Mis-Representing Gear That You Sell

Rockmusician · #1 09-03-2011, 08:49 PM

First of all, I apologize for the long post.

I honestly believe that most of us musicians are honest, hard working people who respect the unwritten code of not screwing over your fellow musicians. However, I have recently come across a disturbing trend, not only among private sellers but also among retailers. Here is what I am talking about.

I recently visited the website of a well known retailer in hopes of finding an Eden 410 XLT cabinet. I drove 45 minutes to the closest store to my house because they had one listed on their website. Upon my arrival, I discovered that the assistant manager had never heard of Eden. I then found out that the cab I wanted was actually in the back room and had a blown speaker. I then drove an additional 1 1/2 hours to their next closest store that showed the cab and you guessed it, that cab also had a blown speaker. So then I find a retailer 3,000 miles away who has a 410 XLT cab and an Eden WT800 head. They are for sale on ebay and I click the "buy it now" link. A few days later, I receive an email that the cab is in the shop having the speakers reconed and the head is also in the shop because it won't power on. I cancel the purchase.

Given the fact that this is now 4 Eden products that have problems and there are no Eden dealers in my area, I decide to go back to Ampeg.
I purchase buy an Ampeg SVT 6 Pro from a private seller on Amazon. His ad states that it is new. I buy it and when I receive it, I find that it is in fact very poorly packed and used. He tries to blame the poor packing on the shipping company yet all of the packing material has the name of his employer all over it. The head works and I got it for less than a third of what it cost new so I kept it.

Then I find a seller with a Spector bass for sale. The pictures shows block inlays and I like it so we trade multiple emails and arrange to meet. Upon closer inspection of the pictures, I suspect that the block inlays are actually stickers. One of pictures has blocks on the 24th fret and in the other picture there are no inlays on that fret. I question the seller about this and his response is that they are not stickers, they are "decals". I decide not to buy the bass. He relists it with the same pictures and never mentions that the inlays are stickers or in his words "decals".

Then I find an Ampeg cab online that I am interested in. The seller and I trade emails for close to a month. He states that the cab is in "superb" condition. (His words, not mine). We agree to meet. I drive 2 hours only to find that the tolex is ripped in many places, the frame that holds the cloth on the front is cracked and there is evidence of a spill down the front. When I question him about the condition his response is that compared to what he usually buys, the cab is in "superb" condition.

So here is what I am asking. Do everyone a favor and do not mis-represent the condition of the gear that you are trying to sell. You wouldn't like it if it was done to you so don't do it to anyone else. You will save all of us including yourself a lot of time and aggravation.

Sorry for my rant but I have wasted a lot of time chasing gear for nothing and I suspect that I am not alone.

Bass Viking · #2 09-04-2011, 08:34 AM

Wow, that's quite a run of bad luck you've had. I'd be ticked off too.

I once had someone come over to trade his G & L Tribute for my Carvin kit bass. He liked the Carvin and while I was playing the G & L unplugged he asked if I wanted to make the trade. I hadn't played it through my amp yet, but when I plugged it in I heard a noticeably loud hum from the electronics (not my amp). I didn't go through with the trade. This struck me as kind of shady and I won't be dealing with this individual again.

Tracebassplayer · #3 09-04-2011, 08:50 AM

I know the SPECTOR bass that you speak of.
Several of us TB'ers emailed the seller. He responded the same. No one bought it. He relisted it twice with no mention of the fake inlay deception. He was over priced as well btw.

runmikeyrun · #4 09-05-2011, 09:37 AM

I put up with the same crap trying to buy vintage motorcycles. People always embellish things in their description, then when you get there to look at the bike it's the same old crap- rusted chrome, dents in the tank, it either doesn't run or it runs so poorly that it needs a lot of work. I can't tell you how many times i get the "no, I don't have the title but i can give you a bill of sale and it's really easy to get a title". I get so frustrated! I have even resorted to having lengthy conversations on the phone with sellers before I go and they will outright lie to me! When I get there and call em on it, they'll make me some ridiculously low offer just to try to get rid of it.

