NBD - 1966 Fender Jazz

[BassFishingInAmerica]

Just the neckplate is worth what you paid. This has to be the deal of the year.

 

[Symphony2040]

Wow, what a steal you got there, congrats! Makes you wonder what other gold is out there on the used marketplaces.

 

[ICM]

That custom pickguard is so cool.

 

[ahbradot]

Note to self..
Start looking for a gem like that one in the classifieds.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I would feel compelled to tell the seller what they really had and give them the chance to reconsider the price.

 

[jimmydean]

You beat me to it you Bastardo , enjoy the bass thru my tears .........of joy for your awesome find !

 

[Ric Vice]

Once upon a time, I owned a Fender Jazz Bass from the same year 1966. When I got it, in the early 70’s it was in pristine condition. The paddle tuners weren’t around for that long. That bass served me for nearly.10 years. I traded it for a G&L 1000. That bass is also lost to the sands of time. Even though Leo had “left the building” by 66 his team craftspersons were still building great basses for several years. Enjoy your bass. They are special.

 

[DTF]

congrats

 

[mikeswals]

Wow nice score! Yeah, will make a great vinage workhorse.

 

[ad9000]

I didn't interpret the OP as gloating over taking advantage of the seller's lack of knowledge, and I don't think that he should feel guilty about this score. To me it was 100% the seller's responsibility to research the value of the bass and set their price.

I think it's interesting to see that there are still vintage instruments out there, in whatever degree of original condition, that can be had for a small fraction of their worth. One would think the likelihood of that happening would pretty much disappear in the internet age.

 

[JIO]

I'm only posting this story as a version of this scenario, not as a judgmental comparison. Years ago I stumbled on a fresh eBay post of a '66 J in pretty clean condition. It caught my eye because I've always liked that year and since then now own an early '66 J. Anyway, the asking price was something like $1800 - way under what they sold for then. (and double that now) I noticed the seller had 0 sales and red flags went up. His copy mentioned needing to sell his deceased father's bass. I quickly sent him a PM telling him that bass was easily worth 3 times or more than what he posted it for and he should have it assessed for current market value. Luckily he removed the bass within minutes of my PM. I felt relieved.

 

[Malak the Mad]

I'm only posting this story as a version of this scenario, not as a judgmental comparison. Years ago I stumbled on a fresh eBay post of a '66 J in pretty clean condition. It caught my eye because I've always liked that year and since then now own an early '66 J. Anyway, the asking price was something like $1800 - way under what they sold for then. (and double that now) I noticed the seller had 0 sales and red flags went up. His copy mentioned needing to sell his deceased father's bass. I quickly sent him a PM telling him that bass was easily worth 3 times or more than what he posted it for and he should have it assessed for current market value. Luckily he removed the bass within minutes of my PM. I felt relieved.

Apologies for the aside, but I had a similar incident…one that taps right into my art-student past and my still-to-this-day animation-nerd present.

Years ago, I was tooling around on my bicycle when I passed a yard sale going on. It all seemed kinda-sorta like "guy stuff", so I suspected it was stuff from a divorce or he'd passed away. (To be considerate, I definitely did not ask!) After grabbing a bunch of CDs, I noticed a Disney print from "Aladdin" sitting under a table. After asking them if I could inspect it, I noticed two things;

1. There was no sun-fading, despite it possibly being ten to twenty years old, and was in very minty condition.
2. The official gold-foil "Disney Lithograph" seal in the corner.

After they confirmed that it'd been hanging on an office wall and out of direct sunlight all that time, I asked how much? They said, "I dunno…five dollars?" My moral compass was pointing in the right direction that day. I told them to do some research on it and that it might be worth a whole lot more auctioned off on eBay or to a private buyer.

Who knows? Maybe it wasn't worth much more, but I wasn't about to potentially fleece some unsuspecting family that might need the cash. (That, and being out on my bike meant I had no way to safely transport it home, so… )

 

[Polfuste]

No guilt to feel. OP didn't bought it by knowing it was a 66' jazzbass and hide it to the seller. He discovered it after. So no one is screwed in this story. It's seller responsability to know what he sells and he was certainly happy to get the value he expected from it. One doesn't not feel guilty to be lucky. Life knows how to hit us strongly sometimes; so when she's generous, let's accept it !