ornary sellers?!?

[Slevage]

Specs are available. If they are not, and you’re thinking of buying a bass, try one out. If you can’t- don’t buy it.

Anytime I sold an instrument and was asked about action or balance, my response was, “it’s good for me”;
Weight? “I don’t have a scale that can accurately measure it”.
I’ve had no problem selling instruments.

 

[Ekulati]

this guy private messaged me saying he'd check the action if I was going to make an offer after he did it...

Action is adjustable. Why hammer on this point?

 

[mongo2]

If I’m shopping for basses, the only thing i can’t find published by makers, is weight, and I get why it’s not a published specification. It would require each bass be weighed individually and that weight entered into a document that is unique to that bass, or publish an average weight derived from sampling production, with a disclaimer about accuracy like the old “packed by weight not volume” boilerplate, or publish that same average weight with a tolerance that covers the full range of weights in any given model.

Sweetwater lists the weight of each of the mid and higher priced basses they have for sale.

 

[Lobster11]

Action is adjustable. Why hammer on this point?

I think because if the action is very high it might simply need a setup, but it also might be the result of a serious problem like a warped neck or broken truss rod.

 

[lomo]

There are occasional twits on both the selling and buying sides, but a seller who treats every buyer rudely because of prior experiences with unpleasant buyers is worth nothing more than an eye roll and casual delete. I have been involved with many transactions on TB as both buyer and seller. The majority of people act pleasantly and in good faith, but there is a minority with personality disorders who become aggressive at the drop of a hat; we remain savage, territorial primates....some more than others :-(

 

[Dirk Diggler]

So what ever happened to the concept of Caveat Emptor? (let the buyer beware)

 

[Durham52]

In the end people will be who they are. Just accept that some buyers or sellers will be uncooperative, aggressive, unrealistic, annoying, or abrupt and forget about it and move on. There's no way to rationally deal with some people, forget the purchase or sale, someone else will come along.

 

[lomo]

So what ever happened to the concept of Caveat Emptor? (let the buyer beware)

IMHO it remains exactly that: a concept....and a term that was coined before internet sales were "a thing". It implies reasonable behavior by a buyer, which certainly includes asking questions of the seller before purchase. It can also be used by a seller to rationalize being dishonest. "The customer is always right" might be considered the other side of the coin. In the end, it's all about reasonable behaviour and clear communication....which come down to simply treating others as one would like to be treated, aka civility.

 

[fhm555]

Sweetwater lists the weight of each of the mid and higher priced basses they have for sale.

Sweetwater is not a manufacturer, and why does Sweetwater not list all bass weights?

 

[mongo2]

Sweetwater is not a manufacturer, and why does Sweetwater not list all bass weights?

I know Sweetwater isn't a manufacturer. They show that a retailer can post weights if they wanted to and kudos to Sweetwater for doing so.

I have no idea why they don't post the weights of the lower priced instruments. You'll have to ask them.

 

[lfmn16]

The answer...
I'm convinced the vast majority of people are convinced they're smart enough to be in that minority that consider themselves to be a genius.

Sure bugs those of us that really are...

+1

I'm on another forum where someone asked people their IQ in a poll. There were almost no average people and the number of genius level IQs was quite amazing.

 

[RandalPinkFloyd]

 

[Koshchei]

+1

I'm on another forum where someone asked people their IQ in a poll. There were almost no average people and the number of genius level IQs was quite amazing.

The irony is that an IQ test diminishes in value after about 8 years of age.

 

[mongo2]

+1

I'm on another forum where someone asked people their IQ in a poll. There were almost no average people and the number of genius level IQs was quite amazing.

That's genius.

 

[Pirate Captain]

Maybe it’s because alleged “ buyers” ( and many of them) don’t do any work, and I mean ANY, to look up basic specs and some sites don’t allow the seller to post links to those sites.

this is the correct answer

 

[Bass Viking]

Also, I've seen Fender road worn guitars being sold and people in the question asking if there's any scratches or dings.

I get a kick out of seeing a relic described as “in excellent condition”.

 

[MegaSwing]

A seller’s main job is to make it easy for the buyer to spend his/her money. Any seller that doesn’t do this is undermining him/herself, plain and simple.

 

[lfmn16]

The irony is that an IQ test diminishes in value after about 8 years of age.

Not to mention, it's not how smart you are, it's what you do with the intelligence you have. I know several actual geniuses, who live very average lives while I know several people of average intelligence who worked their assets off and are very successful. Lots of people just squander the gifts they've been given.

 

[bassliner50]

Real frustration comes from sellers ad photos that fail to show the head stock properly. Then you *know* the seller doesn't know anything about what he/she is selling or something is being hid from you.

 

[selowitch]

But, listing weight of your bass should be a standard practice, if it's not already. It cannot be "looked up" it has to be weighed in person.

Not every seller has a reliable scale handy to determine the weight of what he or she is selling.