Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
I've recently become a huge fan of Salvador Castillo's work. Everyone i talk to is trying to convince me not to send the deposit(people who don't know who he is but people who see a young white dude trying to buy a guitar from mexico).
did you guys buy your Castillo from him directly? and did you transfer to Western Union with the cash? Has anyone ever had a problem sending money this way? Or has anyone approached him with another way...possibly an insured way of transferring money such as Paypal(insured up to 2,000 usd or so)?
Any opinions greatly appreciated, should i throw down the deposit in this manner or find another builder?
PS. Just assume that buying used is out of the question.
I have used Western Union several times with no problem but once the money is collected by the receiver it's gone...no insurance. They have improved their service quite a bit as I once cancelled a payment and it was a hassle getting a refund but now it's no problem and the money was quickly returned to my bank account. The problem with this builder is he says no returns so you are stuck with whatever he sends you. Navarro has a distributor in Houston and the guitar can be returned if not to your liking. Shipping is very expensive at about twice what it costs to ship a guitar within the US What made you get so excited by this builder? From reading his web page? I can tell you from experience glowing descriptions are not to be accepted at face value. I bought one guitar from overseas, from the UK and had no problems. I also imported a vintage motorbike and was that a hassle!
What made you get so excited by this builder? From reading his web page? I can tell you from experience glowing descriptions are not to be accepted at face value.
A couple reasons: hearing about his instruments on the foro, His guitars are what appear to be concert grade guitars in my price range, and of all the mexican builders...his guitars have the sound that i like. Another builder i like a lot is Tsiorba, but i think they are just out of my price range...maybe sometime down the line.
Castillo has a good reputation and i heard he builds great guitars but i have never played one myself (too far away from europe). Just make sure to mention everything you want and all details when you place your order. Once a guitar is built, its built.
Ok guys, just wanted to let you guys know how it went so if someone else sees this post they can learn from it.
Short version: don't do it through Western Union, They won't do it and you'll have to sit there for 30-40 minutes to get a refund. Ask Salvador for his bank info instead and do a direct wire from your bank.
Long Version: So basically i went to 2 different places Trying to transfer through Western Union(The first place was one i had come to previously that talked me out of doing it right then and there, so the second time i visit sure of myself that i'm going to go through with it they say "we can actually deny our service to people, and that's what were going to do right now", the second place also warned me of the dangers but he finally let me try....story continues next). For whatever reason, maybe the amount of money, maybe the location it was being sent....Western Union will automatically flag your order, put it on hold and then you'll have to call customer service just to have them tell you that they won't do it. But at least you will get a refund right on the spot...and i hope the issue doesn't come up again but i believe we settled it there.
So basically i have talked to Salvador and the only and best way to do it is a direct bank wire(which i would have done in the first place if i knew i could do it that way)....he has since given me his bank info. The direct bank wire is what i was told at one of the places i went to, and also the customer service guy as the "safest" way to send money(which should be obvious haha). To at least ensure that the money gets to the right person...weather i end up with a guitar after all this is another question...but i do believe Salvador is a trustworthy guy. Also many people on the forum have ordered guitars this way without a problem. So i will try a direct wire from my bank, if they won't for whatever reason then i'll have to give Beau a call and pay his extra fees($600 -700).
You could have transferred the money at Western Union online and the receiver would need a government issued photo ID to collect the cash. You would need the exact name on the ID and would get a transfer number which you would give to the receiver which he would have to have along with his ID to get the money. Really very simple. But if the receiver doesn't have an ID it won't work
But given the wild west situation down there walking around with a bunch of cash isn't such a good idea and the bank transfer the best way.
RE: Buying a Castillo Safely? Or any... (in reply to aeolus)
@ aeolus
quote:
You could have transferred the money at Western Union online
That might have been better but i think they still would have had an issue because i believe the place i went....they were basically just filling out the information online for me. As soon as he sent it, something came up saying the transaction was on hold and to call customer service. haha. Yeah about the cash thing, it was intense...i could have easily been stabbed right there by a few, definitely shady characters buying their lotto tickets.
Printable Version
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread