Terms & Warranty
Building Notes, Terms and Conditions of Purchase, and our Warranty
We added this page to the website to try to answer many of the questions you may have about how we go through the build process, and beyond that to when you have received your completed guitar. Please look the information over and contact us with any questions. We look forward to working with you to build your dream guitar. It's a fun process, though sometimes you'll swear the wait is going to kill you!
Delivery
Currently, our lead time to delivery is 12 months. Weather (especially winter weather), supply availability, or other uncontrollable kinks in the build process can move this time frame either way which requires occasional changes to planned delivery dates.
Payment Options
We accept Cash, Personal Checks, Money Orders, Cashiers Checks, Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, Discover, and American Express. Wire transfers are available for international orders not able to use credit cards. A $25 per-item fee will be charged for any check returned to us unpaid by a financial institution. We welcome your personal check, but it must clear before we deliver your instrument.
Ordering Terms and Conditions and the Payment Process
We have a four-part payment schedule. Upon placing an order, a $1000 non-refundable payment buys you a spot on our building list and secures your price. If you select certain specialty wood sets from our stock, or supplies that will require a special purchase from an outside supplier, or are ordering a harp or double neck guitar, an additional non-refundable amount will be due at this time. The second payment is at build start (1/3 balance), the third payment when the guitar goes into the lacquer booth (1/2 remaining balance), and the final payment upon completion, prior to shipment.
Changes to Your Order
You are welcome to change the configuration of your order up until the point that the guitar goes into production or that item has been added to or customized for your instrument. If you have reserved a premium set of wood and decide at production start not to use that wood set, a restocking fee of 5% will apply.
Shipping/Pickup
All orders are shipped from McCollum Guitars fully insured via Federal Express, unless other arrangements have been made. Normal ship time is 2-day delivery, but may be upgraded to overnight at our discretion, especially during times of extreme weather conditions. We require that all items shipped to us, and shipped from our shop, regardless of carrier, be fully insured during transit. We do not accept liability for items that are sent to us uninsured. All guitars shipped from our shop to California addresses are subject to California Sales Tax in the amount of 7.25%. Exceptions are to dealers with approved resale certificate.
You are welcome to pick up your guitar upon its completion. Please note, though, that all orders picked up at the shop are subject to the California Sales Tax, even if you live in another state or country. Exception being, of course, to dealers with approved resale certificates.
Satisfaction with Your New Guitar
If you receive your guitar and feel that it does not meet your expectations, you may return the guitar to us. Approval period is 48 hours and the guitar must be returned (shipped fully insured) in exactly the same condition that it left our shop. Depending upon why you are returning the guitar, we will either build you another guitar, putting you forward on the build list into the next starting batch, or we will sell the guitar and upon its sale, refund your money, less shipping charges. If you have added inlay or other accessories that we determine must be removed in order to make the guitar saleable to the general public, a charge will be deducted from your refund to cover costs of bringing the guitar to a more standard condition. If there is damage to the guitar that did not occur during shipping, repair charges will be deducted from the refund amount. Loss and/or shipping damage will be referred back to the carrier.
Cancellation Policy
If you decide to cancel your order when we contact you at build start or prior to that time, there are three options available:
1) Cancel the order and forfeit the non-refundable payments.
2) Sell your building position to another buyer and recoup your prior payments from that party, notifying us immediately of any transfer of ownership of the building position with the new buyers name, address, and phone number.
3) Retain your payments by requesting your building position be moved to the end of the list, thereby giving you additional time before the guitar build begins. Pricing will be retained for one move to the end of the list. If you are not ready to build when your name comes up again, you can request to be rolled to the end of the line again, but the pricing on your instrument will be adjusted to reflect the price list in effect at that time. Build position will be rolled two times, after which payments will be forfeited if build does not proceed.
Warranty
McCollum Guitars are warranted to be free of defects in materials and workmanship from the date of purchase. McCollum Guitars will repair or replace, at our option, any McCollum guitar or part thereof which is found to be defective. This warranty is extended to the original purchaser only and is not transferable to any subsequent owners and is subject to the limitations set forth below:
Warranty Limitations:
1) Instruments that have been modified after shipping from the place of manufacture;
2) Instruments whose serial numbers have been altered or removed;
3) Instruments that have been subjected to extremes of humidity or temperature
4) Normal wear or natural cracking of wood or shrinkage of finish;
5) Instruments that have been damaged due to misuse, neglect, or accident;
6) Normal wear and tear to serviceable parts such as strings, tuning gears, frets;
7) Claims from or by anyone other than the original purchaser.
McCollum Guitars reserves the right to use materials regularly utilized or available at the time of repair in the event that original materials are no longer available.
This is the sole warranty of McCollum Guitars. No other written, oral, express or implied warranties including the merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose apply.
Repair Notes
If you are having a problem with your guitar, or have damaged it, please contact us immediately (and first!). We will discuss whatever is going on with the guitar and make a decision on the best way to resolve the problem. We have a number of authorized repair persons across the country, so there may be no need to send the guitar back to our shop.
A Special Note About Humidity and Temperature and How They Affect Guitars
If you live in an area that is extremely humid or very arid, or one that is often changing from very wet to very dry, or hot to cold, you will need to take special measures to insure the well being of your guitar.
We are happy to discuss with you at length, the care and feeding of your guitar. Please contact us for more information.
References
Buying a handmade guitar sight unseen, sound unheard, can be quite intimidating. What if you hate it after waiting all that time for it to be built? If you would like to talk to McCollum customers that have been there, done that, please contact us for referral information.