I'm thinking of picking up this used (and abused) 290. It has damage to the switch area that apparently occurred during shipping. I'm in Austin, so I was thinking about getting and estimate from Bill's guys for the repair. I emailed them, but no response. I thought somebody here may have some opinions.

that damage was done by the shipper the first time it was resold. (i remember looking at the ad the first time it was resold- just after it happened).

when i looked at it and had a discussion with my repairman we thought that the switch cover that the Collings guys use would cover most of it and the part that doesn't could be touched up or just left that way. if i had the extra cash i pick that one up myself, even though i have one already.

Is this a budget-oriented decision? Otherwise, why would you want THAT guitar? Have you played it? Brand new 290s are relatively inexpensive (and used ones seem ubiquitous), so why mess with this? Just curious.

i just checked, the seller only mentions a trade deal, no cash price listed.

Seem's to me that the repair part is pretty simple, the only challenge I see is trying to match the stain.