Price Gouging on E-Bay

[JAUQO III-X]

A friend of mine recently took a serious interest in Bass and decided to purchase one.my friend recently purchased the Bass that is the subject of this Post.my friend purchased this Bass for $400 and then informed me of doing so.I took a look and saw that the Bass that my friend purchased is a Brice and we all know that No Brice 5 string Left or right handed goes for $400.I contacted Rondo Music(a Brice dealer)and was informed that the Page used in the attached Link is from there very own website.my friend has not recieved the Bass yet.I have never ever dealt with E-Bay therfore I was wondering if my Friend can refuse the Bass when it shows up or is there a way my friend can get the Money back?

here's the Link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ADME:B:EF:US:1


Thanks

[LajoieT]

Unfortuantly for your friend, this is something e-bay deals with a lot. There is no protection from overpaying for something, and his bid is considered a contract to buy the described bass for the bid amount. They call it Buyers Remorse or Bid Remorse, one of the reasons you should NEVER buy anything off of e-bay without doing a fair amount of research. There are a LOT of sellers who have gotten very good at writing descriptions that are acurate and misleading at the same time to sell stuff for more than it's worth. One guy actually sold a picture of a rare stamp and got nearly what the rare stamp was worth because the buyer didn't read closely enough or ask questions and thought it was the real stamp.

The only way out would be if the bass was not as described. The description sort of contradicts itself with it's inuendos, "ordered from a custom shop" and "The manufacturer does not make this guitar in a 5 string model(only 6 string now)" so you could state that he was describing it as a custom bass, but he has also spoken about it's "manufacturer" so that may be a stretch. I took a quick look at Rondo's site and he's KINDA right that they don't make this model in a 5 anymore, just a 6, but only because of the Quilted Maple. You can get the exact bass but with a Bubinga top instead still (for $259, but you don't want to tell your friend that), but the QM is only shown for the 6 string. There is no requirement that the seller list the name of the manufacturer, so he did not have to list in the description (and chose not to put a headstock shot up which most instrument seller do) that it was a Brice, but considering the starting bid, it's obvious he was trying to make it diffucult to figure out what that was so they couldn't do a quick net serch for Brice.

Simply refusing delivery of the bass is one possible way to get out of it, but you will then have a BIG arguement to get your money back. They don't refund easily and I doubt e-bay is going to side with your friend unfortunatly. In that end your friend might be out the bass AND the $$$. IMO it's best to chalk up the $150 or so to an education on E-Bay and not tell anyone what you paid for it.

[HeavyDuty]

A better fit in Misc... moved.

[JAUQO III-X]

Thank you for your help.

[the ombudsman]

Sorry to inform you that your friend's been ripped off by some greedy bastid. This is far from being custom. That guy's full of it.

Show this to your friend and watch him cry.

Edit: Ooh, I should've read LajoieT's post. Sorry.

[5stringDNA]

LajoieT said pretty much what I was going to- the only loophole for possibly getting a refund is in the "custom" aspect of the description. This will not work well however, because Rondo does have their instruments customized to their preferences. The custom ordering of rondo from teh factory could hold up as a custom bass- at any rate, he's up the creek. On the bright side, if your friend likes the bass and after playing it feels that his $400 was worth it, why even mention it to him when it will just make him feel pissed off. I could see that backfiring when he goes to sell it however- there is a new brice 5 string Jazz sittin in my local music-go-round on consignment for $350. It is going to collect dust for awhile.

[LoJoe]

Like others have said, just chalk it up as an expensive lesson about how Ebay can work. About the only recourse he would have is to threaten to trash the guys otherwise 100% positive feedback record unless he reverves the deal. That would be a long shot. I buy a lot on Ebay, and I have learned to do two things to avoid paying too much. 1. Do a few minutes research on the net and find the average price for a new one. 2. Do a search on "closed auctions" and see how much the item is typically selling for.

[adam on bass]

to bad. i hate it when that happens to nice people.

[Eric Moesle]

Nothing "happened to" this nice guy, he simply made a grave mistake by bidding high without knowing or taking any steps to research its value. Nobody forced him to make the bid, that's for sure. Ebay is full of people who get caught up in the "auction atmosphere" and bid more than an item is worth, in their attempt to try to "win" something. Happens all the time, and absent a fraudulent ad, its the bidder's own fault.

Its like blaming someone else for your gambling habit.

[adam on bass]

it happens here to. people get greedy.

[bigbeefdog]

Originally Posted by Eric Moesle

Nothing "happened to" this nice guy, he simply made a grave mistake by bidding high without knowing or taking any steps to research its value. Nobody forced him to make the bid, that's for sure. Ebay is full of people who get caught up in the "auction atmosphere" and bid more than an item is worth, in their attempt to try to "win" something. Happens all the time, and absent a fraudulent ad, its the bidder's own fault.

Its like blaming someone else for your gambling habit.

All true, of course, although it is pretty apparent that the seller weasel-worded the auction (and darkened the pictures?) to avoid making clear that it was a Brice. That wasn't cool.

