Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, please consult with an authorized Gibson Custom Dealer for information on our Made to Measure custom order program.

Unfortunately, Gibson Repair & Restoration provides quotes for non-warranty repair & restoration services for customers in North America only at this time. If you have a warranty inquiry, instrument identification, or parts request please direct your message to Gibson Consumer Care at 00800-44427661 or Service.Europe@gibson.com.

Currently, our manufacturing facilities do not offer in-person tours. For an in-depth look at what goes into making every Gibson guitar, please see our award-winning video series “The Process” on Gibson TV.

Founded in 2002, Gibson Gives is committed to making the world a better place for children by creating, developing and supporting programs and other non-profit organizations in their efforts to advance education, music and the arts, the environment and health & welfare causes.

If you feel your program would make a good partnership or you have a cause that you feel we should consider for support, please visit Gibson Gives.

Yes, and there are many advantages to buying direct from the manufacturer. Most of our products are available to purchase direct from our website. Please see Online Store Policies for questions specific to purchasing direct.

We are obliged to collect VAT in all EU countries. All prices on our web shop include VAT at the relevant local rate (in Ireland 23%). During checkout the applicable VAT value and any other charges will be shown.

Yes, and we encourage you to register your Gibson product at our Warranty Registration page.

For information on dating a serial number, please see our Serial Number Guide.

Identifying a particular model/variation can be difficult; please send the following information to Service.Europe@gibson.com to assist us in identifying and/or dating your instrument quickly and accurately.

• A complete description including the serial number and any other information written on or inside of the instrument.

  
  



• Any information relating to the known history of the instrument (such as when and where purchased, any known repairs or modifications made, etc.).

  
  



• Photos of the instrument - full front, full back, as well as close-ups of the front and back of the headstock, also of any inside labels that the instrument may have.

  
  

Please visit our Dealer Locator.

After completing your purchase, we will send you a confirmation email with all the details to the address that you provided during the checkout process. It’s not possible to make any amendments to the order after this time after the order has been placed.

If you wish to cancel an order, please get in touch with the consumer support team within within 24 hours of placing the initial order. You can contact us at 00800-44427661 or Service.Europe@gibson.com.
We work hard to ship orders as fast as possible, so it may not always be possible to cancel an order.

If you require warranty service in Europe, please contact our Consumer Service team at 00800-44427661.
For our full warranty terms and conditions please visit "Warranty Registration", or you can contact our consumer care team on 00800-44427661 or Service.Europe@gibson.com.
Our warranty comes in addition to your legal rights and does not in any way limit such rights.

When contacting Gibson in writing you should include a complete description of the problem. If non-warranty work is recommended, a quotation will be issued and you can approve it before any work is done. We appreciate a prompt communication here to avoid unnecessary delays. It is not necessary to purchase non-warranty work in order to obtain service on materials that are covered by the warranty.
Subsequent to inspecting an instrument upon arrival, Gibson or the authorized Gibson Warranty Repair Center will advise you when the work will be completed. The repaired instrument or part will be returned to the to you, freight collect and insured.
If we conclude that there is question of a defect that is covered by our warranty then we will:

• Proceed with replacement by an equivalent product, where possible; or


• if replacement by an equivalent product is impossible, offer you an equivalent alternative replacement product; or


• proceed, with close communication with you, to repair.

If we reach the conclusion that a product that you returned to us is actually not damaged or defective then we will return it to you and you could be charged the additional costs for the return of the product. If this happens, we will confirm this to you by email.

If a product that you received from us is not the product that you ordered, then we kindly request you to inform our customer service immediately. We will arrange the pick up the incorrectly delivered product and deliver the correct product to you or repay the purchase price and potential delivery and return costs to you where the product is not available.

No representative or other person is authorized to assume for Gibson any liability except as stated above. For further information contact:

Gibson Europe B.V.
Smallepad 15
3811 MG Amersfoort - The Netherlands
Tel: 00800-44427661 or 00800-4GIBSON1
E-mail: Service.Europe@gibson.com

Please refer to the following guide for tips on how to safely pack your instrument for shipping.

