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Policies & Legal Page
Birdsong Guitars - Policies 2009
As you may have heard around, we think you deserve to be treated like a brother
or sister from the get-go. We're so honored to be doing what we do and feel so
blessed to be able to do it. In order to keep it that way there are policies we
must go by as we do business... please understand we are a tiny workshop trying
to do something beautiful and meaningful and to offer our best work with
devotion and a sense of purpose. We can only continue to be of service if we
protect our ability to continue to be. This IS our livelihood. So this
document is verbose, but I want to be real with you
about who we are and how we roll and why, candid and honest. I think you, as a potential client,
deserve that. So here are our policies effective January 2009.
1. ORDERING
When you entrust us with the first half payment to begin the build, understand
this is a commitment to have us build you an instrument. You are commissioning
custom work from us and this is how we eat. Your deposit only has wings
enough to fly one way; you get it back as a bass when the deal is done.
Deposits are non-refundable. Believe me, I don't want to keep your money ~ I'd
much rather
build you the instrument you asked for and earn it by my craft. But the reality is I'm
a bass builder not Bank Of America and you can't just line up for withdrawals if the
economy hiccups or the wind shifts. It's not here to give back to you - we've
eaten and bought parts and supplies with it. So we will go all the way together
once we start;
if you're worried you can't afford it, please wait 'til the time is right.
2. WAITING
It takes more time to get to your build than to do it. Most
"boutique" builders will take a year or more... most of ours happen in around 6
to 9 months. Not ideal, but that's the reality. Consider it a mark of quality
that folks want our stuff. I'm always leery of a mechanic that can get you right
in, or an empty restaurant. If that's too long to wait, check inventory and see
what's available for purchase, or close enough that it's up there with a month
or less to go. I try to build for inventory along with the orders.
Sometimes I
can afford more help than others, sometimes - we're human - stuff just comes up
and I can't get in the shop for a few days. I have to fix my car or take care of
some of the other aspects of being in business. Sometimes it all stacks up and
the two builds before you are wild multi-laminate showpieces. Expect longer if
you order something wild or keep changing things - we're fine with it - but we don't rush things. That's foolish around our tools and your
bass.
Cold & rainy keeps me out of the shop ~ remember we don't have a
factory. Humidity slows down finishing. Wood sometimes holds surprises as it
changes from a tree to a plank to a musical instrument. Sometimes it's great stuff, like talking on the phone with someone about
instruments and inspiration, or taking my time taking an order. I try to factor
all that in but really if I could clone myself and have 36 hour days I'd fit it
all in.
The flipside to all this human-ness and individual attention to your
build - and the builds ahead of you - is reflected in the end result, a
unique hand built tool of creation, made by hands doing what they do by choice
because it's a calling and I love this and I love you. Do you want your creative
voice as a player to be such a noble tool crafted by skilled hands with
reverence? It costs money and it takes time. If you can't handle that I'm sure
there's a Guitar Monolithic Incorporated near you full of factory guitars they'll sell you real cheap right now.
3. RETURNING
Every once in a while one of our basses just doesn't work out for a client.
Sometimes it's a little smaller than they expected, sometimes they realize they
couldn't afford it (or the wife has a conniption when it shows up and they say
"eeehhh, just something about it...") but either way we roll right and
a deal is a deal. Up to seven days from when you get it, if you don't love it,
contact us and we'll give you return authorization. We'll refund everything but
the shipping charges - the $40 - $50 it cost us to get it to you, and what it
takes for you to ship it back. FedEx has already eaten that, but usually you're
out less than a hundred bucks.
Once we get it back (in as-shipped condition), we
issue you a check or refund you through PayPal ASAP. I say that because remember
we've already eaten half and probably paid a bill with part of the second!
Don't worry, it's on my
mind 'til it's taken care of. But don't be shocked if it takes a few weeks or we
resell it first.
