First off I would like to say that I have completed many guitar transactions on Ebay. This is a guide for buying. If this saves even one person from a bad experience, it will have served it's purpose. I have been a guitar player/collector for about 30 years and have extensive experience with electrics and acoustics.

First, buying without knowledge as this is where I have seen so many people go wrong. Ebay makes a huge effort to protect buyesr and sellers so it is important to know their policies well especially when making a substancial purchase. I will not repeat their policies as you can refer to them from your Ebay home page. There are some fantastic deals out there to be had if you know what you want and have done some basic homework.

     The first thing you need to do is determine what you want the instrument for. Is it for a beginner or a gift for an experienced player? Second, and this is crucial, go look at one first hand if possible. Are you willing to consider a factory second? I have seen many seconds that you would need a good eye to find its issue. Get a broucher. There is no substitute for holding and playing the actual item. If you do not have an opportunity to see one live, your best bet is to go to an on line store and read reviews written by people who have purchased one and have lived with it for a while. Their experience is usually listed in the review and it may save you from making a bad purchase decision.

     The next step is to do searches on Ebay using different criteria like, if you are looking for a Gibson Les Paul guitar, you may want to try "Gibson Les Paul' or "Les Paul" or just "Gibson" in the guitar catagory. Also check that you want to search descriptions as well. You may find that you will see more that way.

While you are searching items you will want to look at certain things on the listing. The main thing you will see is the sellers feedback. This can be the first dead giveaway to a bad deal happening. If the seller does not have outstanding feedback, (it does not have to be perfect), You will have to carefully consider if you want to do business with this person. Like any store, anyone can have negative feedback, it is the nature of business. Everyone has an expectation as to what they want from a transction and if it doesn't happen as they expect, they might complain, so don't worry about a less than perfect feedback. If you have any questions, check the actual comments of the negative feeback to see what happened. Chances are, you will get a good idea if the seller is honest if they have lots of feedback and the negative is minimal and inconsequential.

You should look at the picture/s of the item. If it is a home seller and they are using a catalog picture this may be a source of concern. I have seen many bogus sellers use different user names and try to sell the same or similar items using on line store pictures. I even reported one to Ebay and got them expelled. If the pictures are not very good, an honest seller will make an atempt to get you more pictures through email. You can also ask for serial numbers. To check for accuracy, you can go to the manufacturers web site. For example, Fender has a web page that lists serial numbers for its guitars that will tell you the year that the guitar was made. It is a range of numbers but it is accurate. 

There are a lot of sellers outside of the continental US that offer "High Quality" guitars. The only things I can say about them is this. I find it amazing that stores in China have such a large quantity of American made guitars in stock. Beware. If you have a keen eye you will find that that Gibson Les Paul has a strange shape to the headstock, (the place where the tuners are). Also, how many places do you know of that sell high end guitars in your area that also deal in Jade and pottery?

Remember, you are considering sending what is probably a considerable amount of money to someone off in Cyberland so do not be afraid to ask questions. It is your money and an honest seller wants more positive feedback on their listings. I would recommend asking the seller a question even if you do not think you have one. The most sensible question is about the neck, (is it straight?) and then if it has electronics, are they in working order? Many vintage instruments have minor issues like "pots", the thing under the knobs that adjust the volume and tone. An old guitar may make a crackling noise when turning. If you know this and are willing to accept the item in this condition you can usually get it fixed pretty cheaply at a local music store. You can even call a local store and ask them what they would charge to fix any issue that may be on a guitar you are considering. Some issues like cracks in the wood or repaired headstock, they may need to see the guitar to give an estimate. That means it may get expensive.

Some sellers have a best offer option. this is a great feature that Ebay offers. I have even found that even if the seller does not have it listed for a best offer you might consider emailing the seller to see if they might lower the price. This is not intended to make an outside of Ebay deal. Some sellers may take an offer if it is not completely insultingly low. Ebay stores are your best bet for making offers, just be reasonable. You can find average prices in your search. You can also look for completed transactions to see what similar items are going for. Some sellers will not accept anything less than their listed price even if they have listed it several times. This amazes me because they are paying more listing fees and if they are a store, the stock becomes stagnent. Most home sellers are trying to get what they paid back for the instrument after a failed attempt to learn it. They most likely, will not get any offers or will end up selling to an uninformed buyer. Luck them but, don't be the uninformed buyer. Here again check for the selling prices for what you are looking for. For example, many people are trying to sell a Mexician Fender Stratocaster for around $350.00 and you can find them new with free shipping at several reputable on line stores or even in your area for that price or less. 

Bottom line, the guitar has to be what you want. or you might find yourself listing it in a couple weeks trying to recoup your money. This has happened to me when I was a rookie and it was my fault. If you make a bad purchase through no fault of the seller, the best thing to do is ask the seller if they will take it back if you pay the shipping. If you ask nicely, they might surprise you. It can't hurt and costs nothing to ask. Nothing can gaurentee that your transaction will be free of problems but there are many issues that you can avoid.Treat the seller with respect and accept nothing less than that for yourself. If this is not enough help, drop gilberts93 a line and I will try to help you.