Neg Feedback Deserving Behavior

[PullThePlug]

ESH - wait... this isn't Reddit

 

[FrenchBassQC]

I agree with the notion of there was no transaction so no feedback required. Just ignore this seller in the future since it looks like you and him will never have a good time over a meal anyway... My .02 cents.

 

[John Cribbin]

Gotta say this thread has given me a good laugh.

I've had guitars for 40+ years and bought, sold, traded lots of stuff over the years.

There was a time used to I bend over backwards to try and do a deal. eg:
'Is the top on that acoustic flat?'
'Yes.'
'Can you send a photo with a straight edge?'
'Yes.'
'Can you slip a feeler guage between the ruler and the top at any point?'
'No'. etc, etc

I've NEVER made a sale to anyone who asked lots of questions, to me they are just wasting my time. Last guitar I sold, guy only wanted to know what guage of strings were fitted.

It's my property and I'm free to sell to whoever I want. If I get the impression for whatever reason that you're not a person I'm happy to deal with, I'll ignore you.

I can always find someone I'm happy to deal with.

 

[rmayer]

I'm definitely siding with the OP in this case. I see nothing "snarky" about his response to the seller not able to answer one single question he asked. Granted, the seller is not the original owner of this bass, but does that prevent him from getting:
1) An accurate weight. Stick it on a scale, or stop into a Post Office or UPS Store.
2) Determining if the action can be set up low, give the truss rod a turn or lower the bridge saddles. It isn't brain surgery.
3) Determine if there are any obvious mechanical or electronic problems.
He could have made an attempt to answer one or more of these questions, but instead he chose to be insulting to a prospective buyer.

FYI, when I ask for a weight and someone refers me to the manufacturer's site is the exact moment I decide NOT to buy that bass.

 

[rmayer]

What do you think the OP was implying with that question?

I think the OP was implying that he was amazed that someone that actually had an instrument in their hands couldn't even answer simple questions about said instrument.

 

[LBS-bass]

Gotta say this thread has given me a good laugh.

I've had guitars for 40+ years and bought, sold, traded lots of stuff over the years.

There was a time used to I bend over backwards to try and do a deal. eg:
'Is the top on that acoustic flat?'
'Yes.'
'Can you send a photo with a straight edge?'
'Yes.'
'Can you slip a feeler guage between the ruler and the top at any point?'
'No'. etc, etc

I've NEVER made a sale to anyone who asked lots of questions, to me they are just wasting my time. Last guitar I sold, guy only wanted to know what guage of strings were fitted.

It's my property and I'm free to sell to whoever I want. If I get the impression for whatever reason that you're not a person I'm happy to deal with, I'll ignore you.

I can always find someone I'm happy to deal with.

Bingo. I love the people here who jump to the conclusion that the seller "can't" answer the simpler questions. Nope, the seller just doesn't want to deal with you. Get over it.

 

[micguy]

the OP asked if the bass had graphite rods in the neck. Without disassembling the bass, how on earth would you know that?
I.e. what alloy is the engine made from?

You take the neck off; there's a "G" stamp on a Warmoth neck if it has graphite rods. Yes, you have to partly disassemble it. It's a $60 option, so it's worth something when you buy one, and if I don't know the neck has graphite rods, I wouldn't buy it - a heavy neck is not a neck I want, at any price. If the buyer didn't want to do that to find out, I wouldn't complain or leave negative feedback, I just wouldn't buy it.

Just like someone that weighs their bass on a bathroom scale by stepping on and off with the bass and without - not an accurate weight at all. I won't force them to buy a scale, but I won't buy if the info isn't solid enough for me to trust it.

There's nothing wrong with asking what you want to know. I think the seller here could/should have answered what he did know in a much nicer fashion, but if the seller doesn't have good answers, I wouldn't get snippy with him, I'd just say thanks (if he provided what he could) and leave.

 

[peteybass]

I would just pass on the bass and move on. His ad compared to his response to your question doesn't make sense:

He says in the ad 'Too many guitars. Hurts to let this one go, but can only play one at a time" and

"Originally wired for 18V active preamp. Decided to go with the more organic sounding passive harness"

His response to you was:

Seller: hi bob I really cant answer your questions as I took this on trade. but heres the warmoth site may help a bit

Doesn't really sound truthful.

 

[mcnach]

he never called the guy a fraud. And calling him an ass is just stupid.
Asking if you have the bass is a legit question. If I ask those questions and get that response, I’d ask also. Those aren’t hard questions to answer. As a seller you are the one petitioning money for a product. You should be able to answer some basic questions. I’ve sold quite a few basses. And have always strived to give all info about the basses. And if I didn’t have the info have asked for time to get it. That is the sellers responsibility.

Of course, I sold a lot too and sales 101 dictates that you treat people nicely and try to answer any questions they may have. I won't argue about any of that. I just think the OP was pushy/borderline rude and with another seller it would probably be okay, but you get someone who is a bit less understanding, and here we are.
Just because I think the OP triggered what happened, it doesn't mean I think the seller was entirely without fault. Like you said: calling the OP an ass is just stupid. I think both were to a degree. It's unfortunate... but not a big deal in he big scheme of things.

