What is the procedure for a BTO order

[Von Beerhofen]

Does this cut out the middle man or can you only order through a dealer?
Could I for instance buy a BTO by ordering it  directly through the Taylor website and receive an order confirmation at which the price in US $ would be agreed.
Would the guitar then be send to Taylor Europe, from where it would travel directly to my home via UPS or something simmilar?
How does the payment for this work? I mean do you pay on delivery or pay first and receive later? What are the options to pay in terms?
Is it worth cutting out the middle man in terms of pricing or are the standard models usually cheaper because the true sale price significantly differs from the suggested retail price.
Taking the Taylor pricelist into consideration, would this ammount to what is listed in there? Are there any advantages over for instance having a K26 BTO with additional burst edge spraying as opposed to the 2011 Fall limited Koa.
Sorry for using this particular comparison, it's just an example.
When BTO, do you feel the guitar gets more attention in it's build off or do you expect it to get more attention just because it's generally more expensive (to my knowledge) or like me perhaps you'd like a guitar untouched by others, straight out of the box and are therefore willing to pay that bit extra?

Strumming Fool, thx for the reply on my questions. I know how things can horribly go wrong when it comes to picking something different, no matter how much thought went into it. Yes the reply is important as it shows that satisfaction comes after trial, or not.
It also shows that sometimes one can make a 'costly' mistake. You can't play a BTO on forehand and make or change your pick afterwards as opposed to going into a shop with 100 Taylor guitars which you can all subsequently try if you have enough time.
I think it's also important to understand that no matter how much you spend on an instrument, it's not guaranteed to be the 'ONE'.
Perhaps this is why many people buy and sell so easily, as in the quest for the 'holy' sound.

Ludwig

[michaelw]

Does this cut out the middle man or can you only order through a dealer?

for a regular consumer, the guitar would be ordered through a dealer

Could I for instance buy a BTO by ordering it  directly through the Taylor website and receive an order confirmation at which the price in US $ would be agreed?

the guitar would be ordered through a dealer, the options would be discussed & a BTO worksheet filled out -
the dealer faxes the worksheet to their rep & the rep determines if all of the options are still available &
faxes the sheet back to the dealer & upon determining the price & approval, the order is submitted

Would the guitar then be send to Taylor Europe, from where it would travel directly to my home via UPS or something simmilar?

the guitar would likely be shipped from the factory to the distributor, then to the dealer & finally to you

How does the payment for this work? I mean do you pay on delivery or pay first and receive later? What are the options to pay in terms?

terms of payment are determined by the dealer (deposit, additional payment arrangements prior to delivery, etc)

Is it worth cutting out the middle man in terms of pricing or are the standard models usually cheaper because the true sale price significantly differs from the suggested retail price?
depending on who you consider to be the 'middle man' (the distributor or the dealer), it is not possible to order &
purchase a guitar directly from the factory - if 'direct-ordering' was possible, it would eliminate the need for dealers

Taking the Taylor pricelist into consideration, would this ammount to what is listed in there?

the final price is determined the dealer

Are there any advantages over for instance having a K26 BTO with additional burst edge spraying as opposed to the 2011 Fall limited Koa?

if one prefers the aesthetics of the 11 Fall Koa LTD (which also includes AA grade Koa standard)
then it's possible that the price of the LTD may be slightly less than a K26ce edgeburst with AA Koa

Sorry for using this particular comparison, it's just an example.
When BTO, do you feel the guitar gets more attention in it's build off or do you expect it to get more attention just because it's generally more expensive (to my knowledge) or like me perhaps you'd like a guitar untouched by others, straight out of the box and are therefore willing to pay that bit extra?

depending on the options selected (wood type, finish, inlays & binding), certain processes are more
pain-staking & time-consuming than others, as well as verifying the guitar is built to the correct specs -
there are many departments the guitar goes through at the factory & once the dealer receives the guitar from
the distributor, unless it is shipped directly to you without being inspected for any possible transit damage or to
verify that the options are correct, then the last person to have touched the guitar would have been someone in the
shipping department, not counting the shipping company (as the guitar would be in the case & in the shipping box)

Strumming Fool, thx for the reply on my questions. I know how things can horribly go wrong when it comes to picking something different, no matter how much thought went into it. Yes the reply is important as it shows that satisfaction comes after trial, or not.
It also shows that sometimes one can make a 'costly' mistake. You can't play a BTO on forehand and make or change your pick afterwards as opposed to going into a shop with 100 Taylor guitars which you can all subsequently try if you have enough time.
I think it's also important to understand that no matter how much you spend on an instrument, it's not guaranteed to be the 'ONE'.
Perhaps this is why many people buy and sell so easily, as in the quest for the 'holy' sound.

Ludwig

being able to play a guitar that is the same body shape, with the same woods & bracing pattern does not
guarantee that the guitar being ordered with the same woods & different options will have the same tone -
wood being a natural substance, subject to many variables, it may sound 'better' or it may not sound 'as good'

i believe there a number of reason why guitars are bought, sold or traded, among them if one finds a guitar that
inspires them to pick it up & play it more often than another, whether it is due to playing comfort, a change in one's
tonal preference or aesthetics, or if one comes across a deal on a guitar that is 'too good to pass up' they may sell
or trade one (or more) in order to get that next guitar, or a financial situation may require a guitar (or more) to be sold

finding the 'one', the 'holy grail', the guitar that is the 'end-all-be-all' may not always be possible -
different guitars made by different builders with different woods will respond to the player, well, differently

if one has the time & resources to keep buying, selling & trading guitars until they find the elusive 'one'
(& it may not be out there), then there is a real possibility that one could possibly miss out on something
important, which is, imho, the purpose a musical instrument was made for in the first place ... to make music

ymmv

[M19]

My simple suggestion: Contact Jim Tordoff at Guitar Rodeo: jim@guitarrodeo.com; 1-877-GTR-ODEO (1-877-487-6336).

He knows the procedures and the product better than anyone, Taylor listens to him, you'll get the best price, he'll inspect the guitar prior to shipping to you to catch any snafu's, he's used to shipping overseas; he plays the banjo.

Well, that last bit might be a little off-putting, but "tolerance" is what we teach these days. Besides, he plays VERY WELL.

FWIW

[Von Beerhofen]

Thx for the explanations guys. I'm not planning on ordering a BTO at this stage but knowing the procedure may proof usefull sooner or later.
I agree that a guitar needs to be played and having only one Taylor it's no use to contemplate what might have been, allthough there may be better sounding ones. For me it's the best sounding guitar I've ever held in my hands and it looks great too, so I play it several hours a day. I'm just too friggin scared for blemishes every time I play it, lol.

M19, as I'm in Holland contacting or ordering through a US dealer won't help much. Due to extra shipping costs Taylors are much more expensive where I am then they are in the US, the only thing which might help is the price of the $. Sadly any advantages you might get usually disappear into the pockets of the dealers, in other words, the price of the dollar may fluctuate but the price of a Taylor is rock steady.
2nd hand guitars can fluctuate greatly too as the seller may take into account current prices in US $ related to world wide e-bay prices. However there are specialist e-bay shops which usually snatch anything interesting away and I noticed that official dealers are into buying from e-bay and classifieds too, making it very hard to really find any good deals at all.
Taking into account that nowadays everyone is trying to earn a few extra bucks, chances are practically nihil to find a bargain here. Hence my interest in a BTO if it would cut out the middle man, provided ofcourse that the $ is weak as compared to the Euro, which is no longer the case.

Ludwig

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Ludwig, BTO orders do need to go through an authorized dealer, I would suggest you contact Taylor and have them put you in touch with a dealer near you.

Good luck!