Manufacturer refurbish bass vs. New bass

Actually what you're describing is more generally called "B stock", and this can include refurbished items. Actually refurbished items are ones that got sent to a store, and maybe even bought by a customer, but then returned to the factory due to defects. The factory then fixes up (refurbishes) the defective item, and sells it as "B stock".

 

I think buying a B-Stock instrument, or one stamped "used" "2nd" etc. from the factory, is only for those of us with a lot of experience and a keen eye for whether or not the instrument has flaws that will require heroic efforts to correct.

Some B-Stock has very minor cosmetic flaws, or something that was easily and thoroughly corrected in the factory, like an electronics issue.

With others, the problems can go much deeper. You really have to know what you're looking at, and I'l never buy a B-Stock item sight-unseen again.

The last time I did this, it was with several Takamine acoustic guitars purchased via eBay. The seller told me they were marked "second" but he said they were perfect. My tech and I got to looking at these guitars and decided they were junk. It would have cost almost as much as the guitar itself to salvage them.

 

These 2nds are stamped at the factory usually with a used stamp, the serial number ground off and a sticker with a serial number put on.Most of the time its cosmetics, maybe a very visible body seem , dips in the paint etc. However it could be a busted truss rod , faulty electronics etc. I like to think of it as buying a car with a salvaged title , it may or may not have been fixed properly. There usually sold by a 3rd party , i bought a 2nd squier bass off ebay from a seller that gets them direct from the factory , it had a truss rod defect.

This differs from musiciansfriend or guitar centers "used" basses. Those typically are bought by customers who return them , due to buyers remorse , shipping damage, quality issues the customer isnt satisified with which may or not have warrated it being a 2nd but was overlooked.

That said I have bought many 2nds and "used" squiers. If i was buying a upper end bass I rather get a used (from a person) bass that was never a return or second and is in good condition.

 

Being a beginner,(even though i am in my 50s) - i also have thought about getting a B-STOCK guitar.
But i always seem to get outbid.Or the price doesnt seem low enough to me.(i admit to being frugal)

Im interested in what folks have to say about this topic,cause i have already been burned a few times on a famous auction site.

 

For the most part its merely cosmetics and nothing structual. I have bought dozens of B stock-the only issue i ever had was a truss problem.The odds are in your favor and if bought from a reputable dealer they usually disclose any issues, if they dont then the item is not as described and a return is warranted.

So i would just buy from a reputable dealer , and unless your handy stay away from truss rod issues or anything that has neck issues

For me though I need to get something B stock cheaper then what it goes for used to make it really worth my time, b stock items that are stamped used on average are going to have a lower resale value.

 

For my 60th birthday, I thought I'd treat myself to a new guitar, and, since I had been wanting to take up bass again, this was a perfect excuse! So, after much research and deliberation, purchase a Epiphone Les Paul Special 4 string bass from a eBay dealer. It was listed as 'Factory Reconditioned', with the explanation that it did not pass initial factory QC checks, and was shipped to their facility outside Nashville TN. for the remedial work. The pictures on the listing showed no obvious flaw, and none was indicated in the disclaimer. As it comes from the Gibson facility I thought it was a safe bet, and I was right! I had a set of D'Addario flat wound chromes put on and the instrument checked out by the tech at the shop I use. Everything is 100% and I am a happy camper! So, I have no fear in purchasing this way, but certainly do your homework before committing to anything, as always. I'm now waiting to receive my second bass, a mint Fender Squire Jaguar Vintage Modified, which I also purchased on eBay, but this time from a private owner who is upgrading to a different instrument. For under $200 I'm getting a broken in instrument that was treated with care!

 

Yeah exactly and if you buy it to flip it and represent it as new I think most buyers would be pretty pissed when they get a bass with a scratched off serial number.

 

Agreed, It saves some hedaches.

 

+1. Yep, I would never buy a B-Stock or Factory Second without inspecting or playing it first unless I had an unlimited right to return it if I didn't like it.

Slight finish flaws that don't affect the playability or tonality may be acceptable but when it gets down to defects that are expensive and difficult to cure it's not worth the money saved. You'll never be happy with it.

 

Know what the flaw is. Finish? Who cares. Structural? Ill pass.

 

It's hit and miss. Yesterday I finally received a refurbished Squier VM PJ. It has a small finish defect, a few frets seem to have been glued with superglue (visible remnants of it on the rosewood around), and the most disappointingly, the distance from the string to the edge of the neck is visibly longer for the 1st string than for the 4th. On the other hand, the neck feels smooth, no buzz, it sounds good, no visible wear or somebody's gunk on the fretboard, costed me $220. Mixed feelings.