I am a musician and also have a small company that designs and builds guitars. We sell a very small quantity and try to offer a lot of guitar for a little money. Most of our customers are happy. Occasionally someone is not so happy. And we resolve these issues very easily 99% of the time. We use EBAY as a form of marketing. Rather than pay $1000's for magazine ads, we auction guitars at pretty big discounts and rely on repeat buyers, referrals,etc. It's worked pretty well over the years and has afforded us the opportunity to expand consistently. So what's up with PAYPAL? I thought you'd never ask!
Let me begin by saying that I used Paypal for years. I've had $1000's 'frozen' while they 'investigate suspicious activity' and forced me to mail them utility bills and copies of my ID. My social security card. My favorite is when they resolve 'buyer complaints'.I remember EBAY closing my account due to some Paypal claim that I owed them $680 for a guitar that was allegedly returned, that we never received! So I ended up paying $680 to Paypal just to be able to use Ebay. That's right, Ebay owns Paypal. And the 2 are in bed together like a meth addicted chickenhead and her strung out coke dealing pimp. Ebay automatically inserts Paypal in all auctions. EBAY HAS BANNED THE USE OF CHECKS AND MONEY ORDERS!!!! ARE THEY INSANE? And by the way, that $680 left a mark on my credit to boot.
Here's the breakdown folks; If you sell something and accept Paypal, grab your ankles because the buyer can return anything, anytime for the full purchase price. All they need to do is claim it is 'not as described'. Do you specify a restocking fee? It doesn't matter. If you spend $300 to ship the item? Prepare to lose that too. Paypal is the judge, jury and executioner of your money. And the only solution is to avoid them.
My inspiration for this posting is a very simple Ebay transaction. I have had far worse experiences and kept using Paypal. I jumped through all the hoops.Why? Because I always felt that Paypal and Ebay went hand in hand. Now I realize that's false.We have stopped using Paypal. Onto the latest installment of Paypal chicanery...
We sold a handmade thinline Tele for $400 which included air shipping(cost us over $100). AFTER he won the auction the buyer started asking a lot of questions. Then he made an offer of $350. Then he started threatening to file a Paypal claim-before he paid! After receiving payment and shipping the guitar we got an email that he was 'bummed' that the guitar had a 'dot' on it. I can't make this up folks...The flame maple top did indeed have a dot in the grain. I've never seen a piece of wood without various specs or dots-it is WOOD! Go look at a $4000PRS. You will certainly find dots all over it! It is impossible not to.
Anyway, he used it for a week or so, well beyond our 3 day return policy. He returned it without authorization, and started the Paypal circus. He requested $350-we countered with $300, which would not even cover our shipping. We also waived our 15% restocking fee which was stated clearly in the auction. He refused and the whole debacle went to Paypal's elite resolution team of monkeys and nimrods. They decided the er buywas entitled to a refund. And they refunded the FULL $400. Now we have a used guitar, and we're out $128 in shipping costs. Even though THE BUYER AGREED TO $350, Paypal decided to shaft us a little extra for good measure. Thanks guys. And we lost $40 in Ebay fees too.
This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Not the $50...It is the fact that they handle millions of these transactions-MILLIONS. They freeze countless accounts everyday. Each of these 'disputes' may take weeks, or usually months to resolve. And they are operating on the legal fringe. They hold your money, offer credit cards, but are NOT a bank.
They have 'investigations' done by their own employees which ALWAYS end in the best interests of Paypal. Imagine being able to hold billions of dollars-the whole while nickel and diming each client. Madoff? Ponzi sheme? Maybe a lot worse. Because NOBODY is getting the big payout here. One more quick story....
My friend Mike sold an Ibanez Jem on Ebay for $1600. It was mint. The buyer paid by Paypal. He received it and filed a claim 2 days later-"not as described". Why? Because it has some grunge on the fretboard. 15 seconds with a napkin would solve this. The guitar was in fact mint-I've seen it. Not a scrath,no wear..But yes, there was some skank on a few frets.
Now it gets interesting...The guy sent the guitar back w/signature required as Mike requested. UPS either delivered it to the wrong house or it was stolen. Mike never got it. But Paypal saw it was 'delivered' and refunded the buyer. This buyer also filed a claim with UPS-and got paid AGAIN.That's right, another $1600.
Mike didn't have enough money in his Paypal account to cover the $1600 so Paypal wiped him out and now has a collection agency on him. He called to say he never received the guitar. He emailed them. All they said was, "That is between you and the buyer".
What would you do? Pay them their ransom or let them wreck your credit? Sue them? A billion dollar company? All we can do is stop using them. Use a different service like GOOGLE CHECKOUT. Yes, another billion dollare company, but one that does not meddle in your life.You can set up a merchant account for about 1/2 the cost of Paypal. And you can use it online or for local sales, even for phone sales. COSTCO has some great discounts. And you can help loosen PAYPAL's stranglehold on small businesses and individuals worldwide.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Story of Raines Guitars
I started playing guitar in 1987. I had just received a black acoustic guitar for Christmas and was to begin lessons shortly thereafter. I was 11 years old and had already been begging my parents to buy me a guitar for years.
I remember my first electric guitar, a black Yamaha with a locking tremolo. I remember my next guitar, a yellow Washburn kc40. I also remember the countless amps and effects. And one thing I remember clearly is that I always felt that these instruments were not a good value. I must admit that I played several Ibanez guitars through high school and they treated me very well. But in general, I always felt like I didn't get what I paid for. It's a pretty big deal when you are washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant for $4/hr and spend $700 on an effect processor. It's a bigger deal if that effects processor doesn't do its job properly.