Shipping is free of charge for orders over EUR 50, -.

If you order less than EUR 50, - you only pay an additional EUR 5.95 for handling and shipping costs.
For all orders, except for deliveries by post, a signature is required upon delivery.

Orders placed before 1:00 PM Monday - Friday will be processed the same day. Orders after 1:00 PM will be processed the following working day. Orders placed after 1:00 PM on Fridays, during the weekends or bank holidays will be processed the next working day.

We want to be sure that your instrument arrives in mint condition. Before we send the instrument we inspect it extensively and if necessary, we make adjustments. Sometimes this process can take a little while, and in these cases the order could see a delay in shipment. There are no exceptions to this.

Delivery times for Europe

Unfortunately, we’re not able to offer appraisal services at this time.

We do have an extensive archive of schematics and wiring diagrams at our disposal. Please contact us at on 00800-44427661 or Service.Europe@gibson.com. If it’s available, we will be happy to send you a copy.

The Gibson Warranty is extended to the original retail purchaser only and may not be transferred or assigned to subsequent owners.

For the most accurate up to date information regarding your order, please contact the dealer with whom you placed the order and they will be happy to provide a status. If you placed an order directly from our website, please contact our Gibson Consumer Care at 00800-44427661 or Service.Europe@gibson.com.

This is known as “finish checking.” This is a result of the instrument being subjected to a rapid change in temperature or humidity. In most cases it happens in winter when a chilled instrument is exposed to warm air. The cracks are a result of the wood expanding faster than the lacquer. Since we have no control over the environmental conditions surrounding the use of the instrument, unfortunately we cannot cover this type of situation under our warranty.

The tarnish on hardware occurs due to a reaction between the plating and moisture, either in the air or from perspiration. Keep in mind that all hardware will tarnish eventually - it is not a sign that your hardware is "cheap." In some areas there is low moisture content (humidity) in the air so the tarnishing process will be slower, but it will eventually happen. You can slow down the tarnishing process by wiping down the instrument every time you play it. This one step will add life to the hardware and slow down the tarnishing process. Also, make sure you store the instrument in its case to help protect it from exposure to high humidity levels in the air.

You can use the following payment methods: American Express, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, Visa, iDeal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Sofort and Klarna.
Currently we do not accept multiple payment methods.

How can I pay with Apple Pay?
To use Apple Pay on the website, you must be using Safari, signed in to your iCloud account, and add a debit card to your Wallet.

Buy now, pay afterwards with Klarna
Based on the destination country and the transaction amount, your purchase may qualify for monthly financing or 3 interest-free payments with Klarna. You also have the option to order something now and pay later.
Klarna is an external payment provider that sends you the payment data as soon as your order has been shipped. See the Klarna website for more info: https://www.klarna.com/ie/.
If you have ordered your return item(s) via Klarna, the refund will be handled directly by Klarna.

Sofort
SOFORT is a delayed notification payment method, which means that funds are not immediately available after payment. Typically, it takes 2 to 14 business days for a payment to be confirmed, this is beyond the control of Gibson. Once the funds transfer, an order confirmation email will be sent your way.

If you receive a damaged or defective item, please call our Gibson Consumer Care at 00800-44427661 or Service.Europe@gibson.com.

Click here to view Gibson’s privacy policy.

In our constant effort to stand by our consumers, protect them, and bring them the finest products in the world, Gibson takes a firm and aggressive stance against all makers of counterfeit guitars and their distribution channels.

If you suspect a guitar advertised on a non-Gibson website is counterfeit you can use our counterfeit reporting form to submit the URL along with your comments for our team to review.

If a guitar is being sold for a fraction of what it would typically sell for, it is likely not a real Gibson guitar. The best way for consumers to protect themselves against fraud is to purchase your Gibson guitar from an authorized dealer. You can also contact our  Consumer Service team at 1-800-444-2766 for any inquiries or advice. We strongly urge all consumers to be careful and aware of this worldwide issue.

