I bought a Guild B-301 a while back from a seller who, by all accounts, was reputable. In the listing, the pickguard showed no marks other than the scratches and dings one would associate with a 40+ year old instrument. No mention was made of any graffiti or defacing of the bass by its previous owners. When I received it, I was horrified by the condition the pickguard was really in. Multiple words had been scratched deeply into the plastic. I went ballistic because I had really been looking forward to getting this bass and felt like it wasn't represented accurately in the listing. The owner basically took a "Well, what do you expect from an instrument that old" stance and told me that I could return it if I wasn't satisfied. After everything was said and done (and after several exchanges), he agreed to knock down the price to compensate me for having to sand down the pickguard. Am I alone here in thinking that's really not cool as a seller to omit things like that in the first place? To me, honest wear means worn finish, missing paint, nicks, dings, worn-down frets, belt rash, etc. It doesn't include somebody etching words into the instrument. If you're into punk and you wanna carve up your bass, I get it but I'm just talking from a purchasing/collector standpoint. It was scratched deep enough that I actually sanded into the white second layer a bit where it was thinnest trying to remove it. I really like the way the bass plays and sounds, so in the end it was worth keeping for what I paid but I just wanted to rant about unscrupulous business practices for a bit and hear your thoughts.
You just sent me spiraling into a late 80s/early 90s head trip. My girlfriend had posters of this band all over her room.
