damaged "new" bass from Ebay seller..

[bread903]

So! I suddenly received a full refund from the seller!

The odd thing is that the message came along with the refund

doesn't sound like it's from a responsible merchant..

"Dear grass903,

I have returned your Paypal payment.

Now you have your payment, and you have the bass.

We have your angry words."

Not walking me through the returning process,

not talking about fixing the negative feedback,

not even wondering how this finish defection could have happened as I do,

but they just clarified the situation....???



I don't consider myself as a person who acts very mature,

but as I talk to this merchant, I feel like I'm dealing with an immature kid.

Jokes all over, now throw the money back at me and tell me nothing..

I wrote back to them politely saying, please walk me through the returning process.

They gave me the refund rather fast, so I think won't be stressed as much.

I thank them for that one.



Thanks to you all for your concerns! And I'll let you know if anything peculiar happens.



[Down from here is the original posting]
Hi, everyone!

This month, I obtained 3 more basses.

1. Warwick Alien Deluxe 6 string fretless

2. Steinberger Synapse 4 string

and,

3. Warwick Alien standard 4 string fretted


The problem is the third one that I bought from an Ebay seller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Warwick-Rockbass-Alien-Standard-acoustic-Bass-natural-finish-Start-bid-reduced-/221471758418?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=m3OVtMKj0F%2BL9Ow9X%2BTGRzTe%2FVM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

This is the original posting.

The description says it's "brand new, unused, unopened",

and the bass I received has these conditions:

Scratches.

This is just one sample one. there are little scratches EVERYWHERE. little scratches are everywhere.


and then,

I don't even know how this could be done.

As far as I know, the entire instrument is finished with clear transparent finish,

but while the body is clean(although scratches are everywhere), the entire neck and the only neck

has its finished changed creamy, and has those huge white spots.



As you guys might have noticed, I live over the ocean in South Korea,

and it's not easy for me to return this and go through all the process,

I don't have any choice but to accept my position as the victim of a fraud.


The seller is "The Bass Place" and although it has accumulated feedback record

at Ebay, but their responses to the occasional negative feedbacks are rather provocative.

I think they are the rare case of "BAD AMERICANS".

People, please be careful.

 

[Immigrant]

That's too bad. You know, you can file a claim with eBay and possibly work out a deal, possibly a partial refund. I know it's a giant hassle, but that's how you can get some real resolution, more than you can get from posting here. After all is said and done, you can still leave not-so-favorable feedback to warn possible future buyers.

Bad people come from all places on the globe. I feel the last statement of your post is a generalization and a little offensive. I didn't quote you so you have a chance to edit it if you want.

Good luck! I hope you get your issue resolved.

 

[Turxile]

Did you write to Bass Place yet?
I believe they are an official Warwick dealer.
Here's what I suggest;
- write to bass place and send the pictures. See what resolution they can provide.
- if you're not satisfied, write to Warwick directly.

 

[fourstringdrums]

I wouldn't jump the gun to assume that you've been a victim of fraud. The Bass Place is fairly reputable.

Before you jump to a claim I would at least contact them. There has to be some sort of resolution and chances are they'll work with you to make it right. It might not be easy to return it, but it is possible. After all they were able to ship it to you. I'd rather go through a little bit of hassle to either get a replacement or get a refund than live with a defective product.

 

[wvbass]

IME, the Bass Place is okay. I have spoken with them on the phone, dealt with them on ebay, etc. To be fair though, I only have one bass that I purchased from them, and their responses to negative feedback are a little gruff. However, there is very, very little negative feedback compared to the positive responses.

Looking at ebay, it appears that their complaint regarding your negative feedback is that it took you a month to report the issues to them. Is that the case?

Edit: Did the box appear to be new, unused and UNOPENED? The Bass Place buys closeouts, discontinued models, etc. The pictures in the auction are stock photos. It is possible the have never actually seen the bass they sent you.

As for the name calling...yep, that always helps.

2nd Edit: The auction ended June 25th. It is July 20th. How long did it take to ship to South Korea? When did you receive the bass?

 

[hover]

Yeah. ^^^
What 4 string & Turxile said.

 

[fourstringdrums]

Looking at ebay, it appears that their complaint regarding your negative feedback is that it took you a month to report the issues to them. Is that the case?

Well if he's in S. Korea it might have taken him a month to get the bass if it got held up in customs.

 

[hover]

Well if he's in S. Korea it might have taken him a month to get the bass if it got held up in customs.

And dependent on how customs works, you cannot be sure they didn't inspect the internals of the package against the BOL...possibly causing them scratches.
And you never know what potentially sitting idle in customs for a long period, climate-wise, may have negatively impacted this instument.
Not one to make assumptions, just suggesting it *may* not be the seller's fault, alone.

 

[fourstringdrums]

And dependent on how customs works, you cannot be sure they didn't inspect the internals of the package against the BOL...possibly causing them scratches.
And you never know what potentially sitting idle in customs for a long period, climate-wise, may have negatively impacted this instument.
Not one to make assumptions, just suggesting it *may* not be the seller's fault, alone.

I was going to say that it could have happened in transit.

He should still be eligible for a refund though since his return period would start once he received the bass.

 

[wvbass]

I was going to say that it could have happened in transit.

He should still be eligible for a refund though since his return period would start once he received the bass.

By the time you look at shipping and customs costs, it might be cheaper to keep it. Two way shipping from Arizona to South Korea and back is probably more than the cost of the bass.

 

[fourstringdrums]

By the time you look at shipping and customs costs, it might be cheaper to keep it. Two way shipping from Arizona to South Korea and back is probably more than the cost of the bass.

That's true. Though still I'd hate to see a dealer not get a chance to make things right or at least not be raked over the coals if it wasn't their fault.

