Beware dishonest dealers!

Hi folks, I've been seeing a very bad trend developing over the last few years, dishonest dealers who try to get more out of you after you decide which guitar to buy. At least a dozen of my customers who've purchased extended warranties at a huge national chain starting with "G" weren't told that these plans have nothing to do with, and aren't recognized by the manufacturers! In the cases of Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, and others, the guitars come with a lifetime warranty to the original owner. Why would you need an extended plan on an guitar with a lifetime warranty?! These extended warranties only cover (in theory) in house work by unauthorized techs, or shipping to the factory for you, which is usually less than the cost of the bogus extended warranty to begin with. Yes, the factory will still charge you return shipping on repairs, so you're wasting your money. I consider this criminal.

These stores will also try to get away with selling you the case for extra, when the case is supposed to come with the guitar! This can be verified by calling the customer service departments at the manufacturers. They'll be happy to tell you they don't honor these plans, and the guitars are shipped in the cases and are to be sold as such. As a warranty center for all major US manufacturers, I know what I'm talking about.

Don't be fooled by these low price tags. They try to milk you at the register for more. On top of this, many of these big chains have a 30 day return policy, no questions asked. That nice new
guitar you're buying could have easily been owned by more than one person before you, and returned. I've even had owners bring in their "new guitars" for work only to have the serial number registered to someone else! This creates a real mess and you then have to prove you bought it being told it was new to have the work covered!

Please buy from a reputable small dealer. These people tend to care more about you, as they would never stay in business behaving the way the big boys do.

Please visit my website at http://www.customguitars.com to see my custom built guitars,
and info on my guitar repair and restoration services!

-SBM