would you buy from International seller on Reverb?

hord1080

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Hey all,

I am constantly stalking Reverb for my next guitar, and came across my dream guitar...but it's in Barcelona Spain. The reason i am considering it is, it's a Custom 22 with stoptail (i'm a big stoptail guy and they seem not to offer these lately) and in my old favorite Royal Blue quilt and it looks amazing. I used to have a PRS ad from Guitar World of this exact guitar hanging on my wall in college back in the early 2000's and dreamed of owning one. The shop seems to have good reviews but leery of spending this much money and shipping overseas, etc. Thoughts? Anyone have experience?

Here is the guitar:

https://reverb.com/item/19553491-prs-custom-22-usa-stoptail-outline-birds
 
With all of the changes to CITES, only from a dealer. In this case, I'd call, or email them to make sure they were willing to take care of all of the necessary paperwork to insure that it makes it through Customs without issue. I think this would be more problematic with used versus new. Although, there may be some leeway since it is returning to the country it was manufactured in. I'm no expert, but those would be mine concerns. There are a couple of guys here that have done this in the last year. Hopefully, one of them will chime in with their experiences.
 
I’d verify the paperwork first like Bodia said. Since it’s a used guitar, you need the paperwork even though it’s a USA built guitar coming back to the USA.

There was talk of CITES relaxing the rosewood requirement on guitars and other musical instruments for 2019 but I haven’t heard any update on this yet.
 
Reverb is as bad, or worse than ebay, as far as scams and misinformation. Personally, I wouldn’t consider buying from overseas from an individual, and only maybe from a reputable dealer.
 
I wouldn't buy international - not outside of the UK. In a lot of ways, that's a good thing otherwise I would be living in some guitar cases and not able to get into my house that would be full of gear. Either that or be living in a guitar case as my house has been repossessed due to all the shipping, handling and import tax charges...

The amount of stunning guitars and at 'reasonable' prices I can find on Reverb if I don't restrict my searches to UK only is ridiculous. If I lived in the US, I would have infinitely more choice and at much lower costs (based on current exchange rates). However, all the other charges on top of that, plus the lack of support if something does go wrong or isn't exactly as described just isn't worth the hassle. Its one reason I also stopped looking at the PRS Dealers section here because there is no point. I can just about cope with the Private Stock Friday posts because they are like looking at pictures of Ferrari's or Lamborghini's....
 
I wouldn't buy international - not outside of the UK. In a lot of ways, that's a good thing otherwise I would be living in some guitar cases and not able to get into my house that would be full of gear. Either that or be living in a guitar case as my house has been repossessed due to all the shipping, handling and import tax charges...

The amount of stunning guitars and at 'reasonable' prices I can find on Reverb if I don't restrict my searches to UK only is ridiculous. If I lived in the US, I would have infinitely more choice and at much lower costs (based on current exchange rates). However, all the other charges on top of that, plus the lack of support if something does go wrong or isn't exactly as described just isn't worth the hassle. Its one reason I also stopped looking at the PRS Dealers section here because there is no point. I can just about cope with the Private Stock Friday posts because they are like looking at pictures of Ferrari's or Lamborghini's....

I get your pain. I've tried to help a couple of UK Fourm brothers out by buying a part and shipping it as a "gift." One went to the address with no issue, the other guy had to pay import fees. Same part, too.

I took advantage of a buying loophole on a UK made guitar I bought from Peach. I don't have to pay VAT or import fees ($187 in tax, though, which may as well be an import fee). Still, on a $3k guitar I saved a ton. Buying the same guitar from a US dealer would have been over $3800.
 
No way the seller will have Cites paperwork. It is a monumental pain in the arse.

And “fingerboard: rosewood” is all you need to know.

My guess is it will go through Customs, but you’re taking a chance.

It would be interesting to see how Reverb would handle your payment if you never received it.
 
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Maybe I'm a lucky guy, or maybe I don't buy that much or so often, but I've never had a problem with an Ebay, CL, or Reverb purchase.
I'm in Canada...
305 US Ebay
P22 US Reverb
594 US Reverb
Peavey Wolfgang UK Ebay
Kemper local CL
McRosie local CL
Custom 50 paisley US Reverb
Rivera Rockcrusher US Reverb
Silver Sky local CL

There's more but you get the idea.
That being said, the Peavey has no rosewood, and it was before cites.
 
