Frequently Asked Questions

The following FAQ information is available:

Placing Orders

   How do I make payment?
   Can I exchange an item?
   What is your refund policy?
   What warranty do you provide?
   Can I get an extended warranty?

U.S. Shipping Notes

   When do you ship orders?
   Do you backorder items?

International Shipping Notes

   International Orders

Miscellaneous

   How can I contact you?
   Are your products for a left-hand player?
   Why are your prices high?

How do I make payment?

We exclusively use PayPal's shopping cart system because it is secure.
You do NOT need to be a member of PayPal to use its services.
You can make payment using any of the options that are available with PayPal. If you make payment using "pay by check", your item will not be shipped until PayPal confirms that your check has cleared.

Can I exchange an item?

Within 14 days of the purchase date, products that were purchased directly from our website can be returned in unopened and unused condition for a credit in exchange for other product(s) on our website. To return any product for exchange, you need to include a legible request stating the item part number you wish to receive in exchange.

If the desired exchange product is of equal or larger value than that of the item(s) returned, there is no restocking fee and you only pay shipping cost. If the desired exchange product is of lesser value than that of the item(s) returned, a 15 percent restocking fee is applied to each returned item. The amount due (if any) for the exchange item to be received will be sent to you as a PayPal payment request.

What is your refund policy?

The following published refund policy applies to all refund requests.

• Within 14 days of purchase date, you can return your product for a refund. Your returned product must be accompanied by a copy of your PayPal-generated purchase receipt for the returned product or no refund will occur.
• Return shipping is paid by Buyer
• If the returned product is unopened and in new condition, Buyer will receive a refund, minus shipping.
• If returned product has been previously installed, buyer can incur a refurbishing and restocking charge of up to 20 percent of the original purchase price, minus shipping, and is solely based on our assessment of the returned product's appearance. This fee is charged against, and withheld from, your refund amount if we need to spend time and materials to return your item to like new condition.
• If returned product is a KIT that is unassembled and in new condition, buyer will receive a refund, minus shipping. If returned KIT product has been previously assembled in any way - however slight, no refund is possible.
• All refunds are made exclusively via PayPal.

What warranty do you provide?

All AweSome Musical Instruments products purchased directly from our website (www.AweSome-Guitars.com) come with an unconditional 14-day money-back warranty. If you receive a product that is broken or won't work, I'll either take it back and give you a full refund or replace it — at your request. You have my personal guarantee that you never have to worry about being stuck with a defective product purchase. All AweSome products are completely and lucidly described on our website and include adequate product photos. In addition, you are encouraged to ask questions before making any purchase. This means that if the product you purchased is not defective, but it's not what you wanted, it's yours. This is a business, not a government social service agency that addresses buyer remorse issues.

Can I get an extended warranty?

All products purchased directly from our website (www.AweSome-Guitars.com) come with a 14-day warranty. You can also purchase an extended warranty for any/all of our products that contain our "core" Pickup Tone Multiplier^TM switching system boards (either T4-Board, T3-Board or T2-Board products). You can get an Extended Warranty for either one-year or two-year periods, and is only available at the time you purchase the applicable product.

The following published Extended Warranty policy applies to all applicable products.

• You can purchase either a one-year or two-year non-refundable Extended Warranty.
• Extended Warranty is only offered at the time of the original applicable product purchase.
• Extended Warranty only covers Pickup Tone Multiplier^TM switching system boards (either T4-Board, T3-Board or T2-Board products); and if applicable, Potentiometer defects.
• Extended Warranty does not cover customer abuse, alteration or damage due to operation that is inconsistent with either its intended or normal use.
• Extended Warranty does not cover pickguards, control plates, control knobs or pickups.
• Extended Warranty is not transferable.
• We will repair or replace (at our option) the defective product that is covered under the Extended Warranty.
• Original customer is responsible for safely shipping product to our repair facility (our Extended Warranty repair facility address is included with Extended Warranty purchase). Your returned product that qualifies for our Extended Warranty must be accompanied by a copy of your PayPal-generated purchase receipt for the returned product or no action will occur.
• Any/all Extended Warranty work does not roll back or reset the original Extended Warranty time duration.
• You may also have specific additional rights in your state.

When do you ship orders?

Orders are normally shipped within 1-2 business days (between Monday to Friday). We currently only ship using the U.S. Postal Service. Our first class shipping to U.S. addresses includes insurance and delivery confirmation.

Do you backorder items?

Although rare, there are times when we are in an out-of-stock situation for a specific product. This can occur when we have a special incentive or advertising that results in more sales than normal. We ship your order with currently stocked products and your backorder product(s) are shipped when they are in stock.

International Orders

International orders are only shipped using the U.S. Postal Service. We ship to all countries except China, whom we now blacklist because they do NOT have a track record of respecting the property and patent rights of other people on the planet. The piracy of intellectual property by hords of Chinese firms (with the complicit support of their government) has become a HUGE problem to every value producer on earth. Because of this, this company REFUSES to do business with any of the thieves in China. And many other companies are now thinking twice about doing business there. These thieves unlawfully STEAL the creativity of others to make and sell "counterfeit" products.

The government of China routinely suppresses freedom of speech, freedom of the press, internet freedom, freedom to worship, procreation freedom — but say that they are powerless to stop counterfeiting activities in their own country? "Harrow!" Until the government of China changes it's attitude about this problem, it is our firm policy to prevent agents of this evil empire from ripping us off. It behooves the ripoff nation government of China to quickly clean this up if they want to integrate into the global economy. But that's like expecting a hyena to become a vegetarian. "Rots a Ruck." Until that happens, they're just a pack of lying thieves that have no credibility. Warning: If you are located in China, do NOT order from us. If you do, your payment will be designated and accepted as a non-refundable "attonement payment gift" for your decades of theft and counterfeiting. This company does NOT want your business. Go away.

