for the sake of clarity, the o.p. asked if they were being unreasonable, i.e., they were upset about the seller's response. they were not asking about whether their offer was unreasonable in and of itself.
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Would this put you off as a buyer?
- Thread starter 9c1ny
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for the sake of clarity, the o.p. asked if they were being unreasonable, i.e., they were upset about the seller's response. they were not asking about whether their offer was unreasonable in and of itself.
- Aug 21, 2003
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If I really wanted the bass, the case wouldn’t weigh on the deal. Sellers reply is only rude if you read it that way, he just answered honestly.
There have already been dozens of correct responses in this thread. I'll add my two cents....
As to the original question - No, that would not put me off as a buyer. If I were the seller however (I have sold on Reverb, EvilBay, and here) and I discovered anyone making such a big fuss about this, I would block that potential buyer from all future sales. IMHO someone this entitled sounds like the kind of customer who would demand a refund because the bass wasn't shipped in tune ... I don't have time for that.
But that's just me.
As to the original question - No, that would not put me off as a buyer. If I were the seller however (I have sold on Reverb, EvilBay, and here) and I discovered anyone making such a big fuss about this, I would block that potential buyer from all future sales. IMHO someone this entitled sounds like the kind of customer who would demand a refund because the bass wasn't shipped in tune ... I don't have time for that.
But that's just me.
There are safety protocols in place which must be adhered to if someone intends to bring a virus attracting wood bass case into the home. In the event the obligation to perform the precautionary protocols cannot or will not be undertaken, then it’s best to get a cloth gig bag that can immediately be thrown into the washer so you can start playing your new bass right away.
I can understand your offer, but what I can't understand is you getting on here and making a big deal about it because he turned you down. The seller state what he wanted to sell and the price he wanted, you don't like it MOVE ON!!
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OK, two things:
- Was the OP being unreasonable? IMO - yeah...a little bit. He asked a not totally unreasonable question, and got a totally reasonable answer in return. But, if you don't ask, you'll never know... OTOH, he shouldn't be getting his knickers in a twist about it.
- Would getting a shabby case with a bass put me off as a buyer? That depends on the instrument, I suppose. I've bought used basses with pristine OHSCs; I've bought them with beat up OHSCs; I've bought them with aftermarket cases both pristine and nasty looking (and nasty smelling, a time or two); and I've bought them with no case or gig bag at all. Sometimes, if it's the original case, I don't care how bad it is; depends on the instrument. For example;
I bought this 1963 ODE Type 3, Model 3 banjo some years ago. It's a "Boulder" ODE, made by very skilled artisans in Boulder, Colorado. And, a "Boulder" model's what you want to have, if you want an ODE. It came with it's original case, too. Which is nasty; it's beat up; the hardware is rusty; and it smells like musty potatoes in a damp root cellar. I paid a lot less for it than it's worth, for 3 reasons. One, it's a lefty. Two, it's a long scale. And three? The music store I got it from didn't really know what it was. Collector's will give their eye teeth for an original Boulder ODE case. The people who made the banjo also made the case, and they are very rare. I've seen an ODE case sell separately for half again as much as the banjo that came in it. And, Boulder ODE banjos ain't exactly cheap, either. Like I said; it just depends...
- Was the OP being unreasonable? IMO - yeah...a little bit. He asked a not totally unreasonable question, and got a totally reasonable answer in return. But, if you don't ask, you'll never know... OTOH, he shouldn't be getting his knickers in a twist about it.
- Would getting a shabby case with a bass put me off as a buyer? That depends on the instrument, I suppose. I've bought used basses with pristine OHSCs; I've bought them with beat up OHSCs; I've bought them with aftermarket cases both pristine and nasty looking (and nasty smelling, a time or two); and I've bought them with no case or gig bag at all. Sometimes, if it's the original case, I don't care how bad it is; depends on the instrument. For example;
I bought this 1963 ODE Type 3, Model 3 banjo some years ago. It's a "Boulder" ODE, made by very skilled artisans in Boulder, Colorado. And, a "Boulder" model's what you want to have, if you want an ODE. It came with it's original case, too. Which is nasty; it's beat up; the hardware is rusty; and it smells like musty potatoes in a damp root cellar. I paid a lot less for it than it's worth, for 3 reasons. One, it's a lefty. Two, it's a long scale. And three? The music store I got it from didn't really know what it was. Collector's will give their eye teeth for an original Boulder ODE case. The people who made the banjo also made the case, and they are very rare. I've seen an ODE case sell separately for half again as much as the banjo that came in it. And, Boulder ODE banjos ain't exactly cheap, either. Like I said; it just depends...