I bought an Ibanez J Custom from a guy in South Korea off Reverb once... flawless transaction. Look at his feedback ratings, do your CITES research, then make your decision based on your comfort level. Quality of communication is also a good indicator... you can generally tell if someone knows what they are talking about.

Good luck.
 
Not to hijack this (good luck!), but what's people's experience with acoustic guitars specifically from Reverb? They "travel" OK?
 
Not to hijack this (good luck!), but what's people's experience with acoustic guitars specifically from Reverb? They "travel" OK?

I will buy an electric guitar online, sight unseen, especially if it’s a PRS. International or otherwise. However, when it comes to acoustic guitars, I don’t care if Paul himself built the guitar from top to bottom and hand selected the woods. I got to play an acoustic guitar before I buy one, especially if it’s a solid wood built. The bracing, the scalloping, the intricacies of the specific wood can make huge difference in acoustic guitars, even within the same model, that I have to try them out first. I find the differences within model in acoustic guitars more pronounced than on electric, hence my different buying philosophy.
 
I will buy an electric guitar online, sight unseen, especially if it’s a PRS. International or otherwise. However, when it comes to acoustic guitars, I don’t care if Paul himself built the guitar from top to bottom and hand selected the woods. I got to play an acoustic guitar before I buy one, especially if it’s a solid wood built. The bracing, the scalloping, the intricacies of the specific wood can make huge difference in acoustic guitars, even within the same model, that I have to try them out first. I find the differences within model in acoustic guitars more pronounced than on electric, hence my different buying philosophy.

I will buy a PRS online without having played or inspected it first. I do buy new as well and from reputable dealers. I can't say that about many brands.

I don't know how I would feel buying a used guitar that's being privately sold. If its from a reputable dealer, you do have some warranty and someone who will have checked it. You never know if its all as it was when it left PRS. It may still have all the stock hardware, but you don't know if the previous owner swapped out the PU's for example and only put the stock parts back in to sell. You don't know how competent they are with the soldering.

Buying used from a reputable dealer does at least give you a but of buyers protection so I would be more likely to consider a used guitar but in general, I prefer to buy new if I can...

Being disabled does make it much more difficult to get out to physical retailers so I am more reliant on the internet for all my shopping. Its great to have that option but can be a bit of a problem if I wanted to find the 'one' Gibson Les Paul for example.
 
I will buy an electric guitar online, sight unseen, especially if it’s a PRS. International or otherwise. However, when it comes to acoustic guitars, I don’t care if Paul himself built the guitar from top to bottom and hand selected the woods. I got to play an acoustic guitar before I buy one, especially if it’s a solid wood built. The bracing, the scalloping, the intricacies of the specific wood can make huge difference in acoustic guitars, even within the same model, that I have to try them out first. I find the differences within model in acoustic guitars more pronounced than on electric, hence my different buying philosophy.
totally agree...but when I see an awesome juicy offer online I just want to click on it :)
 
I’ll buy from international buyers with good feedback, like ladkor in the Ukraine. As others have said, make sure all your ducks are in a row. There are some first rate sellers in other countries.
 
I will buy a PRS online without having played or inspected it first. I do buy new as well and from reputable dealers. I can't say that about many brands.

I don't know how I would feel buying a used guitar that's being privately sold. If its from a reputable dealer, you do have some warranty and someone who will have checked it. You never know if its all as it was when it left PRS. It may still have all the stock hardware, but you don't know if the previous owner swapped out the PU's for example and only put the stock parts back in to sell. You don't know how competent they are with the soldering.

Buying used from a reputable dealer does at least give you a but of buyers protection so I would be more likely to consider a used guitar but in general, I prefer to buy new if I can...

Being disabled does make it much more difficult to get out to physical retailers so I am more reliant on the internet for all my shopping. Its great to have that option but can be a bit of a problem if I wanted to find the 'one' Gibson Les Paul for example.

I’ve bought all my PRS core models online. So I trust PRS to make my electric guitas. However, when it comes to acoustic, I need to play them first.
 
Nice shop, lovely range of PRSi, I would not be concerned, I mean you'd buy from Thomann wouldn't you?

Do it before their sale runs out, or brexit confusion happens
 
thanks all. I think i will need to pass on this beauty. I am going to continue my search for a used Tim Mahoney SE.
 
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