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Disappointing ebay bass delivery

#61
Dang. It sucks to receive a bass that's damaged in shipment. I had a mint SR500 that I couldn't even sell for $350... I gave it to the guy who bought my Carvin Rig! Return the thing and get another one if you want mint condition. They can be had in great shape for very little cash. The thin neck makes some people flip them before too many miles accumulate.

I agree with keeping a dinged bass. Those are the ones you can be fearless with. IMO, it's better to have a bass you're willing to beat on than one you must protect at all costs.
 
#62
It is the sellers responsibility to pack any item they are selling and shipping adequately so it arrives with no issues.. I package items like I would expect someone to package for me, it's that simple. Minimize the risk to the best of your ability as a shipper.

For that bass to travel 3,000 miles, packed shoddily and to only have suffered that minor issue is a miracle in itself. But that is not the point. Care has to be taken and if it was not exercised to an acceptable level, he needs to be held accountable.

To what level is up to you.
 
#63
The beauty of buying on ebay is that it's virtually impossible to "get screwed". When things go wrong the buyer always has options, as demonstrated in this case.

The only "loss" is the time involved with settling the matter with ebay/seller, and packing the item back up and getting it to the carrier. Which for some (like me), is much less hassle/time than running around to music stores searching for what I want.
 
#66
acoustic58 said:
Thank you for all the comments. 310 for a ibanez sr500 in basically mint condition is a rare find considering they sell for 600 new and most of the sr500's on ebay are much more and covered with dings ( max I will check that one out ). I think if I returned this, I would just buy it new and take care of it. The money is not the issue with me it's paying for someone else's carelessness and always have that dent there as a reminder that I actually paid for this, no matter what it cost.

For me it is the principle. The guy lied about how he was going to ship it, it arrived in 21 days instead of the promised 6 and he didn't have enough brains to pack a guitar correctly that was literally traveling across the country and it now has a dent in it that should not be there. I have to think about this one. Thank you.
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I have to agree that 21 day shipping turnaround is bad enough as it is being that he opted for a cheaper shipping method instead of what was promised.
Regarding that other finish on the SR500, it's definitely more durable- I've seen used ones of these with little or no apparent physical damage, whereas the mahogany ones, I've yet to see a used one in great condition. If you buy a bass used or new and it's in mint condition, it's not at all unreasonable to expect it to be mint, besides you took the effort to find one specifically in great condition- if it was damaged during shipping due to negligence on the seller's part to provide adequate protection, then I understand the principle of the matter at hand and return it.

Other thing you can do is post it on your local CL for the price you bought it for (with the Credit) and mention the damage. Even with that, you can easily sell it for that price. This would bypass the shipping and waiting for the return credit to show up.
 
#67
Sorry your experience was bad. Sounds like the seller either under-estimated his shipping or his final selling price. It has happened to me and you just need to eat it as a seller and still what is right by the buyer. As a buyer you seemed to have very high expectations. Most used basses will not be pristine and many imperfections will not show in photos. I have a few friends like you who want to keep everything in perfect shape. I just remember these are tools and will get banged up in the course of doing a job. If I were you I would take the $90 and probably never buy on ebay again.
 
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#70
troy mcclure said:
Sorry your experience was bad. Sounds like the seller either under-estimated his shipping or his final selling price. It has happened to me and you just need to eat it as a seller and still what is right by the buyer. As a buyer you seemed to have very high expectations. Most used basses will not be pristine and many imperfections will not show in photos. I have a few friends like you who want to keep everything in perfect shape. I just remember these are tools and will get banged up in the course of doing a job. If I were you I would take the $90 and probably never buy on ebay again.
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This. From the sellers POV I have had ebay "Calculate" the shipping cost for basses WAY low- typically $40 less than the actual cost, and that is before double boxing, buying materials to pack, etc... I guess, I should have exercised MY rights as a seller, and cancelled the auction(s) but I upheld the deal anyhow and lost the money.
I have also had several people ask me detailed, open ended questions about basses I sold, "are there ANY nicks, dents etc??? Explain each one in detail. Send MORE pictures"

No thanks, I already know there is no way the bass will meet these people's expectations, and I am in for a BIG headache.
 
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#71
I just purchased a new bass from G&L and it was shipped across the country to the dealer and then all the way back across the country to get to me. Probably 2 weeks on the road. I expected, and it arrived in perfect shape.

IMO, there is no reason, that you can't take a couple of minutes and pack the bass so it won't be damaged. Any nitwit can at least bubble wrap the thing, and use a little common sense. If I bang it up on my own that's one thing, but damage like that in shipping is unacceptable to me. I would definitely send it back.

Now if it's one of my cars, I could care less. For some reason I'm nit picky about my basses.
 
#73
Selling musical instruments on eBay is always a risky proposition, but this seller's laziness caused this whole incident! If I were the OP I would return it for a FULL refund. And $150.00 off is about HALF of what the damage would cost to repair, so the seller's moronic behavior has basically destroyed the value of his item! What an idiot!

You simply can't just stick a naked guitar into a cardboard box without adequate packing and expect it to arrive via a GROUND shipment without significant impact damage caused by a lack of packing material. How hard would it have been to wrap the guitar in bubble wrap first and then put it into the shipping container?

