i found several strats from customs to am deluxe to hot rod 57 all in my price range 1200-1350 .
yay
or
stay away

This is my opinion only..If it is something i know i want 100% i will buy on ebay..I have bought a guitar on e bay and it turned out well but it was a cheaper Aria Pro not a $1200 custom shop guitar..There is no way in hell i would fork out that kind of money without playing the guitar first..To many things don't show up on pictures and the previous owner may be 100% honest but just not experienced enough to now quality..About as far as i would go on e bay is the $600 to $700 American Standard

I will never purchase anything on Ebay and discourage anyone from doing so. In my line of work I see the ripoffs and scams that people get suckered into on an almost daily basis. I'm sure there are some honest sellers on there but, there are to many dishonest thieving a@@holes doing business on there for me to risk my hard earned money.

I don't think Ebay is a bad place to buy guitars really. Most sellers that are honest provide very high quality photos and will provide even more for you upon request. Look at their feedback rating. That will say something about their reputation. If you ask a question and don't get an answer then that tells you to stay away from them. But I feel most sellers are pretty good.

I gotta warn you about the 57 Hot Rod Strat though. The frets are really low almost like a vintage fret so even though the radius is 9.5 it's negated by the low frets. And they shaved a hell of a lot of wood of the neck so it's actually a modified soft V and it feels extremely shallow and slim. Too much so. And the one that I got came with the strings misaligned.

You can always refret it though but it will cost you.

I tend to agree. I won't buy any guitar, in any price range, without playing the actual guitar I'll be buying first. Not just the same model, but the guitar I'll be buying.

It's probably not the norm these days...but I just don't feel comfortable paying for a guitar unless I've checked it out in person. It'd feel weird to me to do so.

I have not even so much as looked on eBay's web site for more than 9 years. I had a terrible experience where a guy tried to rip me off. In the end I won out and he was unable to rip me off but it took many weeks to get it settled out and eBay was not very helpful to me in my plight. I always felt they just wanted me to drop my issue so they wouldn't have to do anything about it. That was my first and last eBay experience. Never again.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I have never bought a guitar from ebay although I have sold several on ebay and they were first class, pristine, beautiful instruments. Any one that bought a guitar from me on ebay got a great piece in perfect condition. As far as playing the guitar before ever buying it...I have also purchase several guitars from Musicians Friend without first playing them and have had nothing but excellent experiences. I would order a guitar from MF anytime without any concerns.

Check out the sellers feedback on ebay and email him directly with questions. You should get a quick response and good answers to your questions.

Good luck
Noodles

Swings and roundabouts if you ask me. You could just as easily buy a guitar from a shop on the internet and it be just as much a rip-off as any guitar from eBay, of course nothing beats going into a shop and playing it but that's not always possible and you wouldn't necessarily get as good a deal. I've seen American Vintage 57s go for half their retail price on eBay, who can argue with that.
Just like anything use your judgement and your own gut feel about it. I've bought and sold lots of things guitar and non-guitar related on eBay and only once can I honestly say I was disappointed. If you know what you're buying and you can get a good deal then I don't see why not, and if you do get a guitar and you don't like it for whatever reason then you can always sell it on again, what have you lost really?

Most sellers who have nothing to hide will tell you lots and show lots of pictures, the ones to watch for are the people who put one dodgy mobile phone image and take ages to reply to your emails.

I've bought (and sold) £1200 guitars on eBay (for less of course) and never had a problem. (My 2008 American Deluxe is immaculate and cost £600 and I have a £1500 Larrivee that cost me £500).

You have days/weeks/months to try the guitar, in your own home, with your own amp and without any pressure from store staff or interference from wannabee shredders on their Pacifica's.

As long as you can spot the scammers (asking if you can collect the guitar if you win, usually sorts them out) the only 'risk' is that you don't like the guitar, in which case you sell it and get your money back.

I've bought 50+ items off ebay, mostly musical items, never once had a problem. Go for it, as long as your not an idiot who thinks you somehow landed the very first strat ever built for $2000, then go for it.

I bought my Ric on E-bay with no porblems, but you do have to be careful for fakes and scammers.

I've bought 6 used strats off of Ebay. And, all but one are stellar in shape and function. No issues except intonation and a change of strings. I even bought a beautiful deluxe Strat that is amazing. For the most part, most people are honest on Ebay, and I found that most musicians won't screw a fellow musician by selling junk. If you're not sure about what you're buying, ask here first, there are plenty of people here to give you advice and what to look for.

I would have to agree with you. I don't trust buying merchandise from someone I don't know, can't see the product in person.......and knowing how many ripoff artists are out there.

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"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."-John Wayne

I bought a guitar on ebay about a month ago.

It's the first time i've ever bought a guitar w/o
playing it first, much less seeing it in person, &
bad thoughts entered my head multiple times during
the week between winning the auction & it's arrival.

But it turned out great.

I ended up w/ a fantastic '92 White/Maple Korean Squier Strat,
which plays like butter, sounds amazing & is insanely hum-free.
It's the best of my four Strats & i just couldn't be happier w/ it.

I got it cheap too, which is nice.

Sometimes i still can't believe i bought it the way i did, because
that's not something i would've ever expected to do before that,
& i don't know how in a hurry i'd be to do it again... but, if the axe
was something i really wanted & the seller had positive feedback,
i'd probably go for it again.

One should definitely ask questions if you have any & communicate
a little bit w/ the seller, which i think can give you a surprisingly good
feel for whether they're shady or on the level.

I have bought too many guitars off ebay to even keep track of. There is nothing wrong in doing so and you probably will never get the deals that you can from buying there.Now on the other hand I dont want you to think it is the promised land either. There are risk just crossing the street but if you know what you are doing you should not have a problem. First only buy a guitar thats a model you have played before so you know how it should feel and what to expect.Check the sellers feedback rating and number of transactions as it takes a long time to amass a few hundred transactions and these guys like to keep there rating as close to hundred as possible. Here is the big one, no matter how the guitar is listed run down these questions. Are there any dents,dings,scratches,stress cracks in the neck joint,buckle rash, worming,what shape are the frets in.is everything original or has there been any mods. Now I have seen guitars listed as dead mint and after running down these questions many times I have gotten back" after looking at the guitar again I noticed" So you want to know everything because you are covered under paypal if item comes not as described. In 9 years I have had only 2 problems which were resolved in 2 weeks. That is what a lot of people dont understand. They think if you buy something and it is totally beat you are stuck that is not the case. As long as you ask the questions no matter what is written in the listings and even if it says no returns you are covered by paypal.Now go find that bargain.