Stand damage occurs when the chemicals in the rubber used on many guitar stands reacts with the nitrocellulose lacquer used to finish our instruments. It can range from a slight discoloration to the finish, to actual "eating away" of the lacquer topcoat. Unfortunately, this situation is not covered under warranty. The safest way to prevent this from happening is to cover the rubber parts of your stand with a soft cotton cloth (we recommend using guitar polishing cloths). Guitar stands should only be used to “temporarily” store your instrument, such as at a gig. The safest place to store your instrument is in its case. Please also note that many clip-on tuners may also damage nitrocellulose lacquer.

We offer the following warranty on our product offerings:

Instruments:
Please visit "Warranty Registration" to register your instrument and review the warranty.

Strings:
Warranty expires 30 days from invoice date.

Instrument care products:
Warranty expires 30 days from invoice date.

Accessories:
Warranty expires 30 days from invoice date.

Parts:
Limited lifetime warranty for manufacturing defects.

Pickups:
Limited lifetime warranty for manufacturing defects.

Clothing:
Warranty expires 30 days from invoice date.

14 days right of withdrawal:

In alignment with consumer law, you can, without stating reasons, revoke the agreement with Gibson up to 14 calendar days after you have received the product (or in case multiple products were ordered that were shipped via several shipments, 14 calendar days after you have received the last shipment). You do this either by filling out the standard template for exercise of the right of withdrawal, which you can find here, or by sending an email to our customer service department.

For more information on the right of withdrawal, please see article 6 of our General Terms and Conditions.

Additional return policy:

In addition to your right of withdrawal, we offer you an additional return policy. If you are not 100% satisfied, you can also return the product after the right of withdrawal lapses and up to 30 days after you have received the product (as mentioned in article 7 of our General Terms and Conditions). We will assess the state of the product once we have received it back.

The following assessment criteria are applicable:

Instruments: Must be in brand new, original condition and must not show any signs of wear and tear, including, but not limited to scratches or damages in the housing or collateral materials. Instruments must also contain all original packaging, cases, manuals, warranties, certificates and accessories that were included with the original delivery.

Strings:
Are only accepted if they are returned in an unopened original packaging

Accessoires: Belts, etc., must not show signs of use, and should be returned in its original packaging

Parts, Pickups / Elements: Must not show signs of use, and should be returned in its original packaging

Clothing: May only be returned unworn and in new condition, and should be returned in its original packaging

Amplifiers and pedals: Amplifiers and pedals must be in brand new, original condition and must not show any signs of wear and tear, including, but not limited to scratches or damages in the housing or collateral materials. Instruments must also contain all original packaging, cases, manuals, warranties, certificates and accessories that were included with the original delivery.

For more information on the additional return policy, please see article 7 of our General Terms and Conditions.

You can call our Customer Service staff via 00800-44427661. They will then help you with the return process. Of course, you can also send an e-mail to Service.Europe@gibson.com.

Depending on the condition of the product, we will assess whether we can proceed with a refund. The costs of returning the ordered products to us are at your expense. Refunds will be processed as soon as we can confirm that the condition of the returned item(s) meets our requirements.
If after receipt and quality control we observe that the product does not meet the criteria mentioned above and/or has damages, then we reserve the right to not accept the return, or instead, if we need to proceed with repair and/or replacement of components in order to render the product commercially marketable again then any and all costs deriving from this shall be at your expense. They shall be deducted from the repayment of the purchase price. We shall inform you of this and confirm the costs to you by email.

We ask you to send a copy of the invoice in all cases, so that we can process the return.

Payment methods are not charged until ordered items are shipped; however, you may see an authorization charge for the amount of the order. The pending amount should be removed from your account within 7 to 30 days (depending on your bank). Debit and bank check cards may reflect a deduction of funds immediately upon order but will be returned once your bank processes the cancellation. We recommend contacting your bank for questions regarding authorization holds.

Unfortunately, this is not possible. We currently only ship our products to (a limited number of member states of) the European Union, please see article 5 of our General Terms and Conditions. You can however always contact our local dealers outside the EU.

See also: Dealer locator