+1. The OP got his bass back, undamaged. Just move on.
Paypal is good for sellers by increasing the field of potential buyers. This by offering some protection against fraud. There are far more dishonest sellers than dishonest buyers.
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I Hate PayPal
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+1. The OP got his bass back, undamaged. Just move on.
Paypal is good for sellers by increasing the field of potential buyers. This by offering some protection against fraud. There are far more dishonest sellers than dishonest buyers.
I was thinking the same thing. While buyers remorse might be part of it you did admit that the neck was shimmed (regardless of what tech did it) and that the truss rod was frozen at least to the point that you needed to spend time with it and use oil to free. As a buyer I will not have a tech take a bass fully apart and work on it because anything I do to it could ruin my chances for a refund. You say that Lull said how much it would cost but it's obvious that Lull was just throwing figures out as he was not inspecting the bass. It sounds like he got it, tried to do a setup and the truss was frozen. Talked to his tech who talked to Lull and said here are some possibilities and some prices. As a buyer he had two options, keep the bass do a possible repair and end up with a bass he is not happy with or is never quite right or get a refund and move on. You do admit that two of his complaints were pretty valid. Since your original ad doesn't state these issues it might have made the buyer nervous. With Paypal there is no such thing as "no refund" so describing well is your absolute best bet against this happening.
What color is the sky in your world???
There are FAR more people willing to rip off a seller.
Some people make a living off of it.
+1
I've ran into far more dishonest buyers than sellers. Maybe it's because of Paypal's tilt toward the buyer that people feel they can take advantage of the seller.
I've ran into far more dishonest buyers than sellers. Maybe it's because of Paypal's tilt toward the buyer that people feel they can take advantage of the seller.
-1 PUT the crack the pipe down...I have been screwed by buyers a lot. I only mentioned one, there are others. Yes, there are some bad sellers out there, but buyers have the upper hand with Pay Pal and know it...this is where the seller gets screwed.
I sold a bass to a guy in France, it sat in customs as the schmuck didn't tell me he was leaving the country for a month. He filed a claim and got his money back, luckily i used Fed Ex and was able to get the bass back, but in the process I lost $200 in shipping fees. So don't praise Pay Pal, they are an EVIL company and don't give a rats fat one about the people that make them their money.
Well, looking out the window I see an azure sky of deepest summer.
How do you rip off a seller? The seller doesn't ship until he has the money safely in his bank account. 100% of the risk of a long distance transaction is on the buyer.
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me".
The ancient Chinese knew this, so why didn't you. If you had more than one negative experience with PayPal, then your sales afterward should have excluded PayPal as an option. There is no excuse for repeating the same mistake. (well, actually there is, but we won't get into that..)
How could you possibly have gotten screwed by buyers "a lot"? What on earth are you doing wrong??
Using PayPal.
You haven't sold much have you?
I now will only take USPS money order or have the person call me at my business and give me a credit card. A straight up CC transaction is the safest for the seller & buyer. Even footing for both.
MO's have no protection for the buyer. I refuse to use those at all anymore.
CC's are just like Paypal. If I have an issue with the purchase I just call them and tell them it is fradulant and they will immediately hold the payment and review.
I've sold an absolute ton of stuff. Most of it using PayPal. Never got screwed, not once. But if I did get screwed by PayPal, it would only happen once.
Fact is that everyone who uses PayPal does so because they get higher prices due to the buyer's comfort using it. PayPal did $71BILLION in transactions in 2009. No doubt that has increased over the last 2 years. Of course there will be some negative issues with a company that big. But if you don't like PayPal, don't use them. Good luck.
Big +1. I will never again make a transaction by sending a money order through the mail.
I sure like paypal, I've bought, sold, donated, and recovered money from flakey Ebay sellers. For the most part, works great.
But this "get verified or else" is not working for me. I even went for the credit card and they turned me down. Fifty with perfect credit, never been turned down for any loan or card, but I can't get one with these guys? Oh well, so much for paypal...
If I had received a bass with a frozen truss rod, I would be hesitant to go to work on it without the seller's permission, I'd most likely send it back for a refund. If the seller wasn't willing to make things right, I'd get paypal to get my dough back.
Too bad I can't use paypal anymore!
But this "get verified or else" is not working for me. I even went for the credit card and they turned me down. Fifty with perfect credit, never been turned down for any loan or card, but I can't get one with these guys? Oh well, so much for paypal...
If I had received a bass with a frozen truss rod, I would be hesitant to go to work on it without the seller's permission, I'd most likely send it back for a refund. If the seller wasn't willing to make things right, I'd get paypal to get my dough back.
Too bad I can't use paypal anymore!
Wrong, First my merchant service will review it and contact me. No Credit card company will fall for bs fraudulent fraud charges. If there is real fraud going on, yes your CC company will help you, if you are trying to screw me my merchant service will protect me.
Very fair.
a bass at that level......make sure it functions right before you sell it. ill let that kind of stuff slide on a low dollar purchase, but on something like a lull, im not going to want to have to oil the nut and have it turn out to be a pain in the ass to get it to work.
Ebay requires Pay Pal, you don't have a choice unless you are a business and have a credit card machine.
So, I have done nothing "wrong" as you put it....
Pull your head from the Azure Sky
I go by the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" thinking.It's a 14 year old bass. The neck was perfect to me so I never adjusted the truss rod. Why should I? The buyer and his tech are the ones who took the neck off and found the shim business card. If I sell a used car, should I take out the motor and make sure it's perfect for the buyer?
Right, perfect for you.
A truss rod is an important part of a working bass, I've had to setup nearly every bass and guitar I've bought, some people like to play lighter, some heavier. If the truss rod is frozen up, it makes me think there could be something else wrong with the bass, or worse, a broken rod.
Also, depending on how far it travelled, it could have need adjustment (depending on temp & humidity changes), even to keep it as it was.
You would probably have asked questions, asked for detailed pictures, or have me check the truss rod or anthing else for you, I'd be happy to. The buyer was like a giddy school girl at the prospect of getting a Mike Lull 5-string for $1000 and he couldn't wait to send me his money. I messed up by not checking on him as a buyer. I should have checked his TB feedback, how long he has been a member, and how many posts he had.
Really I don't have any hard feelings against the buyer. Probably an impulse purchase he regretted. That happens. My anger is against PayPal and the way they treat sellers. The best advice so far, is Don't like them, don't use them.
