How much would a small finish crack bother you?

[A9X]

One of my favorite movies of all time.

Me too. I saw it on release in the cinema and have it on BR now. I've watched it many times, and like movies like Animal House, it's so quotable. I heard a kid some time back use the expression 'no glove, no love' (his GF had said it to him) and laughed. Neither of them knew about Garp.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

I’m weird in that a new bass or part for a build must be pristine. Once in my possession, however, they get beat up pretty good over the course of time and it doesn’t bother me a bit.

If you’re not like me, I say ask for $200 knocked off and go for it.

 

[Texaspandj]

To the OPs question.
If it was new, A Lot.
If it was used, A Little.
If it happened while in my possession, Not At All.

 

[basted]

Buy it. Then you won't be concerned about the first ding on it. That's what I did. Got a discount and a great bass.

 

[jamro217]

There's no guarantee that you won't drop the top dollar perfect bass the first time out of the case and incur identical damage. At least this way you know it's there, the bass isn't a rare, vintage, irreplaceable prototype that will lose a hefty portion of it's value over it, it's an identifying mark you can document in case of theft, and you'll save enough scratch to get a couple of sets of TIs. If you're handy enough you can fix it yourself for a couple of bucks. What was the question again?

 

[GreyBeard]

I bought a P-bass V from them that was described the same way. I never did find the defect. I would jump on it.

 

[Paul Corrosion]

Here's my experience. I was out bass shopping a couple of years ago and after trying a few was not feeling it. I was about to leave the shop when the assistant mentioned that they had a B-stock bass with the specs I wanted behind the counter. Apparently a customer had ordered it and when it arrived, there were some small dings in the finish, so they'd returned it. It was just a couple of dents on the body (which, BTW, was also in a colour scheme I wouldn't normally go for), so I figured, "Why not?", and plugged it it. Bingo. Instant love. It's now my main gigging bass and also now sports a rather fetching buckle rash on the back.

This isn't your experience, clearly but the one thing that is clear is that the person who didn't want my bass because of the way it looked missed out on an amazing guitar.

 

[spvmhc]

The blemish will be invisible when you're playing.
You can store it inconspicuously.
We can all find bigger issues to worry about.

 

[fishdreams]

I got a US Geddy Lee for a good discount last year because it got returned with minor scuffs. Its a great bass, for real. Best Fender I've ever had.

 

[Slevage]

$125 off an $800 new bass is fair.

$125 off an $1800 new bass would make me shop the used market.

 

[micguy]

The worst moment when you have a new car is when it gets its first ding. They've taken care of that for you, and aren't charging you for that. I say proceed.

 

[DC in ATX]

It’s a $1300 Ibanez. Not something super rare, except that the supply chain is messed up because of Covid and they aren’t expecting more for about six months.

I bought a "damaged" demo model Ibanez BTB recently. Every time I look at the ding, I think: "Score! Thanks for the 15% discount." FWIW, I was able to get an additional discount off of the posted price by contacting a sales engineer. If it's a gnarly damage, the price should reflect that. (Super impressed, btw, at how well the Ibanez played out of the box.)

 

[maxschrek]

Zero

 

[Ostie]

On a used bass for the right price, okay, but on a new bass at retail, nope.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I found a bass that I'm interested in, but they are out of stock most places until January of next year! There is a demo version at Sweetwater that has a small finish crack (about 1/4" long" by the neck) and they are willing to knock $125 off for the demo discount. Would you mind something like that, or would you rather wait until you can get one that's "perfect?" I don't need it for a gig or anything, so it's not a huge inconvenience to wait, but...

‘My thought on the deal is I wouldn’t worry about it, mainly because after I have it for a while, it will more than likely have other (ahem) blemishes…if it really bothers you and is keeping you up nights (or days depending) , preventing you from reaching your full performance as an artist, or keeping you from playing it, get it fixed.

Buy the bass. You can always return it.

One other thing, you could ask for a further discount of the shipping cost to send it back if it it’s something that bugs you a little.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Depends on the bass.
A run-of-the-mill bass hanging up at Guitar Center or Sam Ash...no big deal, especially if it's on the back.
Something special, something you might have to wait months or even years to find, something so nice it deserves a display case...no way would I buy it.

Ha! I was shopping for a new bass(tax return). I found a cool, but damaged Ibanez at Samash, I asked the salesman for a mark down, The input jack & nearest Tone/Vol Knob was broken & spinning freely, the finish around both were chipped off and showing bare wood! the manger would only take off $50 bucks!which was less than 10% off. I told him I wanted to buy & had the cash on me! He wouldn't budge, So I walked! I thought it would cost more to repair as I didnt have a "guy/tech" to fix things like that! their loss! soon after I purchased a Beautiful Schecter Stiletto for a Great price! I Found a really good brand & a great playing bass, due to a stubborn Sales Manager, I never gave Sam Ash any loyalty or $$ after that even though GC hasnt treated me any better. I switched from playing Ibanez' to Schecters! then Fenders not too long after that. I realize now it would've taken a little paint & super Glue, And a quick solder job! but it was still more than 50 bucks! Honestly It looked worse than it probably was but enough to piss me off!

 

[arbiterusa]

Ding discounts are my motivation.

 

[BobDeRosa]

You probably shouldn't buy this because 1) you baby your instruments and 2) you found the 1/4" ding important enough to ask TB about. You will never be happy with this. Buy new, accept the wait, and hope that the new one doesn't have a similar ding.

 

[devnulljp]

Finish crack? Not at all (unless on a brand new top $ bass).
Means you don't have to worry about dinging it.

 

[TonyP-]

How much for the bother me.

If the neck was fine and played great it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.