I got screwed on TB. Buyer beware

bryanonbass · #1 02-12-2009, 07:34 AM

I just want to share a little situation with anyone that wants to read as it may prove helpful in your future dealings.

Disclaimer:
I have had many, many dealings with people and 99.9% of them have been great with no issues whatsoever. However, that being said......

I am not pointing fingers at anyone in particular as there is no way to know who is ultimately responsible and their is a chance that maybe it was not anyone here on TB plus I don't want this to turn into some flame war. But to the the party/parties responsible, F&&& YOU. I hope karma gives you a nice kick in the pants.

The story:
I recently acquired a bass via trade. This particular bass had been passed around here on TB for a while. Usually that draws a red flag but being here on TB I felt that it was just GAS getting the better of people. It happens (heck Ive owned over 160 different basses).

As I generally give everyone the benefit of the doubt I figured if there was anything wrong with the bass someone would have said something. Boy was I wrong. In fact people were raving about the bass. Many offered trade deals to get it back or posted how much they loved the bass.

While I have owned a lot of basses I am by no means an expert on them. I just know what I like and can tell within minutes if a bass is for me.
After playing this bass a few minutes I knew this was not a keeper. I didn't even bother to check the bass over or adjust the action, change strings,etc. That part is definitely my fault as I probably would have noticed the issue. It was a nice instrument for sure, but the neck was just not comfortable for my hands as it was too thick front to back. So as most basses I have owned I decided to sell it. It went back in its case only to be brought out occasionally to get information on it for potential owners (weight, string spacing, etc). After a month or so I finally found a buyer. I took a decent loss on it, but thats just how it is in this market.

New owner gets it and being an expert on these matters notices something is not right immediately with the neck. Tries to adjust the truss rod and notices that it can't fix the problem he is seeing. Buyer immediately lets me know this and that he will take it to a shop to get looked at.
I know the buyer and the shop and both are VERY legitimate and they are good people to boot so I know what they tell me is the real deal. I feel terrible about this as I would never knowingly do anything like this.

As it turns out the repair bill is pretty hefty and its either get it fixed for new owner or refund money and get it fixed on my own, only to try and sell the bass again.
The money is long gone. Part of it towards another bass (which is awesome) but most towards my mortgage. The only thing I can do in my situation is pay the repair bill.

After all is said and done I have lost about a grand on a bass that I had in my hand maybe 15 minutes because some awful person/persons passed off a problem onto other people.

I just want people to know that even here, where I am sure many feel somewhat shielded by the scammers of the net, there are people of very questionable character who will pass on a bad deal to anyone if it benefits them.

BUYER BEWARE
ask a lot of questions, make sure you have an approval period and still be very cautious

DaveDeVille · #2 02-12-2009, 08:28 AM

woah ...dude .
sorry you had a bad deal here .

care to enlighten us with any details
about the bass / trader ?
... no need to name names if you don't want ,
i just think our fellow TBer's might be interested .

etoncrow · #3 02-12-2009, 08:37 AM

Firm believer in 'what goes around, comes around'. Too bad you probably won't be there to see it..

bryanonbass · #4 02-12-2009, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david meissner

woah ...dude .
sorry you had a bad deal here .

care to enlighten us with any details
about the bass / trader ?
... no need to name names if you don't want ,
i just think our fellow TBer's might be interested .

the only people I know are the guy I got it from and the guy I sold it to. Both i completely trust so I'd rather not bring their names up.
The bass is an early skjold 5 string (sort of a prototype). Its at Mike Lull's shop waiting to be repaired.

kesslari · #5 02-12-2009, 08:48 AM

That stinks.

There are a lot of basses that pass through several TB'ers - the "passing the GAS" thing is very real here. My Zon is a great bass that was owned by 4 TB'ers (first was the original owner) before me. And it's an awesome bass. Just wasn't *their* dream fretless.

Stories like this make it scary. The trust factor here is a strong part of "why we hang", at least for me.

Mark Latimour · #6 02-12-2009, 08:52 AM

I'm sorry to hear about your hassles. Buyer beware is a good lesson.

There was a thread in OT where someone was getting their back up about people asking "why are you selling this bass?". I think threads like this demonstrate exactly why its prudent to ask people why they are selling basses and if anything looks suspicious, to walk away.

I remember a few years ago I was talking with a user about buying a bass and he was slow to respond and his answers were a little to short. I walked away from the deal because it didn't feel right. Sometime later this user was involved in a few issues with deals (that I think eventually got solved), but only after a lot of complaints buy buyers. You have to go with your gut. TB is a community, but its a big community and you can't trust everyone to be as honest as you.

**john turner** · #7 02-12-2009, 08:58 AM

buyer needs to always beware. folks need to ask questions - lots of questions - if they are interested in buying an instrument, before they pull the trigger.

something to consider - perhaps this bass was gimped from the beginning. have you tried getting in touch with the builder? he might be able to help you out, might at least fix it for less.

pointbass · #8 02-12-2009, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john turner

something to consider - perhaps this bass was gimped from the beginning. have you tried getting in touch with the builder? he might be able to help you out, might at least fix it for less.

