That's messed up right there...
As a proud Allen Woody player, I died a little inside when I saw that break.
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Bass arrived broken.
- Thread starter mattbass6945
- Start date
That's messed up right there...
As a proud Allen Woody player, I died a little inside when I saw that break.
If you don't hear from the seller in a timely manner let Reverb know, They'll contact the seller and make things happen.
You've received good advice worth following.
I would only add the rationale for why this happens. Proper shipping is expensive. Way more than the markup received for the instrument itself in many cases. So retailers curtail shipping costs two ways.
1) Self insure. Meaning if the instrument is damaged in transit they simply eat it. This banks on the premise that XX% of packages make it through undamaged and that the cost of fighting the carrier for the remaining XX% is more than the return. The money saved outweighs the cost of damaged merchandise.
2) Packaging costs are high. Boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and manpower to put it all together is expensive. OEMs have packaging experts that can ship a set of glass light bulbs through hell in a carefully designed paper bag and they'll survive. Resellers try to emulate this minimalist approach and avoid the additional packaging expenses. Probably 99% of the time it is a good move. The other 1% it is a disaster.
I have found it to be a great bargain having FedEx / Kinkos package and ship instruments for me. It is $25 on top of the shipping cost and well worth it to me as an individual seller. A business could not operate that way though.
I would only add the rationale for why this happens. Proper shipping is expensive. Way more than the markup received for the instrument itself in many cases. So retailers curtail shipping costs two ways.
1) Self insure. Meaning if the instrument is damaged in transit they simply eat it. This banks on the premise that XX% of packages make it through undamaged and that the cost of fighting the carrier for the remaining XX% is more than the return. The money saved outweighs the cost of damaged merchandise.
2) Packaging costs are high. Boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and manpower to put it all together is expensive. OEMs have packaging experts that can ship a set of glass light bulbs through hell in a carefully designed paper bag and they'll survive. Resellers try to emulate this minimalist approach and avoid the additional packaging expenses. Probably 99% of the time it is a good move. The other 1% it is a disaster.
I have found it to be a great bargain having FedEx / Kinkos package and ship instruments for me. It is $25 on top of the shipping cost and well worth it to me as an individual seller. A business could not operate that way though.
The seller is communicating so far. It was bought from someone who sells b stock items. I've wanted a Rumblekat forever, so this is heartbreaking. I do find the packaging odd though. Christmas wrapping paper in lieu of bubble wrap or something like that?
This is your first ever online bass purchase? What a terrible start to your first experience, I'm sorry you have to deal with this. If the seller doesn't, Reverb will certainly take care of you.
I've ordered a bass from Guitar Center online that didn't come as expected either, but had it delivered to the store so I could inspect it before I got it home. I've ordered tons of pedals, strings, etc.....but I'm 0 for 2 on basses ordered via the internet. Making me question my luck.
I actually bought an epiphone bass recently and the first on I got did not have a broken headstock but it did appear to have cracks running along each side of the neck near the nut where it met the headstock. Needless to say I exchanged it.
This is why we loosen the strings ALOT before shipping. and pad the head stock. And why we use Paypal. They can claw the money back from the seller if there is trouble.
Expect this to take a month
Expect this to take a month
You see this same breakage pattern over and over. United Breaks Guitars!!! (Or fill in whatever carrier you want.) But people keep shipping and transporting their tilt back, glued headstock instrument in hard cases. Most hard cases have zero padding. It’s just a little bit of shag fur on particle board. So, the box or the case is stood upright, it falls over and all of that downward momentum is transferred to the free floating headstock and “snap”. There goes the headstock.
You can’t do much about how it’s shipped from the retailer, but if you travel with and instrument with one of these headstock, invest in a Reunion Blues Continental gig bag. It’s like putting your instrument in between two thick memory foam mattresses.
You can’t do much about how it’s shipped from the retailer, but if you travel with and instrument with one of these headstock, invest in a Reunion Blues Continental gig bag. It’s like putting your instrument in between two thick memory foam mattresses.
That's a bummer! Try not to let that discourage you from buying instruments online altogether. Plenty of sellers actually know how to pack items so they won't break during shipping. This is not "the norm."
That being said, beyond requesting a refund from the seller (Actually get on Reverb and hit the "Request a refund" button, in addition to sending a message to the seller), I would recommend sending a message directly to Reverb, just to make sure they are looped in and aware of what's going on.
As far as online marketplaces go, Reverb is great. They take care of sellers and buyers very well and will help you resolve this quickly.
And if you end up getting to keep the instrument, at least it looks like a clean break! Any luthier would be able to fix that and make it better than new.
That being said, beyond requesting a refund from the seller (Actually get on Reverb and hit the "Request a refund" button, in addition to sending a message to the seller), I would recommend sending a message directly to Reverb, just to make sure they are looped in and aware of what's going on.
As far as online marketplaces go, Reverb is great. They take care of sellers and buyers very well and will help you resolve this quickly.
And if you end up getting to keep the instrument, at least it looks like a clean break! Any luthier would be able to fix that and make it better than new.
I've got all of my basses via shipping with no issues. I have to because of where I live. Anyway, sad to see this happen to you. All of the excitement of a new bass immediately replaced with stress and anxiety. Bummer.
I had the same problem with an Epi Embassy pro, ordered online to a well known British Company. I Called their Customer service. They asked me for some pictures and almost immediately sent me a shipping label. I had a replacement bass within one week or so (in red instead of white). The broken bass was in its original cardboard box, with original protection and labels. Box was in perfect repair. I don't know whether the bass has been broken during shipping from Korea to UK or from UK to my home in France, or, who knows, in the storage premises of the seller. I think its the desease of Gibson/Epiphone mahogany necks (wouldn't have happened to a maple neck)
I wonder what goes through the minds of airline baggage and freight handlers.
I was going to get a Hiscox case for my daughter's acoustic guitar for her 18th. Asked around friends who tour internationally regularly and one of them who would have sworn that Hiscox was the go had her guitar smashed the other week in Europe. She said they'd have had to drive over it to do the damage that was done.
Another friend who tours even more extensively uses a thick Mono semi-soft case. She's only had one issue in over 10 years and over a hundred flights. She believes they actually are more careful of instruments that aren't in hard cases and flight cases. Most non-musicians appear to think that a hard case will withstand anything but will put a softer case on top.
I had a brand new Dillion arrive with two tuners bent and when I grabbed one it broke off. The box didn't have a scratch on it and it was in a gig bag in a box with bubble wrap all around the gig bag and a smaller size bubble wrap all around the headstock and neck inside the gig bag.
I bought it on Regurge from an actual brick and mortar store that was a Dillion Dealer. Notified him and he notified John 'Dillion' Vinci and two days later via UPS I got two replacement tuners and a note from John 'Dillion' Vinci. Sometimes it happens and I thought it was going to be a real hassle but everything worked out fine.
I bought it on Regurge from an actual brick and mortar store that was a Dillion Dealer. Notified him and he notified John 'Dillion' Vinci and two days later via UPS I got two replacement tuners and a note from John 'Dillion' Vinci. Sometimes it happens and I thought it was going to be a real hassle but everything worked out fine.
Someone took it out of the box
and after it “got itself broken” someone put it back. Forensics.
I had a Roland JD-XA delivered today. I have two dogs that go nuts when someone knocks or the doorbell rings. I was in my office working and never heard a peep out of either of them. When I went down to let the dogs out I saw the Roland on my porch. Apparently I signed for it too.
Maybe it was one of the dogs???
Ric5
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- Jan 29, 2008
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
