Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

As many of us do not have the luxury of having a Rickenbacker dealer close by, we have the option of using the Internet to view and purchase our cherished instruments. While there are few substitues for playing an instrument before buying, I have taken the risk on three occasions, purchasing a 450/12, a 350 and a 4003. On each of these occasions I have had the good fortune to have talked with the seller after online queries and to date I have been completely satisfied with the outcome.

There are risks involved, however, that can lead to complications and purchasing an expensive instrument and having it shipped using UPS or FED EX, is not for the faint of heart. Fortunately I did not end up with a case full of pieces and the instruments were just what I expected in terms of playability, finish and so on.

I am interested in your experiences in buying Rickenbackers over the Internet, running the gamut from shipping, payment and heartache to the ecstacy of opening the case and viewing a new treasure.

While I did receive all of my instruments safely using both UPS and FED EX, I did have one occasion in which FED EX left my guitar on my front porch where it remained for hours before I got home. Luckily it was still there when I arrived. This is fortunate as I live in an area where Xmas wreathes barely last overnight!

Peter: Good topic for discussion. I have bought many instruments myself over the 'net and (so far) everything has worked out just fine. I am not afraid of doing it but I know something could go wrong every time I get something. You just have to have faith, and some preparation between you and the seller about how you want things done when it's time to ship....

I always try to figure the shipping in with the cost of the instrument and ship the SAFEST way possible (which is usually the most expensive too). Next Day Air and request hand-carrying only with either FedEx or UPS; I have had good results with both carriers. it's good to acquire as much data as you can about your shipment(i.e. the tracking #)so if questions should arise you are prepared.

I bought my 660/12 over the net from Wildwood Guitars in the States and my 325v63 from Hits Guitars in Japan. The 660/12 was shipped Fedex and got to NZ in 3 days however the local Fedex people got it bogged down in red tape for another 4 days. The 325v63 was shipped with UPS and got here from Japan in 2 days. I received both on the same day (the day after my 43rd birthday, 20th November). Wildwood were great and took a credit card order. Hits required a bank transfer but were also easy to deal with by email. (by phone was next to impossible due to the language difficulties)
I have a 380lpz on order from Mike Parks. Despite the horror stories I have read, my guitars arrived in perfect shape after 10000 miles. I hope my luck continues.
I have also ordered and received accessories from Jim Rhoads which arrived quickly and in good shape.
There is no Ric dealer in NZ

My experiences have been good also. I have received a 620/6 which arrived fine via UPS. I also received a 350/12 via UPS which also arrived fine, although the packaging was a little torn up. I would warn everyone of two issues. Request that the sender request a signature upon delivery of your instrument, and beware of UPS's damage policy. I have heard horror stories from individuals who have received damaged merchandise that they have paid for, filed a claim on and been told that the merchandise would be sent back to the sender and to contact them for re-imbursement, only to get the runaround from the seller. This can be avoided by choosing your shipping agent carefully! An informed customer is a happy customer!

Here is a recent example of what CAN go wrong and Murphy's Law rears it's ugly head.

From Nick Thiel at Voxtalks:


Murphy's Law of Guitar Buying

I hope this doesn't happen to often, period..

And sometimes you get lucky.....After finding a 68 4001 online there then began the process of establishing it was all it was made out to be. Jpegs sent and carefully looked at..(thanks John!!)...and an agreement made. Now, the seller does not want to ship, because of possible disaster, and he feels that this bass, in this condition cannot be replaced. I,m in agreement, but I,m 1500 miles away. Then one of them quirks of fate...A couple I know are heading north for thanksgiving, and happen to be, just for a day, only minutes from the owner. A meeting place secured and the deal gets done. I still have to wait 10 days for them to return home, all the time with the bass in transit. They are not musicians, so there are specific instructions. (Please don,t leave it in the car trunk). Needless to say I was tentative, but they all make it back safe....The case is opened, and this 68 stares back at me in a way that the pictures and words just could not describe.....To get by with a little help from my friends....

I work at FedEx, and I would have to say about 1/2% of all the boxes suffer some type of damage, and 2 out of every 10 with damage have had the contents damaged. thats about 20 in a night of 4000 boxes, with 4 of them having real damage and not just cardboard casualty.

and we are supposidly much better then UPS.

Of course my observations are localized to the terminal I work at, which happens to be rated #2 in the country. but that does not say much about all the other terminals.
when the packing is damaged it is supposed to be opened - inspected and repacked if ok. if not it is sent back to sender.
Most damage is water/snow related, because the back end of a semi is not exactly water tight. Or one of the other boxes is leaking a liquid - usually soap of some sorts...

this only hand transport I have been reading on the above link, ive never heard of. but I only work FedEx ground.

I do know if a package is deemed to be worth $5000 plus, none of us lowly package handlers are allowed to load it. It has to be checked in by a manager, and put on a truck by a manager. It gets a bright Pink sticker dictating so... but that doesnt mean none but managers touch it. It still gets tossed/set onto the conveyors, and is sent down a different shute with boxes that are obviously need checked due to damage.