I would be surprised if the seller doesn't have a $500-1000 margin between the 2 basses as listed. They might take a $50-100 hit on the cheaper bass with the worn out case. The thing is, the people who would be up for buying the cheaper bass, are probably not the type who want everything "just so" and the somewhat beat up case would not really be likely to be as much of a factor as someone paying top dollar for a more pristine instrument.
In other words, including the nice case with the nice bass will attract the type of buyers who want that type of bass and can afford it, and the beat up case with the beat up bass shouldn't affect the price of that bass all that much (again, I doubt much more than the difference in value between the cases, which is maybe in the $50-100 range).
Also to note, this is not some hobbyist selling stuff from their personal collection, this is a buddy pair doing this as a "business" for close to 20 years (OP should have mentioned that, I never understand why people try to be so coy in threads like this, unless he's just trying to keep someone else from sniping the bass he wants). So their whole "raisin of extra" is to sell stuff to then buy other stuff to then sell. Not to get attached and hold onto expensive inventory when they have a nearly willing buyer if they make some small concession.
So I'd say there are better than even odds that this will end up being a mistake on the sellers' part, if for no other reason than it they missed their opportunity to say "ok, I'll do that if you round up to $2850 total for the bass, better case, and shipping" (shipping is $70 for anyone who missed that in the screenshot). Then the OP could either accept or make a counter offer, but whatever happened, at least each side gave it a good faith effort to make a deal happen.
And lastly, I have to disagree with some of the posters saying the seller's response was fine. What he SAID was ok, it's more about what he didn't say. The 2 guys behind the seller account are businessmen. Their (self appointed) job is to interact with customers in such a way that generates more sales, not less. So context is important. I would be surprised if most of the people making that argument haven't grumbled about a less than bubbly fast food cashier, etc... Customer service is important and it's kind of a lost art these days. So if I had the same experience as the OP, I certainly would avoid that seller in the future, maybe unless they had something that was completely unique that I really wanted that I didn't think I would get as good a chance at getting again.
I should also state that this is a bass model that's been in production for 50+ years, and surely getting a brand new OEM case is as simple as going online and finding a distributor (or going straight to the manufacturer). So really the biggest issues are just whether the price is worth it (take the beat up case more or less out of the equation, and factoring in an OEM case or decent gig bag at least), and ensuring that packing and shipping happens without incident.
So OP, ultimately your decision now is can you live with the case and/or justify ultimately spending about $3k total once you factor in shipping and a new OEM case, and also trust these guys who have numerous $4-6k guitars listed to pack a 40 year old bass properly to survive shipment? PS, if you were going to resell the bass at some point, if you buy a new case for it, I would include the crappy case with the bass, and sell the new case separately, I think you would net more that way.
In other words, including the nice case with the nice bass will attract the type of buyers who want that type of bass and can afford it, and the beat up case with the beat up bass shouldn't affect the price of that bass all that much (again, I doubt much more than the difference in value between the cases, which is maybe in the $50-100 range).
Also to note, this is not some hobbyist selling stuff from their personal collection, this is a buddy pair doing this as a "business" for close to 20 years (OP should have mentioned that, I never understand why people try to be so coy in threads like this, unless he's just trying to keep someone else from sniping the bass he wants). So their whole "raisin of extra" is to sell stuff to then buy other stuff to then sell. Not to get attached and hold onto expensive inventory when they have a nearly willing buyer if they make some small concession.
So I'd say there are better than even odds that this will end up being a mistake on the sellers' part, if for no other reason than it they missed their opportunity to say "ok, I'll do that if you round up to $2850 total for the bass, better case, and shipping" (shipping is $70 for anyone who missed that in the screenshot). Then the OP could either accept or make a counter offer, but whatever happened, at least each side gave it a good faith effort to make a deal happen.
And lastly, I have to disagree with some of the posters saying the seller's response was fine. What he SAID was ok, it's more about what he didn't say. The 2 guys behind the seller account are businessmen. Their (self appointed) job is to interact with customers in such a way that generates more sales, not less. So context is important. I would be surprised if most of the people making that argument haven't grumbled about a less than bubbly fast food cashier, etc... Customer service is important and it's kind of a lost art these days. So if I had the same experience as the OP, I certainly would avoid that seller in the future, maybe unless they had something that was completely unique that I really wanted that I didn't think I would get as good a chance at getting again.
