent on whether it is defective or being returned for preference reasons only with the buyer paying for preference and the seller paying if it is defective. THere is apparently a code among these individuals that works most of the time.

[Mickey Adams]

Joey, thanks for quoting that previous thread link...!

[Damir Besic]

THis might have been said already if so I apologize. A cousin of mine who collects high end guitars says taht standard policy is that the buyer has a few days ( not just 24 hours) to play the instrument have it gone over at a shop etc to verify its condition. If it does not meet standards even if it is intact, ie no physical defects, it can be returned and refunded. Refunding of shipping is dependent on whether it is defective or being returned for preference reasons only with the buyer paying for preference and the seller paying if it is defective. THere is apparently a code among these individuals that works most of the time.

"high end guitars" is something totally different from pedal steel guitar... there is not much going on with an old Martin, or Gibson, and you can see almost everything on the pictures, pedal steel guitars, on the other hand, are mechanically very different, and there is a lot of stuff you can't see on the pictures (pedal feel/stiffness , knee lever travels, tone, set up etc..etc...) I have sold some awesome instruments to people who complained about them after they got it, someone who owned and played a Mullen for the last 15 years, will find many other guitars too stiff, even tho they are awesome guitars... when you ship a pedal steel there is many things buyer may not like, but they are almost always, all fixable... more than often I get a guitar that is not perfect, but I try to set it up and fix it if I can...I'm not buying $30.000 Martin, but a $2000 Sho Bud or something, so I believe the rules are little different, it would be like apples and oranges, pedal steel is in category on its own, and buying a used pedal steel guitar is way different from buying an used acoustic, mandolin or a banjo...JMHO

Db

[Alan Brookes]

The fact is that the average seller knows nothing whatsoever about steel guitars. If you're buying a non-pedal steel there isn't much a previous owner can have done to it except expose it to the elements, so you just look at the photos and make an intelligent gamble, When it comes to pedal steels, most are bought by people who intend to learn but have no idea whatsoever what will be required of them. Then they end up in a case under the bed.
If you buy a pedal steel over the internet, unless you buy from someone who is known for playing the instrument, just assume that you are buying something that needs a lot of set-up, if not repair.

[Damir Besic]

yes,I agree, more than likely you will (if you are a player) have to set it up your way, which I do anyway with all of my banjos or guitars I want to keep, guitars I buy for resale I don't set up, I did a few times and then I ended up returning it back to original set up (Day to Emmons or the other way around), I like my pedals stiffer, and many other guys don't. I almost never complain to the seller after i buy guitar, because I know what I am dealing with, some guys play Mullen for years (which it has the smoothest pedal action I know of) and then complain about the stiffness after buying an Emmons push pull... the thing is, you can order a new guitar, almost perfectly set up your way, and end up paying thousands and thousands of dollars, or you can buy a nice used steel for the fraction of the price, and set it up yourself the way you like it...like someone already said it before here on the forum, pedal steel mechanics are on the stone edge level, and big majority of the guys can figure out how to tune or set up a steel guitar...