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Finally got duped on a Talkbass transaction

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alembicguy

I roam the earth and I know things
Jan 28, 2007
4,888
4,123
Minnesota
Long story short but I'm here for 95% classified dealings and the rest just browsing. I just did a trade deal for what I was told was a 1973 Fender Jazz body with various added parts. I was assured that the body was a real 1973. Added parts were just that parts.
The fellow TB'r PMed me with the offer and also his telephone number so he could give me the run down on the bass. I call him and he dominates the phone call with a elaborate story on how he found this bass at a school auction 17 years ago and that the students never took care of it and it was beat up pretty bad but sounded great. Over the years he sold the original neck and the original pickups were dead and the bridge rusted and locked up. That's why it has the bastardized parts on the real 1973 body.
I'm all for the trade. I traded my bubinga USA made Cirrus with the understanding on my part that I'm getting a real per owner 1973 Jazz body (I can work with that and maybe turn it into a decent bass and maybe find a 70's neck etc etc. Bass arrives as I'm walking out the door to midnight shift and I figured I'd open it in the morning. Meanwhile I'm at work and I shoot off positive feedback for the person cause by my own stupid action I figured I talked with him on the phone he has 100% feedback and been a member since 2004 kind of everything you look for.
Next day I unbox the bass and know right away from all the fake relicing something ain't right. The only true thing the trader told me is the neck is a licensed by Fender neck (it's a Squire)
Upon inspection this is what I got
Mexican made Fender body full of bad fake relicing and horrible routing all over including the bridge pickup cavity so he could fit a long and a short in.
Squier neck with a horrible vintage tint job even over the frets
Decent electronics
Subpar hardware.


I was at the minimum expecting the 1973 Jazz body he said it was.
Lesson learned on my part not to trust anyone on a deal. He's been a long time member with all positive feedback and phone communication all pretty much a lie but still my fault.
I wouldn't normally post this but it's been eating at me a couple days. I'm not a sore loser I take responsibility for me being duped. My own fault.
I since have done some research on this member and he has been touting this as a real 1973 with the same bogus story since he joined TB.
For other members like me who do business in the classified section you are more than welcome to PM me and I will tell you who he is so he doesn't get you too. I wish I could take back the feedback I gave him! Members that don't use the classifieds I guess there is no reason why you would need to know this person.
Here are 2 pics I found from a long time ago of the same bass 2 years apart. Wish I would have done my homework before agreeing but he had no red flags.
2007 pic
image.jpeg

2009 pic
image.jpeg

Once again my fault for letting my guard down and not doing what I normally would have.
 
Did you contact the seller and ask for a refund or price adjustment? If the body is not a '73 as advertised, I don't see why the seller wouldn't make things right.
No I haven't. I'm not looking for that. I'm just venting because I slipped up on how I normally do things and let my guard down. My fault.
He the trader is very aware it was not a legit 1973 Jazz that's why he concocted the elaborate story of finding it in a storage room of a high school music class.
 
That really sucks OP. I would advocate for outing the member but really beyond venting there isn't much to be done.

This is a painful read but it should serve as a big reminder to anybody using TB classifieds. You are on your own if you get scammed. This scam artist still hangs out here and regularly uses the classifieds still. He isn't the only one.

TalkBass Trade Gone Bad
 
That really sucks OP. I would advocate for outing the member but really beyond venting there isn't much to be done.

This is a painful read but it should serve as a big reminder to anybody using TB classifieds. You are on your own if you get scammed. This scam artist still hangs out here and regularly uses the classifieds still. He isn't the only one.

TalkBass Trade Gone Bad
Right on.
 
Right on.

Have you tried contacting the seller for a refund/un-trading?

Looks like a pretty obvious case of flim-flammery, but he might do right by you if you bring up the issue with him.

I such a case, I'd want the other party to foot the bill for return shipping. Have him send you a prepaid UPS shipping label, or some such. Of course, you'd have to trust him to send back your Peavey. :(

I also see you're already parting out the Jazz. I'd hold off on touching the thing until you've exhausted your options. You can't exactly return it to the other guy if you've ripped it apart and sold its pieces.
For Sale - Fender N3 noiseless pickups and 18 volt preamp pulled from a (bad parts bass trade)
 
Have you tried contacting the seller for a refund/un-trading?

Looks like a pretty obvious case of flim-flammery, but he might do right by you if you bring up the issue with him.

