A new marketing tactic: "Certified Pre-owned"

Probably too much hassle for too little profit. A bass isn't like a car, any issues are usually easily spotted by a potential buyer and they are easily returned to a retailer if something does turn up after the fact

 

Sounds like a lot of trouble for the big guys, and I think they all prefer the easier route, but the boutique bass builders might go for it.

 

There's not enough money involved to make this worthwhile. The only time it would matter is for a very, very high end bass that was flawless in every respect - and in that case, who needs certification or would pay for it?

Interesting thought, but I don't see it as practical.

 

Too much variance with no nationaly recognized way to document.
I played a brand new Aerodyne bass yesterday at GC and the neck had a ski jump.
Most do not.

 

How is this in any way better than what good retail stores (the few that are still around) already do, which is a basic setup and cleaning on used instruments before putting them out on the sales floor? All you're doing is adding paperwork and increasing the cost to the consumer.

 

Your local car dealership did NOT actually go through a "127 point inspection".

It's all marketing in the car biz.

It would be all marketing in the bass biz.

 

I've seen a few high end basses go back through their makers to be refurbished and resold. Alembic and Fodera I believe have done things like that in the past. I don't know how they ended up with the used instruments, but they were returned to near-new condition with refinishing and replacement parts. Could be that someone sent it back for refurbishing and then couldn't pay, or changed their mind, etc.

But that's boutique makers rehabing their product and bypassing retailers completely, so totally different from what you're talking about.

More similar to what you're talking about are repair techs being certified by manufacturers to do warranty work on their instruments.

 

Why does a bass being sold as used need to be certified it was pre-owned? It's kind of obvious since it's being sold as used.

 

Retail: definitely not.

Custom build: yes

Scenario: people who buy Fodera’a typically contact Fodera. Someone Could trade in their original Fodera while buying a different one. Fodera cleans and refurbishes the original and sells it used with a warranty.

Would I personally be interested in this? No. I don’t buy high-end bases like that, and I know what to look for with issues before buying a bass. I do my own set up work.

 

The "certified" part refers to either an authorized retailer or the manufacturer going over the bass and making sure it is up to factory specs.

 

True but they give you a list of things that says they did. If something on that list isn't right, you have 30 days to correct it. I went though this last year with a used car. They said the CD player was working in the paperwork (who tests that out on their initial drive?) so I was expecting a working, factory, CD player. In the end, they installed an $800+ radio at their expense.

There are manufacturers that do this, F bass jumps to mind.

 

This is already a thing. "Manufacturer refurbished".
All over the Bay and Verb.

 

I know, it was a joke.

 

I would lean more towards the purchase of a certified pre-owned vehicle, if they offered a lifetime of new bass strings, in lieu of the actual warranty.

They can keep the free car washes, too...

... free strings... send them to me, by the case...

 

This wouldn't be too difficult, I suppose. Essentially, it would amount to paying a little more than the typical price for a used instrument, and getting something like the original purchaser's factory warranty. It's similar to the extended warranties you can buy on appliances, for example. It could be sold and backed by the manufacturer, in which case you could get it serviced at any authorized shop, or sold and backed by the store, in which case you'd have to bring it back there.

Some folks might pay a little extra for this, but with the great return policies at GC and Sam Ash, which probably do the highest volumes, I'm just not sure it would have many takers. Like others, I've read about things like this with boutique builders, where it makes sense if they repair/refurbish the bass in house.

 

You would add overhead and jack the price up to the point where used instruments would no longer be attractive.