Top three reasons to buy a guitar from just great guitars
- We won’t sell you a dud
- We’ll share our knowledge with you
- No time-limit buy-back guarantee on most instruments
We have written the following questions and answers to help explain our terms and conditions.
Why buy online from JustGreatGuitars.com ?
Welcome to our world - ours is an online guitar store. There's no showroom, no salespeople, and no trying every instrument in the shop. But, there's also no pressure, no subtle selling techniques and the price you pay does not have to cover rent, rates, staff, and public liability insurance. So that means you get just great guitars, for far less money than you would expect to pay in a shop.
Buying online actually gives you, the customer, significantly more rights and protection than you have when buying from a store. When you buy from a shop the law is “buyer beware” – it’s for you to notice and question things that may affect the value such as overspray at the heel and non-original parts.
Goods purchased online must be exactly “as described”, so we will point out all the things you need to know about an item before you buy - both good and bad. We'll tell you if the tuners have been changed, we'll tell you about any repair work, we'll show you close-up pictures of wear and tear, and highlight the dings and bumps. We’ll give you our opinion about why a feature is the way it is because we sell everything in good faith and to the best of our knowledge.
We want you to know about all that stuff, so that when you receive the instrument you'll have no nasty surprises, and be 100% delighted with your purchase. That way you’ll tell us, and tell your friends about your experience.
Here are a few customers commenting on our descriptions:
"Bass exactly as described. Thank you very much for a really fast and professional transaction. I would certainly have no hesitation in recommending just great guitars to all my friends." Martin, Cumbria
"THAAAANK YOU!!!!!! This is the tone that makes my heart jump!!! You did a great job, the guitar is exactly how described, and your guitar tech is a professional with love for his job." Dirk, Germany
"D28 received in good..."excellent" shape...great condition...well "as new" or immaculate for year...I am very pleased with it. Just as described." Tony, Crawley, UK
"I first hesitated to buy it, because your description was so very lyrical that I did not trust it (it sounded too good). But indeed, it's all true: it's a fine & fabulous guitar. A joy to look at and to play." Guido, Belgium
Can I play it before I buy it?
Once you know what guitar you want, you really need to try it out, compare it with others, and play it through your own amp or sitting in your own kitchen. Buying online simply doesn't support browsing and touching things so we are committed to making your buying experience feel as comfortable as possible.
Yes. Contact us for a personalised description
We encourage customers to contact us to ask anything and everything. We're happy to help and can give you subjective and professional views of all items. We can tell you how the neck feels, what it's like to play, whether it's a hound for the blues or a picker for the country set. We do this most often by email, or phone, and sometimes Skype or FaceBook.
"You are completely crazy to sell that guitar! It sounds amazing, it looks amazing...I've been playing for six hours non stop, forgot to eat, sleep etc. Seriously it was great doing business with you. Achilles, Greece [via Skype]
"I would like to say how pleased I have been with the service from Just Great Guitars. The purchase process has been a pleasure. Be it emails, phone calls or meetings in person to try the guitar" Paul G, London
"Wonderful guitar, just what I expected or actually even better!" Joni, Sweden [who heard the guitar over the phone]
Yes. Visit us (by appointment only)
We can meet in London’s West End, or Thame, Oxfordshire.
If you are flying-into the UK, then London Heathrow is the nearest airport and we are happy to collect you from, and return you to the airport.
Check with the airline that you will be able to hand-carry your purchase with you on the return flight. We’ve heard some airlines are less accommodating than others in this respect.
"Thank you for the guitar, thank you for taking care of me and for driving me around. You were right, coming and trying the guitar was the thing to do!" Thierry L, Geneva
"Many thanks for your hospitality yesterday and for giving me the opportunity to play some wonderful guitars." Huw Price, Guitar & Bass Magazine
Yes. No time-limit buy-back
guarantee on most instruments
We want you to be 100% happy with your purchases from us, and if that means sending the guitar out to your home for you to try out, then that’s what we’ll do. If you decide it’s not for you, then we’ll buy it right back from you. We’ll even pay for the return delivery.
Of course, we don’t want people to use our stock of vintage guitars like a lending library, so there are some conditions to our satisfaction guarantee: the instrument must be returned in the same condition as when it was sent out, it may not be gigged, dismantled, or in any way modified. You may put strings of your choice on the instrument, but please put our strings back before you return it, unless we agree otherwise. We will pay the return delivery fee in the UK mainland, if returned within 14 days, but unfortunately overseas collection is beyond our return service. Applies to used guitars only.
This is what our customers say:
"I have decided to keep it [the L-50]! It’s rather grown on me, so please cash the cheque and thank you for your patience and fair dealing — it’s been most enjoyable."
