Was the bass in a gig bag at least? IMO that should be part of packing. It HAS to be sent in a bag at least. Even if it's a cheapie. I know that places like MF ship out guitars without cases all the time but I don't agree with that either.
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Thoughts on an TB classifieds "etiquette" sticky?
- Thread starter rogerbmiller
- Start date
Was the bass in a gig bag at least? IMO that should be part of packing. It HAS to be sent in a bag at least. Even if it's a cheapie. I know that places like MF ship out guitars without cases all the time but I don't agree with that either.
No sir! Not even a gig bag! Bass was just floating away inside that POS box! There was a hole where one of the preamp pots were. You could look right through it and see and touch the bass!
I have shipped without a gig bag and everything I have ever sent arrived safe as a kitten. It comes down to the simple physics of backing. You need to have zero free space in that box, you need to use a heavy duty (sturdy) box, and you need to ensure that there is ample padding around the bass top, bottom, front and back. To ensure that the bottom does not get dinged up in shipping, I sometimes back the bass, then turn the backage upside down, cut open the bottom of the box, and force stuff additional bubble wrap at the bottom.
The only time something I shipped got damaged, it was shipped in a gig bag and well padded. The moral of the story is that we have no control over when the fedex crew decides to use a package as a football!
But I am all for DW's idea.On the receiving end I have gotten numberous things to me that have been poorly packed. The best was a box with a bass in it and no packing from a Guitar Center that came to me. I looked at the box before opening and knew that the bass inside had to be damaged so I did a live videotaping of me opening it. I really should post it. It is almost funny. What was not funny was the guy from the store swearing that ha packed it sufficiently. You just can't make this stuff up.
And for the record, DW puts his money where his mouth is. About 7 years ago I bought two basses form him which as I recall were shipped together and he packed like a pro!
The only time something I shipped got damaged, it was shipped in a gig bag and well padded. The moral of the story is that we have no control over when the fedex crew decides to use a package as a football!
But I am all for DW's idea.On the receiving end I have gotten numberous things to me that have been poorly packed. The best was a box with a bass in it and no packing from a Guitar Center that came to me. I looked at the box before opening and knew that the bass inside had to be damaged so I did a live videotaping of me opening it. I really should post it. It is almost funny. What was not funny was the guy from the store swearing that ha packed it sufficiently. You just can't make this stuff up.
And for the record, DW puts his money where his mouth is. About 7 years ago I bought two basses form him which as I recall were shipped together and he packed like a pro!
I fight those kinds of inquirers by posting detailed OP's that include a summary of the items condition, as well as pictures. If they need more then I will *sometimes* accommodate, but I'll often say what you see is what you get and my feedback should speak for itself.
Lower your expectations...
If a seller contacts me with questions or offers, I simply respond and move on. I never hold my breath (or my sale item) waiting to hear back. I don't consider anyone a serious buyer until they've sent payment.
I figure I am posting on a public forum and have no problem with tire kickers. I adhere to, and recommend, a policy of no holding of the sale item though. I'll be darned if I'll miss a potential sale of an item to another buyer while holding it for someone I do not know.
If a seller contacts me with questions or offers, I simply respond and move on. I never hold my breath (or my sale item) waiting to hear back. I don't consider anyone a serious buyer until they've sent payment.
I figure I am posting on a public forum and have no problem with tire kickers. I adhere to, and recommend, a policy of no holding of the sale item though. I'll be darned if I'll miss a potential sale of an item to another buyer while holding it for someone I do not know.
A serious buyer is someone who pays you for the item you have for sale.
If you don't want to answer basic questions about your item, maybe ebay's a better choice. If you lack the patience to deal with looky-loos, maybe ebay's a better choice. If "Wish I had the money" comments bother you, ebay is definitely the better choice. I've sold things here and elsewhere, here is just a different animal. If different animals truly bother you...
Don't assume you can't get screwed on TB. You can get screwed anywhere.
If you don't want to answer basic questions about your item, maybe ebay's a better choice. If you lack the patience to deal with looky-loos, maybe ebay's a better choice. If "Wish I had the money" comments bother you, ebay is definitely the better choice. I've sold things here and elsewhere, here is just a different animal. If different animals truly bother you...
