really cheap guitars

They could be great for all I know.

But I would be careful of dealing with this guy. He has a couple of guitars up there selling for $5. Shipping is $59.99 and that doesn't include a MANDATORY $10 shipping insurance charge.

Maybe I'm naive. Does it cost $70 to ship a $5 guitar?

But when that shipping is added to a $70 guitar it all of sudden becomes a $140 guitar. You can get one of those at a local music shop. And you can try it out first there.

Just my 2 cents. (If you want my 2 cents shipped, there will be substantial charges incurred)

* edit... sorry.. didn't see that it was $70 total including the shipping. Well then... if you have $70 that's burning a hole in your pocket give it a try. If you don't expect much you probably won't be disappointed. Reading his feedback seems to be a lot of people buying his stuff and liking it. * guess my 2 cents wasn't much worth the 2 cents.

Mike

Clearly, since he's starting his auctions at a penny, and charges basically $70 for shipping and handling, what he's really saying is that he's starting his auctions at $70. (or at least, that's how I approach buying on E-bay).

That said, a $70 guitar.

Are the "off-brands" so bad as to be un-playable, or is it a crap-shoot?

My one-and-only guitar is a "looks like a Les Paul if you squint real hard" pawn shop special that I bought 20+ years ago, and finally got around to learning.
As a beginner, it seems OK, but I don't have much to compare it against.

There are people here that will swear by certain "off brands".

That he doesn't state what brand it is nor show a picture of the headstock there is no way of knowing what brand it is.

My guess, and don't hold me to it, is that you might find the guitar poorly finished. Not just talking about the paint job. The frets might be sharp edged or not sitting right in the fretboard, or not leveled properly. The wiring might be poorly soldered creating static or poping noises when you turn the volume and tone knobs. The tuning pegs/machines will most certainly be very cheap, and the guitar might never stay in tune for very long.

I can't really say.. just listed a few red flags you'll see on very cheap guitars. But I notice from his feedback that some people buy multiple items. I don't know if they are buying to fill their own local shop. I do see that he also sells these guitars in bulk. Packs of 6 for 315 plus 90 shipping. So these might be the off brands that you see in the local shops.

It's your decision. I realize that you are looking for a beater guitar. But for just a little more you can do a lot better. Take a look at Rondo Music at RondoMusic.net at least there you have a return option. Rondo is pretty reputable from what I hear. I've never bought from there but there are people on these boards that have.

Good luck.

Hmmmm... think we're up to 4 cents now.

Michael

In my opinion he charges $5.00 for the guitar and $60.00 for the shipping to avoid paying E-bay and percentage of the sale...

In my opinion he charges $5.00 for the guitar and $60.00 for the shipping to avoid paying E-bay and percentage of the sale...
That's exactly what he's doing. His total price, including shipping, is a little over $60 (he has a couple of "Strats" at $2.00 "Buy It Now") on some items. If you want one, get in quick, because, if anyone complains, the auctions will disappear - ebay get very tetchy if they think they're not getting their pound of flesh (Hmmmm, the RIAA isn't "an ebay company", is it?).