A Guide to Buying a Guitar Online

The internet and the advent of online shopping has made it easier and convenient – not to mention more efficient – to shop for a guitar.

Whether you’re looking for an upgrade, switching to electric from an acoustic (or vice versa), or buying for the first time, buying a guitar online is something that every musician should consider.

It frees you of the hassle of going through the process of going to a lot of stores, trying various guitars and not being able to find what you were looking for.

Not to mention that buying online can prove to be extremely fruitful, as there are some great deals and some excellent (signature and rare) guitars available online.

The following is a musician’s guide to buying a guitar online. But before we get to that, let’s first consider some of the advantages of buying online, as opposed to buying from a store.

Online or a Local Store: A Comparison

First off, buying online is more convenient, and for obvious reasons. All it takes is a few clicks of the mouse and you’re the proud owner of a brand-spanking-new Washburn or Jackson or <insert guitar brand of choice here>. The guitar is delivered to your doorstep in a safe and sound manner, and you end up saving precious time and gas in the process.

There there’s the fact that online stores usually have a large inventory of guitars to choose from, especially stores such as Musician’s Friend, Guitar Center and GuitarGuitar. Musician’s Friend, for instance, has an enormous inventory and selection of guitars – all brands, all types, all kinds, all shapes and sizes and just about every guitar you can think of. It is near-impossible for any store to be able to have such a large range of guitars!

Its convenient to shop online – you can view the complete range of guitar available in a store, search for a specific brand or type of a guitar, and even filter and sort your search results by budget/price-range, condition, ratings, deals, and condition.

Buying online is cheap. Online stores, as compared to a physical, brick-and-mortar store, don’t need to pay salaries, rent or bills – which means that their prices are often significantly less, as compared to stores. You can therefore get some fantastic deals on new guitars on the internet, and get some great savings in the process. Insider tip: You can save even more money if you look for damaged or scratched guitars. Most of these guitars have minor visual/aesthetic/cosmetic dents and bumps, but play and sound just like any other model of the same guitar. A $949 ESP LTD Deluxe EC1000, with a small scratch on the back of its body, for less than 500 bucks? I’ll take it!

Apart from new guitars, online stores also often offer a huge selection of excellent second-hand or used guitars. There is a huge selection of vintage, signature and rare guitars online, especially on stores like eBay. If you spend some time, do a bit of searching and look around, there is a high chance that you might just land a pretty sweet deal on the internet.

Not only are online stores well-stocked and provide tons of options to choose from, they also feature updated inventories, as compared to stores. As soon as Fender announces a new version of the Strat, chances are that it’ll be up on all major online retailers out there, giving you the chance to be able to grab it online almost immediately. Physical stores on the other hand have to clear up old stock first – which could end up getting days or months, depending on their inventory turnover rate – before they can bring in new guitars.

Buying a Guitar Online: A Guide +  Important Considerations

While buying online can be a tremendously fruitful experience, as demonstrated using the points above, one of the biggest disadvantages of doing so is that there’s no way of actually knowing how the guitar will ultimately feel, play and sound once it’s in your hands. Therefore, make sure that you know what you’re buying before hitting that checkout button. For instance you’ll be safe and pretty much good to go if you’ve actually played the guitar you’re getting. If not, it is important to try doing so, or perhaps maybe even doing your research by determining which guitars suit your playing and music style.

If possible, hit any of the local stores in your area to see if they carry the models you’re interested in, and try playing it for a while. If you live in a large city, locating a guitar store or a dealership shouldn’t be much of a problem, but easier said than done in a small town or if you live in a suburban area.

Make sure that you read up on reviews and ask around for opinions. Usually, all major online retailers allow customers to leave feedback for each instrument,; read these reviews extensively, and filter your search results by customer rating – a guitar with 5 /5 stars and at least a few dozen reviews probably means it’s a winner.

Whether or not you go ahead with buying an untested guitar that you’ve not seen and are not sure sounds or plays like is totally your call. The upside, however, is that most online stores offer a 24-48 hour return policy; use this to test the guitar and play it in order to determine whether if in fact it is the right instrument for you, or if it’s a dud. If you decide on returning the guitar, you’ll be responsible for the shipment charges.

Another consideration when purchasing your guitar online is that of shipping. While online retailers and their shipping partners tend to take the utmost care with musical instruments, the fact is that your instrument will always be at risk during the process of transit. The possibility of a guitar getting damaged – either because of improper or inadequate packaging or rough handling – will always be a risk.

So in Conclusion…

To sum it all up, here is a list of online guitar buying pros and cons:

Pros: (a) immensely convenient, (b) can land you some great deals, (c) gives you access to rare guitars, (d) a lot to choose from (e) an excellent array of new and used guitars, (f) access to the latest and the greatest in the market and (g) guitars are almost always cheaper to buy online.

Cons: (a) Can’t check a guitar for sound and feel, before placing the order, and (b) shipping can be a risky prospect.

If you’re anywhere from being an intermediate guitar player to an experienced, seasoned professional, you probably have a fair idea of what you want and hence, should get your axe online. You’ll end up saving at least a good amount of money in the process, and might even be able to score a sweet deal on a vintage axe. However some folks still feel that it is important to be able to play the guitar before shelling the greens. Totally your call!