But this is exactly why I implore bass "newbies" to either find a reputable shop (with a good return policy) and buy new, or to enlist the help of a more seasoned bassist to help them buy used. And, IMHO, eBay is a flat no-no for a first bass. Even when the price is appropriate, the bass can show up with any number of (possibly irreparable) problems.

This happens to new players all too often.

[Eric Moesle]

Interesting story: Several years ago, I bought a pair of Tony Levin "funk fingers" for somewhere around $25. Two little drumsticks with velcro and the ends dipped in clear rubber. Never really used them, and they sat in my case for several years.

About a year ago, I put them on Ebay since I didn't think I'd ever use them again. Auction ended at over $200.00, to my surprise. A little research on my part, and I discovered that that was what several other pairs had gone for at auction, they aren't produced anymore, and that was what people were willing to pay.

Does that make me a price gauger???

[jeff schmidt]

Originally Posted by Eric Moesle

Nothing "happened to" this nice guy, he simply made a grave mistake by bidding high without knowing or taking any steps to research its value. Nobody forced him to make the bid, that's for sure. Ebay is full of people who get caught up in the "auction atmosphere" and bid more than an item is worth, in their attempt to try to "win" something. Happens all the time, and absent a fraudulent ad, its the bidder's own fault.

Its like blaming someone else for your gambling habit.

+1

[KeithPas]

Originally Posted by Eric Moesle

Interesting story: Several years ago, I bought a pair of Tony Levin "funk fingers" for somewhere around $25. Two little drumsticks with velcro and the ends dipped in clear rubber. Never really used them, and they sat in my case for several years.

About a year ago, I put them on Ebay since I didn't think I'd ever use them again. Auction ended at over $200.00, to my surprise. A little research on my part, and I discovered that that was what several other pairs had gone for at auction, they aren't produced anymore, and that was what people were willing to pay.

Does that make me a price gauger???

No, that makes you $200.00 richer.

[LajoieT]

Originally Posted by Eric Moesle

Does that make me a price gauger???

No, but if yours were maple drumsticks and they were still making them, but using Ash instead and you claimed they were no longer making this model it would make your description misleading. Since they are no longer made at all you can get whatever you want for them (otherwise we could buy used '62 Vettes for $5,000 cause that's what they sold for new.)

[Munjibunga]

What the heck is a newbie doing buying a bass sight-unseen off e-bay? So what is the bass worth? $300? $250? It's just a costly mistake that your friend made.

Perhaps he could approach Rondo Music and ask for a refund. Perhaps he could say that TalkBass is a bad place for a bass dealer like Rondo to have the reputation of a snake.

In the end, I agree with most of the others. He bought himself a bass on e-bay.

[JAUQO III-X]

I'm sure my friend has learned a Lesson.but the ad is very misleading.Rondo Music informed me that they will have that same model back in stock next Month.and for the record Rondo Music has/had nothing to do with the E-Bay Matter at all.and as far as The Funk Fingers situation goes thats no different than selling someone a Vintage Fender Jazz.

[Ibanezzer]

yeah same opinion as most here, you're friend just paid a lil more than should have and bought something without enough thought into it first. I've had bad experiences with ebay before too, paid more than stuff's worth and had misleading auctions before. It basically comes down to the fact that he did buy it without asking questions, which makes it his new bass, like it or not.

[Tim Cole]

I do all my own research on ANYTHING I buy, to make sure I am getting a GOOD deal. If I cannot flip it later to break even or make a few bucks, I don't buy it.....unless it is something I REALLY want and is a bit hard to come by. All internet buyers should do the same to protect themselves.

With that said, I do believe the seller intentionally tried to deceive people, and was preying for just what he got.....a sucker willing to shell out 4 bills on a Rogue (yes they are the same bass, this has been established in the Rondo thread). I'm not sure what he can do now (since he has apparently paid) other than politely point out the rondo link, and beg for mercy. Good luck on that.

I ordered this from a custom shop to record in the studio for a band that requested a 5-string for their upcoming release.

Lie: Rondo is not a custom shop, and is the only US distributor of SX and Brice basses; asian made low cost instruments.

The manufacturer does not make this guitar in a 5 string model(only 6 string now) anymore and you will not find anything near this caliber under $1,000 dollars.

Lie: Big difference between out of stock, and no longer manufacturing. Besides, I thought this was custom shop gear? I could name TONS of basses better in every category under $1000, heck I could name a ton under $400 used.....another deliberate lie. Preference is subjective. Quality, workmanship, and fair market value are not.

My loss is your gain!

Wow, that's rich

Buyer pays packaging and shipping(probably around $40 in Continental US). <!-- End Description -->

Even gouging a bit on shipping after tearing someone a new ass on something....whatta guy!

[Tym2cu_bass]

Originally Posted by the ombudsman

Sorry to inform you that your friend's been ripped off by some greedy bastid. This is far from being custom. That guy's full of it.

Show this to your friend and watch him cry.

Edit: Ooh, I should've read LajoieT's post. Sorry.

Wow... I'd cry if someone showed me that ... some e-bay peoples are dicks...