Buying a guitar is one of the most fun things you can do and forums are littered with questions about the topic.  This guide assumes you know what guitar or type of guitar you are looking for.  The next step is how to find it.  There are two broad options to buying a guitar:

1. Face to face - eg a specialist music shop, second hand store or a private sale

2. Remotely - eg. an online music store, eBay, a forum buy and sell.

This guide deals with the second scenario only.  Buying a guitar without meeting the seller or touching the guitar requires a significant leap of faith on the part of the purchaser.  Guitars are often emotional purchases and the stress associated with an on-line transaction can be significant.  I have experienced this first hand having bought 7 guitars remotely. 4 on ebay and 3 from shops. Five have been imported from USA to Australia, one from Japan and one from another Australian State. In each case the transaction went smoothly and the guitars were better than I anticipated  except for one which had more dents than I expected and a non genuine tone pot on a Strat.  This may not seem important but the non-genuine tone pot was not the same length as the origianl so a Fender strat knob will not actually fit.. Oh well it still sounds good.  Buyer beware.

Jedistar view on guitar valuations

Trust

The number one issue is whether the seller is real and going to complete their end of the deal.  The first time I bid for a guitar on ebay I did not win the auction but received a second chance offer from someone in France.  This was a little suspicious as the guitar was located in Sydney, Australia.  eBay has done much to reduce this sort of risk by hiding the names of bidders from fraudsters. Look elsewhere for eBay buying tips but as a simple rule - never buy from anyone with feedback of zero.  To be frank I would be very reluctant to buy a guitar from someone with feedback less than 30, has been a member for a few years and has a good record as a seller, not just as a buyer. Beware. The only exception to a zero or low rank ebayer is for a COD item.

Jedistar learnt a valuable lesson about eBay recently with a near shilling experience.  For those of you who have not been shilled you may be interested in this.

Don't forget the exchange rate

It seems obvious but if you are buying a guitar from another country you need to consider currency exchange. The Australian dollar can move wildly against the US Dollar, UK pound and the Euro so you must watch it closely. There are a number of potential sources of currency exchange values eg xe.com. I have no affiliation with that site or any other referred to here. Note as the rates change constantly, the actual rate you pay is most likely to be the one on the day of the payment - not necessarily the day you agree to buy the guitar.  There may be delays between agreeing to buy the guitar and then agreeing on shipping charges.  A lot can happen on the foreign exchange market in a week.

Payment and margins

Expect to be disappointed with exchange rates.  You have no choice but to use an intermediate financial institution to process the payment and each will bite you.  Some will bite more than others.  They will give you a worse rate than that published and they may also charge a percentage for the pleasure of using the service.  1.5% is a common fee over and above the built in margin on exchange rate.  Choose your credit cards wisely.  I prefer to pay via credit card over the phone if dealing with a store in the USA.  I have a Mastercard with NO fees for international transactions which I got specifically for this purpose. It saves me 1.5%.  PayPal is a very flexible and secure way of paying but the fees for the seller on eBay are terrible so sometimes you may be asked to pay extra for a PayPal transaction.

What if you want to buy from an eBay seller or a store that will not ship outside USA?

There are a number of services that will provide you with a US delivery address and then on-forward to an Australian address.  Examples are Shipitto | vPost | comGateway | MyUSShopnShip | MyUS . Note if you are buying from eBay and using Paypal - I am pretty sure Paypal will not let you change the delivery address to another country.  So you might have to work another plan - and lose your Paypal protection.

Shipping charges from USA to Australia

The key message is to shop around.  There are a number of options and many sellers will use Fedex or UPS as a first preference as they give good local USA deals.  They are not the cheapest way of getting a guitar to Australia.  In my experience the best value shipper from USA to Australia is United State Postal Service or USPS. NOT UPS! I cannot say this loudly enough!.  My history of importing guitars to Brisbane with USPS is as follows:

PRS Singlecut (27.5 pounds) October 2006 from Cleveland, Tennessee - $163.25 USD

Fender Stratocaster from California November 2006 - $175 USD

Fender Stratocaster from Louisiana July 2009 - $171 USD per below picture and my most recent shipment July 2010 was a Strobel Rambler travel guitar from Florida.  Russ Strobel got some quotes from UPS for me but they were absolutely ridiculous - as in $300.