Excellent point .....

Lots of folks are not very astute with regards to axe construction/setup/etc, so it's not a long stretch to think that several people could have owned this bass without realizing an obvious construction flaw. All they may have though was, "gee, this bass just isn't for me". Even in your case, as someone that has owned numerous basses, it just didn't feel right so you never bothered to explore further (although you likely have the experience to find a flaw if sought out).

Skjold isn't known for shoddy construction, so perhaps a contact could yield a very positive result. Hope all works out for the best ....

bryanonbass · #9 02-12-2009, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pointbass

Excellent point .....

Lots of folks are not very astute with regards to axe construction/setup/etc, so it's not a long stretch to think that several people could have owned this bass without realizing an obvious construction flaw. All they may have though was, "gee, this bass just isn't for me". Even in your case, as someone that has owned numerous basses, it just didn't feel right so you never bothered to explore further (although you likely have the experience to find a flaw if sought out).

Skjold isn't known for shoddy construction, so perhaps a contact could yield a very positive result. Hope all works out for the best ....

actually I did speak with Peter Skjold at length about this instrument. This bass was built for an endorser and was built with the same high quality standards that Pete is known for. Unfortunately any solution would still end up costing me a big hunk of change.
and you are definitely correct that many people may have done the exact same thing I did. (edited this as i misunderstood Pete)

Big Joe · #10 02-12-2009, 11:05 AM

So what is the issue that requires repair?

Was it something that could have happened in shipping?

bryanonbass · #11 02-12-2009, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Joe

So what is the issue that requires repair?

Was it something that could have happened in shipping?

the neck has a bad bow and the truss rod is maxxed out. so Mike is going to remove frets, loosen up truss rod, true the fingerboard straight and refret it.

I think I remembered everything. And I also asked about shipping and they said no way.

Big Joe · #12 02-12-2009, 11:30 AM

And how much is this going to run?

bryanonbass · #13 02-12-2009, 11:33 AM

575.00 (a little more as I don't have cash so Im giving the guy a bass to pay for it (bass is 700.00)

Big Joe · #14 02-12-2009, 11:38 AM

So how much will you be out altogether with what you lost on this deal?

megadan · #15 02-12-2009, 11:52 AM

It sucks that you got screwed, but this could have happened just as easily on eBay as on TB.

I bought a broken bass on eBay with a very similar story. I ended up trading it for much less than it was worth a couple years later.

bryanonbass · #16 02-12-2009, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Joe

So how much will you be out altogether with what you lost on this deal?

numbers aren't exact as most was done through trades but the original asking price on bass was 1200.00. I traded stuff worth about 1400.00. sold the bass for 1000.00.
I have to pay 575.00 for the repair, but trading a bass worth 700 to cover it.
so I lost 200.00 in initial deal
plus 200.00 when I resold it plus 700 bass im trading
so 1100.00 total*

Normally I wouldn't factor in my initial trade value and what I resold it for as that was what was agreed upon by both parties.
Essentially I had 2 basses that were valued at 1900.00 from original posts that I got them from and I turn around and gave them away for 425.00 cash in hand.

bryanonbass · #17 02-12-2009, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by megadan

It sucks that you got screwed, but this could have happened just as easily on eBay as on TB.

I bought a broken bass on eBay with a very similar story. I ended up trading it for much less than it was worth a couple years later.

absolutely. I just wanted people to know what I went through and that it can happen anywhere even in this place.

Pete skjold · #18 02-12-2009, 03:07 PM

I am very sorry about this , but for the record this bass was never supposed to be sold , it was on laon to the original endorser ,so I guess the getting screwed part started with me

I have tried to get the bass back but it didn't work out .
The other point I want to be clear is that I was not aware that this bass had a problem with the neck ( one that was going to need expensive repairs . This was the first time I heard this . If I had known I would have made sure it was disclosed as I tried to make sure anyone buying it knew that it was a prototype and not like any of my current basses .

I am still available to help out with it if I can .

Pete

GeneralElectric · #19 02-12-2009, 03:46 PM

Pete Skjold is a great guy.

I've had the pleasure of playing a few of his basses before and they were top notch.

It is unfortunate that you got screwed over though.

bryanonbass · #20 02-12-2009, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete skjold

I am very sorry about this , but for the record this bass was never supposed to be sold , it was on laon to the original endorser ,so I guess the getting screwed part started with me

I have tried to get the bass back but it didn't work out .
The other point I want to be clear is that I was not aware that this bass had a problem with the neck ( one that was going to need expensive repairs . This was the first time I heard this . If I had known I would have made sure it was disclosed as I tried to make sure anyone buying it knew that it was a prototype and not like any of my current basses .

I am still available to help out with it if I can .

Pete

My apologies Pete, I must have misunderstood something that you told me. I removed the statement.

For the record Pete is definitely a stand up guy and did offer to help out with the situation. He made me a very generous offer and we talked at length about the situation. I just don't have the cash to buy the bass back and then pay for the repair.