New Reverb Policy - COURTS?

[DawgBone]

I can not see any reason why there would be any assumption that Sweetwater’s Gear Exchange would not suffer from the same problem of people selling faulty gear.

The best way I have found to buy used gear is from GC. When it is messed up, there is a fast(ish) return at a local store.

Theoretically when a piece of used gear is bought by GC, the sales person is supposed to fully check it out. Since that often does not happen, I have come to expect that I will have about a 30% return rate.

I also benefit from the fact that I have about 30 days to check out the gear. (That could be based in CA law, and not universal). There has been times when a problem was not immediately apparent. When that happens, once again an easy return.

I am not a fan of GC. At one point I was an hater of GC, but I realized that the local management of a particular store has a huge impact. Now I just wait until the local GC gets a new store manager.

The only benefit reverb had was to be able to negotiate a price. Since that has seemed to diminish, my buying with reverb has also diminished.

I concur on the GC used gear. The lousy pics sometimes make it possible to get a really good deal on a guitar. However, it also makes it possible you wind up with a beat up hunk of crap you have to send back. My wife prowls their used section like a vulture....

I do think that certain guitars that are priced exceptionally low for the make/model get scooped up by employees or hidden among store inventory in the back. While I can't say for certain, we have been burnt on some good deals when we purchased a few particular instruments only to find "it had just sold that day" which to me means an employee realized he could flip it and so scooped it up once the low pricing was brought to their attention or they made it unavailable to ship by hiding it someplace in the store until they could get the funds. Maybe I'm off base but I can't say I would do a whole lot different if I was working at a GC. Find the exceptional deals and cash in....

[jzucker]

Sweetwater Gear Exchange return policy. Note - there is nothing about arbitration or court costs.

Do I need to accept a return?

It can feel frustrating to receive a refund request on an item you've sold — we get it! Here's how to handle a return or refund request:

• Review your item return policy to determine if the buyer is eligible.
• If the buyer is within the time allotted for a return, then you are expected to accept their request under the terms of your policy.
• If the buyer has requested a return after the allotted time to do so, then a return without cause is at the seller's discretion.
• If the item arrives damaged, defective, or not as described, the buyer should be issued a full refund (including buyer’s shipping cost) and seller will cover return shipping costs.
• If your policy is: “No returns – this item is sold as-is", then you are not required to accept returns without cause. However, if an item arrives damaged, defective, or not as described, you may be asked to accept a return.
• We define without cause as: the product was NOT damaged, defective, or not-as-described but the buyer’s preference is to return it.

Learn more about refund policies from our Return shipping costs article.
Pro Tip: Do the right thing! Sellers are expected to honor their return policy and the Gear Exchange refund policies as stated above.

[sgosnell]

Guitar Center employees don't always know all that much. My daughter worked there some years ago, and told me they were having an employee-only auction on a huge number of used guitars. She sent me the spreadsheet which listed them and asked if I had any interest in them. Most were solid-bodies and not worth the trouble. But I saw one Benedetto with a minimum bid of ~$4000. I looked up the serial number, and it was a 1978 build, shipped in December of that year. I told her if she could get it for $4000, get it for me. She bid that amount, and was the only bidder. When I got it I was afraid to play it, because it was in near mint condition, not a scratch on it, couldn't tell it had ever been played. Sold to a collector, then to someone else, then to GC as far as I could tell. The profit from that put a new roof on my house, with money left over, even after Joe V's rather high fees.