What would you do? vintage fender/ebay deal-Misleading?

[smcd]

Originally Posted by catcauphonic

You don't get 430 positive feedback/transactions with zero negatives if you're a rat fink seller.

That is true. What gave me a bad impression was his detailed, flowery description of the bass. He said "all original" at least twice. His spiel kept going on about "vintage" and "old school tone" and that kind of rubbish, leading one to believe that he had experience with vintage instruments. If it were me selling for a friend, I'd say "I'm selling for a friend. I don't know much about this, but he says..." Instead he writes short story laced with adjective-laden blather. The seller made his own bed doing this.

Originally Posted by A-Step-Towards

Like I said i didnt flip out on the guy or jump directly to a paypal claim as others said. I didnt get angry or anything as others did for me. I simply sent him a nice message stating my findings , included my number and asked him to pass it along to his friend.

Kudos to you. I would hope I get a buyer like you if I ever have a dispute as a seller.

Originally Posted by A-Step-Towards

Shipping was $130, I only paid $75 of it. If I sent it back ebay would ding them return shipping, they would have to relist , maybe make less, have to pay futher shipping and cause alot of headache. I didnt lay that on them as some others said to do and instead asked to speak with them.

$130 shipping from Ohio to Oregon?? Like hell. That is crazy expensive. Did you have it shipped FedEx overnight?

[FranF]

Wow that's crazy shipping dollars. Way crazy. I just shipped my '60 P halfway across the US double boxed and officially oversized and well over 30 lbs, insured for $5500, delivery confirmed and sig only for $62 via UPS! Wowwwwwwww

[narud]

Originally Posted by FranF

Wow that's crazy shipping dollars. Way crazy. I just shipped my '60 P halfway across the US double boxed and officially oversized and well over 30 lbs, insured for $5500, delivery confirmed and sig only for $62 via UPS! Wowwwwwwww

full insurance at 5500 or just declared at 5500? i used to ship my fodera insured for that much at the ups customer counter and it was always over 100 bucks and this was years ago. i just shipped a bass insured for 2k at the post office within the same state and it came out to 50 bucks.

[AltGrendel]

Originally Posted by NYCbassist

submit Ebay & Paypal disputes for Item not as described. ASAP

If it annoys you that much, this is the correct thing to do.

[catcauphonic]

Originally Posted by hsech

Long story short, EBay refunded the buyer, I got the guitar back and got to sell it again (for more) with no cost to me. I didn't refund the buyer, EBay did. They said I was not at fault. If they are willing to do that, I think they will help you with your problem.

You mean you got to keep the buyers purchase $$$, and eBay paid the buyer? I'm very surprised to hear that

[NYCbassist]

Originally Posted by king_biscuit

If the buyer doesn't like the bass, he is probably justified in sending it back, but if it is an otherwise great bass, these seem like minor issues.

Original Vs. Non-original on a vintage bass is never minor. Just finding and paying for OE Pickguard screws will be expensive. Then the may not fit right. the P'ups may or may not be original but the wires were cut & Resoldered IIRC from the original post. Minor issues to some but not to Most I suspect. I'd love to have the Pots but they're not original either. That kills the value of this bass!

[catcauphonic]

Originally Posted by smcd

That is true. What gave me a bad impression was his detailed, flowery description of the bass. He said "all original" at least twice. His spiel kept going on about "vintage" and "old school tone" and that kind of rubbish, leading one to believe that he had experience with vintage instruments. If it were me selling for a friend, I'd say "I'm selling for a friend. I don't know much about this, but he says..." Instead he writes short story laced with adjective-laden blather. The seller made his own bed doing this

Which is why some advertisers are right up there (down there?) with some lawyers IMO. As usual, you have to read between the lines a little bit and ask a lot of questions when you're buying sight unseen ... especially something vintage & somewhat mechanical.

