What do you look for when buying online?

[orangutangle]

[simonm]

Hi - I'm not always super happy when dealers and shops post on forums, as mostly they are only interested in what things are worth, but I know Brighton Guitars is a small independent shop, so I don't mind giving feedback. Besides, I'm sitting here waiting for a builder to come (and he's half an hour late already).

I think a lot of people who are interested in weird old guitars (ie not Fender + Gibson) are prepared to buy online because you can't just go into town and choose one off the rack - they are prepared to take a risk to get what they want, though the situation is not great. I think people are less inclined to buy Fender /Gibson type gtrs online and take that risk if they have access to shops they can visit, but that's just a supposition, I don't really know.

A frank description with details of the good and bad points of a guitar are important, bearing in mind what the buyer can work on and improve and what they're stuck with. A lot of sellers operate a don't ask/don't tell strategy, to take advantage of people who don't know so much about old guitars, especially on ebay. Don't use euphemistic language like 'it might need a little work to bring it back to its former glory' - say what that work needed is.

If you get your info online, link to the info so the buyer has as much info as possible.

Good sharp photos in natural light are essential, but you don't need to go crazy unless the gtr is worth a lot of money.

A video would be good, but stick to demonstrating the sounds and settings with chords rather than just soloing and showing off. A video of a weird guitar with unusual pickups would definitely need a video, because the buyer needs some reference for what they are getting, but anything with humbuckers or strat style pickups, probably not worth it. A lot of people will change pups anyway.

Offering a refund/ return period on online sales will help to allay buyers' fears. Again I'm only speaking for myself, but it might apply to others also - I don't really like buying guitars from shops; when I was young I always felt that shops are just out to rip you off - admittedly this is in the days of the mass produced Korean LP copy, but that slight uneasiness has stayed with me.

[Electraglide]

Took a look at your website. Not bad. It took a minute or two to figure out how to change the currency to $ but it's nice that you included that option. Just a couple of suggestions tho. The pictures I saw of the guitars I looked at are so so. A dark guitar against a dark background is hard to see and one or two close ups might be helpful. And if a guitar is sold you should delete it as soon as you can or move it to a 'sold' category.
A few things with online buying I have to figure in are, where's the guitar, how long will it be before I can hold it and what's it going to cost when it gets here. Hope this helps.

[orangutangle]

Many thanks for your detailed and considered response simonm, there's some really useful advice there. I absolutely agree with being frank with the description - glossing over faults only leads to disappointment in the long run and we're definitely aiming for long term relationships with our customers.

Your point about photos in natural light is a good one, I think this is where we've been going wrong. But it's tricky to do when you've got a shop full of customers in the day!

Thank you too, Electraglide. I agree with your point about the dark background of the photos - from now on we'll do photos in daylight in the shop.

We do try to make sure that sold guitars are not shown for sale on the site for obvious reasons. We do have a shipping cost quote in the shopping cart. I'll make the returns policy clearer on the site.

Thanks again for the advice, it's much appreciated.

[crowhue]

Gut feeling, detailed pictures, serial number, evidence of honesty from feedback, degree of risk in selling it on if its a dog