When I was 21 I discovered jazz and began the journey to learn how to play it. I bought a 335 copy for around $800. It was a nice guitar and sounded good. I bought a Gibson 347-very nice guitar too! Then I bought some Heritage guitars which were also very nice. Of course I would sell the old guitar(s) to pay for the new one(s). This went on and on until I went to a 7 string. My 1st was a cheap Dean, followed by an Ibanez AF207. I then began working with a guitar builder on a custom hand carved archtop. I also placed an order for a custom solidbody at the same time.
To make a long story short, the guitars were good. The guitars were also very expensive and took a very long time to build. And they had some pretty severe issues. I went through this process several times. I would send some guy a lot of money, wait a year or more and receive a good guitar that wasn't worth what I paid for it. I would then sell theses guitars a few months later at a huge loss. I was becoming very frustrated but was also learning a lot about the various characteristics of all types of guitars. I was learning which necks felt great and which ones felt like baseball bats with strings. I was learning about the woods and the build process. I decided to design my own guitar. I figured, nobody knows what I want better than me. I was gigging a lot, practicing 8+hours a day. I wasn't going to let some guy decide what I wanted.
My 1st design was a collaboration with a luthier from the USA. After some quality control issues, I tried something I thought was crazy. A friend recommended we find an Asian factory to make some prototypes. So we went to China and got the ball rolling. We also worked with guitar builders in Mexico and Canada. I can honestly say that 7 years later, the small shop in China has been simply spectacular. We now have what I believe to be the largest selection of 7 string guitars in the world. Our quality has improved incredibly and our prices are now lower than ever.
We have a very simple goal with our instruments,to offer the best possible value. That means you get more than you pay for. It means you finish a gig and don't have a sore hand because the neck on your Raines is sweet as hell and plays like silk. Right now, we have several models of 6 & 7 string guitars which are totally handmade, with graphite nuts, locking tuners,ebony fretboards, beautiful flame top,back and sides, custom pickups and abalone inlay for under $1000. Do these guitars have unique designs and gorgeous finishes? Do they include custom gig bags and shipping? Can you order virtually any custom specs without insane upcharges or lead times? YES!
We also have an incredible custom shop. If you have any requests or modifications we can't handle at the source, we can take care of it here. Anything from intricate custom paint to swapping out electronics, we can do it quickly and for a great price.
And remember, we are all musicians here at Raines Guitars. Our web designer, photographer, techs and even our custom paint specialist are all guitar players. So you can rest assured that your instrument is being handled properly every step of the way.
I remember my first electric guitar, a black Yamaha with a locking tremolo. I remember my next guitar, a yellow Washburn kc40. I also remember the countless amps and effects. And one thing I remember clearly is that I always felt that these instruments were not a good value. I must admit that I played several Ibanez guitars through high school and they treated me very well. But in general, I always felt like I didn't get what I paid for. It's a pretty big deal when you are washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant for $4/hr and spend $700 on an effect processor. It's a bigger deal if that effects processor doesn't do its job properly.
When I was 21 I discovered jazz and began the journey to learn how to play it. I bought a 335 copy for around $800. It was a nice guitar and sounded good. I bought a Gibson 347-very nice guitar too! Then I bought some Heritage guitars which were also very nice. Of course I would sell the old guitar(s) to pay for the new one(s). This went on and on until I went to a 7 string. My 1st was a cheap Dean, followed by an Ibanez AF207. I then began working with a guitar builder on a custom hand carved archtop. I also placed an order for a custom solidbody at the same time.
To make a long story short, the guitars were good. The guitars were also very expensive and took a very long time to build. And they had some pretty severe issues. I went through this process several times. I would send some guy a lot of money, wait a year or more and receive a good guitar that wasn't worth what I paid for it. I would then sell theses guitars a few months later at a huge loss. I was becoming very frustrated but was also learning a lot about the various characteristics of all types of guitars. I was learning which necks felt great and which ones felt like baseball bats with strings. I was learning about the woods and the build process. I decided to design my own guitar. I figured, nobody knows what I want better than me. I was gigging a lot, practicing 8+hours a day. I wasn't going to let some guy decide what I wanted.
My 1st design was a collaboration with a luthier from the USA. After some quality control issues, I tried something I thought was crazy. A friend recommended we find an Asian factory to make some prototypes. So we went to China and got the ball rolling. We also worked with guitar builders in Mexico and Canada. I can honestly say that 7 years later, the small shop in China has been simply spectacular. We now have what I believe to be the largest selection of 7 string guitars in the world. Our quality has improved incredibly and our prices are now lower than ever.
We have a very simple goal with our instruments,to offer the best possible value. That means you get more than you pay for. It means you finish a gig and don't have a sore hand because the neck on your Raines is sweet as hell and plays like silk. Right now, we have several models of 6 & 7 string guitars which are totally handmade, with graphite nuts, locking tuners,ebony fretboards, beautiful flame top,back and sides, custom pickups and abalone inlay for under $1000. Do these guitars have unique designs and gorgeous finishes? Do they include custom gig bags and shipping? Can you order virtually any custom specs without insane upcharges or lead times? YES!
We also have an incredible custom shop. If you have any requests or modifications we can't handle at the source, we can take care of it here. Anything from intricate custom paint to swapping out electronics, we can do it quickly and for a great price.
And remember, we are all musicians here at Raines Guitars. Our web designer, photographer, techs and even our custom paint specialist are all guitar players. So you can rest assured that your instrument is being handled properly every step of the way.
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