How you get that pink sticker I dont know, maybe just pay for 5 g worth of insurance. that woudl be a good starting point to keep your guiatr safe.

Crush resistance is key, they pack those semis full, and which ever box gets there first gets loaded first.

the only thing that stops one box from going on top of another is size and the loaders capibility to lift the second onto the first. size is pretty much outruled because a guitar is of adequate size to put just about any box on top of it. so hope ofr weak loaders...

I woudl not suggest top load only because most guys who unload a trailor cannot reach the boxes on top - so they pull a bottom box and let the others fall. we are not supposed to do this but really time is money and we get in trouble if we take to long.
I woudl mark this way up on all sides pointing from body to top of neck. the small surface area deems only small boxes can go on top.

finally if you have part of teh cost paid COD then the FedEx driver has to talk to you, and you can refuse delivery... (Inspect the box carefully)
even if the COD is for only $10

JP

While I have no stake in defending UPS, or FedEx. I would like to point out that guitars arrive at our local stores via UPS and/or FedEx. THe only difference here is that the store management has to deal with the occasional mangled package. it is most likely that ANY guitar that you buy traveled to the seller via UPS or FedEx. I am the buyer at a large camera store, and have seen many horrors at the hands of the men in brown. In fact, they seem to train them that "fra-gi-le" is Italian for "throw over-hand". I would imagine that all Rickenbackers leave the factory via UPS. So if your looking for a guitar untouched by UPS or Fedex - it's not going to happen. That's what insurance is for.

Rob

I purchased my 360 sight unseen last year from Rhoads. Jim ordered it for me, so I knew it would be pristine. He set it up very nicely and was very pleasant to deal with.

At the time I had no dealer nearby, so that was my best option. I also really wanted a guitar that no one had played with or messed around with. It's not a rule I would necessarily follow in the future, but for that guitar, my dream guitar, that's how I wanted it to happen.

Now I live near a dealer with a good inventory. But I would likely try one there, and then order one from any one of a handful of Rick dealers that are active with this website or another one that I frequent.

> "There is no Ric dealer in NZ"

AFAIK, there is no longer any RIC stockist in NZ. However, AMI are the Australasian distributors.

AFAIK, Roger Smith at South Pacific Music Distributors ( http://www.south-pacific-music.co.nz ) is also still a NZ RIC contact.

You *should* also be able to place an order at any Music Works store, or at Orewa Music. Roger still owns Orewa Music.

The few RICs I've seen Roger with and those fs at Music Works have been quite well priced. But, I haven't spoken to Roger for a while, and I haven't seen any RICs in stock anywhere in recent times.

So, the points of "local" contact are:
AMI (They have a NZ branch.)
Roger Smith @ South Pacific or Orewa Music
Music Works

But, then again, you might still be better off going through a reputable international dealer with stock on hand.

This is a hard one. I have had good fortune with email transactions but I always make sure there is a "Return" clause. As far as shipping goes, UPS totally smashed and mashed a Fender that someone sent to me, but that was rare. I had a Rickenbacker sent to me that I knew was valuable, so I purchased a SKB "Case within a Case" and sent that to the seller in order for him to send it to me. Sure, it did cost more, but what is a guitar worth that you have been searching for and love playing?

Bought my 660/12 via eBay in May, 2001. After three months of pre-purchase begging and nagging, and about 18 beers into the wife at a big party just beforehand, I clicked on the PayPal button late on 13 May and the guitar arrived on the 18th. Was shipped in its case, and the case wrapped in bubble wrap and put in a box, and sent from Florida to Germany via registered US mail to my APO address.

Guitar was dead-mint as advertised and suffered no dings or dents in shipment. Wife recovered and wasn't too awful mad at me the next day. Buying a case of champagne now as I'm looking for a nice all-tube 30-60W stereo amp...

I went this route because, like others on this thread, there few Ricks in all of Germany, and since I ordered mine, my local music store has said that the sole German distributor no longer imports them.

Two of my Ric instruments were purchased new through Atlanta Rhythm City simply by placing a phone call in each instance. Another was purchased slightly used over the internet through Chris Clayton at PickoftheRicks. The other was purchased barely used from the original owner in Georgia who had placed an ad at Harmony Central. There were absolutely no problems of any kind with my Ric purchases, and no horror stories concerning shipment. Guess I've been pretty lucky so far, huh?

Both of my RICs (and my Hofner) was bought over the internet. I've had nothing but good experiences:

4003 Sea Green bought from The Guitar Hangar in CT
330 FireGlo bought from Pick of the Ricks

You just need to find a reputable dealer. I highly recommend Pick of the Ricks, and I've heard good things about Mike Parks and Jim Rhodes too. They're all good guys.

360BT Mid Blue bought from EBay (icepixmike - highly recommended)

370/12 Desert Gold + 360V64 Mapleglo + 350V63 Burgandy, all bought from ricsrus.com (run by same guy on ebay)

All guitars were imaculate, very well packaged and were delivered next day.