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So it was asked in a PM
thought it might help someone else as well
Go to any item you want
message seller
If you want a similar model to what he has in stock
Ask if you can customize that
Be specific. Don't assume he understands what you want changed from his standard build
If you want something completely different
Ask him can he build .... what ever you want
Have pictures with arrows and dimensions in metric
Do not say soft v or Eric Clapton neck
They don't know what a SRV or Wolfgang neck shape is
Find specific dimensions on a website ..... somewhere in a picture
I sent them a picture of the body shape I wanted
Then a picture of a different headstock
An image of the control layout
an image of the neck with metric dimensions marked on it
the rest of the world is metric
They asked if I wanted the Chinese or Korean locking tuners
they know the Korean ones are better
Color of hardware
Finish . Very important to show images of how you want the finish to look
Cannot express enough how important pictures and images are
even if hand drawn and captured with your phone
Ask for pictures during the process of building
During one of these images they discovered a flaw and corrected it before it got too far along
Look closely at all the images they share
Ask for images before shipping
Look closely .......
I had one arrive with shipping damage
It was obviously the guitar that was shown before shipping
You will need these before and after when negotiating for shipping insurance
Be prepared to do some setup and adjustments when it arrives
If you don't know how
Watch videos and read up on these while you wait
Be patient
It takes a while to build and longer to ship
Don't get a copyrighted logo or headstock
Customs will seize it
Don't expect a Custom shop quality guitar for $400
That's just unrealistic