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Experiences Buying Used Basses?

#21
Never bought a bass on TB. I've bought used from music stores, but there I was able to try them out first. I've bought used from the Low End, very happy with price, service, and the instrument itself. Bought used from Club Bass through Ebay, the bass and price were nice but they flat out refused to send the case, even though I was willing to pay additional shipping. Confusing and irritating.

Ebay from private parties has been spotty. It may be better now with more buyer protection in place. I'd only buy on Ebay if the price was so good the item could arrive smashed to bits and still be a decent deal just for some working parts.

Even if the auction is honest and the item is as described and pictured, there's no way to be sure the seller knows how to pack. I've had things arrive in a box twice the size of the item, with 2 packing peanuts as the only protection. On the other hand, when I sell on Ebay, the item is packed better than it was new, double or triple boxed with packing material between each box, taped like crazy.

I've bought on Craigslist. Half the time the other guy actually showed up. My favorite was the guy one state over, 2 hours away, in the heart of the tiny cobblestone one way street filled tourist district, who WASN'T HOME at the agreed time.
 
#22
I've bought (as well as sold and traded) several basses here on TB. TBers are great people to deal with (I do not mind some mutual background research before trusting any guy/girl; in fact I encourage it)

Ebay has been great to me, but it took a good deal of time to find the right deal from the right seller. On the other hand, I am personally aware of deals going as wrong as possible, so caution should be exercised

As far as buying used from stores, Brian Barrett (The Low End and fellow TBer) is a TOP guy as well as Bassandbeyond. I am sure missing some names but I will edit as soon as I remember
 
#23
" To Me" buying a used bass and complaining because it's not setup as you like is similar to buying a used car and complaining because the radio stations are not tuned to stations you like and the seat and mirrors are in the wrong positions.

Setups are personal. I never buy a bass without expecting to set it up. Actually, I look forward to the setup process.


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#24
All 4 of my basses (MIM Fender Jazz, MIJ Squier P, USA Peavey Fury I, MIK Epi T-bird) were bought used. However, all were bought in local sales so hopefully I would've noticed any major problems before buying.

I have bought some used guitars on ebay and in general have had pretty good luck. No major disputes. I've bought a nice old bass amp ('60's Sunn 200S head) off the "for sale" subforum of a small closed-membership musician's forum with no problems at all, and at a great price ($300 shipped). Also bought a used 12-string electric guitar from an acquaintance over at Harmony-Central, again with no problems.
 
#25
I've had mixed results, though I've yet to buy anything on TB... Of my 7 basses, 3 were bought used, and this is how they break down.

#1 is a '73 Guild JS-2. I bought this off Gbase, through a dealer in NYC. I'm in LA, meaning it was purchased sight unseen, just a small pic on the site. Admittedly it was an impulse buy, bought with the original intention of dropping in some Dark Stars, and had I been smarter about it I should have shopped around for a better deal. As it was, I probably overpaid by a little bit, and the dealer was pretty far from honest about the condition. I knew to expect some heavy wear on the body and neck of the bass... it is, after all, a nitro-finished mahogany body from the '70s. And that's how it arrived, personally the wear looks nice in my opinion. But the setup was just straight up atrocious... barely playable when I got it. There was a grounding issue with one of the pickups causing an annoying intermittent buzzing. And I asked how the frets were and I was told, oh fine, they've got plenty of life yet... and they do, but one or two frets up by the neck joint have actually raised a bit, causing horrible dead notes when you try to play up high. I still play the bass sometimes, and I like it for what it is, but I haven't gotten around to fixing the fret and pickup issues yet, and I'd rank this purchase as a letdown ultimately. I probably should have returned it after I bought it, but... it just looks so cool. Sigh, this one's on me.