Is there insurance with international packages?

 

[hsech]

I've done business with the Bass Place through Ebay and never been dissatisfied. Did you talk to them first or are you just ranting.

 

[wvbass]

That's true. Though still I'd hate to see a dealer not get a chance to make things right or at least not be raked over the coals if it wasn't their fault.

Is there insurance with international packages?

Dunno. I can see those scratches happening in shipping/inspection/etc. Those pale spots on the neck are a mystery, though. If it was in fact "new and unopened," then the Bass Place knew nothing about them. I can't see shoes happening during shipping, though. I have a tough time seeing those get past an inspection at any level.

I have a Jaguar that is a factory second. I'm pretty sure it has a "USED" stamp on the headstock. I wonder if there is any chance this is a factory second? Or maybe the finish became cloudy in those spots?

 

[Geri O]

I, too, am surprised to hear of a less-than-positive experience with The Bass Place. My only transaction with them was great, with them being most accommodating. I would hope that they would be helpful with making the transaction good, even though it probably happened from the shipment.

I've done two ebay transactions with basses. The first was my beloved Music Man Stingray 5-string. Other than the set-up being impossible for anyone to play, leaving me to wonder how it could have been demo-able, and once I put strings on it and set it up, it was awesome and continues to be so.

The second one was a supposedly brand new AM STD Precision V (complete with all the usual Fender tools, tags and stickers) that seemed to be fine, but with a nagging action issue. That "nagging issue' cost me $400 to have repaired. I paid for it and I now have an awesome Precision. I didn't want to return it, I couldn't reasonably expect the seller to make an adjustment without seeing the bass, so I bit the bullet, paid for the repairs, didn't bother the seller with it (what's the point) and now I have a Precision that nearly no amount of money could make me let it go. Not the smartest move, but the right move for me. It was kinda like, you don't give a problem child back, you work with them and hope for the best.

 

[wvbass]

I, too, am surprised to hear of a less-than-positive experience with The Bass Place. My only transaction with them was great, with them being most accommodating. I would hope that they would be helpful with making the transaction good, even though it probably happened from the shipment.

I've done two ebay transactions with basses. The first was my beloved Music Man Stingray 5-string. Other than the set-up being impossible for anyone to play, leaving me to wonder how it could have demo-able, and once I put strings on it and set it up, it was awesome and continues to be so.

The second one was a supposedly brand new AM STD Precision V (complete with all the usual Fender tools, tags and stickers) that seemed to be fine, but with a nagging action issue. That "nagging issue' cost me $400 to have repaired. I paid for it and I now have an awesome Precision. I didn't want to return it, I couldn't reasonably expect the seller to make an adjustment without seeing the bass, so I bit the bullet, paid for the repairs, didn't bother the seller with it (what's the point) and now I have a Precision that nearly no amount of money could make me let it go. Not the smartest move, but the right move for me. It was kinda like, you don't give a problem child back, you work with them and hope for the best.

More people should be like you.

 

[hackworth]

Step one: Politely ask the seller to provide what he believes to be a fair reimbursement to you in consideration of these deleterious cosmetic issues. If you find his offer agreeable, accept it. Step two: If you do not, make a counter resolution. If he accepts your counter, then you are done. Step three: If not, take the process thru ebay. Ebay will eventually resolve the issue to your satisfaction.

 

[Real Soon]

For the future, I'd suggest contacting a seller on ebay if you have an issue with the item when received. That opens up a ticket with ebay themselves, and if the seller doesn't respond or something, you can escalate the ticket to customer support.

I've had to do this twice: once with a bad hard drive I tried to return, and the other for a counterfeit microSD card. Both were legit claims, with no response; ebay refunded me the $ without me having to even return the (useless) items.

For bigger ticket items the process may be different, but stores that do much business have lots of incentive to get positive feedback. In this case, they may have offered something like paying towards a refinish job if shipping back proved too expensive. Or even paying for the return shipping. Or if someone there had bad business in mind, then ebay would intervene and make sure you're taken care of one way or another.


So, I'm sorry to hear about any sort of bad experience with a new bass, but with ebay, it seldom has to stay a bad experience.

 

[Jim Nazium]

As you guys might have noticed, I live over the ocean in South Korea, and it's not easy for me to return this and go through all the process, I don't have any choice but to accept my position as the victim of a fraud.

I don't think you get to call yourself a "victim of fraud" until you at least contact the seller and give them the chance to resolve the issue. If it is expensive and inconvenient for you to return the instrument, that is not the seller's fault. You knew the shipping situation before you bought the instrument.

 

[PortlandBass77]

Wow that sucks. I would contact ebay and the seller to try to work something out, maybe at least get a partial refund to avoid return shipping. I also think everyone here is being fair to the buyer, the item the OP received obviously wasn't what the seller described and it is the responsibility of the seller to a address the issues.

 

[bread903]

Hi. people.
I know that the damaged could have happened during the customs inspection or during the delivery transit,
but that finish changed into blurry color is... I can't even see how that could happen.

I did contact them before posting here and their response made me to decide to leave a record here.
Even thought I clearly stated that I cannot accept their response to my negative feedback,
saying "It took a month of playing the bass to see this. Buyer's Ebay name says it all",
yet again, their response to my long message was very cheerful and provocative.
Their response letter starts by saying "I'm sorry you were insulted by the small amount of entertainment I try to apply to the Ebay Negative feedbacks we get".

Maybe it's too much to call them fraud, but still, this instrument's condition seems that they failed to control
their warehouse stock quality. I really don't know. scratches, could happen, but what really could occur that neck finish defection..????

Well, I'm not the one that has to find out all the causes of the damage.
I'm still talking to the shipping company that how I should deal with this matter,
so I'll keep you people posted!

Thanks, people.