Luthier Guide to CVE

As we shift our focus to the marketplace and authentication side of CVE, we're encouraging luthiers from all over the world to try listing their guitars with us using our Sell From Home functionality. Or in your case, Sell From Workshop!

We hope this will be a great place for you to showcase new models, cancelled custom orders, prototypes, or anything you'd like that fits within our typical inventory.

Before you list, be ready with the following info and materials to flesh out your seller profile!

• Banner dimensions: 2440 x 350px
• Avatar: Headshot or logo
• Bio: 2-5 sentences optimal
• Current physical/mailing address

At time of registration, your profile will default to Private Seller, and you will be required to ship any sold guitars to CVE for authentication before they go on to the buyer. As with other Private Sellers, inbound shipping to CVE is the responsibility of the seller.

Trusted luthiers and vendors will be approved for a Professional Seller profile, allowing you to ship directly to customers and ensuring shipping costs will be calculated based on your location. New luthiers will not be approved for a Professional Seller page until we have direct experience with your instruments, either through past sales or inspection at a show.

After crafting your page, select the Consign Your Guitar button in the top right corner. Before going live on the site, CVE staff must format and approve all listings.

You’ll see on existing listings that Specs and Description are on separate tabs, and videos are sometimes embedded below. On the current submission form there are only Listing Title and Item Description fields. Please put everything you want to share in the Description field and we will format it.

Description: One to two paragraphs describing the tonewoods and design, how it plays, what kind of player you see it as being most appropriate for, and any other details you'd like to share.

Specs: Please be thorough! When folks are buying sight unseen, it's worth it to share all measurements, and most importantly, list all materials used, particularly shell and restricted wood species. Some FAQs worth addressing include:

• Neck profile
• Finish material (body and neck)
• Current set-up – string height

Video: Only CVE staff can embed videos on the backend. If you’ve already uploaded a video demo of your guitar to your YouTube channel, please share that link. (Previously sold guitars with identical specs are okay, too!)

CVE is under no circumstances aiding in the transportation of Brazilian Rosewood across national borders.

Abalone, Mother of Pearl, and other shell can be transported across borders, but proper paperwork must be filed when coming in or leaving the US. CVE can assist in this process where applicable.

You can change your title, description, price, offer status, or add photos at any time without CVE approval.

You can also hide or delete your listings. Under the Dashboard > Selling view, click on the eye icon to hide your listing. It will remain in your Portfolio, and you can easily reactivate it by clicking the eye again.

To delete, just click the trash bin icon. This is permanent and we cannot recover your listing for you.

Customers have two ways to make contact. The chat function on the site engages CVE staff, and on every listing page is an option to directly message the seller. Keep an eye on your inbox for any inquiries or offers that come to you.

To see how many page views and watchers an individual instrument has, go to Dashboard > Portfolio where you will see your entire collection. Hover over the instrument and click 'View' to see views, watchers and offers.

Our Luthier Liaison is Lindsay, and she will be the one working with you to proofread, refine, and approve your listings! If you have any questions or run into problems getting started, reach out to her at [email protected].

As you work together to get listed on CVE, she will discuss ways to market your guitars on our social media channels.