USPS provides excellent value provided the package dimensions are within the following:

Total Length and Girth combined may not exceed 108 inches (274.3 cm)

Individual dimensions must not exceed:

Length - 46 inches (116.8 cm)
Width - 35 inches (88.9)
Height - 46 inches (116.8)
Weight may not exceed 70 pounds (31.75 Kg)

I do notice, however, that a number of eBay sellers are charging only $120 USD shipping a Les Paul guitar from USA to Australia.

Here is my most recent example of Track and Confirm email delivery timeline with USPS  - I collected from the post office the afternoon after delivery was attempted at an empty house.

Service Type: Express Mail

Shipment Activity        Location                               Date & Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delivered Abroad         AUSTRALIA                           07/20/09  4:27pm

Attempted Delivery       AUSTRALIA                           07/20/09  3:23pm
Abroad

At Foreign Delivery      AUSTRALIA                           07/20/09  6:28am
Unit

Out of Foreign Customs   AUSTRALIA                           07/19/09  2:18pm

Into Foreign Customs     AUSTRALIA                           07/19/09 10:43am

Arrived Abroad           AUSTRALIA                           07/19/09 10:43am

International Dispatch   UNITED STATES                       07/16/09  8:16pm

Arrival                  UNITED STATES                       07/16/09  8:16pm

Processed through Sort   SHREVEPORT LA 71102                 07/15/09  7:02pm
Facility

Acceptance               NATCHITOCHES LA 71457               07/15/09  8:29am

Reminder: Track & Confirm by email

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Apart from cost there are other advantages of using the post.  For goods under $1,000:

Imported goods arriving by post will be released duty and tax free by Customs for delivery direct to the addressee.

Imported goods arriving otherwise than by post will require the completion of a Self Assessed Clearance (SAC) declaration before clearance from Customs control.

For goods over $1,000 SAC declaration is required in all cases.

Insurance

This is optional. Shippers may have a basic level of insurance - check to see and upgrade if you feel it is worthwhile.

Customs charges and import duties Australia

Questions on this topic are often asked on Australian Guitar forums.  The Customs information is available here for you to review. 

From the customs web site:

All goods (except for tobacco products and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if their value is $1,000 or less. Note NOT including the shipping cost.

So, import duties and fees are payable if the item cost is greater than $1,000 AUD. 

Then there are 3 potential types of charges:

Customs Duty

Goods and Services Tax

Processing fee - around $50

Value of goods	Value of shipping and insurance	Customs Duty	GST	Processing fee
$1,000 or less	not applicable	nil	nil	nil
$1,001 or more = X	Y	5% of X for most countries. Not payable for goods Made in USA due to the free trade agreement.	10% of (X +Y) Payable on all items	Yes. ? $35-$50

So in summary, in addition to the cost of the guitar you may need to budget for:

Foreign exchange margin

International credit card charge

Shipping cost

Insurance

Customs duty (from some countries)

Goods and Services Tax

A processing fee.

Good luck.

Remember the cheapest way of shipping a guitar from USA to Australia is United States Postal Service.  Do not use Fedex or UPS if you have a choice. Update as of 1 Janary 2010 both USPS and UPS have increased their shipping rates.

Here is a link to the USPS price guide by weight.  The most expensive option is Global Express Guaranteed (1-3 business days) with Express Mail International (3-5 business days) and Priority Mail International (6-10 business days) are significantly cheaper.

Footnote courtesy of Kim Porter, Just Guitars Australia 25/1/2010

1. Not all US post offices enforce the size restrictions, so it can be possible to have a guitar in a hard case shipped USPS. I've had a dealer in the US knocked back at their usual post office, only to try at another one nearby, where the "oversize" box was happily accepted. Apparently, if an item is accepted across the counter, USPS is obliged to deliver it!

2. This won't apply to everyone, but shipping two or more guitars in the one box dramatically reduces the shipping cost, regardless of carrier.

3. Basses do not incur a customs charge, (GST, but no 5% customs).

4. Most of the bigger dealers, (Elderly, Sam Ash Custom, Gruhn, etc), get massive volume discounts from FedEx and UPS, making them just as affordable as USPS. I think the top discount is 60%, which means I can have a Strat or Ric, in a hard shell case, delivered here in about four days from New York, for US$150! (This compares with smaller dealers receiving FedEx/UPS quotes to Australia of US$500 - $700!!!!!)

5. The neck-off option. If a guitar has no case, or just a gig bag, get the seller to unbolt the neck and send it that way. The box only needs to have the flat dimensions of the body, with the (diagonal) length of the neck. A gig bag doubles as packing material. A guitar sent neck-off generally maxes out at about US$65.