I won a Hartke XK4 on eBay. It's been kind of a bucket list bass for my collection even though it wasn't the XL USA model I went for it anyway as it's a lot less $$. Its my first aluminum neck bass. Great right? Nope! I noticed the box was pretty small compared to other case-less basses I've received, and it had a small back curve to the box as well. The box also had "do not lay flat" written on it. Theses things were alarms to me, so as usual I took some pictures before/during unboxing. The short? Its broken it two! Bummed right I am... I have posted a return with the picture to eBay, hoping for the best. {} {} {}
How well was the bass supported and padded inside the box? It looks like there may have been next to no supportive structure (ie. Cardboard) around the headstock.
That sucks... if ever I ship W/O case I ALWAYS double box. Looks like it might be repaired, maybe with 2 hardwood dowels, but still (A natural choice for headless conversion?) Hope dealing with the aftermath goes smoothly for you.
Not much, the HS was wrapped in bubble wrap, nothing around the neck...I've had boxes like this inside another bigger box on basses Ive received.
Thanks! Thats the way to do it....and writing directions on the box is fairly useless given how many different could be handling the item. I don't plan to loose my money on this, we'll see though and I will post updates for sure.
got it. i had to look up the instrument on the hartke site and it was described as a "welded" on headstock. but no matter, it's a bummer. i guess it's some consolation that you didn't spend big/any bucks. but that doesn't mitigate the disappointment. let us know how all of this plays out. good luck with it!
Needs tort But on a more serious note, That seriously is a bummer. Waste of a perfectly fine instrument. Boxing it like that doesn't show much sense... Hope you'll get it right.
Ok. I did't know that, thanks. The break 'looks' like cast but I ain't no expert, I just wanted to play the dang thing! Lol. I'll update as needed. Cheers!
eBay will take care of you. They are very buyer friendly. Just be cordial in your responses. Packaged that way, I am not convinced the seller will get paid through an insurance claim with the carrier. The last few basses I shipped out (two FedEx and one UPS), the counter clerk was very thorough in checking out the packaging before agreeing to accept it.
OUCH! Almost looks like the headstock was sawed off. Best of luck on getting satisfaction. You should have a cut & dry case.
You may get lucky through ebay, they almost always side with the buyer. Based on that packaging, though, the seller is likely SOL.
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