#2. Natural Ash 1980 Peavey T-40. Another Gbase purchase, from a different dealer. Paid a relatively normal amount, but not a fantastic deal or anthing. Again, the dealer described the condition as far better than it actually was. He said some marks and minor damage to the body, which i'm fine with. And it does have quite a few dents and scrapes, which add a bit of character, but he neglected to mention the 2 inch long burn down the back of the neck, which you feel when you play and is a distraction. He also failed to mention that both pickup mounting rings were practically destroyed. One snapped in half the second day I played the bass. There's quite a bit of pitting and corrosion on the bridge and saddles... Also failed to mention that one of the switches had been replaced with a non-original part... Also the aluminum nut is loose, and on occasion will slide up or down. BUT, this bass plays and sounds exactly how I want it to. The tone feels a little muted compared to some other T-40's I've played, but it's fatter than others, and I've never even had this set up, it came intonated well, and I love playing it, even if it's been beaten to hell. It's kind of a beater, but it's MY beater... used this one on recordings and quite a bit onstage, and overall I love this one and will probably never let it go.

#3. This one was a surprise. Black 1979 Peavey T-40 with a maple fingerboard. Purchased off Ebay, got it for a fantastic price ($270) and I was amazed when I opened it up to see it's in nearly perfect condition. All parts original, only a minor ding or two, no pitting, and this thing simply looks stunning in pictures or in person. BUT, it doesn't have the tone of my other T-40. Its brighter, but substantially thinner in tone. The setup was pretty bad initially, and I've since adjusted it a bit, but I really need to get a pro setup on this one to see if pickup height can sort out the tonal issues.

As you can see, I haven't been fully satisfied with any of the three used purchases I've made, but all three are still in my collection, and I play em all from time to time. The main thing I've learned is to TRY BEFORE YOU BUY whenever possible. My last purchase, a new Rickenbacker, was made only after spending a couple hours with the thing over a few days... and i'm glad I took the time to find a bass that agreed with me before I threw down any cash.
 
#27
The one bass I got on Ebay from a private party was misrepresented and I took it in the shorts. I've purchased several on TB, and I've only had one time that I felt the description was lacking an important fact or two. But, the asking price matched the condition of the bass pretty well, so it wasn't a big deal. All the other transactions have been very good on TB. I will always buy on TB before Ebay, that's for sure.
 
#28
Just Thumpin' said:
Nope, not one was set up the way I like them -- which sounds very much like the way you play -- very low action, nearly flat board. All needed either a truss rod adjustment or saddle height and/or intonation...

Perhaps I am just very picky, or, more likely, the basses moved in transit to me...
Click to expand...

Point taken, I guess I've been very lucky. I do know my preferences have become more refined (Picky? :D) as I've gotten older regarding the setup, but that's just experience, I think.
 
#29
So far, all my TB purchases have been great deals, sales seem to be smooth too.

Ebay, I'll never buy anything again, two deals gone wrong, (got my pay pal payments back!) but what a drag.

I'd sell on Ebay, but only after listing it on TB. Paypal only, the couple of % is totally worth not getting burned.
 
#32
I've only bought 1 used bass. I got it from E-Bay, the bass is a B.C. Rich knock-off Warlock 5 stringer. When I recieved it, this thing was in "like new" condition. I did however clean it, change the strings and adjust the bridge and neck. After opening the back cover, I noticed the cheap wiring/welds on the pots so I replaced all three pots and the capacitor. I got pretty lucky with this one, the bass sounds great and looks awesome. $99 for the bass, $35 for the strings, $15 for the pots and $1 for the capacitor. All work was done by me so no wasting money. You guys tell me if I made a good choice!

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#33
I've only bought 2 basses used and one of them was from a local store, so I guess it doesn't count. The other one was a geddy lee jazz I bought from a tber, which turned out to be a great experience! It was in brand new condition, for less than half of their current price, the setup was good (had to tweak it a little bit because it was coming into a new climate, but VERY little), it had a black pg and stacked v/t/v/t pots (both of which I prefer to the way they come stock), and the pickups as well as control cavity had been shielded.
 

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