Would this bother you?

[bassstrangler]

I've bought used basses in person that were fairly filthy. Of course that was addressed at the time of the deal and price was negotiated. I would never expect to receive a slightly dirty let alone a filthy bass I ordered online.

I only sell what I play, clean functional instruments.

 

[Diamond_Dave]

1. Was the bass as described?

2. Come on—you should always replace the strings on any instrument you buy. Even brand new.

3. You should expect to clean any used instrument you buy.

So, unless the answer to question 1 is “no,” then...come on.

 

[got_the_bug]

I get the frustration...I've had quite a few (mostly) good transactions, especially on this forum, but I've also had a couple where the seller and I clearly had a different idea of "mint" or "excellent" condition. Usually, the pics help tell the story, but unless you ask for extreme close-ups or a whole lotta pics, what looks "perfect" might not be so much. There's part of me that likes to take a newly received bass and restring and clean and polish it up, but I'd be annoyed if it came to me the way it did to you and it was represented as being in excellent condition. I'm not saying the grime would keep me from buying it altogether, but it's current state is likely indicative of how it's been treated overall, and my offer might be less assuming I'm accepting a bit more risk that everything else is functional.

Personally, I wash my hands before I play and wipe down my basses pretty religiously, so that's the same way I send out any I sell, but I get that other people are not so OCD. I've received a few basses that really were in excellent condition, other than the fact that it looked like the PO grabbed a couple handfuls of pepperoni pizza before packing them.

 

[Wfrance3]

Need pics, and probably wouldn’t bother me as long as the listing didn’t say “pristine” or anything else to that effect. Also, price I paid would be a factor.

 

[braud357]

Many years ago, I asked my local music store to let me know if he ever got a P-Bass in on trade. Later on, he called and said that he had one,. but that I probably would not want it. I went and looked at it, and it was indeed a mess !! It was a 1967 Precision, candy apple red, rosewood board. It was easily the nastiest. dirty think I had ever seen. The previous owner obviously drank rum and coke, because the bass reeked of it - it was sticky !! Also, all of the chrome was yellow from nicotine. The paint was worn through in a spot above the pickguard, obviously it was where his thumb rested while picking. Looking past all of the "gunk and funk", I did see that the frets were good, and the neck was in need of a slight adjustment - not serious. I bought it for a good price, and started cleaning it up. The pickguard was glued to the bass from all of the spilled rum and coke, had to use hot water to get it off ! I totally disassembled the bass down to the last screw, the fingerboard was indeed a task to clean, but after some elbow grease revealed a very nicely grained rosewood and good frets. The chrome was another matter - I had to actually boil the parts in water to get the nicotine off. Other than the worn-through section, the candy apple red revealed itself after cleaning with some polishing compound and a good application of wax. End story is this - it was the very best Precision bass that I have ever owned. After a couple of bad band experiences I decided to quit playing for a while, and a friend offered me more money for it than I thought it was worth, so I sold it. I often think about it and wish it was again mine. Try to look past the grime - it will clean up !!

 

[Gaolee]

Where is carrots?

I wouldn't do that to somebody else, but for a screaming deal, I would accept a dirty bass with mismatched strings. And have.

 

[zontar]

If it's used I'll be changing the strings anyway--so mismatched strings wouldn't be a big deal--but cleaning it would have been considerate & could affect the willingness to buy from the same seller again

 

[BadSanta1281]

It's the seller's fault. He should have given you directions to the New Bass Store.

*sarcasm*

 

[IamGroot]

Yes, but as much as being told to play a P Bass or playing a boutique instrument out of my playing league.

 

[Indiana Mike]

I bought a bass once that was filthy. took the pickguard off and there was what appeared to be pizza sauce and cheese...

It did clean up nicely, but took substantial effort, as in a complete disassembly and reassembly.

 

[underwhelmist]

One of my most-frequent customers is a local Pawn Shop... who brings me basses and guitars every week to clean up, go through, set up and prepare for the sales floor. It's a better use of their time and employees to NOT have them spending an hour scrubbing spiders and gunk out of a garage-find Tiesco.

So, I'm quite used to it, and kinda enjoy performing the transformation from a crud-covered mess to a shiny nice instrument.

This, I find it immensely satisfying and therapeutic transforming a grotty broken instrument into something shiny, or at least cleaner, and playable. It’s why I’ve been working on school instruments. They have a hard life.

if the price was right it wouldn’t bother me at all.

 

[Chef]

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.

that would be where my problem would be. “Not as represented.”

I guess if it cleaned up well and played out well with new strings and a setup, then that helps.

some folks just don’t maintain their stuff and maybe that was excellent condition for him....

personally, I clean up anything I sell and ship.

 

[Loring]

Did you not see pics before buying?

 

[dkelley]

I've almost never bought a bass used that had new strings on it. That's a big cost waste on something the buyer will likely replace anyway.... but at the same time it should at least be playable.


.... and I certainly wouldn't sell it in the condition you described, and with those "strings" in the condition they were in....


.... unless it was listed as "used to work, doesn't any more, I don't play, selling at half going price because I don't know anything about 'guitaros'..."

 

[birminghambass]

Did you not see pics before buying?

Yes, the pics did not show the grime and filth. A couple of full body shots (not close) and a close up of the 1 ding. The overall condition (minus the funk) was accurate. The seller has good feedback.

 

[JoeWPgh]

Depends on the price. With a used bass, I already figure a good cleaning and setup.

 

[bassballs27]

The nastiness would likely bother me.....but I'd get over it if the bass played well and of course sounded awesome.

There's really no obligation for a seller to any to an instrument prior to shipping, it's just good seller etiquette and courtesy to do so. Great pictures would reveal a lot of these issues from the get go.

All of this is easy for me to say after the fact.....but from all of my experience with this site, I've had pretty decent results. Even some players that have left receipts or even price tags still on the bass when it was shipped!

 

[Peteyboy]

OP - You never said what u got nor for how much. If it turns out that you got a Sadowsky for 600 bucks everyone here is gonna feel some kinda way about that.

 

[LBS-bass]

No. Not if it came from a private seller. I expect to clean up any bass I get and I'm going to put my own strings on it anyway, so no worries there. Just means I will love it more than they did.

 

[birminghambass]

OP - You never said what u got nor for how much. If it turns out that you got a Sadowsky for 600 bucks everyone here is gonna feel some kinda way about that.

You got me. It was a Sadowsky. I got it for $200.





(Just kidding)