Garry W, London
"I need to return your [’54] 175, as lovely as it is, it is not for me."
Michael A, Cambridge
"Completely loving the 175. I've been smashing out the Kenny Burrell licks non-stop! [Want to] settle my bill and also have a look at that 335."
Tom S, Oxford
Is there a VIP list?
Yes. Our customers are our VIPs. We have a good relationship with them and they often recommend us to friends, or send us updates on their guitar collecting and trading.
Drop us a line, ask a question, send an email, join our mailing list.
Are all your amps and guitars listed on the Website?
It takes a while for gear to go through the workshops, be photographed, written-up and listed.
Quite a few items get sold long before they make it to the website.
See also Is there a VIP list? above.
What about guitar repairs?
We specialize in instruments that are 10 to 60 years old. Most of them have been played in that time and will have gathered signs of wear and tear. Some will have had work done. This is perfectly normal and to be expected. In every case we undertake to give you a fair and honest description of an instrument, including its condition, playability and repair history. We can't know everything, but we'll tell you everything we can.
Each guitar is inspected, re-strung and set-up by one of our highly experienced luthiers, who will do any and all work necessary on each guitar to bring it up to a good playable standard, whilst retaining the instrument's originality.
Graham Noden has been our Chief luthier since the start of the business, when he was still operating from a basement below Andy’s Guitar shop in Denmark St. These days Graham, and son Lowell operate from the same basement in Denmark Street, but the shop is no longer Andy’s!
"THAAAANK YOU!!!!!! The guitar has arrived early in the morning, and I can't stop playing, it's 100% what I've been searching for, this is the tone that makes my heart jump!!! You did a great job, the guitar is exactly how described, and your guitar tech is a professional with love for his job." Dirk, Germany
What’s the story with vintage amps?
Each amp we sell has been serviced in the UK.
In every case the original two core power leads are replaced with three core leads so that the amp chassis is earthed. Capacitors, resistors and valves that have collapsed are replaced. Otherwise, we preserve all original features, including 110V power transformers. This means you may need to purchase a step-down transformer.
Original speakers are rather fragile, and in our experience are not suitable for parcel delivery. Therefore, regrettably, amps must be delivered by courier or collected in person.
Do you inspect the individual parts to check for authenticity?
We don’t take our guitars apart. We buy them from reputable sources, sometimes from the original owner or relative. We buy them because they work well as musical instruments, great instruments in fact.
Dismantling them can disturb the mechanics that make it a good instrument, as well as flaking off the finish, stripping old screw heads and more. Early Fender guitars are particularly easy to fake and high values make them very attractive to the counterfeiter. This is the main reason we don’t feature those instruments.
And if you find the tone and volume pots have a different year code, what does it mean? Inventory management and quality control in the factories of old were nothing like the standards we expect today, and it is folly to judge a vintage instrument in that way. Gibson’s attempts at serial numbering show how even that simple process could become inconsistent and obscure.
The history of the piece, the smell, the memories it holds of another time, whether it be a smoky New York jazz club, a California beach bar, or a church in Nebraska; knowing that the guitar was actually there at the time is incredible. This is not a pastiche, this is the real deal. These are not tributes: these are the instruments that defined the sound.
How can I pay?
The easiest and most popular way to pay for your purchase is by bank transfer. Contact us and we will send you our international banking details. We are able to accept payment in most currencies, but you need to check with us first.
You may also pay using your credit card through Google Checkout. With Google Checkout, you provide your credit card details to Google. We get the payment and your address; we do not get your credit card details. Google Checkout is therefore a secure and convenient way to shop online. We add a small percentage charge to all credit card payments.
We accept cash, which may be sent in the UK via Special Delivery, up to £2500 per delivery.
What about packing and delivery?
We know how to pack a guitar for shipping, our customers tell us this a lot.
"I'm very satisfied with my newly purchased guitar. I took a while to remove thanks to the extreme use of bubble wrap, but it was worth the effort. :-)) Thanks justgreatguitars.com" Martin K, Netherlands
"The guitar arrived safely! It was wrapped more carefully and thoroughly than I could ever have imagined and is every bit as wonderful as you described! I'll not be sending this one back;-)
"Thanks for just a great guitar!" Patrick, Essex
We have standard insured rates for UK mainland and most European countries. For all other destinations, including The Americas, we will get a quote for you based on delivery address.
What an amazing surprise on Valentine's Day! The guitar arrived safe and sound - it was wrapped carefully and with love - and it is everything you said it would be! You were a joy to work with. I'll be watching your site diligently from now on for another hidden treasure". Dalis, Texas