Don't assume you can't get screwed on TB. You can get screwed anywhere.
It's quite possible to ship a bass safely without a gigbag. Heck, some gigbags are no more than a t-shirt with a zipper as far as protection goes. Packed properly, anything can arrive safely.
I just shipped a bass without a gigbag. I triple-boxed it, immobilized the neck/headstock.
By the same token: In spite of packing precautions...
A friend of mine shipped a high dollar Brubaker KXB in it's OEM hardshell case and apprently it took one hell of a hit to the flat side of the case over the body in transit. Stuff happens.
In a TON of deals here, I've only ever had two problems. Both involved someone I sold or traded to having "deal remorse", so they attempted to come up with "problems" with the equipment I sent that simply didn't exist. The second and more memorable of the two simply said the bass I sent him "Didn't sound right". Even then I traded back, but he went into my "douche" file and disappeared from here right after.
SELLERS - For a high priced bass...
1. List the weight for a bass priced at/over $1,000 dollars. (Buyers deserve that detail in this price range).
If a buyer is spending that much on an instrument, it's not a stretch to ask the seller to get off the couch, and go get an accurate weight before listing the ad, and some detailed manufacturer's specifications would be helpful, too. Sellers, instead of making the buyer find the specifications, how about you finding/listed them.
Weight is a significant detail when buying a bass sight-unseen, just like neck dimensions, electronics specs, woods, hardware, modifications, damage, etc. I have a self-imposed weight limit of 9 lbs. If I ask and you tell me it weighs close to 10 lbs, you're probably not going to hear back from me. IME, the basses I love and play the most are in the 8-9 pound range. If I didn't have that limit I would be buying (unplayed, not even held) every bass in the Classifieds that I GAS for. Sometimes I go into the music store and just pick up a bass and put it back down, because I already know I won't like it. Weight, for me, is the first criteria when I'm shopping for a bass.
Amen.
Buyer's who back out of deals (after payment) should receive negative feedback stating the reason. These are the types, as a seller, that I would like to avoid. Just like I try to avoid sellers who sell misrepresented merchandise.
A-freakin-men. I got a warning for posting a thought like this before. It's worth it.
When you post your 'SOLD!. THANKS" post, go up and select the close thread option. It's easy, quick and saves a lot of time for those looking.
Thank you.
These are all great posts and great points that everyone makes. I feel like we are coming up with some useful sticky "rules" should TB ever decide to post such a sticky.
Keep em' coming!
Keep em' coming!
I've had a rash of new members, folks with less than a year under their belt an not many posts or much history here make ridiculous offers on a bass I currently have for sale. They all offer low and when I say nope they tell me ok then I'll take it for the asking price only to come back an hour later and say "never mind I can't do it". this has happened 6 times in the past few days I've had it listed, I just feel this is getting more and more like Craigslist (people who are just bored surfing the net).
All the stickies in the world aren't going to help.
Maybe for new members part of registering would be they have to read specific stickies on how things run here as part of the registering process.
I don't know really, I joined this forum to get away from the crap on eBay and Craigslist and it seems to be heading that way now.
Just my 2 cents.
All the stickies in the world aren't going to help.
Maybe for new members part of registering would be they have to read specific stickies on how things run here as part of the registering process.
I don't know really, I joined this forum to get away from the crap on eBay and Craigslist and it seems to be heading that way now.
Just my 2 cents.
I've had people complain because, even though "sold" was right in the first post, bolded, I didn't close the thread yet because the item had not been received yet. I guess I've never experienced the angst that others have over this. I also don't leave the price in my for sale thread after they're closed because people have the mistaken idea that a sale price = value.
That's my biggest problem... getting the other party to leave feedback. As soon as I get payment, I immediately leave the buyer positive feedback. Only about half the time I get positive feedback when they recieve the item. Other times, I have to hunt them down through PM's and pester them to leave it. On the flip side, I always leave feedback once I get an item and it checks ok. Still, most of the time the seller won't leave me positive feedback until I PM them.
Ok, pout time is over. Most of my classified experiences on here have been great. I'm up to about 40 transactions, and only two of them have been barely positive. Not bad odds for a bunch of strangers trusting each other with expensive transactions.
