Am I the jerk here? Reverb return

[bpc]

Oh man, you would hate my Harley Benton JB-75 , 12.5ibs of bass

Yes, I've got one same weight. Even sitting down it gets tiring after an hour.

 

[lermgalieu]

Actually it's 22% heavier.

Indeed it is. I’m an idiot.

 

[InhumanResource]

lol this is still going on?

 

[capnjagg]

As a T-40 player, if you really like the bass, a wide, padded strap will do wonders and be a worthy investment at a small price to you. Since Reverb sided with you, if it really doesn’t sit well with you, return it and move along, but I don’t believe the seller’s misrepresentation was intentional or malicious, just done out of ignorance. However, as you mentioned in your original post, you got this bass for less than it was listed it for, so I’m sure you could easily recoup your money (maybe even turn a profit) if you resold it, and have a clean conscience about the whole charity thing. I’d take note and be wary of selling to any of the crankier TBers in this thread, but maybe they just haven’t had their morning coffee yet…

 

[Hawk256]

Just to put this out there. I have been playing for 35 years and have never been asked to weigh a bass nor have I ever asked anyone to weigh a bass. Didn't even know it was thing until last year when I joined this group. It seems very important to certain people and I honestly don't get it. I'm not sure I could tell the difference in 2 pounds with my custom wide leather strap anyway. To each his own.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

This is an ongoing matter here but let’s see what TB says


I’ve been looking for a early 80s Fullerton STD P with rosewood board… found one! Placed a lower but still fair offer. Accepted!

my first very first question before payment and checkout (and perhaps out of order here and my one and only error in the process)

“what’s the weight?”

“about 9lbs, very comfortable!”


Great! bass arrives as described except it weighs 11lbs. From the listings I’ve researched, and the other maple necked Fullertons I’ve put my hands on, 9lbs is actually on the heavy side. 11lbs feels like an anomaly, yes body is original.

Reverb agrees this is an issue of not as described.

Here’s where the karma gets tricky. Listing mentions “raising money for a woman who lost her husband last year”

He was the original owner and was a veteran. Bass is in great player-grade shape actually considering (maybe because it’s 11lbs and tended to sit in the case!”)

seller is pissed and thinks it’s “absurd” that I’m wanting to kill a deal “because of 2lbs” and I acknowledged the bad reverb karma on my end.

arguably this bass plays and sounds better than the other 83s I’ve played… and maybe the heavy body has something to do with that. Idk it just isn’t sitting well with me either way.


Am I the ******* here?

is anybody here interested in a boat anchor? Could be showing up in the classifieds later today.

Most non-TBers don’t obsess over the weight of an instrument, and the seller probably wasn’t trying to screw people over by not posting pictures of the bass on a perfectly calibrated digital scale. Me personally, I wouldn’t let the weight bother me. I’d get a wide strap or one of those “Comfort Strapp” straps, they work GREAT for taming a heavier instrument.

 

[red_rhino]

And everyone knows you don’t have a deal until money has changed hands and the item has been delivered.

There’s a completed transaction when $ changes hands & item (or service) is delivered; there is a deal before the completed transaction, & it is not always clear exactly when. Otherwise Contracts wouldn’t be a full course in law school.

Yeah, perhaps a better phrase would have been “a done deal”. (A realtor once said to me that “It’s not your house until you’re standing in the living room with the keys in your hand and your kids and dog beside you.”)

Offer + acceptance = contract.

More of an agreement, I’d say. Despite any language in the Reverb TOS that may stipulate those actions somehow equate to a contract, it’s largely unenforceable. In this case, even the arbiter, Reverb itself, agreed that the terms of the agreement/contract had not been satisfied.