If you're still reading, here's my "Paul Revere" message: There is a disturbing trend that is unfolding before our eyes. There are entire industries in China manned by slave labor that are making and selling cheap clones of Gibson and Fender products (and very soon they will be making clones of PRS, Peavey, etc.) — and boldly stating that they are "Made in the U.S.A." — which is an outright LIE. Further, these thieving criminals are completely avoiding problems with U.S. Customs by offering Free Shipping directly to the customer using DHL or the equivalent Chinese international shipping service. I'm surprised that Fender and Gibson haven't already "locked arms" to conduct a press conference stating that they are suspending payment of any tax to the U.S. Government on the grounds that the elected morons/officials in Washington, D.C. aren't doing their job to PROTECT AMERICAN INDUSTRY from this systematic raping. Yes, Fender and Gibson may have had income, but they've lost more than twenty times as much because of the incompetence of U.S. legislators to protect them from this economic rape. I'm sure that would galvanize other U.S. manufacturers (like Calloway golf clubs) who have been victimized to also say that they are not paying their taxes either. It's time for a good old fashioned tax revolt to let our elected representatives know that they are supposed to be serving us — not the reverse.

But I forgot. I am making an assumption these above-mentioned companies are nimble and agile and want to survive, which appears not to be the case. And barring any major focused and newsworthy "squawking" on their part, they both can fully expect to go the way of the dinosaur within 24 months (yes folks, it's going to happen that fast!) And these aren't the only U.S. instrument manufacturers who will be at risk (can you say Peavey, Parker, PRS, Taylor, Reverend, Washburn plus a ton of other companies?) The evil of it is that ALL of the less-big companies will be picked off one-by-one with the current pack of liberal legislators engaged in their typical response of "Cranial-Rectal Inversion." Further, I see another ENTIRE industry (pretty much all guitar shops) also drying up and blowing away as a consequence of "legislative inaction" by the current crop of inept morons in power. Hey, who's going to buy from the guitar shops when they can get the "same thing" from China for one-sixth the price with FREE shipping to their door? It's an economic reality of the change that is occuring. If you're a Guitar/Bass manufacturer or a guitar shop, when your instrument sales drop to ZERO and your overhead stays the same — that's called "being out of business."

The sad thing is that because none of these instrument manufacturers is politically organized (good luck trying to depend on NAMM, they can't even put on a decent trade show - or is it a guitar show... hard to tell with the mixed message they sent in the summer show). Anyway, all of these instrument manufacturers are going to be washed away by this "yellow tsunami" because their collective yellow "Borg" purpose is to wipe out ALL American Manufacturers and ALL Guitar Stores to become the sole source of musical instruments — something that can easily happen within the next 24 months (all thanks to the incompetent liberal idiots that currently rule. Something to remember when you go to the voting booth in 2012. This arab jerk disguised as a negro is right, we DO need change... a PARTY change.) All of the guitar and bass manufacturers, plus the music stores, will be individually squashed one-by-one because each separate company is too small to prevent this problem. By my count, there are about 250 U.S. guitar and bass manufacturers. If they employ 30 people each, that's about 7,500 families on the unemployment roll. Further, I know for a fact that there are well over 7,000 small Ma and Pa music stores in the U.S. (and I'm not counting all the big-box stores like Sam Ash, Guitar Center, etc.) with each of those stores employing on average 6 people, now we're up to 49,500 families that are unemployed. Add to that the big-box stores with a total of about 1,370 combined store branches - each employing about 20 people and the total number of families that are going to have an unemployed breadwinner is now 76,900.

One practical way to offset this invasion is for U.S. guitar and bass manufacturers to license my PTM switching system products to offer customers something the yellow market cannot provide — More Pickup Tones. Which would you buy? A strat-style instrument with 5 pickup tones, or the same product made in the U.S.A. with my licensed switching system that gives you 76 pickup tones? This is their only practical solution to survive — unless they have a death wish.

How can I contact you?

We are exclusively an online business. We have no retail store, no salespeople and no telephone staff. But we support our customers 100% and are more than happy to answer any of your questions via email. You can use our contact form to send your comments/requests. Emails are answered when time permits during normal business hours: M-F/ 9am-5pm E.S.T.

Are your products for a left-hand player?

We have Hyper-Mod^TM products for both right-hand and left-hand Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazz Bass and virtually all other instruments. All of our products for left-hand players use right-hand pots wired for right-hand use.

In addition, all of our Pickup Tone Multiplier^TM switching system boards and KITS can be adapted for either right-hand or left-hand use.

Why are your prices high?

Unlike the Salvation Army (or the U.S. Government) this business must be profitable. In order to continue bringing people the finest and most revolutionary products on the planet, this company needs to have a survivable positive cash flow. Not only do our dealers make a substantial dent into our profit, but so also do our parts suppliers, production labor, manufacturing vendors, order fulfillment service, manufacturers representatives, advertising expense, substantial patent maintenance fees — as does confiscatory government (who you may have voted into office.) This leaves us in the middle of this 9-way financial erosion just trying to survive enough to grow and thrive. Our price model is based on this cost reality. Serious guitar and bass players are purchasing a "result" and they don't care if it's expensive green cheese — so long as it gives them the resulting additional pickup tones they expect and want. To that extent, our Hyper-Mod^TM products give you this game-changing difference "in spades."

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