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NBD!! With some unexpected findings

What would you do?

  • Full refund

  • Partial refund

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Jscriv

Jscriv

Feb 3, 2017
1,472
2,338
Tonawanda NY
#1
I've been having GAS for a lakland DJ4 for a good year now. Really wanted one in white , but pulled the trigger on a natural one. Pretty disappointed to see the block "inlays" are just painted blocks but hey, not the end of the world. It has killer tone but upon inspection I found some......things. A few gouges in the finish by the neck on the body going into the pickguard, determined by the seller to be an uh oh when fret dressing before it went out the door. I also found 2 dings in the fret board under the D string on the second fret. Sounds nit picky I know, but it was described as pristine. The seller has been fantastic from the start as they seemed as surprised about the blemishes as I was. Told me to play it for a few weeks and make a decision, return for full refund or keep it and accept a partial refund for the scratches and dents. What would you do? What's an acceptable refund?
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#3
Jscriv said:
I've been having GAS for a lakland DJ4 for a good year now. Really wanted one in white , but pulled the trigger on a natural one. Pretty disappointed to see the block "inlays" are just painted blocks but hey, not the end of the world. It has killer tone but upon inspection I found some......things. A few gouges in the finish by the neck on the body going into the pickguard, determined by the seller to be an uh oh when fret dressing before it went out the door. I also found 2 dings in the fret board under the D string on the second fret. Sounds nit picky I know, but it was described as pristine. The seller has been fantastic from the start as they seemed as surprised about the blemishes as I was. Told me to play it for a few weeks and make a decision, return for full refund or keep it and accept a partial refund for the scratches and dents. What would you do? What's an acceptable refund? View attachment 5027397 View attachment 5027398 View attachment 5027400
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I'm not sure I could consider that seller as being fantastic from the start. Not with using the word "pristine" to describe the condition. Maybe "very good" with the proviso of detailing the scratch and the dents in the description. Maybe.

By not disclosing the marks, and calling it pristine, I'd be inclined to think the seller has actually sucked from the start, by being dishonest either by commission or omission. I'd probably be irked and have to return it for a full refund, just on principle.

Play it for a few weeks first? Why? He's punting, knowing that the longer he puts you off, the less chance you'll want to return it at all.

Acceptable refund? That's up to you, but a couple Bens might be a decent starting point if I otherwise loved the thing.

I know one thing....Lakland DJ's are all over the place, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a nice White one, which is what you wanted in the first place. Good luck.
 
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#5
Iridescentone said:
I'm not sure I could consider that seller as being fantastic from the start. Not with using the word "pristine" to describe the condition. Maybe "very good" with the proviso of detailing the scratch and the dents in the description. Maybe.

By not disclosing the marks, and calling it pristine, I'd be inclined to think the seller has actually sucked from the start, by being dishonest either by commission or omission. I'd probably be irked and have to return it for a full refund, just on principle.

Play it for a few weeks first? Why? He's punting, knowing that the longer he puts you off, the less chance you'll want to return it at all.

Acceptable refund? That's up to you, but a couple Bens might be a decent starting point if I otherwise loved the thing.

I know one thing....Lakland DJ's are all over the place, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a nice White one, which is what you wanted in the first place. Good luck.
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Just to offer a counter argument to this, don't be so quick to judge sellers. I was in a similar situation as a seller. I did not intentionally mislead the buyer in my description. The body of the bass I was selling was in very good shape. I did not describe some nicks on the back of the fingerboard because I simply forgot about them. I just got used to them and didn't consider them a big deal. In hindsight, I should have downgraded my bass description but it was not intentional. I worked with the buyer right away who contacted me about the issues and agreed to a refund. He did seem to like the bass and I told him to keep it for a week, as per Reverb's policy. In the end, he decided keep it.

As for this DJ-4, I've been in a similar situation as well. I would say the marks are superficial and not a big deal. But that's me. For me, I would advise you not to settle. If you want a white one, one will come along. I bought a Lakland 44-02 that was not the color I really wanted and in the end sold it because I felt like I settled. And when one popped up in the color I wanted, I regretted not waiting.

With all that said, the DJ-4 is a fantastic bass. I love mine. And I like how it is just different enough design wise from a Jazz Bass to give it its own character, not simply a clone. Good luck in whatever you decide.
 