Personally, I would politely give the seller a chance to make things right .. whatever you consider that to be .. before filing any kind of dispute with eBay.
Good Luck .. I'm really interested in the outcome of this

[narud]

Originally Posted by NYCbassist

Original Vs. Non-original on a vintage bass is never minor. Just finding and paying for OE Pickguard screws will be expensive. Then the may not fit right. the P'ups may or may not be original but the wires were cut & Resoldered IIRC from the original post. Minor issues to some but not to Most I suspect. I'd love to have the Pots but they're not original either. That kills the value of this bass!

unless youre buying an investment quality collector piece, who's looking at original pickguard screws? non original pots dont kill the value of any old bass. itll take a hit, but if everything else is legit its minor. with the other issues being visible in the pics, pickguard screws and pots dont make this bass take a major hit. maybe 150 ish imo.

[A-Step-Towards]

I got a email from the seller and he said he is passing along my info to his body today. I can tell the color on the top has changed due to water damage. The case has light mildew where the body part of the bass sat and the lid on the inside above where the body is is warped another sign of water damage. I am guessing this was minor and didnt effect the neck end of the body it just must have been stored somewhere moist. Also the screw holes under the guard are a little black arund the edges which has characteristics of water damage.

[narud]

Originally Posted by A-Step-Towards

I got a email from the seller and he said he is passing along my info to his body today. I can tell the color on the top has changed due to water damage. The case has light mildew where the body part of the bass sat and the lid on the inside above where the body is is warped another sign of water damage. I am guessing this was minor and didnt effect the neck end of the body it just must have been stored somewhere moist. Also the screw holes under the guard are a little black arund the edges which has characteristics of water damage.

post some iphone pics. sometimes you can sand or use a solvent to take the top coat off of these finishes and your left with the super thick bottom coat. the bottom coat is so thick it can look like the original finish. ive seen some 70's basses get sold as original finish that have had the top layer taken off without touching the thick undercoat. since theres no sanding marks or contours that are molested,its not obvious that its been stripped.

there was also a bass that sold here in the classifieds years ago that had some type of reaction between the top and bottom coats and had a milky white color to it.

[A-Step-Towards]

The top horn shows it best in the photo but the whole top is that stark color, compare it to the sides and you can see something is up. I really think its water damage when looking at this, the darkened screw holes and also the case interior. Obviously it was light water damage if so as it wasnt enough to fully cause a issue besides cosmetics.You really have to look at the sides of the bass to notice whats going on at the top.

As for the pickups they are grey bottoms with the dark purple black copper windings which are correct for '76.

[A-Step-Towards]

Originally Posted by FranF

Wow that's crazy shipping dollars. Way crazy. I just shipped my '60 P halfway across the US double boxed and officially oversized and well over 30 lbs, insured for $5500, delivery confirmed and sig only for $62 via UPS! Wowwwwwwww

He dropped it off at a USPS for "professional packing". The guys at UPS pack stuff worse then I do and charge a ton, I wish I coud pack basses and make mone doing so. Anyone paying for professional packing at UPS can do a better job then pay the $80 or so to ship it insured.

[FrenchBassQC]

Originally Posted by A-Step-Towards

The top horn shows it best in the photo but the whole top is that stark color, compare it to the sides and you can see something is up. I really think its water damage when looking at this, the darkened screw holes and also the case interior. Obviously it was light water damage if so as it wasnt enough to fully cause a issue besides cosmetics.You really have to look at the sides of the bass to notice whats going on at the top.

As for the pickups they are grey bottoms with the dark purple black copper windings which are correct for '76.

If you decide to keep it after all is cleared with the seller do this to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BGg79AsPR4

Davey is also funny to listen too.

[narud]

Originally Posted by A-Step-Towards

The top horn shows it best in the photo but the whole top is that stark color, compare it to the sides and you can see something is up. I really think its water damage when looking at this, the darkened screw holes and also the case interior. Obviously it was light water damage if so as it wasnt enough to fully cause a issue besides cosmetics.You really have to look at the sides of the bass to notice whats going on at the top.

