THIS SPECIAL OFFER EXPIRED AUGUST 2015
Shipping an acoustic guitar can be expensive. You might be thinking "that doesn't matter to me - I'm buying a guitar, not selling one." Well if you're buying on-line, it does matter. And don't find out the hard way.
Most acoustic guitars ship in a box approximately 47"x21"x10". Whether you're using UPS or FedEx, the costs are similar. USPS will charge you a balloon rate for such a box, and all 3 companies will charge more for insurance. Whether you realize it or not, these costs could come back to haunt you if you're not careful. If you purchase a guitar online, you'll see lots of ads for free shipping. You might find that attractive, and simply add the guitar to your cart and checkout. Before you do, you should always look at the seller's return policy. Is the purchase returnable? How many days are you allowed to evaluate the guitar? Can you return for a refund or just store credit? Who pays the shipping back? Is the original free shipping still free? Are there any restocking fees? Credit card processing fees? Most online music stores will force you to ship it back at your cost. Many will also deduct the original outbound shipping cost from your refund. Some will charge a restocking fee. Others will claim they have no restocking fee but they will deduct the original credit card fees from your refund. What does that mean to you? Let's look at an example.
You live in New Jersey and you purchase a $2000 guitar from a store in California. They offer free shipping but it really costs them $125. You have a 2-day trial period to make sure the guitar is one that you want to keep. Within 48 hours, you decide you want to return it. Your refund details could look like this:
Purchase price: $2000
minus outbound shipping & insurance $110
minus 3% credit card fees $60
Total refund = $1830
Minus your cost to ship the guitar back $110
Net refund = $1720
You purchased a $2000 guitar, had 2 days to try it, and in the end you lost almost $300. Any shipping damage during the return trip is your responsibility. That means an insurance claim with the carrier. Doesn't sound like fun, does it.
Maury's Music is changing all that. When you buy a guitar from us, you will be asked to take extreme care when handling your new guitar. We give you 14 days to truly evaluate it. This gives you time to get a first impression, walk away, and revisit it. Maybe ask a friend or bandmate to play it in front or you. Some of our customers choose to visit their local luthier for their opinion. If the weather is very cold, the first 24 hour acclimation period still allows you 13 full days to play it. Maybe you're traveling or work keeps you running around. You don't have to be there the moment it arrives. You have time. We must insist that you keep it free of sratches & blemishes - but wouldn't you want to anyway? If its not perfect for you, please contact us within 14 days and we will send UPS to pick it up at our cost. You're not responsible for shipping in either direction and we handle all insurance claims if anything goes wrong. And here's the best part: When the guitar arrives back at Maury's Music, and passes his re-inspection, you will receive a refund for 100% of the instrument's purchase price*! No restocking fees. No credit card fees. No shipping. No catch.
*Instrument purchase price is for the instrument only. If you purchased a SERVICE (custom setup, or bridge pin installation), those service fees are not refundable. Guitars modified by a strap button or pickup installation are not returnable because those modifications cannot be reversed.