In this case, TB is just the court of public opinion, and only marginally more entertaining than Judge Judy. (Although I am a little concerned that someday I’ll be confronted by all my past basses, angry at being sold after I told them I would play them forever before I moved on to younger, hotter basses. )

 

[electracoyote]

If the weight is a deal breaker, and was inaccurately disclosed, return it. A discount or partial refund is not an appropriate resolution for an otherwise good instrument. Learning curve for the seller who will find another buyer for it, any inconvenience was at least partially caused by the seller and only temporary. I wouldn’t feel guilty about it, just an unfortunate mistake. Some players like me actually seek out denser heavier woods. I just intentionally bought an 11-pounder after passing on several identical basses that were lighter. Someone else will buy it.

 

[74hc]

Any bass that weighs 11lbs. or more, I don't even consider it.

 

[juggahnaught]

lol this is still going on?

You know the deal

 

[Killing Floor]

I said earlier nobody is a jerk. A seller that has no mechanism to accurately weighs a bass to the sellers expectation and most likely hadn’t planned to be asked. And a buyer who has a specific criteria that this seller unknowingly didn’t meet.
Life. It’s all ok. Work it out.

 

[Lowbrow]

It seems very important to certain people and I honestly don't get it.

This isn't a knock on you, Hawk, just a suggestion that anyone who can't help blowing off about bass weight concerns may benefit by reading the quote above.
In short: if someone doesn't get it, that's fine -- but maybe they should be less quick to knock something they do not understand.

 

[jpbicknell]

Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful replies.

To be honest I’ve been drafting a proper response and update for over 18 hours…


UPDATES:

-the seller quickly admitted to never having weighed it and that they primarily deal with guitars.

-I believe the seller and the story as our correspondence through the deal was nothing short of delightful.

-after some unsavory messaging, the seller has begrudgingly initiated a return request and it still isn’t sitting well with me. I was never planning on sticking the return shipping costs to the seller in this dispute...



Hypotheticals just for fun:

Had I not committed my error and asked before the offer- I still most likely would have been given the same wrong information.

Had the seller not committed the error of guessing and given me an accurate weight- I most certainly would have asked them to please cancel the order as a courtesy, and I don’t think there would have been pushback on that.

Had the seller told me “I’m not sure”…
that’s a tough one but I likely would have asked if there was a way to weigh it before proceeding, just to avoid disappoint all around.

What I hate is waste… wasted time, gas/space on the UPS trucks, wasted energy on all of the correspondence and debate.




God’s honest truth is that I have an addictive personality and buying basses (and sometimes selling them) is bordering on a compulsive habit. I went into a gear buying frenzy during the shutdown, some pieces for me, some pieces to play with for a bit and then ultimately sell and perhaps supplement the income that was lost due to said shutdown.

after going back and forth with this issue for a couple days now this is MY problem to fix, and by problem I'm not just talking about a regretful purchase. This wasn't intended to be a flip, this was for me... but seeing as it’s too much bass for me, I will be tasked with finding a new home for it, possibly at a loss. Hakuna Matata.

what I knew to be the right thing to do is indeed what will be done. I can't say the seller has taken any ownership of their error... But I am owning mine.

 

[allen_m]

There are two losers in this thread: the oft-maligned bathroom scale and me; for having read every post.

 

[Lowbrow]

Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful replies.

To be honest I’ve been drafting a proper response and update for over 18 hours…


UPDATES:

-the seller quickly admitted to never having weighed it and that they primarily deal with guitars.

-I believe the seller and the story as our correspondence through the deal was nothing short of delightful.

-after some unsavory messaging, the seller has begrudgingly initiated a return request and it still isn’t sitting well with me. I was never planning on sticking the return shipping costs to the seller in this dispute...



Hypotheticals just for fun:

Had I not committed my error and asked before the offer- I still most likely would have been given the same wrong information.

Had the seller not committed the error of guessing and given me an accurate weight- I most certainly would have asked them to please cancel the order as a courtesy, and I don’t think there would have been pushback on that.

Had the seller told me “I’m not sure”…
that’s a tough one but I likely would have asked if there was a way to weigh it before proceeding, just to avoid disappoint all around.

What I hate is waste… wasted time, gas/space on the UPS trucks, wasted energy on all of the correspondence and debate.




