The Vintage V72HFTB is modelled after the Fender 72 Thinline Telecaster. I selected Richards Guitars to buy it from because they spend a lot of time on the setup, so that the guitar is the best it can be.
The setup is why I chose to buy from Richards rather than from a large online retailer (also because Richards is about the only place I could find that stocks it).
When the guitar arrived, the reality very nearly lived up to the claims. It sounds and plays better than my other electric (a Fender Marauder), the action was super-low and easy, and the range of sounds is amazing.
The only quibble was some buzzing on the low E string, pretty much from the third to about the 15th fret. Because each string has an individual saddle, this is easy to fix myself by raising the action on the low E.
But, following some correspondence with Richard himself over the internet (he goes out of his way to make himself accessible to customers and prospective customers), it sounds like some fret adjustment is needed as well, I'm guessing to get the action on the low E down to where it should be.
This could have been tricky as I live in France - luckily, we are visiting England next month so can drop it in for fixing. They say they will fix it the same day.
So, excellent customer service, and you shouldn't hesitate to buy a guitar from there if you're within easy range of Stratford Upon Avon where they're located. As they don't charge extra for the setup and they are choosy about what brands they stock because of quality standards, it's a no-brainer.
As well as playing and sounding superb, the guitar was pretty well finished for something that only cost £299 (the price has gone up to £369 now, pretty much straight after I bought it :-) )
The *only* area I could find fault with, apart from the aforementioned possible fret issue, was the finishing on the f-hole - the edges are painted black but they missed a bit. Also, if you look inside the f-hole, the interior of the body cavity is as rough as a badger's arse - it looks like I imagine the interior of a dugout canoe would before it gets smoothed off.
None of this affects the sound in any way, or is visible unless you get up close. The guitar looks beautiful. I'm looking forward to the re-setup putting the final icing on the cake.
So to sum up, I would definitely recommend buying from Richards rather than from a big online retailer - if you are close enough to Stratford to make a return easy. I'm guessing that 99 times out of a hundred your guitar would arrive with no issue.