And no, this is not some scheme to earn a few more cents in
interest on your money like they do in that nutso, sharks-and-minnows fish tank
out there in the "real world." It's just the reality of dealing with
real people's lives. We will make it right by you in any way
we are humanly capable of.
A bunch more stuff is answered on the FAQ page - International orders and their
versions of the above, etc.
Home (or hit the back button to get back, get back,
get back to where you once belonged)
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Birdsong Guitars - Legal Mumbo-Jumbo
So as to suitably cover my posterial region enough to do something as
simple as be a craftsperson in this sordid day and age, and to fend off those
with smiles & handshakes up front but a dorsal fin hidden somewhere,
consider this legal notice that:
All text, graphic
and other content appearing on this site are the property
of The Birdsong Hand Built Guitar Co. ("Birdsong Guitars"), PO box
1745, Wimberley, TX 78676, USA and Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved under
United States and international law. That goes for this page too.
You may view, copy, print and use content
contained on this Web Site solely for your own personal use but you may
not republish or disseminate without permission of Birdsong Guitars.
Nothing contained herein shall be construed as conferring a grant of right
to use any copyright, trademark, patent, or other intellectual property of
Birdsong Guitars or any third party. Text may be quoted in reviews
or for promotional purposes with our permission. By such use you agree to
quote verbatim and proofread the transferred portions for accuracy and
grammar, and not make us look like morons. Pluralizing with
apostrophes, for example, chafes us like you wouldn't believe.
This web site may contain links to or be
accessed through links on other World Wide Web sites of other parties
unrelated to Birdsong Guitars. We have no
responsibility for the content, availability, accuracy, operation or
performance of such web sites. Some are by musicians and old Joe used to
tell me "You mew-sicians is crazy." This Web Site may be unavailable from time
to time due to mechanical, telecommunication, software, hardware and
third-party vendor failures. Well that should go without saying, half the
time I can't even talk to my wife across town on her cell phone! Are you
sure we went to the moon?
Be honest & reasonable with us and we'll be more than
happy to do the same. Can't we all just coexist and get along? This
is ponderous, just ponderous...
Oh, here we go. Reasonable efforts are taken to ensure the
accuracy and integrity of information and related materials provided by
Birdsong Guitars on this Web Site, but we are not responsible for
typographical or other errors appearing on this or on any other website.
Information and related materials are subject to change without notice. Birdsong Guitars reserves the right
to discontinue models, parts and accessories, and other items or change
specifications at any time without prior notice. In
no event will Birdsong Guitars be liable for damages of any kind,
including without limitation any special, indirect, incidental, or
consequential damages even if we have been advised of the possibility of
such damages. Don't assume anything (ASSUME) because then you make an ASS
out of U and ME (ASS/U/ME). See that?
The shock-resistant wiring in our instruments is there to help dissipate
the zap if you ground out due to improperly grounded amps or what have
you. It is a small-value capacitor in-line with the ground wire to the
bridge, in instruments so equipped. It is not a substitute for caution or common sense and no, I repeat NO claim is
made as to whether it will help under severe circumstances! It MIGHT and
that is a good enough chance that we'll put it in there. Most don't even
bother; be grateful we care. But
if the Universe feels you need a good jolt, you'll get one whether
you're playing a nice, safety-minded, pro-designed instrument from
Birdsong Guitars or not. Capisce? Perhaps throw away all those
lawyers' business cards and concentrate on the potential warranty of
just being a good person and accepting that things happen sometimes.
Cope; every accident doesn't entitle you to a cash prize.
The warranty on specific instruments of Birdsong Guitars is clearly
written and stated. No extrapolation or misunderstanding on the part of
the consumer changes in any way the terms and conditions. Birdsong
Guitars will only be responsible for repair or replacement of the
specific instrument as stated where applicable and under no conditions
shall be liable for incidental or consequential damages even if we have
been advised of the possibility of such damages. The warranty doesn't
transfer from the original owner because after it's been passed around
who knows who did what or how it happened. We'll work with anyone with a
Birdsong within reason, but ultimately at our sole discretion... It's a drag that
white
guys in suits have made this world into such a place as we have to
spell all this out in such stiff, corporate language...
what a bunch of schlemiels. Please don't tell me I'm the last person on
Earth to see all this as common sense... I mean I can't be...
