Brand new basses for $30?

[whero]

I just read through that two-year old Lowest Priced New Basses Ever? thread. I have to say I was surprised at the number of posts basically saying "oh well... I might not get anything but it was only $20," usually followed with something like "that's not a lot to lose" or "it was worth it to see what would happen".

You know that's exactly what scammers are counting on, right? 500 people order a $20 bass and 5% of them decide they can afford to lose $20, so don't pursue a refund. The scammer has made an easy $500. You only need one person to believe they've won millions in a foreign lottery they never entered to make it worth sending a thousand phishing emails.

 

[rufus.K]

My curiosity has peaked. What can you actually get for this price? Local to Indonesian market but probably made in China. Looks like plastic tuning keys. I am almost ready to take one for the team just to see what shows up.(not really) Terms are no warranty, no complaints, no brand disclosed and "Please understand if there is a slight lack of finishing". A 3rd party site similar to EBay holds the money until the product is delivered, so you are guaranteed to receive something at least somewhat matching the pictures. I can't shake the feeling that I would still be disappointed at $30.

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I'll buy one.

Where's the link?

 

[Hawk256]

I'll buy one.

Where's the link?

To anyone coming in the middle of this tread and not reading it all "I AM NOT affiliated with this link nor do I endorse or even have an idea of what you would receive. If you are outside of Indonesia, as most are, it wouldn't make sense to pay the crazy shipping price. If I had a YouTube channel and some followers, I might consider picking one up for a video but since I don't I can't imagine I will ever see one of these in person unless curiosity ultimately wins out. You have been fairly warned. For what it's worth Tokopedia is similar to EBay and is the number one e-site in Indonesia. They hold the money until the item arrives and is accepted so I don't think it could possibly be a scam the way some believe. I think you would get something but what?

Link Removed

 

[Fender_Bender]

There’s not much chance of a truss rod in that thing,which makes it a very risky gamble.

 

[jamro217]

Weight? I'd be all over it if it was a fiver.

 

[Bass Man Dan]

I just read through that two-year old Lowest Priced New Basses Ever? thread. I have to say I was surprised at the number of posts basically saying "oh well... I might not get anything but it was only $20," usually followed with something like "that's not a lot to lose" or "it was worth it to see what would happen".

You know that's exactly what scammers are counting on, right? 500 people order a $20 bass and 5% of them decide they can afford to lose $20, so don't pursue a refund. The scammer has made an easy $500. You only need one person to believe they've won millions in a foreign lottery they never entered to make it worth sending a thousand phishing emails.

I ordered one. Paid with PayPal, got my money back quickly. There was no risk unless tying $20 up for a couple weeks causes a financial hardship. Which, as bass players, is entirely possible,

 

[zubrycky]

It's too good to be true.

 

[jimmydean]

Best bass for $30.00 or less and the winner is .........not this bass !

 

[JRA]

....until they make a fretless version.

 

[JamesDeGrandis]

My curiosity has peaked. What can you actually get for this price? Local to Indonesian market but probably made in China. Looks like plastic tuning keys. I am almost ready to take one for the team just to see what shows up.(not really) Terms are no warranty, no complaints, no brand disclosed and "Please understand if there is a slight lack of finishing". A 3rd party site similar to EBay holds the money until the product is delivered, so you are guaranteed to receive something at least somewhat matching the pictures. I can't shake the feeling that I would still be disappointed at $30.

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To step this into a different direction. Using E-bay... I just located several different models for under $88 with free shipping. These are jazz, p, pj, and more... and are new. They actually have adjustable bridges too!
I bet they are all terrible in their own ways... they basically look like bad, no-name copies of Ibanez and Squier...
So, would I buy a $30 bass off of that site for that particular piece of unserviceable garbage?
Heck no.
But... would I buy an $88 mostly unserviceable piece of garbage off of e-bay?
Also, heck no.
But for different reasons.
Some of these sellers are at 98% positive feedback with hundreds of thousands of sales... with the individual listings having hundreds of sales with positive reviews... so getting completely ripped off seems unlikely... and it's ebay...
But I don't currently require a crappy bass to smash... nor am I inclined to make yet another one of those click-bait
"I bought these three $88 basses off ebay and wow!" YouTube videos.

So yeah... heck no.
Checked aliexpress, but shipping prices got in the way...
(P.S. - I will watch those videos though.)

 

[buldog5151bass]

You might get a bass worth every penny of $30. You might get a bass NOT worth $30. You might get scammed.

And you want to spend $30 because...?

 

[Bass Man Dan]

To step this into a different direction. Using E-bay... I just located several different models for under $88 with free shipping. These are jazz, p, pj, and more... and are new. They actually have adjustable bridges too!
I bet they are all terrible in their own ways... they basically look like bad, no-name copies of Ibanez and Squier...
So, would I buy a $30 bass off of that site for that particular piece of unserviceable garbage?
Heck no.
But... would I buy an $88 mostly unserviceable piece of garbage off of e-bay?
Also, heck no.
But for different reasons.
Some of these sellers are at 98% positive feedback with hundreds of thousands of sales... with the individual listings having hundreds of sales with positive reviews... so getting completely ripped off seems unlikely... and it's ebay...
But I don't currently require a crappy bass to smash... nor am I inclined to make yet another one of those click-bait
"I bought these three $88 basses off ebay and wow!" YouTube videos.

So yeah... heck no.
Checked aliexpress, but shipping prices got in the way...
(P.S. - I will watch those videos though.)

I rehearse on a 5 string Glarry Ibanez copy. For $110 shipped, it's around 7 pounds (great for 2 or 3 hour rehearsals), stays in tune and sounds pretty dang good. Plus, I can leave it wherever and not lose sleep.

 

[pepj]

Put $30 in the charity pot.

 

[Durham52]

That bridge gave me nightmares and I'm not even asleep.

I would also bet that those are regular 6-string electric guitar humbuckers in there, not even bass-specific pickups.

Yeah, but Rickenbacker have been putting 6 string guitar pickups in basses since the 1950's... But the rest of the instrument certainly won't be Rickenbacker quality.

Don't waste your money on this one.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

c'mon, man. don't do it. this is a complete pile of junk. You won't use it and it'll cost more to get rid of it. You're better off spending the money on a couple pizzas and some wings.

 

[SirMjac28]

If it makes a sound that's a win it's a bass, not a violin and if it gives someone an introduction to music I'm all for it.

 

[Hawk256]

If it makes a sound that's a win it's a bass, not a violin and if it gives someone an introduction to music I'm all for it.

Very good point. $30 is still a decent chunk of change for some people in the world.

 

[Nev375]

For that price you could buy a really nice instrument cable.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

 

[bolophonic]

C’mon man.... this is just more disposable garbage. Humanity needs to reject the race to the bottom.