When I sell a guitar without a HSC included, I always include a gig bag for added protection and add that to the price of the guitar. I then bubble wrap the gig bag with the guitar inside and then use a Guitar Shipping box or equivalent. (If you buy and sell guitars, always KEEP any good shipping cartons you get from dealers or private parties, cause you will eventually need one if you ever sell off any of your collection) They are not cheap to buy if you have nothing else that will work.
 
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#74
zontar said:
That kind of comes across as greedy to me--I can see asking a bit more & I thought about it as well, but $90 seems fair to me.
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Not greedy at all. Problem with this situation is that the damage that resulted from the seller's laziness has destroyed the value of the bass in question, so you can no longer use the original asking price as a place to begin negotiating downwards. Knock $200.00 off the original asking price for the damage it now has, and start from there. At $150.00 off the original asking price for a MINT specimen, I think the buyer is still being overly generous with this clueless seller.

If it were me, I would file an eBay claim, get all my money back INCLUDING the cost of return shipping and walk away. I have never paid return shipping on any misrepresented item I have purchased on eBAy. I always demand that the seller reimbursement for those costs, and eBay always agrees and pulls that money right out of the seller's PayPal account whether they like it or not! ;)

No better way to teach an idiot a lesson than to add $130.00 to his loss of the sale! ;)
 
#75
I'm personally not nick-picky about my basses, in fact bought a scratch and dent special as my last bass. However, if something was advertised as in mint condition and the damage was incurred during shipping due to negligence on the seller's part, then the buyer should have the right to make the call whether to return it or accept the bass with a credit they would be willing to accept as compensation. Yes, the bass is known to have a finish that is incredibly easy to ding up, but it shouldn't have been hard to pack the bass sufficiently. I've done it on wooden finish basses I mailed out.

...and yes, in time scars, dings are all part of a well-played bass, as each would usually have a story tied in with it- as long as you created the scars yourself (or your dog, kid, wife, friend) and not because of the negligent seller trying to save a buck- just my 2 cents.
 
#77
GG7 said:
Not greedy at all. Problem with this situation is that the damage that resulted from the seller's laziness has destroyed the value of the bass in question, so you can no longer use the original asking price as a place to begin negotiating downwards. Knock $200.00 off the original asking price for the damage it now has, and start from there. At $150.00 off the original asking price for a MINT specimen, I think the buyer is still being overly generous with this clueless seller.

If it were me, I would file an eBay claim, get all my money back INCLUDING the cost of return shipping and walk away. I have never paid return shipping on any misrepresented item I have purchased on eBAy. I always demand that the seller reimbursement for those costs, and eBay always agrees and pulls that money right out of the seller's PayPal account whether they like it or not! ;)

No better way to teach an idiot a lesson than to add $130.00 to his loss of the sale! ;)
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But if he likes the bass--big deal...

That's what I'd be thinking.
Do I like the bass?
Am I getting something extra?
Yes & yes?

I'd keep it--why return something you like? just to prove a point?
 
#78
zontar said:
But if he likes the bass--big deal...

That's what I'd be thinking.
Do I like the bass?
Am I getting something extra?
Yes & yes?

I'd keep it--why return something you like? just to prove a point?
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Plenty of other fish in the sea is my philosophy. I never allow myself to become emotionally attached to a new purchase and allow that to cloud my judgment. As others have said, there are plenty of these out there for less than he paid. And if he can live with this now damaged one, why not find another less than mint example and pay even less $$? Sounds like the more road worn specimens are even easier to find in this case.

The few times I have kept something like in this example, I have always regretted it later. And with the damage this bass now has, its unlikely the OP will get all of their money back out of it if they ever decide to sell it themselves.

Trying to sell a non-vintage guitar with notable damage to the finish automatically reduces your buyer's pool by at least 50%. Considering the buyer's market we have been in since 2008, that is never a good way to go. ;)
 
#79
GG7 said:
Plenty of other fish in the sea is my philosophy. I never allow myself to become emotionally attached to a new purchase and allow that to cloud my judgment. As others have said, there are plenty of these out there for less than he paid. And if he can live with this now damaged one, why not find another less than mint example and pay even less $$? Sounds like the more road worn specimens are even easier to find in this case.

The few times I have kept something like in this example, I have always regretted it later. And with the damage this bass now has, its unlikely the OP will get all of their money back out of it if they ever decide to sell it themselves.
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So who buys to re-sell, I buy to keep.
I'd have no problem with a bass with that damage

But ultimately it's up to the OP to decide what to do--so we have differing opinions on this--but we can't decide for somebody else.

But I'd be totally fine with keeping that bass and getting an extra $90.
 
#80
zontar said:
So who buys to re-sell, I buy to keep.
I'd have no problem with a bass with that damage

But ultimately it's up to the OP to decide what to do--so we have differing opinions on this--but we can't decide for somebody else.

But I'd be totally fine with keeping that bass and getting an extra $90.
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If you don't consider what your resale value would be you are likely going to be losing money on the purchase. In other words, you have not gotten any kind of deal if you can't get your money right back out if you were forced to sell it later. You always need to add at least $100.00 to what you paid (shipping/ & fees) to establish what YOUR resale price would have to be to break even. If the guitar is going to be above market value at that price, you just made a bad buying decision.

I've been buying and selling guitars for 30 years. If you can't sell that purchase tomorrow for what you paid including the shipping costs, you just paid too much. ;) I prefer to also add at least a small profit to that resale number to make sure I am truly getting a "deal".
 
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