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Frustrated Purchaser needs advice

#21
tZer said:
Now you're talkin'! (uh, not the liquor store thing...)

I'd send him a registered letter and let him know that you need a satisfactory reply or that you'll be forced to pursue legal action. Email, voice mail, all other passive communication is way too easy to simply ignore - or claim that your computer/phone 'went bad' - but a registered letter is pretty hard to ignore.

You can let him know that you don't want to cause him any more difficulty if he's hit a rough patch and that you simply want assurance that you're either going to get your instrument or your money back - but "no reply at all" is only cool if it's by Genesis.
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Great thinking!
Registered letter gets me a paper trail. Then if there is no response from the first registered letter, I could send a second one to him with a CC to the state attorney general (and my lawyer).

Regarding the finishing process- I have NO idea if he ever buys unfinished necks- I do know he outsources his body finishes locally- but again thanks for giving me some inside scoop on some of the snags he could be hitting on the second neck.
I truly have nothing but respect for bass builders overall- without you guys, I'd be playing air bass all the time!
N
 
#23
Bass Viking said:
I'm fairly certain I know who this builder is. Certain things in your posts bring to mind a certain individual.

I certainly hope this issue gets resolved.
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Certainly a clever assumption.

I gave the builder an out, offered to accept an equal value 5 string instrument that has different specs that he may have in stock.

I talked to a few (non bass playing) friends today some of which are business owners themselves (as I am too).

They all suggested this last high road before taking the battle road. Upon reflection I agreed- the best the guy might be able to do at this juncture is offer something completed and in stock.

I will update this thread when something happens. Thanks again for your support, and that no one here whacked me around while I was already writhing on the ground.:hmm:
N
 
#26
snagglepuss.jpg
 
#27
You really seem anxious to kick him where it hurts, even though you're such an ethical individual. Maybe you should have cornered him politely after all, instead of starting a smearing campaign even before concluding your business with him. "Showing you the story as it happens" is better suited for television, whereas this is just a cheap show. I'm not taking sides or anything, but what you're doing is as unethical as can be in my book. If you really want advice, and you haven't actually started flaming the guy already, you should confront him and have a talk, because you obviously haven't done so. I'm pretty sure you'll know what to do after that. Either you get something back as compensation or you finally go the hard way, but at least it's a conclusion. After you reach it, feel free to share it with others.

I don't want to be a jerk, but the ethical thing really set me off. You blindly rushed into flaming the guy, and acknowledged it yourself, without hearing his side or giving him a chance to defend himself, not to mention the thing isn't over yet. You can't do that and then claim some high moral standards.
 
#28
Sandu said:
You really seem anxious to kick him where it hurts, even though you're such an ethical individual. Maybe you should have cornered him politely after all, instead of starting a smearing campaign even before concluding your business with him. "Showing you the story as it happens" is better suited for television, whereas this is just a cheap show. I'm not taking sides or anything, but what you're doing is as unethical as can be in my book. If you really want advice, and you haven't actually started flaming the guy already, you should confront him and have a talk, because you obviously haven't done so. I'm pretty sure you'll know what to do after that. Either you get something back as compensation or you finally go the hard way, but at least it's a conclusion. After you reach it, feel free to share it with others.

I don't want to be a jerk, but the ethical thing really set me off. You blindly rushed into flaming the guy, and acknowledged it yourself, without hearing his side or giving him a chance to defend himself, not to mention the thing isn't over yet. You can't do that and then claim some high moral standards.
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I don't think you've ever read these Certain types of flame wars on TB.. This is G-rated.
 
#29
sevenyearsdown said:
I opened a complaint through paypal. The result was my order got canceled, and my credit card was credited back the amount in question. It took a while, but in the end the result was good for me.
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I think you only have 45 days from the payment date to file a dispute with PayPal. If I read the original post correctly, it sounds like the final payment was made two months ago, so unfortunately this may not be an option, but I could be wrong....

Either way I hope that the OP is able to get the matter resolved.

Good Luck!
 
#33
irishpride28 said:
I don't think you've ever read these Certain types of flame wars on TB.. This is G-rated.
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+1 The OP is Certainly not flaming or smearing the seller at this point, and Certainly not by comparison to the roasting he'd get from that seller if he was named. I agree that the OP is still on reasonably high ground--he would not have been able to ask for advice about Certain problems without describing what those problems were, specifically.
 
#34
bongomania said:
+1 The OP is Certainly not flaming or smearing the seller at this point, and Certainly not by comparison to the roasting he'd get from that seller if he was named. I agree that the OP is still on reasonably high ground--he would not have been able to ask for advice about Certain problems without describing what those problems were, specifically.
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Well said. I think you're on the right track nukes, and if things get messy from here always remember to create as big a paper trail as you can.
 
#35
Sandu said:
I don't want to be a jerk, but the ethical thing really set me off. You blindly rushed into flaming the guy, and acknowledged it yourself, without hearing his side or giving him a chance to defend himself, not to mention the thing isn't over yet. You can't do that and then claim some high moral standards.
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Check his dates again though. It has been a long time for a build I think, especially after receiving a picture of the finished bass, but then suddenly have a "neck twist", and then the builder ending communication. Seems pretty sketch to me.

And I think that the OP has played it quite chill, and has indeed taken the ethical and high road. Especially when it is an assembled bass, not hand carved or anything.

Maybe thats just me...
 
#36
The OP so far has asked for suggestions as to his course of action. He has in several ways given the vendor the benefit of the doubt, he hasn't insulted the vendor, nor has he called on others to join him in taking nasty actions against the vendor. So this is not much of a flame so far. To my view one surprising thing was that he refers a few times to flaming the vendor, while he actually so far isn't doing it.


There was a decent Snagglepuss bit fairly recently on SNL. I was surprised they did it, maybe their audience is older than it used to be.
 
#39
I wonder how many commenters here have actually commissioned an instrument. A year from though to finish is a reasonable timeline. A few months for a custom build is a bit tight. Any vendor delays will ruin the delivery time.
 
#40
OP says the builder has had the new neck for a month already. Obviously the hardware is already in hand, from the twisted neck. So it's not a supplier holdup. And even if it was, it's on the builder to inform the customer of any big delays to be expected.

Yes, I have had several instruments custom-built; the luthier that I have done repeat business with was the one who communicated the best, and delivered what he promised, at the time promised, to the best extent.
 

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