I should also state that this is a bass model that's been in production for 50+ years, and surely getting a brand new OEM case is as simple as going online and finding a distributor (or going straight to the manufacturer). So really the biggest issues are just whether the price is worth it (take the beat up case more or less out of the equation, and factoring in an OEM case or decent gig bag at least), and ensuring that packing and shipping happens without incident.
So OP, ultimately your decision now is can you live with the case and/or justify ultimately spending about $3k total once you factor in shipping and a new OEM case, and also trust these guys who have numerous $4-6k guitars listed to pack a 40 year old bass properly to survive shipment? PS, if you were going to resell the bass at some point, if you buy a new case for it, I would include the crappy case with the bass, and sell the new case separately, I think you would net more that way.
Not everybody selling something is in the selling business. Sometimes they just gave an item to sell and want to do so without drama, wheeling and dealing, multiple messages back and forth, or hassles.
There’s also a lot of amateur buyers out there who think they’re displaying business savvy by dickering and playing hardball. A real professional seller will shut them off in a heartbeat. Because if you truly are a “smart” businessperson, one of the most important skills you’ll need to develop is the ability to “qualify” a potential customer. You want what’s jokingly referred to as MAADmen for customers. These are people who have:
- M is for Money. Does this person have an adequate budget? Or even any money at all to spend? No point in wasting huge amounts of time and effort on people who can’t afford your product or service.
- A is for Aptitude. Does the person truly understand what it is you’re selling - and do they know what they’re actually buying? Did they understand your terms and conditions such as your returns policy, shipping arrangements, whether or not you’re open to offers, payment terms, etc. In short, do they have a clue, or are they just some jerk who thinks they might want to buy something?
- A is for Authority. Do they have the legal authority to conduct a business deal? Are they an adult? Or do they have the authority to agree to a deal if acting on someone else's behalf? Nothing worse than hammering out a deal only to be told “I need to run this past my boss first.” Especially when half the time they come back looking like their teeth hurt and tell you “he says he needs a better price” and you realize the person you’ve been negotiating with isn’t the actual buyer. Small business owners love to play this ”good cop bad cop” game with vendors all the time.
- D is for Desire. Is the person you’re talking to actually in the market to buy? Or are they just out kicking tires or killing time on a slow night.
That's your right, as a buyer.
An experienced seller knows a tire-kicker when he encounters one and doesn't waste his time. Nothing the seller said was rude. It's not rude to refuse someone's offer. You have no idea how many other people are also asking about the same deal.
in this thread...2 people; the buyer and the seller both seem to be wedded to the idea of wanting that case with a specific bass...
I think it's more likely the seller is wedded to the idea of not having to spend another hour redoing a listing for the bass the OP isn't interested in.
pretty much my sentiments precisely, I didn't openly post details about the sellers as I felt like that was too much and didn't want to be flamed
Guess I miscalculated that.
All I was wondering is if I was the only person that would say ' F it ' over the interaction.
I think you have a perfect right to do that. It's just that there are probably solid reasons the seller doesn't want to make any changes. You both have a right to do what you want with your money/property.
this isn't eBay circa 2001, I can whip up an ad on Reverb in 5 minutes
to simply remove the picture of the bass in said case and add a pic of the other case as well as change one sentence in the description should be a 60 second venture
Only if you don't already have someone interested in the bass. Then you're in a situation. And you may well have someone interested based on what you posted earlier, who hasn't contacted you yet and is now going to be mad at you because you "did something shady" by changing your listing. And dealing with that will take up more of your time.
at the end of the day it's his bass his rules, I understand that, doesn't mean I agree with his reasoning or have to feel good about it. hopefully everyone on here espousing support for the seller (more so condemnation of my sentiment) practices what they preach the next time they try to negotiate a purchase
If the buyer really wanted the bass, there's a few ways he could have solved this problem.
I'd say the seller didn't want to go through the relisting and have the buyer then change his mind.
If it'd been me, and I really wanted the bass, I would have told the seller I would buy the Bass, and he could either ship it with a better case, which I would pay for, or accept it with the advertised case.
It's just a case.
I'd say the seller didn't want to go through the relisting and have the buyer then change his mind.
If it'd been me, and I really wanted the bass, I would have told the seller I would buy the Bass, and he could either ship it with a better case, which I would pay for, or accept it with the advertised case.
It's just a case.
Nah, I understand, it is not fun to not get what you want. I made an offer on a bass once on eBay and the offer was refused by the seller. After thinking long and hard about it, I went back and hit "buy it now" and now I own the best instrument I've ever owned, and the one I'll never part with. It never hurts to try, but I try not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. At the end of the day, it's just money and stuff.
