New means NEW .... right?

[Mike Whitfield]

Obviously if it has a flaw, it shouldn't be full price.

It frankly, what do people expect? They "buy" instruments so they can test drive them and then return them. So what should an internet seller do if they get a return that has no issues?

I think this is reasonable. As long as the instrument is undamaged, with all original packaging in place and with all accessories, I have no problem with it. That said, buying an instrument just to “try it out” (or for a special gig) is a dick move. It’s like buying clothing, wearing it to a special event, and then returning it.

 

[Mike Whitfield]

As long as my OCD doesn't flare up too bad, I'm learning these can be greatly discounted.

Believe me... they don't want it back. They want to finalize the transaction, having you keep it. The more it's handled, the more it costs them...

... at least, for now.

I bought an open box Ibanez MiKro bass for 20% off and it’s gorgeous, only some scratches on the rear cover plate. Freakin’ sweet. I also bought a MiKro 6-string which wasn’t such a good deal - easy to see why it was returned, enough fret sprout to use it for a saw. (Although surprisingly a lot of that retracted after it acclimated. Go figure. Still, it’s 20% off.) I kept it because it was reasonably good for the discounted price, but I’ll have to level and dress the frets before I pass it on. (My fat stubby fingers don’t fit in those little fret spaces. I should have known this because I have several Peaveys which are the slightly longer Byrdland scale, but my MiKro bass is sooo sweet that I had to try the guitar version.) And I have a sweet Epi Hummingbird I got for a third off and it’s flawless. So it’s a crapshoot, but I agree they can be great bargains worth taking a risk.

 

[Spidey2112]

I bought an open box Ibanez MiKro bass for 20% off and it’s gorgeous, only some scratches on the rear cover plate. Freakin’ sweet. I also bought a MiKro 6-string which wasn’t such a good deal - easy to see why it was returned, enough fret sprout to use it for a saw. (Although surprisingly a lot of that retracted after it acclimated. Go figure. Still, it’s 20% off.) I kept it because it was reasonably good for the discounted price, but I’ll have to level and dress the frets before I pass it on. (My fat stubby fingers don’t fit in those little fret spaces. I should have known this because I have several Peaveys which are the slightly longer Byrdland scale, but my MiKro bass is sooo sweet that I had to try the guitar version.) And I have a sweet Epi Hummingbird I got for a third off and it’s flawless. So it’s a crapshoot, but I agree they can be great bargains worth taking a risk.

My hero! Lol!

 

[CereBassum]

Ever hear of that???

Yeah, heard of that - needs somebody paying attention to see if you broke it. That's easy.
(Only one question mark required - more than one usually means a scatterbrain or an a-hole.)