Recent dealing with Avantguard pickguards (BEWARE! Possible SCAM!)

[sal paradise]

I wonder what Tonebomb guitars think about all this.

*replies in 2035*

[Fiddy]

François replied at least apologizing for the delay, citing health issues due to exposure to chemicals used for making pickguards. Mine is still in between of thew manufacturing process.

Too bad, it took you starting up a thread about it..

[Surfysonic]

In May of last year I reached out to Tim at Milkman to have a super crazy custom stereo tube harmonic tremolo (that's for you Johnny) build. He was very upfront about the wait time, and when I inquired he was very honest about it. This item is in transit right now, supposed to be delivered on Thursday. I never felt neglected once.

Those 5 to 10 seconds it takes to answer an email are worth it. Even if it takes 20 minutes to answer them all, it is worth it.

Back to the topic - no customer communication should mean instant death for ALL businesses.

FWIW, I commissioned Tim @ Milkman to build me a custom (I pick the tolex and grill cloth, speaker, etc.) 1x12 cab to match up with my used Milkman Creamer head. Tim was super communicative and a pleasure to deal with. I think he's still a one-man shop? Being a well-regarded boutique amp builder, I totally appreciate his customer service, timely email responses, attention to detail, and of course, his quality builds.

I hate having had to put up the Creamer head & 1x12 cab for sale on Reverb to pay down the old gear debt. Won't break my heart if if doesn't sell.

Looking forward to checking out your incoming custom stereo tube harmonic tremolo build!

[Larry Mal]

François replied at least apologizing for the delay, citing health issues due to exposure to chemicals used for making pickguards. Mine is still in between of thew manufacturing process.

I think it might be time to discuss a refund.

[JONFROMJERSEY]

I purchased a pickguard from Avant Guard this past year. It took longer than he originally told me, and sometimes it took a few days for him to reply to my emails, but I got it eventually and I am happy with it.



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jwlweu ... p=drivesdk

[switchmodz]

Has anyone heard from Francois lately? Unfortunately having the same experience of being ghosted after payment as OP. Paid on Nov 17th. Was told guard was "in the pipeline" and would be shipped around Christmas. Followed up three times, via email starting Dec 17th, then on IG on 28th then again via email on the 31st. Radio silence. I hope he's okay. Strangely he was very very responsive, in trying to secure the sale, prior to payment and even promised to follow up shortly with an outline of the guard on the sheet for me to confirm if I like the pattern but that also never happened. My emails were also coming from a very understanding place, assuring him that it's cool if it's behind schedule, especially through the holidays, and that all I asked was for an honest update and check in. Barring anything catastrophic happening, if delays in production is the reason for avoiding messages from folks who've already paid you...this is inexcusable for a small business regardless of how good your product is. Word gets around fast, and I regret even having to chime in on this thread. By comparison, while I've only worked with Mark from Spitfire a handful of times, he's always been very responsive. I'd like to get my guard, Francois makes lovely stuff that's a bit different from Spitfire and the others, but unsure how to proceed from here as the window of time for a chargeback is limited, especially because he doesn't take paypal, which usually gives you more time to open a claim. What would you do?

[mcatano]

Personally? I would chill.

In the grand scheme of one-off, boutique, hand-made stuff - especially where the guy is making the material from which he makes the actual thing - 6 weeks is nothing. Ordering bespoke stuff always comes with risks. This isn't to say that it's good or bad or anything, it just is what it is.

No one in the history of guitars has ever had a pickguard-based emergency. It honks that he's not great at email. You'll probably get your guard, and I guarantee that it will take longer than you or he wants it to take.

[Fiddy]

He seems to have been quite proficient while trying to secure the sale? Answering an email, takes a few seconds. Dont leave your customers hanging, fuck that!

[Sweetfinger]

No one in the history of guitars has ever had a pickguard-based emergency.

I had to cut some pickguards and overnight them cross country so they could be used in the Boys Like Girls video for "Love Drunk". The shipping was as much or more than the pickguards.

[Nevets]

Building guitars and guitar parts has got to be one of the most dangerous jobs out there. And not just the builders but their families too. So many reports of builders suffering illnesses, of themselves and familites, plus relatives dying constantly. I'd rather be a forestry worker. Seems safer.

[Daitong II]

Building guitars and guitar parts has got to be one of the most dangerous jobs out there. And not just the builders but their families too. So many reports of builders suffering illnesses, of themselves and familites, plus relatives dying constantly. I'd rather be a forestry worker. Seems safer.

It is amazing how thoroughly dangerous it gets post payment. Not to mention the amount of life changing events that seem to happen. Stay safe out there, builders of guitar parts everywhere.

[Wucan]

Personally? I would chill.

In the grand scheme of one-off, boutique, hand-made stuff - especially where the guy is making the material from which he makes the actual thing - 6 weeks is nothing. Ordering bespoke stuff always comes with risks. This isn't to say that it's good or bad or anything, it just is what it is.

No one in the history of guitars has ever had a pickguard-based emergency. It honks that he's not great at email. You'll probably get your guard, and I guarantee that it will take longer than you or he wants it to take.

Nah, this song and dance is very clichê among some operations and frankly guitarists are too nice about being jerked around.

It's the same crap every time. Easy to reach out when they want to take a deposit, radio silence when timelines come up and only when threats of chargebacks and legal action are made will they suddenly become talkative again. As others have snidely remarked, people in the guitar business seem to have unusuqlly high rates of cancer in their families.

Not responding or providing an update when a builder knows deadlines will be missed is completely unprofessional to begin with. Nevermind kicking the can down the road and somehow hoping that buyers are happy that they don't have either their money or the thing they paid for well past the due date with no news.

[switchmodz]

Update: just to be clear, I don't have it out for this guy. I still want my guard. I will ask my cc company whats the latest I can do a chargeback...but if he would just respond I'm happy to patiently wait. My emails have all come from a place of patience and understanding.

That said - just to test my theory I sent a new inquiry to Avantguard using a different email address last week. While it took a few days for him to respond - he did so enthusiastically and in detail, again trying to secure a new sale. Still crickets on trying to reach him from the account I already paid him over $300 from...

How is this excusable behavior at this point?

[andy_tchp]

Update: just to be clear, I don't have it out for this guy. I still want my guard. I will ask my cc company whats the latest I can do a chargeback...but if he would just respond I'm happy to patiently wait. My emails have all come from a place of patience and understanding.

That said - just to test my theory I sent a new inquiry to Avantguard using a different email address last week. While it took a few days for him to respond - he did so enthusiastically and in detail, again trying to secure a new sale. Still crickets on trying to reach him from the account I already paid him over $300 from...

How is this excusable behavior at this point?

It isn't - in any way.

(Apart from the couple of people commenting that you should cut the guy some slack. Pretty easy to suggest when it's not their money down the shitter I guess).

Issue a chargeback with your CC vendor immediately.

And at this point, yeah, I'll go with 'he's a scammer'.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

I‘d use the opportunity of your second email-conversation to ask for an update on the first order and when he doesn‘t reply immediately (well let‘s say within 48 hours, given the weekend) - issue a chargeback on Monday.