Nowadays, guitars are one of the most popular musical instruments in the world, and their popularity is only increasing day by day.
There are a lot of places where you can buy guitars, but not all of them are created equal.
Quality, price, and customer service are just a few of the factors that you need to consider when choosing a guitar store.
To help you out, I’ve put together a list of the best places to buy guitars online.
I’ll also give you a few things to keep in mind when making your purchase so that you can get the best possible deal.
So, without further ado, let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Best Online Guitar Stores
1. Brand’s Official Website
First and foremost, when you’re looking for the best place to buy a guitar online, you’ll want to check out the brand’s official website.
This is especially true if you’re looking for a high-end guitar because you’ll be able to find the best prices here.
In addition, most of the time, buying directly from the brand’s website will give you the best customer service experience.
On top of that, you’ll also have a larger selection of guitars to choose from and when it comes to quality, you can be sure that you’re getting the real deal.
Also, warranties are usually honored much better when you buy directly from the source.
2. Guitar Center
Guitar Center is one of the biggest and most popular guitar stores in the world.
They have a huge online presence and they offer a great selection of guitars at all price ranges.
When it comes to customer service, I’ve never had a bad experience with Guitar Center.
They have a great return policy and they’re always happy to help you out if you have any questions.
Although, just like with any other big store, once they have more than one location and a lot of clients, quality can sometimes drop.
So, depending on your location, your experience with may vary, but overall, it’s easily one of the best places to buy a guitar online.
3. Sam Ash
Sam Ash is another big guitar store that has an excellent online presence.
They’ve been around for a long time and they’re one of the most trusted names in the business.
Just like Guitar Center, Sam Ash offers a great selection of guitars at all price ranges and from all the top brands.
The customer service is also excellent and they have a very user-friendly website.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is to ship internationally, you might have to undergo some extra steps such as reaching out personally to customer service.
But even then, they’re always happy to help and they offer great prices on shipping.
4. Amazon
Some people might not like that I’m including Amazon on this list because it’s not a guitar store per se, but the truth is, they actually have a pretty good selection of guitars.
In addition, the prices are usually very competitive and they offer free shipping on most items.
The customer service is also excellent and they have a great return policy on anything that you buy from them.
One of the only downsides is that you might have to do a bit of digging to find the guitar you’re looking for because there are just so many products on their website.
But Amazon is not the most used online store for nothing, they’re definitely one of the best places to buy a guitar online.
5. Sweetwater
Sweetwater is an online guitar store that’s specifically geared toward musicians.
The company was founded by musicians in 1979 and they know exactly what their customers are looking for.
When you visit their website, you’ll be able to find a wide range of musical instruments, but they also have a great selection of guitars.
The customer service is excellent and they offer free shipping on most items as well.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that I’ve found their prices are a bit on the high side.
Although, this is not the case with all of their products and if you’re looking for a high-end guitar, they definitely have some great options.
6. Musician’s Friend
Musician’s Friend is an online guitar store that offers a wide range of musical instruments and gear.
For those that might not know, Musician’s Friend is actually owned by Guitar Center.
So, if you’re looking for a great selection of guitars at all price ranges, this is definitely the place to go.
It’s hard to tell whether the products in their store are better quality than what you would find in Guitar Center because they’re both owned by the same company.
I assume the quality is the same, and that they’re shipping from the same warehouses.
Overall, Musician’s Friend is a great online guitar store and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re in the market for a new guitar.
7. American Musical Supply
American Musical Supply is another excellent online guitar store.
They’re a privately owned company that’s been in business since 1986 and they have a great reputation.
Based in New Jersey, they offer free shipping on most items and their customer service is excellent.
Aside from guitars, they also sell a wide range of other musical instruments and gear, including basses, keyboards, drums, and more.
Their presence in the musical community is also fairly strong and they offer free extended warranties on a lot of their products.
If you’re looking for an online guitar store that’s reliable and has a great selection, American Musical Supply is yet another option worth checking out.
8. Reverb.com
Reveb.com has been around since 2013 and it’s quickly become one of the most popular online guitar stores.
The company was started by a group of musicians who wanted to create a better way to buy and sell musical instruments.
As for their website, it’s very user-friendly and they have a wide range of guitars available.
In addition, if you’re especially looking for used or unique guitars, Reverb.com is definitely the place to go.
The prices are also very reasonable and they offer a lot of deals on their website.
9. Zzounds
Zzounds is an online guitar store that offers a wide range of musical instruments and gear.
They’ve been in business since 1996 and have had a lot of experience dealing with musical instruments.
As for their guitars, they have a wide range available from a lot of brands.
The prices are also very reasonable on these instruments and they offer great shipping options on most purchases.
One thing that sets Zzounds apart from some of the other online guitar stores is their Play as You Pay financing program.
With this program, you can finance your purchase over time with no interest if you pay it off within a certain period.
