My HORRIBLE Alleva-Coppolo experience...

[markorbit]

Glad it's going to be resolved. I could say more, especially with one or two interesting points in Jimmy's post that go in his defence, but prolonging the thread with fresh discussion is unnecessary. Happy for the OP.

 

[Dos Inus]

So... We're done now?

Folks folks folks, yes indeed this is now done. Mr Coppolo has resolved the issue to the best of anyone's ability, and that settles the dispute. Good on him for doing that.

 

[lowendmafia]

Moral of the story: Don't sell basses to left-handed graphic designers that can photoshop glue marks and poor sanding on your instruments.

 

[john turner]

alright already. hey addison, if you want this reopened, pm me, but otherwise, the original issue has been apparently resolved, and so i'm going to close it.

just for reference, here's the builder's response :

My HORRIBLE Alleva-Coppolo experience...

 

[Addison]

I just wanted to chime in here one last time to let everyone know that the refund posted to my account this past weekend.

Although I'm glad it's over and I got my money back... I'd honestly rather have had a kickass AC bass from the very beginning.

I'm not going to post anymore details about anything that happened after this thread was closed... it wasn't exactly fun and I'd prefer to not to keep dwelling on the negative.

Instead, I'd really like to take a moment to focus on the positive.

First I wanted to say that we should all consider ourselves pretty lucky to have public discussion forums like TalkBass where real people have our backs when we need them. We can sit here all day and debate the positives and negatives about this situation going "public" (and many others like it) and I would undoubtedly agree with some of the negatives.

However, the VAST majority of what I experienced was genuinely good and positive... In fact, some of you would be SURPRISED by the number of individuals AND businesses who stepped forward to privately offer their help and support in ways that STILL make me emotional.

These weren't people and businesses with a hidden agenda... they weren't looking for attention or ways to cash in on my situation. The one single condition shared by everyone who offered help was anonymity... they saw a crappy situation and only wanted to help because they could.

As much as I appreciated the offers, I couldn't accept... but I know it's easy to get jaded on people these days, so I wanted to let you all know that there really are tons of good people out there willing to help you up when you're down.

Anyway, I learned a few lessons from this and I wanted to share them with you:

• DO NOT EVER BUY A "NEW" BASS WITHOUT AN APPROVAL PERIOD. As a lefty, I have been in this situation a lot, but, no matter how tempting, it will NOT happen again. Custom orders usually do not have any kind of approval period. That's fine... I understand why that it the case... but there is simply NO REASON for a "stock" bass to not have one. If a builder won't allow you to take a couple of days to make sure a multi-thousand-dollar bass is right for you, then chances are there's a reason why.
  
• DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. This might sound a bit OCD/ADD/ADHD or whatever, but I recommend that everyone document every single part of the process when you buy a high-end bass. Use email as much as possible and keep a written journal with dates and times. Take cell-phone video of the box before you open it... have someone film you opening the box... keep that camera on while you take the bass out of the case and talk to the camera while you inspect it and make verbal notes of ANY issues you might discover. This might sound paranoid to a lot of you... and I know that MOST builders are super cool and won't even question you when you call them to talk to them about a problem... but there are SOME builders out there who WILL blame you for problems THEY created. If you get it all on video the second it comes out of the box, they'll never be able to do that. Also... if you ever have to return a bass, document the entire packing process from beginning to end. Trust me... it all helps.
  
• PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD OR PAYPAL. If a builder keeps hinting to you that they take and prefer cash, there might be more to it than the fact that they save 3% in transaction fees. As much as I hate credit cards, they will protect you if someone tries to screw you... it's nice to have them on your side.
  
• If you get a bass that has problems, GET SIGNED STATEMENTS FROM A THIRD PARTY PROFESSIONAL TO BACK UP YOUR CLAIMS. In fact, get two... or three. Take it to every expert in your area and ask for their help. DO this BEFORE you send the bass back. Make sure the statements explain why the bass does not match the description and make sure it details all problems and what it would take to fix them. Have them explain how these issues could permanently affect the value of the instrument, even if they're fixed. If you don't know a lot about this kind of thing, have them explain what problems they find in a way that YOU understand. This will allow you to more easily convey it to the builder and the bank, if you end up having to go that route.

I think that's everything...

One last huge THANK YOU to everyone... I mean that sincerely.

Chris

 

[Marial]

Really glad to hear it worked out positively, if not ideally. And those are excellent tips.

 

[SolarMan]

I'm glad for you. And Jimmy.

 

[smcd]

We can sit here all day and debate the positives and negatives about this situation going "public" (and many others like it) and I would undoubtedly agree with some of the negatives.

There are no negatives to bringing this situation public. If you didn't do it, you wouldn't have gotten a refund.

 

[metallutca]

Yeah, glad it is settled. Thanks for the tips Addison. Some did sounded paranoia but are very real indeed.