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#8
Jscriv said:
Told me to play it for a few weeks and make a decision, return for full refund or keep it and accept a partial refund for the scratches and dents. What would you do?
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The bass you received is not "pristine." (Nor was the refinished Hamer I saw in the classifieds the other day "mint." :banghead: Use the dictionary, people — this isn't rocket surgery!)

The seller is being more accommodating than many. I would take him up on his offer of a partial refund (2 hundie?), BUT I'd do it in the next day or 2, not in a few weeks. You don't need a few weeks, or even one week. Repay his courtesy with your own.
 
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#12
There's no excuses for sellers IMO. If you are selling something, anything, describe it as it is. Go over it with a fine tooth comb and list out all the issues if there are any.
Too many people like to pass off instruments as "mint with this one minor ding". At that point, it is no longer mint.
 
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#13
dalkowski said:
The bass you received is not "pristine." (Nor was the refinished Hamer I saw in the classifieds the other day "mint." :banghead: Use the dictionary, people — this isn't rocket surgery!)

The seller is being more accommodating than many. I would take him up on his offer of a partial refund (2 hundie?), BUT I'd do it in the next day or 2, not in a few weeks. You don't need a few weeks, or even one week. Repay his courtesy with your own.
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I agree. Apparently not everyone understands the covenant that buyers deserve to "get what they paid for". In the OP's case, that means a virtually flawless guitar...pristine literally. Selling platforms warn against using descriptors like pristine, mint, as-new, perfect, in the interest of full disclosure and to protect sellers from dishonest buyers who like to invent imperfections after the fact, in order to "renegotiate" the already-agreed-upon selling price.

If the OP got it from Reverb (I don't think he's mentioned that), and wants to return for a refund due to its undisclosed issues, he might want to check with Reverb first. A "refund" through Reverb may not include any of shipping costs that the buyer has paid, neither coming or going. (don't ask me how I know) If it turns out the OP is on the hook for the shipping, then a partial refund may be the lesser of two evils, depending on all the $ numbers involved (which we don't know).

OTOH, things could have gone smoothly if the seller had been forthright with his description in the first place. Then, any buyer would have had both eyes open and been able to pay whatever price they felt was justified, commensurate with the true condition of the item. But that clearly isn't what happened. Instead, the item's condition was misrepresented, and now the OP has to deal with the aftermath caused by the seller, which most of us might consider unpleasant and completely avoidable, no matter how it ends up.

** I'm assuming that everything the OP has related is exactly what transpired.
 
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#17
Iridescentone said:
That ain't the question.

The question is...why should anyone have to overpay for it along the way, due to having been scammed by a dishonest seller?
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Understood but if you like the bass and it plays great take the money off and enjoy. But if these things bother you and will continue to by all means send it back, again though if it's a great bass no dead spots and plays great sounds great keep her.
 
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#18
grocker said:
Understood but if you like the bass and it plays great take the money off and enjoy. But if these things bother you and will continue to by all means send it back, again though if it's a great bass no dead spots and plays great sounds great keep her.
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Well I'm not the buyer here. OTOH, if I were in the market for another Skyline DJ, and if a seller disclosed those cosmetic issues in the listing, and if the selling price was in line with its condition, I'd be perfectly happy with that scenario. I don't care about little bumps and bruises...unless I'm paying top dollar for something in "pristine" condition (often I will). But that's a lotta "ifs" strung together. I don't think that's what's going on with OP, based on his side of the story, anyway (we don't know the $$ numbers). Cheers.
 
#19
MultiScaleMale said:
It almost seems like finding a reason to return something has become a hobby on TB.
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1) Buy Used bass.

2) Scrutinize every inch with giant magnifying glass.

3) Post tiny marks on Talkbass so other nit pickers will agree with you.

4) Cost seller another shipping charge because you didn't really want it anyway.
 
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#20
sclemmer said:
There's no excuses for sellers IMO. If you are selling something, anything, describe it as it is. Go over it with a fine tooth comb and list out all the issues if there are any.
Too many people like to pass off instruments as "mint with this one minor ding". At that point, it is no longer mint.
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So buy new and take it up with the dealer/manufacturer . Second hand is second hand . It is USED . I have dealt with a buyer in the past who tried to pull me up about 2 fingerprints on the bass . They were from when I packed it . I refunded him and drove 200 miles to pick it up . I left him in no doubt that as no money had now changed hands that he was entitled to nothing , not even my courtesy . People now only deal with me face to face .
 
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