CUSTOM ORDERING PROCEDURE for S7G GUITARS:
1- Initial buyer inquiry via telephone, fax, or e-mail form submitted through www.strictly7.com
2- Specific model design and features are discussed at which time an approximate custom order quote is provided.
3- Final discussion/e-mail to solidify all details of the guitar’s specifications is completed at which time 33% of the final price quote must be paid before construction begins.
4- Once the down payment has been received, a written contract detailing all specifications desired by the customer will be mailed to the customer, in duplicate, for inspection and verification all specifications/options have been included. The customer then signs both contracts and returns them to S7G Guitars in the envelope provided. S7G Guitars will sign one copy and return it to the customer.
5- After the signed contract is received, construction of the guitar discussed and verified in the contract will begin. Another 33% payment will be due after the guitar is ready for paint/finish shop.
6- S7G will provide the customer with pictures via e-mail throughout the build process as able.
7- When the guitar is “completed”, the final balance is due before the guitar is shipped. The check is held un-cashed until the buyer receives, evaluates and approves the sale. If the buyer does not accept the instrument for good cause (see refund policy), the final balance check is returned immediately upon receipt of the instrument in saleable condition. And the Return/Refund policy is then implemented.
Returns and refunds:
Since the inception of S7G Guitars we have had 2 instruments refused and had to issue a full refund or commission fee. Indeed, every one of our instruments, aside from those 2 (out of 200+), have met or surpassed buyer’s expectations! However, there will be a time when some aspect of a build just goes wrong, no builder is perfect, and when working with wood, there is room for error; and we know that potential buyers need to understand what our refund policy is, so that they can decide the nature of the potential risks which are indeed involved.
We feel that we risk that the buyer will not be able to pay for the instrument when it is completed, and that we may end up owning an instrument that has an unusual or unpopular design feature that we will find difficult to resell. On the other hand, the buyer is certainly entitled to the perception of a risk that the instrument may not appear in a timely fashion, or even appear at all, or that it will be a disappointment when it does appear. Thus we feel that it is reasonable that these risks be shared between maker and buyer in the following fashion (the following is included in the commission contract):
- If the finished (completed) instrument is deemed to be a disappointment for a clearly articulated and well-defined reason, such as structural problems with the neck, craftsmanship, gross defects in fit and finish (“I don’t know, it’s just not right for me” is not a valid reason), we will cheerfully refund the already-proffered payments in the following manner and under the following conditions:
- Final payment: returned immediately upon receipt of the returned instrument in a saleable condition (note: all shipments to and from the maker must be adequately insured!).
- Second payment: the middle payment made at the time that the instrument was sent to paint/finish shop will be returned in full to the buyer within sixty (60) days.
- First payment: the original commission deposit will be returned to the buyer upon the resale by the maker of the instrument at the originally quoted price.
- If the commission must be cancelled before the instrument is finished (completed) because the buyer or the maker realizes that the buyer is unable to pay either the second or final payments, the following considerations apply:
- The instrument has not been commenced: previous payments will be refunded in full within ninety (90) days.
- The instrument’s construction has already commenced: because of lost opportunity costs, time spent, and materials used, the cost of all labor and materials will be subtracted from the initial deposits made and the difference will be returned within ninety (90) days. Buyers simply cannot cancel a commission which has begun with a demand that the payments be returned immediately and in full.
- If due to illness or accident, fire, earthquake, civil insurrection, etc., the maker himself is unable to complete the instrument, the earlier payments are returnable within sixty (60) days.
Changes to a build in process:
S7G Guitars has been very lenient with making changes to builds in process. However, as S7G continues to grow and commission higher numbers of custom orders, it is increasingly difficult, costly, confusing, and time draining to make changes “on the fly”. So the following policy had to be implemented:
- Once the initial commission deposit has been made and the materials for a build have been purchased and glued up in preparation for machining, any changes to the configuration (i.e. number/type of pick-ups, number of strings, bridge, controls, body design, fret number, headstock shape, scale length, etc.) will incur a $75 fee for every change made. To insure S7G can increase build time efficiency, it is imperative that specs be decided upon at the time of the initial commission deposit. Of course some changes can be made without difficulty, but that will be at the sole discretion of Jim as to whether the changes incur a charge. Obviously, changing the type of tone wood will incur the full cost of the material previously purchased in addition to the new tone wood chosen (unless Jim agrees the no longer requested tone wood is saleable).
- Once the materials are glued and cut, no changes can be made to the build. If the buyer decides to make an entirely new build, then he/she goes to the end of the work docket and the difference in costs will be added (or subtracted) to the new build payments. However, if there is money to be refunded to the customer, this refund will not occur until after the previous commissioned build is sold as outlined in the return policy.