As for the pickups they are grey bottoms with the dark purple black copper windings which are correct for '76.

is the top more satin and the back thats tinted glossier? can you feel or see a seam separating the discolored part from the tinted back? the top coat looks like it might have been sanded off. if thats the case its gotta go back. that and the action is high as ****

[NYCbassist]

Originally Posted by narud

unless youre buying an investment quality collector piece, who's looking at original pickguard screws? non original pots dont kill the value of any old bass. itll take a hit, but if everything else is legit its minor. with the other issues being visible in the pics, pickguard screws and pots dont make this bass take a major hit. maybe 150 ish imo.

The bass was sold for $1730. That is collector price for a 70's bass. I have seen Pots sell for around $300 for similar basses. I agree that $1200 would be more in-line with the Value as suggested above. I guess it's all subjective but $150 is way off IMO

[A-Step-Towards]

Yep the top while it still has gloss to it is still way duller and less glossy then the back. The back is fully glossy and on the back and front I feel no seam seperation.The front while it still has a finish to it has to have had some removed. I am wondering if it was slightly water damaged on top and they tried to knock it down a bit or even it out? i think the top was messed with in some way or another.

Yep the action is super high and the guy said in the auction it plays great, I use to play some junky high action basses in my day but this thing is difficult to play. He also didnt state the gnarly A string buzz when playing a open note. My guess is the frets need a leveling which is why the action is so high.

Also I have the guard its just off in the photo, also the control plate screws are ones I put in, not the huge phillips it came with.

Here is a photo of the glossy back and notice there is another area where the finish is weird



Here is a photo where you can see if you look closely some weird runs, I have no idea what the runs are but its some finish it isnt some gunk. It maybe hard to see due to the poor quality photos.

[narud]

Originally Posted by NYCbassist

The bass was sold for $1730. That is collector price for a 70's bass. I have seen Pots sell for around $300 for similar basses. I agree that $1200 would be more in-line with the Value as suggested above. I guess it's all subjective but $150 is way off IMO

1700 for an original finish 76 jazz is pretty much going market price. that aint collector money at all. go check ebay completed auctions for 76 pots. 150 is generous.

[smcd]

Originally Posted by narud

1700 for an original finish 76 jazz is pretty much going market price. that aint collector money at all. go check ebay completed auctions for 76 pots. 150 is generous.

True, but there's a lot more wrong here than just the pots. You have to admit that.

[narud]

Originally Posted by A-Step-Towards

Yep the top while it still has gloss to it is still way duller and less glossy then the back. The back is fully glossy and on the back and front I feel no seam seperation.The front while it still has a finish to it has to have had some removed. I am wondering if it was slightly water damaged on top and they tried to knock it down a bit or even it out? i think the top was messed with in some way or another.

Yep the action is super high and the guy said in the auction it plays great, I use to play some junky high action basses in my day but this thing is difficult to play. He also didnt state the gnarly A string buzz when playing a open note. My guess is the frets need a leveling which is why the action is so high.

Also I have the guard its just off in the photo, also the control plate screws are ones I put in, not the huge phillips it came with.

Here is a photo of the glossy back and notice there is another area where the finish is weird



Here is a photo where you can see if you look closely some weird runs, I have no idea what the runs are but its some finish it isnt some gunk. It maybe hard to see due to the poor quality photos.

definitely looks sanded. who knows why. the top coat on these can have some super ugly looking checking that looks like giant cracks. its only in the top coat though, and some guys would just sand that top coat off leaving a hard finish because of the undercoat. my 74 has the top coat removed.

1700 will buy you nice 70's no issues jazz on ebay. they come up often and you just have to ask questions that may seem redundant to ask.

[narud]

Originally Posted by smcd

True, but there's a lot more wrong here than just the pots. You have to admit that.

with the new pictures....definitely. id send this bass back asap. you just gotta make sure to ask all the right questions too though. lord knows (and you) i do before buying old stuff.