On a more positive note, I recently found a pair of Eminence Beta 12s on CL for $40. I was like "no way these things are in perfect shape like the seller claims". I got there and couldn't believe that they were- they were like brand new. They sound perfect.

So there are some honest people still out there, you just have to weed out the dirtbags. And always cover your butt... print out communication with sellers when you ask questions about the gear, and get written receipts when you purchase in person. Then if you have to take them to court you have a winning case.

T-Bird · #5 09-06-2011, 02:43 AM

Hi.

It's just a game.

Sounds to me that either You're rather young, or You really haven't done much trading.
Your last scentence is a dead giveaway of that

. To me anyway.

"Don't try to rob a bank run by bigger croocks than You" works as well as it ever does.

IME, ~35 years of buying, selling and haggling, one just needs to learn how to read between the lines in order to stop wasting ones time.
It may take a quite a bit of time and effort, not to mention better players than us still managing to fool/scam us, but it's well worth it.

Regards
Sam

Stumbo · #6 09-06-2011, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-Bird

Hi.

It's just a game.

IMO, it's a scam.

People want to take your money w/o a gun. Lots of petty thieves, liars and grifters out to get your money with various schemes and such. Ethics and integrity are not in their vocabulary.

If caught, they trot out the famous, "you must have misunderstood". They also know that what is being done is usually not worth calling a lawyer to fight over it. Look at Dr. Bass and a few other vendors in the music industry.

Here's one of my stories:

I purchased one of the first Sunn amps made in 1965 "as is" on eBay, verified by Conrad Sundholm. He stated that he "probably made that amp". Looked in okay shape based on the pictures. It was shipped in a cardboard box with no bubble wrap or padding. The inside was thrashed. all tube broken, PS torn off mounts. I emailed the guy and he stated "you purchased it "as is" so there nothing for me to do about it.

On a bigger scale: Charles Keating(S&L's) did it in the 80's. Enron in the 90' and Banks/mortgages in the 00's.
If the big guys can do it, guess the little guys can too. It's death by a thousand razor cuts.

**peledog** · #7 09-06-2011, 10:50 AM

There's lots of scams on eBay.

There are also manufacturers who misrepresent their products. Look at the TC Electronic thread in 'Amps'.

As for that Spector bass - yeah, that was a sham and a scam.

Rockmusician · #8 09-06-2011, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-Bird

Hi.

Sounds to me that either You're rather young, or You really haven't done much trading.
Your last scentence is a dead giveaway of that

. To me anyway.

"Sam

You couldn't be more wrong. I am 51 years old and have been playing, buying, selling and trading for 35 years. It just seems that recently there has been a lot more misrepresentation by musicians who are trying to sell gear. There used be an unwritten code that you do not try to screw each other. Apparently, that no longer exists.

Tigger Bangdang · #9 09-06-2011, 10:55 AM

Must be the bad economy, bad economy=desperate sellers

runmikeyrun · #10 09-06-2011, 01:47 PM

Whenever I go to buy something I don't leave until i've given it a good testing. Once you leave with the item it's yours and you're screwed if something's wrong.

I had a similar thing happened way back in the beginning days of ebay. I bought a Peavey Mace head. The seller said it worked fine and stated she had a certificate that the amp had been checked out. Well, I should have asked to see that certificate because the amp came and didn't work. I left her negative feedback saying she lied and the amp didn't work, and she left me negative feedback saying my check bounced! I asked her to send me a copy of the so-called certificate she had and she never responded. 6 months later, she was no longer a registered user. When I took the amp to a tech there were burned components inside in the power amp, so it obviously wasn't something that happened in shipping. I learned a lot from that transaction, basically never trust anyone.

DWBass · #11 09-06-2011, 01:54 PM

I love the Craigslists ads they always say Fender Jazz/P-Bass but then there is the casual mention or non mention of it being a Squier!

Bass Viking · #12 09-06-2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by runmikeyrun

Whenever I go to buy something I don't leave until i've given it a good testing. Once you leave with the item it's yours and you're screwed if something's wrong.

Exactly. That's why the guy in my example above was sleazy. Apparently, he had something to hide. Who buys a bass without playing it thorugh an amp first? I'm sure he wouldn't .