Are your guitar buying habits changing?

[Methos1979]

Well I've always bought my guitars online without having seen/played in person for almost 8 years and some 35 guitars. Always a positive experience. But my buying habits have changed in the last several months but not due to the pandemic but rather just having found guitars that I really like and want to keep. It's nice to not even be looking. I rarely visit the Guitar Classifieds section or Reverb anymore for guitars.

As for buying online, do your homework, establish a rapport with the seller, ask a lot of questions, request a lot of high resolution photos and if it feels wrong just walk away - there's always another guitar coming down the pike. Using these basic rules allowed me to 'demo' 30-some-odd awesome guitars and helped me figure out what I wanted and needed in an acoustic guitar. And it was a lot of fun.

[why2]

Over the last 3 years I've purchased 4 guitars and I've sold a couple on commission. I like supporting one of my local shops with those sales.

The only way I could start looking at the higher quality instruments was through the internet. I really didn't know how to articulate what qualities I was looking for in an instrument but I figured that the guitars I found myself interested in would reveal to me why they were so special once I got my hands on them. Each of these guitars have lived up to their reputations and over time one or possibly two might be put up for sale. But for now I have 4 top quality guitars to learn from. Each of them is a joy to play and listen to.

I agree that purchasing without playing has it's risks but each of these purchases included return options and that was necessary for even a deal to happen from my point of view. Plus trying to find these "gems" while living somewhat remote is very tough.

why2

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

....To answer the question, I honestly believe I’m done buying guitars. I’ve had everything I wanted come my way over the past seven years.... Any one of them could by “my only guitar“ but they all have some measure of sentimental value and/or uniqueness so they stay.

Originally Posted by colins

My buying habits have changed, in that I'm not buying.

Originally Posted by Methos1979

....But my buying habits have changed in the last several months but not due to the pandemic but rather just having found guitars that I really like and want to keep......allowed me to 'demo' 30-some-odd awesome guitars and helped me figure out what I wanted and needed in an acoustic guitar. And it was a lot of fun.

Any one of these three posts describe my current situation. I quoted them mostly to save the typing. It has been a long journey, but now that I have found what really works for me, I'm done.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Any one of these three posts describe my current situation. I quoted them mostly to save the typing. It has been a long journey, but now that I have found what really works for me, I'm done.

Same here. Great feeling, isn't it?

[Earl49]

Yup........ (ten characters)

[mawmow]

Nope ! No change : There are three major guitar stores and a few others in the area.

[zombywoof]

Yeah, I have been going through some changes. Over the past couple of months something came over me and I decided to take a break from the old guitars I surround myself with and snag something which while not new is newish being only seven years old. Prior to this the newest guitar I have owned would be a 1969 Harmony H1260 Sovereign. On top of that my most recent purchase was the first time I had bought a guitar I had not held in my sweaty little hands first. In this case though it had little to do with the pandemic as it would have been a tough row to hoe to have gotten my hands on a guitar by this builder even in the best of times.

[TiffanyGuitar]

I am thinning my herd. I have too many to play. I am also trying to change my habits. I have bought many sight unseen, but rarely do I keep them, so I need and intend to stop. The exception is the Baxendale. Once getting that one, its tone made me question why I had all of the others. I will keep it forever. The J-30 will never go anywhere - it is great, I have had it since new, my parents bought it for me, etc. The J-45 was recently sold, but still in my possession.

I need to change my buying habits, and I have also realized that I don't want to care for so many instruments - I think the next few years are going to be much different (more difficult) than the past, unfortunately. Hope I am wrong.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

I am not convinced that I'll be buying anymore.

Same here. I'm content with what I've got, and now that I'm living out in the boonies I probably won't be gigging anymore, so there's no real impetus for GAS.

Prior to the pandemic, I was not inclined to purchase a guitar I'd never played.

[TDavis]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

Same here. Great feeling, isn't it?

I concur. After buying, selling & trading plenty in the last 4-5 years, I believe I have two CS Martins that I am completely happy with...and I believe I’m done as well.

And, yes...it is a great feeling.

[brencat]

I've run the gamut on Martin and settled on two I really love, and have something in mind for an endgame before I retire from buying and selling. But there is no way I would have discovered the awesomeness that is Santa Cruz without taking a chance and ordering without playing first. My D/PW that I got from a forum member 3 years ago, and a 1934D two months ago also from a forum member. There are so few 1934Ds in the wild it's almost impossible to play one first. And with family and work responsibilities, I never had the time for extended hunts, even now.

[Fatfinger McGee]

Mine are, definitely spending more time shopping online and less on CL. And obviously zero in shops. But that shift was already happening for me. I think if you’re experienced enough to have a sense for what might work for you, you’d be crazy not to try a few on spec these days, otherwise you’ll be pretty limited in most areas. So much great guitar work being done by boutique shops, and a fantastic secondary market to buy and sell them with other enthusiasts. Kinda comes down to risk tolerance I guess, and how much you like new and different.

[lapetrarca]

No. Not at all.

With the exception of used, I have no issues buying online, sight unseen with places like Guitar Center, Musician's Friend (same entity) etc..... because if I get something I don't like, I can simply return it. No questions asked. I've bought three or four this way and never had a problem.....or return.

I just feel like the chances of my walking into a guitar store, randomly grabbing a guitar off the wall and have it be "THE one and only" guitar you'll ever want, are just as good as some guy in a warehouse randomly grabbing "THE one and only" with one exception......there's likely a whole lot more to choose from in the warehouse than the guitar store so, my chances might be slightly better going the warehouse route.

My latest acquisition, Gibson G45 Standard, bought sight unseen. Awesome guitar!

[Pura Vida]

Most of my guitar purchases have been via online, so no major changes here. I purchased two guitars during the pandemic, and each time, I tried to buy used. But between higher used prices (plus taxes, fees, and shipping charges), I was pushed back into buying new, which was fine with me. I did my research and have a trusted dealer who knows what I want, so I can buy with confidence.

Both guitars are excellent additions, so no changes and no regrets.

[Mr. Jelly]

I bought a Martin D-18V from Elderly Instruments when they first came out. So, no I haven't changed my habits. That was pre-internet and charge cards, at least for me. I mailed a check to them and waited for the guitar. I wish I still had the guitar.