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Almost NBD - so disappointing

M

MetalMaximus

Sep 12, 2020
62
52
Midwest USA
#1
Hi All,

I hoped to share my first NBD since joining TB, but alas, it wasn’t in the cards. I bought what was labeled a used, excellent condition Spector Legend 5 Classic from Guitar Center online. It was a great price, and I couldn’t wait to receive it.

I picked it up earlier today. Condition was as-described in a nice-looking quilted maple sunburst, but wait...what’s that symbol on the pickups? A Spector logo? Hmmm...shouldn’t it have Bartolinis or EMGs, depending on the year? What about the hi mass bridge? Nope. Long story short - it took some investigation, as the specs for the Legend basses have changed a bit over the years, but I received a mislabeled Legend 5 Standard, not the Classic. What seemed a really great deal for a Classic ended up being a pretty poor deal on a standard. (There are a few hundred dollars difference between the two models.) Ultimately, the giveaways were the bridge design, pickups, and after checking the control cavity, lack of TonePump Jr pre-amp.

I drove back to GC, and they took care of the return without any issue. You win some, you lose some - especially in the GC used gear lottery. I’ve gotten steals as well as duds (which I’ve returned).
 
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#5
MetalMaximus said:
You win some, you lose some - especially in the GC used gear lottery. I’ve gotten steals as well as duds (which I’ve returned).
Click to expand...

Many of us have scored some great deals from GC and many of us have returned a used bass that did not live up to the description. I recently bought a used bass from them described as "good" condition. It had so much ski jump in the neck it was unplayable. I returned it for a full refund and they immediately put it back up for sale with the same photo and description. It sold and was returned two more times before someone kept it.

GC used equipment can be great or not so great. Only their good return policy keeps it from being more than an inconvenience to those of us who have a GC close to where we live. It must be a real pain for those who must ship the item back to GC.
 
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#6
Agreed! Fortunately, my GC is only a 10 min drive, so returns are easy. I’ve gotten great used gear there and some total duds.

If I had to deal with shipping for returns on used gear, I would probably only buy small items from them to avoid the extra hassle.
 
#7
MetalMaximus said:
Hi All,

I hoped to share my first NBD since joining TB, but alas, it wasn’t in the cards. I bought what was labeled a used, excellent condition Spector Legend 5 Classic from Guitar Center online. It was a great price, and I couldn’t wait to receive it.

I picked it up earlier today. Condition was as-described in a nice-looking quilted maple sunburst, but wait...what’s that symbol on the pickups? A Spector logo? Hmmm...shouldn’t it have Bartolinis or EMGs, depending on the year? What about the hi mass bridge? Nope. Long story short - it took some investigation, as the specs for the Legend basses have changed a bit over the years, but I received a mislabeled Legend 5 Standard, not the Classic. What seemed a really great deal for a Classic ended up being a pretty poor deal on a standard. (There are a few hundred dollars difference between the two models.) Ultimately, the giveaways were the bridge design, pickups, and after checking the control cavity, lack of TonePump Jr pre-amp.

I drove back to GC, and they took care of the return without any issue. You win some, you lose some - especially in the GC used gear lottery. I’ve gotten steals as well as duds (which I’ve returned).
Click to expand...

Yea, I hear ya. that super low line of spectors ("standard") will really get some people. I had the Classic, which was a decent bass by most any metric. At least they have a Return policy, sucks that they'll try to get the next guy without fixin the problem.

T$
 
#8
MetalMaximus said:
Hi All,

I hoped to share my first NBD since joining TB, but alas, it wasn’t in the cards. I bought what was labeled a used, excellent condition Spector Legend 5 Classic from Guitar Center online. It was a great price, and I couldn’t wait to receive it.

I picked it up earlier today. Condition was as-described in a nice-looking quilted maple sunburst, but wait...what’s that symbol on the pickups? A Spector logo? Hmmm...shouldn’t it have Bartolinis or EMGs, depending on the year? What about the hi mass bridge? Nope. Long story short - it took some investigation, as the specs for the Legend basses have changed a bit over the years, but I received a mislabeled Legend 5 Standard, not the Classic. What seemed a really great deal for a Classic ended up being a pretty poor deal on a standard. (There are a few hundred dollars difference between the two models.) Ultimately, the giveaways were the bridge design, pickups, and after checking the control cavity, lack of TonePump Jr pre-amp.

I drove back to GC, and they took care of the return without any issue. You win some, you lose some - especially in the GC used gear lottery. I’ve gotten steals as well as duds (which I’ve returned).
Click to expand...

That's very disappointing! Maybe it's a sign that you need a Euro :)

That said, I'm glad that GC accepted the return without too many issues. I don't deal with GC too much but after reading through what you've written I'll keep a critical eye open in the future if I ever order anything from there. Thanks for the tip!
 
#9
Drifter8230 said:
That's very disappointing! Maybe it's a sign that you need a Euro :)

That said, I'm glad that GC accepted the return without too many issues. I don't deal with GC too much but after reading through what you've written I'll keep a critical eye open in the future if I ever order anything from there. Thanks for the tip!
Click to expand...

I’ve bought a lot of things from them that I’ve kept, but used gear is hit and miss. I haven’t kept track to see if I’ve kept more items than I’ve returned.
 
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