So You've won a Like New Guitar and it just arrived and the joy is overwhelming, you check her over to only notice that a USED mark that's hammer stamped on the back of the headstock and then you notice the last few digits of the original Serial Number are Smeared or Removed and or covered with a white paper sticker with a number over the original altered serial number, If you were not 100% informed prior to purchase, you may be asking, WHY?

MIRC Example 1:  USED stamp and last 3 digits of the original serial number are removed.
MIRC Example 2: USED stamp with last 3 digits of serial number removed and MIRC Inventory White Sticker
MIRC Example 3: USED stamp and serial number condition hidden by MIRC Inventory White Sticker

I've been active on ebay for a few years, I also have personal experience with M.I.R.C guitars, that stands for Musical Instrument Reclamation Corporation of Franklin Tennessee, ( MIRCWEB dot com), This is my first attempt to provide information, that I have first hand knowledge of, to my fellow ebay members that buy & sell guitars online or at secondary local retail shops, I hope this information is received in the spirit that it is intended, that of friendship and good will to all. I'm not associated with MIRC, I just admire their work and purchase their products when ever possible.

M.I.R.C., who claims to be: "The Nations Largest wholesaler of Quality USED Guitars",  purchases instruments from major manufactures and wholesale distributors, with the majority of their inventory purchases as "less than first quality" guitars. MIRC has a very high quality repair shop that reconditions the instruments, brings them back up to MIRC quality standards, and then in turn re-sells to dealers only as MIRC USED reconditioned guitars, they do not sell to the public.  Some common reasons for a "less than first quality" rating of a Guitar are shipping damage or cosmetic flaws, and faulty electronics. A common shipping damage event is "fretboard lift" which is due to string tension on the neck during shipping shock, of which MIRC is well qualified to repair. They also have on occasion discontinued models and or factory finish 2nd models and in these few cases they may not be stamped USED but stamped 2nd or no stamp at all on 1st quality disconnected models or discontinued brands they may have available from time to time. Note that MIRC does absolute excellent work and in many cases the repair is not visible to the untrained eye and is stable, I would trust them to repair any of my instruments 100%. Please note that 99.5% of the time, a MIRC guitar will be an absolute excellent guitar for the money and have a normal expected product life span that easily compares to a non MIRC processed similar guitar.. While there is no warranty to the public from MIRC, MIRC does back what it sells direct to it's dealers for a limited time and will usually make a dealer warranty claim good while the instrument is in the dealers inventory, and that's just good business for dealers and helps dealers service their customers.

What MIRC does as a indicator of their work is they have a particular USED imprint stamp that is hammer stamped into the back of every headstock on each instrument that goes through the MIRC reclamation process. Their USED stamp is not a precise stamp, it's really hand hammered into the back of the headstock , in some cases (depending on the thickness & type of finish) noticeable cracking of the finish around the USED stamp, in some cases the stamp is light and not noticeable at all, in others you'll find the finish flaking off and cracked around the stamp, like a big Ding or Dent in the finish (remember if you are saving money this may be an acceptable condition). In addition they also remove all or part of the original factory serial number and replace it with a white paper sticker with black printed numbers as the MIRC inventory control number, it's the number that appears on the dealers MIRC invoice. The reason for the USED stamp and partial serial number removal is MIRC's assurance to the manufactures and distributors they purchase these instruments from that these instruments won't end up on back on the racks as a New Product with implied Manufacture Warranty, after the MIRC process there's no chance of a Warranty Claim back to the maker or in direct competition with new models already on the dealers rack.

Affordable Guitar buying and selling is my hobby, and as a result, I've owned several MIRC guitars over the years and I must say that MIRC does absolute excellent work, if you purchase a MIRC processed guitar stamped USED on the back of the head stock, you'll know it's been through the MIRC repair/restoration process and should be a good value for the money spent, if you purchase with full knowldege of the history of that particular MIRC processed guitar..

OK...So What....(you are thinking at this point), The reason for my message is that I'm amazed at a few MIRC resellers active online that fail to inform the buying public about the status of their MIRC acquired inventory, some only provide vague  information and or incorrect reference concerning the USED status of a MIRC reconditioned instrument. The most common misinformation observed from actual MIRC dealers is that the instrument was stamped USED by the original manufacture for reasons unknown and is a complete mystery to the dealer?, when in the overwhelming majority of  examples the instrument was stamped by MIRC, not the Manufacture, for very well known reasons and is considered a pre-owned and in most cases in "repaired condition". The reason for the MIRC processing of each instrument is clearly disclosed to the dealer prior to the dealer's decision to order that particular instrument.. In most cases, the guitar has some sort of flaw that was repaired and completely disclosed to the reseller prior to order from MIRC, and should be disclosed to the public when purchasing. I cannot think of any ethical reason not to disclose the detail history of a MIRC guitar to the public, I would think it's a positive & honest information disclosure that all potential buyers could use to make an informed purchase decision, and thus elevate the desirability of a MIRC reconditioned instrument.

To wrap this up: I highly recommend when shopping for a deal on a guitar, give your full consideration to those guitars stamped USED and don't be alarmed when you see that the original factory serial number was removed or altered, I assure you that MIRC is a legit firm, the word USED, that is hammer stamped on the back of the headstock is your indicator that it was quality reconditioned by MIRC. But before you make your final decision to purchase, ask the seller, "What was the nature of the repair and is the repair visible?". If it was not a repair then ask "what was the history on the guitar?" as MIRC clearly discloses to it's dealers the "who, what, why, where" of what it sells to the dealers. So when you see a USED stamp on the back of the headstock and a little white sticker with a number covering the original serial number that's been altered or partial removed, you'll know it's more than likely a MIRC guitar and you are entitled to know the history of that guitar, prior to purchase. The MIRC dealers that I've done business with have no problems disclosing to me the nature of the MIRC repair if any and also to confirm that it was a MIRC quality processed guitar.

Also note that In the majority of cases you'll find the actual condition of a MIRC recondition guitar to appear to be in UN-USED condition, that is the majority of these instruments have never been owned by a player, just owned by MIRC. Except for any noted repair or finish blem correction visible on your particuar MIRC guitar, you'll find most MIRC guitars look just like new and near mint condition, the frets will look new, you won't typically find dents, dings, scratches, funny smells, no non-working features etc. unless otherwise noted. In many cases it may be in newer "wear condition" than your local retailer, So a MIRC processed guitar can be a great value.

So don't hesitate to ask the dealer/seller detail questions prior to your purchase of a USED stamped MIRC processed guitar, and use this knowledge to support your value comparison search for comparable non-USED stamped-non-MIRC processed guitars when shopping for the best value, my personal experience is that in many cases the MIRC processed & stamped USED guitar can be the best value for an informed purchased.


More Examples of MIRC processed stamped USED guitars:
Here's an Example where the USED stamp cracked the surrounding finish due to over force of hammer stamp.
USED stamp and MIRC inventory label covers original serial number, condition of original serial number not shown.
USED stamp and MIRC inventory label covers original serial number, condition of original serial number not shown.
USED stamp with surrounding finish damage from hammered stamp impression.

Typical USED stamp with little or no surrounding finish damage.
USED stamp with finish damage around stamp from over stamped force.
Good example of USED stamp with no surrounding damage from hammered stamp.



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