I such a case, I'd want the other party to foot the bill for return shipping. Have him send you a prepaid UPS shipping label, or some such. Of course, you'd have to trust him to send back your Peavey. :(

I also see you're already parting out the Jazz. I'd hold off on touching the thing until you've exhausted your options. You can't exactly return it to the other guy if you've ripped it apart and sold its pieces.
For Sale - Fender N3 noiseless pickups and 18 volt preamp pulled from a (bad parts bass trade)
No I'm not going to contact him cause he knew he was pulling a fast one and to me the ensuing argument is not worth it. I have no trust in him as far as sending the bass back unharmed or without a hitch. I'm in a financial state of life where a hit like this doesn't cause me a hiccup at all but it's more important to alert others to him. I'm not parting the bass out I'm replacing parts and bringing it up to my standards to keep it as a parts bass and a constant reminder to do my homework on every single deal.
 
No I'm not going to contact him cause he knew he was pulling a fast one and to me the ensuing argument is not worth it. I have no trust in him as far as sending the bass back unharmed or without a hitch. I'm in a financial state of life where a hit like this doesn't cause me a hiccup at all but it's more important to alert others to him. I'm not parting the bass out I'm replacing parts and bringing it up to my standards to keep it as a parts bass and a constant reminder to do my homework on every single deal.
Um, you got screwed and you're not going to do anything about it? Okay.
 
No I'm not going to contact him cause he knew he was pulling a fast one and to me the ensuing argument is not worth it. I have no trust in him as far as sending the bass back unharmed or without a hitch. I'm in a financial state of life where a hit like this doesn't cause me a hiccup at all but it's more important to alert others to him. I'm not parting the bass out I'm replacing parts and bringing it up to my standards to keep it as a parts bass and a constant reminder to do my homework on every single deal.

I find it hard to fault you for lack of homework - digging up pictures from 9 years ago before trading a bass is some pretty serious detective work.

Sounds like your actions are for the best. If you can live if the financial hit, you're certainly going to have less stress in your life if you're not trying to force a scammer to behave honestly.

Best of luck, sometimes people suck. :banghead:
 
Um, you got screwed and you're not going to do anything about it? That's just silly.

I get where you're coming from but what do you think the seller will do? This isn't a case of a detail the seller overlooked, this was a calculated rip-off. I don't blame the OP for not wanting to bother anymore. At least that way he isn't open to getting scammed again.
 
I get where you're coming from but what do you think the seller will do? This isn't a case of a detail the seller didn't overlooked, this was a calculated rip-off. I don't blame the OP for not wanting to bother anymore. At least that way he isn't open to getting scammed again.

Ya, trade deals are awfully difficult situations when one party is a bad actor. Its not like a sale where one can bring in PayPal or a credit card company to initiate a refund.
 
I get where you're coming from but what do you think the seller will do? This isn't a case of a detail the seller overlooked, this was a calculated rip-off. I don't blame the OP for not wanting to bother anymore. At least that way he isn't open to getting scammed again.
Calculated or not, I would be contacting the seller and, at the very least, seeing what kind of response I get. And how is contacting the seller automatically leading to you getting scammed again?
 
Calculated or not, I would be contacting the seller and, at the very least, seeing what kind of response I get. And how is contacting the seller automatically leading to you getting scammed again?

What are you going to do? Send it back and hope you get your item back? Seems like a great way to end up with nothing. Would you really trust somebody who blatantly screwed you?
 
I looked on the feedback left regarding both of these buyers. I don't see any negative feedback that would point to the sales.

That really sucks OP. I would advocate for outing the member but really beyond venting there isn't much to be done.

This is a painful read but it should serve as a big reminder to anybody using TB classifieds. You are on your own if you get scammed. This scam artist still hangs out here and regularly uses the classifieds still. He isn't the only one.

TalkBass Trade Gone Bad

Right on.
 
What are you going to do? Send it back and hope you get your item back? Seems like a great way to end up with nothing. Would you really trust somebody who blatantly screwed you?
You wait until he's sent back your item before you put anything in the mail. If he doesn't respond then at least you tried. I just don't understand not saying anything at all to the trader. The guy has 43 positively rated transactions on TB. Why not at least contact him?
 
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I looked on the feedback left regarding both of these buyers. I don't see any negative feedback that would point to the sales.

Regarding the thread I linked: That OP was scammed as well, check the feedback he left. If you read the entire thread it gets really egregious once the scammer comes in and starts tossing out bullspit.

@bass12 you are expecting somebody to all of the sudden become honest after spending some time being dishonest. I don't think you would be wrong to contact him but I don't think the OP should feel obligated to do so. There is a much higher chance that additional contact results in greater headache and more stress than actually resolving the issue satisfactorily for the OP.
 
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