God’s honest truth is that I have an addictive personality and buying basses (and sometimes selling them) is bordering on a compulsive habit. I went into a gear buying frenzy during the shutdown, some pieces for me, some pieces to play with for a bit and then ultimately sell and perhaps supplement the income that was lost due to said shutdown.

after going back and forth with this issue for a couple days now this is MY problem to fix, and by problem I'm not just talking about a regretful purchase. This wasn't intended to be a flip, this was for me... but seeing as it’s too much bass for me, I will be tasked with finding a new home for it, possibly at a loss. Hakuna Matata.

what I knew to be the right thing to do is indeed what will be done. I can't say the seller has taken any ownership of their error... But I am owning mine.

So if I read all of this correctly, you plan to sell it. Yes?

 

[creaturegods]

after going back and forth with this issue for a couple days now this is MY problem to fix, and by problem I'm not just talking about a regretful purchase. This wasn't intended to be a flip, this was for me... but seeing as it’s too much bass for me, I will be tasked with finding a new home for it, possibly at a loss. Hakuna Matata.

what I knew to be the right thing to do is indeed what will be done. I can't say the seller has taken any ownership of their error... But I am owning mine.

Good on you, my friend!

I'm bummed this one isn't a keeper, as it seems like you've been on the hunt for a bass like this for a bit, but I think you're doing the right thing. The right instrument will come your way eventually!

 

[BucketOfFish]

Add a little more drama: Pay shipping to have the bass sent back for refund. The bass is received as damaged beyond repair. Let the claims begin. Post on TB.

 

[5StringBlues]

Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful replies.

To be honest I’ve been drafting a proper response and update for over 18 hours…


UPDATES:

-the seller quickly admitted to never having weighed it and that they primarily deal with guitars.

-I believe the seller and the story as our correspondence through the deal was nothing short of delightful.

-after some unsavory messaging, the seller has begrudgingly initiated a return request and it still isn’t sitting well with me. I was never planning on sticking the return shipping costs to the seller in this dispute...



Hypotheticals just for fun:

Had I not committed my error and asked before the offer- I still most likely would have been given the same wrong information.

Had the seller not committed the error of guessing and given me an accurate weight- I most certainly would have asked them to please cancel the order as a courtesy, and I don’t think there would have been pushback on that.

Had the seller told me “I’m not sure”…
that’s a tough one but I likely would have asked if there was a way to weigh it before proceeding, just to avoid disappoint all around.

What I hate is waste… wasted time, gas/space on the UPS trucks, wasted energy on all of the correspondence and debate.




God’s honest truth is that I have an addictive personality and buying basses (and sometimes selling them) is bordering on a compulsive habit. I went into a gear buying frenzy during the shutdown, some pieces for me, some pieces to play with for a bit and then ultimately sell and perhaps supplement the income that was lost due to said shutdown.

after going back and forth with this issue for a couple days now this is MY problem to fix, and by problem I'm not just talking about a regretful purchase. This wasn't intended to be a flip, this was for me... but seeing as it’s too much bass for me, I will be tasked with finding a new home for it, possibly at a loss. Hakuna Matata.

what I knew to be the right thing to do is indeed what will be done. I can't say the seller has taken any ownership of their error... But I am owning mine.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Manticore]

lol this is still going on?

Right?

 

[JimmyM]

Had I not committed my error and asked before the offer- I still most likely would have been given the same wrong information.

what I knew to be the right thing to do is indeed what will be done. I can't say the seller has taken any ownership of their error... But I am owning mine.

I can't blame a seller for not wanting to eat return shipping, especially since the price I got quoted for shipping a bass a month ago was $160 from everyone, but what you did was an oversight and what she did was give you grossly inaccurate info based on a hunch. I bought a little dial fish scale for about $8 a few years ago, and if you make sure the pointer's zeroed out, it's quite accurate, and I've checked it against digital postal scales. No excuse for making up a number, and if she didn't want to eat a return, she should have bought one or said "I don't know." So don't let my or anyone else pointing that out make you think you were in the wrong.