Oh well, listen up - you have 1 week approval rights from the time
the delivery person hands off the box at the destination unless the
description of the instrument excluded this. We will gladly
"buy it back" (refund your money) during this time (less PayPal
and shipping fees charged to us) if you are unsatisfied,
provided the following conditions are met: you call us as soon as you
decide to return it, customer pays return shipping with full insurance, and it gets to us in the
same condition as it left our shop: clean & undamaged in any way,
within a reasonable time. And we, within a reasonable time, refund your
money less actual shipping charges to get it to you (we generally included that
in the price) and for you to get it back to us.
If you cancel an order before completion, we reserve the right to NOT
capsize our ship because of it. See explanation above - deposits are non
refundable.
When you place an order, our part of the deal is
building you the absolute best instrument we can and treating you like
the cool folks we are. Your part of the deal is to follow through after
the time we've spent with you, the materials we've put aside, and the
parts we've ordered (yes we know we'll use them, but we just might have
sent in the phone bill with that money instead - we thought we had a sale,
dig? Welcome to small business!) and complete the transaction. I
know stuff comes up, but it does here too. No politician's gonna print
up any cash for us if we can't pay for parts & payroll - that's for
dang sure! There will be no hard
feelings and we'll love you anyway. But Birdsong gets fed. Now back to
the legalese. Can't I just build basses? Do I really have to put all
this here? Sheesh. :/
All instruments sold as new as Birdsongs are warranted for five
years against defects in materials or workmanship. All repairs must be made by us, or through our authorization. The warranty does not cover normal
wear and tear, misuse or abuse as defined by us. Any oil finish will show wear
and this is not covered. Any unauthorized modifications
void the warranty. All warrantee claims must be made as soon as
a problem is detected, failure to do so may result in further damage
which may incur a charge. For other non-warranty repairs and mods, we will provide quick service at a nominal cost.
Diddle diddle dee, wubba wubba wubba. Ipso facto. Tutti Frutti, oh Rudy.
(Yawn).
The Birdsong Hand Built Guitar Co.,
Birdsong Guitars, Birdsong, the
"B" Design, our Stylized Eagle Logo Design, Cortobass,
Corto (Italian for "short") as a name prefix for short scale basses,
Sadhana, Mesquito, Cortobass, Hy5 ("Hybrid 5"), Skyrider, and The
Almighty Omnipotent Weaselbass as model names, the
headstock and body shapes of our instruments, and logotypes are among the
intellectual and proprietary property in the United States and other
countries of The Birdsong Hand Built Guitar Co. Birdsong is a registered
trademark. This is not a
comprehensive list of all trademarks of Birdsong
Guitars. Please respect this and do your thing, not ours. The
DST (Double String Through) feature we use on our 5-string is protected
under United States patent. Please inquire
for licensing of this patent and don't just try to glom it. Cultivate your own original idea... it's a dying art.
All other names and marks mentioned in this Web Site are the trade names,
trademarks or service marks of their respective owners
and used on this site for reference purposes only; we are not affiliated with, owned by, an internet front for, or a
subsidiary of anyone but ourselves, and no association to any other manufacturer
is expressed or implied. Lord help us and save us, I can't believe
I wrote all that just so I can build some guitars without some doofus
suing me for an old bandsaw, some sandpaper and a 74 Dodge. I mean, I'm not responsible if you spill hot coffee in your lap
and it hurts or eat too many snack cookies and get fat, either. It's a tricky world, but
that's life. We
love you and are grateful for your interest. We're certainly not here to screw
anyone... but we're surely not going to sit back and be a threaded hole
either.
Am I done? Can I get back into the woodshop
now?
Geeeeeeez.... :)
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