Most orders over $79 qualify for this financing program, which makes it a great option if you’re looking to finance your purchase.
10. Adorama Music
Adorama Music is a section of the Adorama website that’s dedicated to musical instruments and gear.
As a whole, Adorama is primarily known as a camera store, but they’ve actually been in the musical instrument business for many years.
They offer a wide range of guitars on their website, and they have multiple other categories of musical instruments as well.
From ukuleles, mandolins, and resonator guitars, to banjos and harmonicas, Adorama Music has a lot to offer.
I also didn’t find their prices to be too bad, especially considering the quality of some of their instruments, and their website is very well organized.
11. Elderly Instruments
Elderly Instruments is a musical instrument store that’s been around since 1972, and even though they’re not the biggest store around, it’s definitely worth mentioning them.
The company is family-owned and operated, and as you can see from the year it was founded, they have a lot of experience in the musical instrument business.
On their website, there’s a wide range of instruments, including of course guitars.
Anything from used to vintage to new guitars can be found here, and they’re all very reasonably priced.
Many different brands are also available on the Elderly Instruments website, so it’s easier to compare and find the perfect guitar for you.
12. Thomann
Thomann is a German musical instrument store that was founded in 1954, making them one of the oldest stores on this list.
The company started as a mail-order business and eventually grew into the online store that it is today.
Thomann offers a wide range of musical instruments on their website, but they’re especially well-known for guitars.
On their website, you can find electric, acoustic, and classical guitars from a wide variety of brands.
Additionally, Thomann has an excellent return policy, which is always a plus.
13. Music & Arts
Music & Arts is one of the largest musical instrument retailers in the United States and specializes in band and orchestra instruments, guitars, keyboards, sheet music, and accessories.
The company also provides musical instrument repairs and private music lessons.
With its retail locations, Music & Arts is a convenient option for those looking to purchase a guitar.
They have brands such as Fender, Gibson, Yamaha, and Martin available for purchase.
In addition, Music & Arts offers a 30-day price match guarantee on all of its products, which means that you can shop with confidence knowing that you’re getting the best possible deal.
For example, let’s say that a certain guitar is selling for $500 at Music & Arts and you find it for $450 at another store.
If you bring in the other store’s advertisement, Music & Arts will match the price and give you the guitar for $450.
In other words, they will refund you the difference in price!
14. Gear4music
Gear4music is a UK-based musical instrument retailer that offers a wide range of products.
These include guitars, drums, keyboards, studio equipment, and much more.
The company was founded in 2003 and has since become a very large musical instrument retailer in the country.
On their website, you’ll find a wide range of guitars from different brands, such as Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, and more.
As for their return policy, they’re pretty lenient and let you return most items within a decent time frame.
Although if you live in North America, there are certainly better guitar online stores on this list for you, since many of their products aren’t available for international shipping.
15. Andertons Music Co.
Andertons Music Co. is one of the largest musical instrument retailers in the UK.
The company was founded way back in 1964 and has since become a go-to place for musicians of all levels.
As a family-owned business, father and son, Harry and Peter Anderton, started the company with just a single shop in Guildford, Surrey.
Now, the company has expanded to include an online store that ships to multiple locations and offers a wide range of products.
Andertons Music Co. is known for its excellent customer service, competitive prices, and a huge selection of guitars.
The company stocks everything from electric and acoustic guitars to basses, drums, keyboards, and more.
Additionally, they have a huge presence on YouTube and offer a lot of entertainment for guitar enthusiasts.
16. Music Go Round
Music Go Round is a second-hand musical instrument store that has been in business for a long time.
They have a huge selection of used guitars, and you can often find some real gems if you’re willing to look around.
I found their prices to be fairly reasonable, but the customer service is not the best and is very unclear how to get in touch with a human.
I also checked their return policy and it says that you must “contact the originating Music Go Round® store for return authorization instructions within 48 hours of the receipt of their shipment.”
Aside from that, it says that you will be responsible for the return shipping charges, which overall I found to be a little bit of a bad policy.
So, if you’re looking for a used guitar and don’t mind dealing with some of these things, then make sure to check them out.
17. eBay
Whoever doesn’t know eBay, should be living in a cave somewhere.
Anyway, eBay is a great option for buying guitars because you can find just about anything there.
Of course, the prices are going to be all over the place and it’ll take some time to sort through everything.
But, if you’re patient and willing to do your research, you can definitely find some great deals.
One thing to remember, though, is that most official guitar stores aren’t going to sell their instruments on eBay as they do on Amazon, for example.
So these will mostly be used guitars that people are selling from their personal collections.
Either way, make sure to do your research before you buy anything like making sure that the seller is reputable and that the guitar is in good condition.
More than 10 years of experience playing and writing about guitars! When not writing, I can be found strumming away some Johnny Cash tunes. Favorite all time guitar is the Gibson Les Paul. #TeamGibson