The Online Guitar Buying Guide

Purchasing a guitar online is an easy and convenient prospect – pretty much like purchasing just about anything else online. Places like eBay, Amazon, Newegg and other online marketplaces have made this a seamless process. Not to forget many local stores such as Walmart and Best Buy are too jumping on the bandwagon by creating online stores and selling their merchandise online.

When it comes to guitar purchasing – whether it’s your first axe or your hundredth, I almost never recommend doing it online. The reasons are simple: buying a guitar is not like buying a computer, a phone or any electronics. You might be well-versed with the specifications of your purchase, however a good guitar goes beyond that. It is wrong to assume that every Les Paul or every Stratocaster will be the same, feel the same in your hand and play like you want it to. Unless you take it out for a spin first, test drive it, use it and see if you feel comfortable with it and if it sounds right. It is for these reasons that I feel a guitar purchase should always be done in person.

However if you do plan on purchasing an axe off Amazon, Musician's Friend or any other online website, for instance if it’s an axe you’ve used before and know that you feel comfortable with it and at home with it, and has a killer discount on it online, go for it.

It can actually be a good decision to purchase a guitar online. But before you make your move, before you take the plunge, do read up on some of the pros and cons, some advantage and potential drawbacks of buying a guitar online:

The Good Stuff

Well, convenience for one. Buying your axe online, like shopping for anything else over the internet, would be immensely convenient, especially if the nearest music or guitar shop is far from your location, you live in the suburbs or in a small town, and you don’t have any places to buy from in your vicinity.

You save money and time – money on gas and/or other expenditures, and time spent during commuting to and from the store.

Instead, all you need to do is log onto eBay, Amazon or any other online buying-selling website, browse a bit, look for what you want, choose, place order, make payment and voila! You’re as good as done. And your axe will delivered straight to your doorstep.

Another factor is choice. Even the biggest of the big retailer – someone who might have hundreds of different guitars available, will be hammered and crushed by the plethora of options and choice you will have at your disposal online. Simply search ‘guitar’ on Amazon and you’ll see what I mean!

Another aspect which is important when purchasing online is the price. Most of the guitars available online – new or used – will almost always be cheaper than what you will pay for the exact same model in a store – even if you factor in the shipping fees. The reason behind this is that online stores have significantly less running costs involved that a brick-and-mortar store, since they don’t have to pay shop rent, taxes, utility bills, salaries, etc. They are therefore able to price their items cheaper.

What’s more, you will have a much higher chance of availing a sweet discount or a huge rebate on your purchase online, as compared to if you buy from a store. Stores usually tend to put guitars on sale only once or twice a year. But you’ll find that online stores will often put a discount on their merchandise.

Time saving is another important aspect. With an online store, you could browse a lot of guitars in a short span of time.

And lastly, my personal favorite, you have a zillion percent better chance of scoring a rare piece of axe online. Imagine getting a hold of one of Hammett’s Fenders or Clapton’s Strats that someone was selling online on eBay! All you’d need to do is look harder, and you’ll almost certainly find something you will probably never find in a walk-in store. And if finding and collecting rare guitars is your thing, you should almost always look online.

The Not-So-Good Stuff

The biggest factor here, when it comes to purchasing your guitars online, is the fact that you won’t be able to test them out. A big drawback, especially if it’s your first guitar and you’d want to make sure its something you feel comfortable using for a long time. If you buy online, and it turns out to be a dud or a bad purchase (either uncomfortable to use, or not the sound you were expecting, or shoddy quality, etc.), you’re basically stuck with it, and you’d have no choice but to either live with your purchase or try selling it off online or to a friend. However it can be a huge downer, and you will have to bear a loss on it in all probability, especially if you paid a lot for it in the first place.

Another aspect is shipping. Guitars are sensitive instruments, and shipping them could result in damage especially if it’s overnight or long-distance shipping. The guitar could be damaged during the transit process, or if it wasn’t packed properly, handled roughly and end up receiving a broken guitar.

Or could even have already been damaged when it was shipped, there’s really no way to know.

Lastly, buying from credible websites is one thing, but what about buying from (and trusting) an online website which is new and/or isn’t very credible. Would you trust them with your purchase, with your credit card information? Also, what happens if you end up with a fake? What if their after-sales turns out to be as shoddy as their buying experience? Pretty much the same applies to any seller on eBay, what if he ships you a fake and disappears? Online purchasing will always come with that certain bit of a risk-factor.

How To Proceed?

Well, for starters, it is generally a good idea to read reviews online and ask around – ask your friends or post on online forums. Forums could provide an immense wealth of knowledge in this regard, since you’d get opinions from people using the guitars you’re interested in, as well as people who’ve been in the business for a long time.

Make a wise, and an informed decision. Check different websites for ratings and reviews, and check multiple sources for the best deal that you could possibly get – maybe someone’s offering a greater discount and free shipping, or someone might even be offering a few extra goodies, for instance sellers often throw in their old amps into the deal, for the same price as the guitar. Look around for such deals.

Above all, ask your online retailer if they have a 24/48/etc. return policy. That way, you can easily return your purchase in case you want to, or RMA it if it is faulty, damaged or broken upon arrival.

Buying online could get you some major savings! I bought an Ibanez S Series guitar and a Jackson Warrior off a local store way back, and discovered that I could’ve saved almost as much as 500 bucks had I purchased them online instead!

Friendly tip: whatever you do, make sure you consider the consequences of your decision. If you want to play it safe and are not interested in rare or collectible guitars, hit your local (or nearest) guitar store and buy one in person. Test it out extensively before buying.


In addition, if you're looking for a good online guitar-learning course, going for the Learn and Master Guitar DVD course would be a good bet!

Disclaimer: 

The purpose of this post is wholly and solely to inform the reader about the pros and cons of buying online or from a store, so that he/she can make an informed decision. The purpose was not to discredit or promote either of the two methods of purchasing a guitar; how the buyer actually proceeds would be at his/her own discretion. Lastly, I am not affiliated with any online or offline guitar seller.