 

[kev451]

I would just pass on the bass and move on. His ad compared to his response to your question doesn't make sense:

He says in the ad 'Too many guitars. Hurts to let this one go, but can only play one at a time" and

"Originally wired for 18V active preamp. Decided to go with the more organic sounding passive harness"

His response to you was:

Seller: hi bob I really cant answer your questions as I took this on trade. but heres the warmoth site may help a bit

Doesn't really sound truthful.

exactly he makes you think he has the bass. And saying it hurts to let this go says he’s played this bass and has some sort of attachment to it. But then can’t answer basic questions ????? Yup Seller is the ass in this situation.

 

[The Deep]

"The Questions Guy" is one of the more annoying people you'll encounter when selling gear. Always wanting to know a bunch of really specific details about the item that I may or may not know. While some people may think it's reasonable to ask a bunch of questions I just automatically assume the guy is going to look for a reason to do a return.

I'm not a jerk about it but I usually politely ask them to not bid if I don't know the answer to all their questions or don't have the time to put into finding out the answers.

I try not to ask questions that can be easily found by using the Googler and doing some research on the specific model, but this quest isn’t always fruitful and there are typically some questions that just have to be asked to ensure peace of mind (truss rod movement capability in both directions, weight, neck finish to name a few).

The whole picture needs to be taken into account. Some sellers provide a wealth of detailed information that the average musician would want to know, others provide very little information in their sale listing. It’s understandable that much information will need to be accounted for when buying an instrument over the internet without benefit of an up close and personal trial/inspection. Quite simply, if the listing includes little information, expect an inversely proportional number of questions in return. If you make a lazy listing expect to work harder in the final sale.

To counter your assertion regarding returns, the questions I ask a a seller about the instrument are for the very purpose of reassuring that I will NOT find a reason to return the instrument once I receive it. Returns are a hassle for me too and I don’t want to deal with it unless absolutely necessary.

If the seller is unable or unwilling to answer my questions, I simply move on to the next. No need to be snarky....best of luck with your sale. Ultimately, the seller has the freedom to choose his own timeline and means to point of sale.

Just my two cents.

 

[ole Jason]

I've NEVER made a sale to anyone who asked lots of questions.

Same. People who do the 20 questions thing never seem to actually buy anything, it isn't worth my time to entertain them. Plenty of buyers out there if you price your stuff right.

 

[gorneyg]

i don't see all the questions as unreasonable in this case but 80% of the questions I get on basses I'm selling can be googled or answered on the builder's page. Nut width...does the builder offer options?
Weight? Web site.
One shopper pointed out what he didn't like about the bass...I'm assuming a bargaining chip.
Then why TF are you looking at a bass you don't like?

 

[AcridSaint]

So, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle here. The seller has a lot of words that add up to him/her seemingly knowing something about the bass, so they should be able to answer some questions. If they "couldn't" answer the OPs question about any issues, then maybe they were being unreasonable. I think what is MUCH more likely is that they saw a laundry list of questions that they didn't have answers for, and never even bothered reading all of them. I believe that's very likely, because I did the same thing when reading the post.

If the seller deserves any negative feedback at all, it's for misusing the word "your". Other than that, you were both kind of jerks to each other and should probably just walk away.

 

[gln1955]

I think the OP was implying that he was amazed that someone that actually had an instrument in their hands couldn't even answer simple questions about said instrument.

The first impression I had reading it was that the OP was implying something shady was going on. I guess the seller had the same reaction.

 

[JRA]

THIS is what Negative Feedback behavior looks like:

Nope, the seller just doesn't want to deal with you. Get over it.

per the OP: good luck next time!

 

[The Deep]

Weight? Web site.

LOL......ahhhh no!

 

[TexasTodd]

... If the seller deserves any negative feedback at all, it's for misusing the word "your"...

I would never buy from someone that doesn't know the difference between "your" and "you're".

 

[smogg]

No, it's not actually a buyer's market. It's a buyer's market if a) the seller doesn't have any other interest and b) the seller feels like dealing with whatever the buyer might come up with.

I own a lot of stuff. I might think about selling some of it, but if I don't have an intense need for the funds that sale brings, I'm not necessarily going to be inclined to jump through your hoops just because you think you're entitled to that.

My stuff, my rules, and that goes for how I sell it and who I sell it to, too.

Yeah we're gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. IMO, If you won't answer what would be considered common questions and consider that "jumping through hoops" that is a red flag and you can't have my money. If you don't want to sell to the general public then do private sales not public listings.

Buyers market does not mean the buyer has a right to be a jerk. They do however have a right to ask questions so they can make an informed purchase decision. They are considering giving you their money for your products/services/goods. Thus buyers market.

 

[Skokiaan]

Or did he cut and paste from the person he traded with?

Don't know, but he posted it as if he knew what he was talking about. If it was a copy/paste job, it shows the importance of the OP asking questions that much more.