Would this bother you?

[birminghambass]

Hey TB, just took delivery of a bass. 2 things stood out as soon as I pulled it from the case:
1. The bass was filthy. More than just dust and fingerprints. Like years of grime that took serious scrubbing to remove. Bleh.
2. The strings. It's a 4 string. Each string looked to be from a different manufacturer. The E string was dead and rusty. The A had red silk and seemed fairly new. The D and G were older, but not near as old as the E. Needless to say, it was unplayable without a new set.
Now, these issues were disappointing and annoying, but not a huge deal to me. Personally I would NEVER send out a bass in this condition. Would you? Have you? Would this bother you to the point of contacting the seller? Or would you just shake your head and get over it, like I did? VOTE!

 

[B-Mac]

Hey TB, just took delivery of a bass. 2 things stood out as soon as I pulled it from the case:
1. The bass was filthy. More than just dust and fingerprints. Like years of grime that took serious scrubbing to remove. Bleh.
2. The strings. It's a 4 string. Each string looked to be from a different manufacturer. The E string was dead and rusty. The A had red silk and seemed fairly new. The D and G were older, but not near as old as the E. Needless to say, it was unplayable without a new set.
Now, these issues were disappointing and annoying, but not a huge deal to me. Personally I would NEVER send out a bass in this condition. Would you? Have you? Would this bother you to the point of contacting the seller? Or would you just shake your head and get over it, like I did? VOTE!

This requires a visual...pics please
And more info about the transaction, i.e. new vs used, did you view pics of said bass before pulling trigger?, did you discuss things with seller prior to the ‘dirty’ deed?
The devil is always in the details

 

[NecroticImbecil]

Post #2. Also, my reaction would vary according to what I paid for the bass vs what it was worth, and how desperately I wanted it. I've bought a bass that looked like it had been dragged behind a truck then left out to rust, but it was functional, rare, and cost a small fraction of the normal used price for such basses.

I expect to clean and setup any bass purchase. This includes new strings.

 

[Goatrope]

I’ve only ever sold a couple Basses, and I cleaned them up, replaced the strings, re-did the setups. I just thought this was how it’s done. “Do unto others”, and all that.

 

[birminghambass]

This requires a visual...pics please
And more info about the transaction, i.e. new vs used, did you view pics of said bass before pulling trigger?, did you discuss things with seller prior to the ‘dirty’ deed?
The devil is always in the details

The bass has been cleaned and restrung, pics would not add anything to my OP. It was used, and the pics were not detailed enough to see the filth. The seller stated that is was in excellent condition, with no mention of strings or dirtiness.

 

[birminghambass]

Post #2. Also, my reaction would vary according to what I paid for the bass vs what it was worth, and how desperately I wanted it. I've bought a bass that looked like it had been dragged behind a truck then left out to rust, but it was functional, rare, and cost a small fraction of the normal used price for such basses.

I expect to clean and setup any bass purchase. This includes new strings.

It was a fair price. Not a rare bass.

 

[PWRL]

I definitely wouldn't like it. Having to do heavy cleaning would bother me a lot more than the strings, seeing as I almost always restring a new / new-to-me bass, as I almost always do a new setup, anyway. Having to scrub off somebody else's grunge should not be necessary, but if I got at a dirt cheap price (pun intended), then I wouldn't complain, I'd just bust out the rubber gloves, give it a good go-over, restring it, set it up and call it cool.

 

[tubatodd]

I've always sent basses out the door in great condition. They were always setup well and clean. I never put new strings on them.

The $64,000 question, what condition was it in when you agreed to buy it? Had you not seen pictures?

 

[Beersurgeon]

Any new/used bass will get new strings but I would be grumpy that the bass was overly dirty. I can understand dust but as @tubatodd stated, it should be in great condition when it leaves the sellers house.

 

[godofthunder59]

Used= as is where is. You should ask all questions first. I am presuming you were provided pictures. As for the strings, non issue as far as I am concerned.

 

[Volker Kirstein]

... It was used, and the pics were not detailed enough to see the filth. The seller stated that is was in excellent condition, with no mention of strings or dirtiness.

It was a fair price. Not a rare bass.

Umm... "Excellent condition" implies clean. Period. Filthy is not "Excellent condition."

It would have to have been a great price, not a "fair" price, for a bass that I really wanted, for me to not be upset to the point of shipping it right back.

However, you kept it, and cleaned it. Ergo, it must have been worth it to you. Or?

 

[HG1180]

Well, if the bass still functioned and played as it should i wouldnt be too mad, that being said i would never send a bass out looking like that.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I always buy used, and the first thing is the DNA removal process, and putting new strings on. That's usually the case with buying used, and I'm fine with it.

 

[Element Zero]

Filthy? Yeah that sucks. Put some nitrile gloves on and get to work. Annoying but no biggie. Strings? They’re all going to get changed for a full setup anyway.

 

[micguy]

The only function of strings on a bass that I'm buying is to keep tension on the neck while it's in shipment, so it arrives fairly straight. I'm going to change them ad do a setup no matter what when I get the bass. Any used bass (even used in GC is used), I'm probably gonna clean it when I get it. If I could tell it was filthy before I bought it, I might not buy it, but once it's there, it's a clean-up either way - just takes longer if it's really grimy.

 

[HardNHeavy]

slightly agitated but geezus, just clean it up and leave those strings off or splurge and buy a new set before delivery.....sometimes you might get sellers that know nothing about musical instruments and just want it gone....otherwise it's just common courtesy to have it presentable for the buyer.

 

[BobDeRosa]

I generally take my for-sale basses to my tech guy to look over before I list them. You bought from a jackass, and I would have sent it back immediately. If the outside was so poorly cared for, how about the stuff you can't see?

 

[Engle]

The bass has been cleaned and restrung, pics would not add anything to my OP. It was used, and the pics were not detailed enough to see the filth. The seller stated that is was in excellent condition, with no mention of strings or dirtiness.

Personally I clean instruments before I put them up for sale. It seems like you bought it based on some low resolution photos.

Mismatched strings would bug me, but I don’t see the point of putting new strings on a bass you are selling. How would you know what the buyer likes?

 

[Wisebass]

Hi birminghambass

Like years of grime

That's the funk!

Needless to say, it was unplayable without a new set.

Strings: No matter which bass I bought, I always had to change them anyway! wrong gauge (too light or too heavy) flats instead of rounds...

Personally I would NEVER send out a bass in this condition. Would you? Have you? Would this bother you to the point of contacting the seller?

I would not sell a bass like that! And I never did that! Always clean and with new strings!

Contacting the seller because he doesn't wash his hands before he plays bass?

(that's how the gunk builds up on a bass!)

Doesn't look like a good idea these days.

Asking someone to clean things that other people will touch neither.

Some folks think their civil rights are in danger, when you ask them to use a piece of soap.

Or would you just shake your head and get over it, like I did?

This!


greetings

Wise(b)ass

 

[Reedt2000]

If you bought from a store I think you have the right to be annoyed. If this came from a peer-to-peer buying method then all bets are off, and as long as any issues are easily corrected, you should be happy it wasn't worse