u/PassLimp3542 — reddlx

[UPDATE] Kiesel refused to cover any shipping or original delivery fees.

Edit：Just to clarify, this is an international shipment back to the US, not a domestic one. The quote over $400 USD is the standard international retail rate via FedEx for this package. International rates are vastly different from US domestic rates.

Hey everyone, I just got the reply from Kiesel regarding shipping costs and the refund breakdown. They flat out refused to pay for the return shipping, and they stated they will not refund the $165 international shipping fee I already paid to get the guitar here. They are strictly offering a refund for the cost of the instrument only. They repeated their stance that failing to meet my aesthetic expectations due to wood variations is not a defect, forcing me to swallow all these shipping and delivery losses for their mistake. I honestly don't understand how this is considered a mere "aesthetic issue" on my part. Selecting a piece of wood that is actually suitable for the requested color is entirely their responsibility as a custom shop. A customer ordering a blue guitar should never have to expect the instrument to turn yellowish-green after the finish is applied.

To address some of the comments on my previous post suggesting that I should have known better or that I chose this top during an event—I want to clarify that I had absolutely no part in selecting this wood. Kiesel's sales team explicitly told me that Jeff Kiesel himself personally picked this 7A flamed maple top for my build. To make matters worse, I placed this order back in October, and whenever I followed up, they just kept telling me the guitar was "in production." I had to constantly push them until March just to find out they hadn't even selected the top wood yet.

They dragged out my order for five months, and the wood choice was entirely their executive decision. It was their team who selected a heavily yellow piece of wood, and choosing to spray blue dye directly over it was completely their responsibility. They are the professionals; they knew exactly how the chemical colors would react to a yellow top, yet they proceeded anyway without ever notifying me or giving me a choice, and now they are making me pay for their execution error. Since they have sent the RMA form, I want to ask you guys for advice. Should I just accept the loss on the shipping fees, send the guitar back to get my cash back and move on? Or is there anything else I can do?

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u/PassLimp3542 — 1 day ago

▲ 87 r/kieselcarvinguitars

[UPDATE] Kiesel responded to my Aqua Denim finish issue. They offered a refund but refused a refinish. ALSO, they just changed the color on their website builder today...

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a major update regarding my previous post about the Aqua Denim finish. I finally received an official email response from Kiesel. They have agreed to wave their strict non-returnable policy and offer me a full refund if I ship the guitar back to them. However, they completely refused to rebuild or refinish the instrument. They claimed that this total color departure is just an "aesthetic choice" rather than a defect, blaming the muddy green look entirely on the "natural yellow variations" of the top wood. This means they expect me to swallow the expensive international shipping costs back to the US for a execution error made by their own production team.

Image 1: The actual guitar I received
Image 2: What the website builder looked like when I ordered (and up until yesterday)
Image 3: What the website builder looks like today after their update.
Image 4: The official email response from Kiesel.

However, there is an interesting twist to this situation. I was reading through the comments on my previous Reddit post, and someone pointed out that Kiesel might have updated their site. After seeing that comment, I went directly to the Kiesel website builder to check it out for myself, and I realized they literally just changed the colour for the Aqua Denim finish today. Up until yesterday, the builder image showed a translucent aquatic light blue, which is exactly what I ordered. Now, they have changed it to a much greenish-teal shade with heavy yellow undertones—a look that remarkably resembles the muddy green guitar I actually received. To me, this feels like a silent admission from their side that their original rendering was highly misleading and flawed.

I haven't replied to the email yet. Should I demand that they cover the return shipping costs, or have any of you guys ever successfully gotten Kiesel to pay for shipping in a case like this?

u/PassLimp3542 — 2 days ago

▲ 113 r/kieselcarvinguitars

Waited over half a year for my custom Kiesel, but the finish looks completely different from the builder. Need some advice.

Hey everyone,
I just received my custom Kiesel today after waiting for over half a year, and I’m feeling incredibly disappointed and surprised by how the finish turned out.
I ordered Aqua Denim, expecting the clear, bright, vibrant aquatic light blue shown in the builder . However, what I actually received is very dark, and has this aged, yellowish-green finish. The blue tone I was looking forward to is barely recognizable.
I’ve attached the photos of the builder vs. the actual guitar under clear lighting so you can see the contrast.
Has anyone experienced a similar finish discrepancy with Kiesel before? How did they handle it？
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

Update:
Hey everyone, thanks for your comments. I know that lighting plays a huge role, so I wanted to provide more context and be completely fair.
The first photo I posted was actually taken under pretty normal, everyday indoor lighting conditions. To rule out any lighting bias, I took the guitar into a very bright, heavily lit environment to capture the new photo attached here.
This new photo is literally the "bluest" I can possibly get this guitar to look, even under intense and clear light.
As you can see, the gap between reality and the builder remains massive. It is not a subtle shade difference caused by dim light. https://imgur.com/a/1He4FHz

u/PassLimp3542 — 4 days ago