Has anyone ever bought from chrisguitars.com?

[Jjango]

http://www.chrisguitars.com/bass.html

They have some interesting stuff, but I always feel a bit iffy about online vendors like this. Anyone have any experience with this website?

TIA

[Spinal Tapper]

Good prices. Seems knowledgeable and has decent pics. I'd trust him - but I'd probably order over the phone or in person as opposed to the website.

[Jjango]

Thanks, Spinal Tapper. It should be noted that if the guy has an address or phone number, it can't be found on the website.

I decided to (duh) do a Google search for "chrisguitars.com" and found a lot of negative reviews – apparently the guy never answers the phone or replies to emails. I think I'll spare myself the frustration.

(sorry for not Googling in the first place, folks – I think I forgot that Google existed for a few minutes)

[ashtray]

Great dealer - pretty straight forward, though tends to "oversell" in the description of the item. His prices used to be in line with private party used gear, but more recently I feel he's bumped it up to "used dealer pricing".

About getting through to him - yeah, it can be a hassle - that's a very common complaint - but if he's got something you want, at a price you like, it's worth the hassle to try to get it. Just don't expect a store, and you won't set yourself up for "instant service" disappointments.

[stevetat]

I bought a CS55P from Chris a couple months ago. He answered the phone every time I called but he can take a while to reply to emails. He welcomes trades and pays a fair value for trade items. If you're in a big hurry to make a purchase, maybe you want to look somewhere else but I'd buy from him again, no hesitation.

[mike_v_s]

Same thing being echoed here. I tried repeatedly to get a hold of him to work out a trade for one of his pedals (priced well at $150). He never responded. After about 2 weeks of trying I sold my 2 bits of trade bait on ebay for triple that and bought somewhere else.

I still check his site. He does get a hold of somethings I have trouble finding and I find the prices pretty good, but the poor communication really turned me off. In retrospect, I did well with my sale, but I wanted the convenience of just trading the crap.

Mike

[fenderx55]

My buddy bought a strat from him a few years ago, he had nothing but good things to say and still visits that site first when he's looking at a major purchase.

[The Eristic]

He's great as long as you can get him. He gets an INSANE amount of email, though, so always call, and call more than once. Excellent trade values, as mentioned before.

[whoatherechunk]

damn. some of the prices on his items are incredible.....

[73jbass]

I've done several transactions with him over the years,and no problems at all.I sent an email the other day,and got a response back in a couple of hours.He's an honest dealer.No worries.