Customer Support

 

SHIPPING INFO

We prefer to ship your order to the address to which the credit card was issued. In these days of heavy Credit Card fraud, while this may be a bit of a pain, it's in your and our best interest for security. If we absolutely must ship to another location we might make an exception, but we'll need you to call your credit card bank and let them know you need to add a shipping address to your account. They'll do it for you. Often, people need an item shipped to their work address since no one is at home to accept the package. In these cases, the customer will be responsible for an item received at their workplace from the moment anyone signs for it there. In other words, if we ship something to a place other than your billing address on your credit card, make sure you trust the person who will be receiving it. Oh, and by the way... We ALWAYS insure each package.


NOTE ABOUT "FREE SHIPPING": Many items we sell have free shipping. Now, what this means is on these items we will pay for Fed Ex Ground or USPS shipping to anywhere in the 48 Continental United States. Naturally, we can't foot the bill for overnight FedEx to Timbuktu. In addition, if you want something shipped 3 Day Select, 2nd Day Air, or Next Day Air, we will subtract the cost of Ground shipping from the actual shipping price. That ought to be cool. Bear in mind, this only applies to those items identified as having free shipping. If you have any questions concerning shipping, just drop us a line or an email. We'll answer 'em.!

 

 

ABOUT CREDIT CARD FRAUD

We’ll admit it. We were burned once, but we've wised up. If you're one of those dudes who is planning to purchase something with a stolen credit card, here's something you should know. We work VERY closely with both local and state police to make sure you get busted. Fact is, on one occasion we found an individual in Gardena, CA who ordered some gear with a stolen card. As usual, we contacted the card issuing bank to verify authenticity. Once we found out it wasn't authorized by the cardholder to be used, we contacted the local authorities in Gardena. They had us ship an empty box to the individual where they awaited delivery and promptly arrested the dude (actually, even UPS got involved on that one). Rest assured, if you're legitimate, you have nothing to fear. If you’re not, you're on your own. Didn't Mother tell you not to play with stolen credit cards?

 

 

YOUR PRIVACY

We can guarantee you no one hates spam, email, postal mail, or telephone, more than we do. Your name, address, or phone number will never be sold to some freak who’s going to wake you in the middle of the night asking you to try his new pedal in your music room.

 

 

CREDIT CARDS

At Top 40 Guitars, we use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) security to encrypt your personal information as well as your credit card information. For added security, we do not store credit card numbers on our servers. You will have to enter the number each time you purchase something. We think that's better than having your Credit Card or personal information stolen.  For those out there uneasy about online purchases: The internet is actually a safer way of doing business with your credit card than what you probably do every day with your card, such as giving your credit card to a waiter/waitress, or giving it out over a cell phone. How do you think those "pay at the pump" gas stations work...they read the mag stripe on your credit card, then send it over the internet...unless somebody physically steals your card, it's a secure transaction...same here.

 

 

RETURNS

We appreciate your business and are glad you chose Top 40 Guitars for your purchase.  We strive to provide quality, accurate advice and customer service on the front end of a purchase, but we do realize that there are times when a return or exchange may be necessary. Please review the terms and conditions below to help avoid unnecessary returns and ensure that any exchanges or returns are processed in an orderly fashion.

Many of the mainstream "big box" music stores offer extended return policies of up to 60 days.  On the surface it seems like a good thing, but we feel it's more of a disservice to our customers than a benefit. The reason is when things are returned to these stores, they typically sell them again to customers as new.  It's not uncommon at all, unfortunately.  If a previous customer had your tube amp and rocked the neighborhood for two months before returning it to the store, well, then that's two months of life sucked out of those tubes that you won't get.

Personally, we want you to get what you pay for when you purchase from Top 40 Guitars.

In the event a return or exchange is necessary, you must contact us within 5 days from the time you receive your item to obtain a return authorization number (RA) and return shipping instructions.  The RA must be clearly written on the shipping label. Any package sent back without a clearly visible RA may be refused.

Returned merchandise must be shipped within two days and come back undamaged, unregistered and in the same condition that it was shipped out. A copy of the original sales receipt must accompany returned merchandise along with all original packaging, paperwork, accessories, etc.  Any items not conforming to this policy may be subject to a restocking fee of at least 20%.

Refunds will be issued minus all related shipping expenses, even if free shipping was initially given, plus a 3% restock fee (10% for American Express). Restock fees are charged to cover the processing fees charged by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and Paypal.  Restock fees may be waived at our discretion for exchanges, items returned for full store credit, or purchases made by Cashier’s Check or Postal Money Orders.

Exceptions to Our Return Policy

  • Items labeled as BLOWOUT are non-returnable.  These are often being sold below cost and are considered "all sales final".
  • Microphones, Harmonicas, In-Ear Systems and any other items that come into contact with your mouth or ears.
  • Software (this may also include hardware that includes software), unless still in shrink wrap with barcode affixed.
  • Guitar strings, blank media, and other disposable merchandise.
  • Guitar or bass pickups that have been installed or used in any way.
  • Any used gear (no returns unless condition of product was misrepresented on the site or product was damaged in transit and no manufacturer warranty).

 

Special orders require a 50% non-refundable deposit.  Note that special orders are custom built items and cannot be returned to the builder in most cases.

 

 

DAMAGED ITEMS

Merchandise damaged in transit or defective should be reported to us immediately. We will have the merchandise picked up and ship you a replacement right away (USA only).  If a defective item is returned without allowing us to exchange it for you, it will be treated as a "Return" according to the policy above.