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Apologies in advance for keeping things vague. You’ll
see why.
I’ve just bought a new guitar. Via eBay, from an established bricks-and-mortar store. Had a low-ball offer accepted. 18% under the asking. Sold as brand new in original packaging. One miniscule blemish on headstock tip, case bears a few scratches. Fine for the price.
But the wrong vibrato arm was supplied. Wrong arm, wrong bushing, wrong retainer nut. The supplied one sort of fits, but is wobbly and doesn’t feel right.
I checked the eBay photos, these show the correct original parts. Also, they show two hang tags and an understring tag that were not supplied. And a manufacturer-branded guitar strap that was not supplied, and was even mentioned in the auction text. The distributor’s final-check hang tag made it to me, as did the owner’s manual and the OEM tools.
I notified the store/seller via eBay message, and waited three days. Having heard nothing, I e-mailed the shop directly and got an apologetic reply in a couple of hours. They said they were in the process of ordering the correct “hardware”, but that the tags were gone and no longer available. The strap was not mentioned, that’s not hardware IMO. They offered to throw in a set of whatever strings I use – or an equivalent item – by way of recompense.
Now this is a limited edition guitar, one small run a few years ago. Whatever strings one uses they don’t cost more than about a tenner. Surely the loss of resale value caused by not having the full “case candy” is greater than that?
I’m not happy. But if I return the guitar and buy elsewhere I can either pay the extra 18% and get a shop-soiled B-stock, or an extra 17% on top of that (so 35%) for a new-in-box model with the correct hardware and “factory accessories”, though it’s unclear whether this also includes the hang tags, these are not pictured or mentioned. There’s even another available for 100% more than I paid (!), new with hardware, case and strap, but its hang-tag status is unclear.
I wanted the guitar to play, not to leave mint as an “investment”, but the shop has clearly not provided the item as described or pictured.
What do you guys think? I got a bargain, right enough.
Caveat: People I know very well worked there for years and were forced out after frankly terrible treatment. Intimately familiar with the way business was done there in the past, I opted to buy via eBay for the extra buyer protection, instead of ringing and saying “Remember me? Mates’ rates please”.Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
If they refuse, I'd suggest 20% off is a fair deal. Raise an eBay complaint and sit tight.
As an example, when I sold my DG Strat, i wanted to keep the book. I advertised it without, couldn't sell it, put it back and it was gone in a minute.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
How strongly do you feel about the hang tags?
TBH it's a tad disappointing. Depends how much you like the guitar at the price you paid.
My YouTube Channel
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
However in this instance if the pics and text state that case candy/tags are included then that should be the case
If it is to be a working guitar and a keeper then it's less of an issue, especially if it was a good price.
If you are considering re sale; then it is important to many buyers.
If it's a PRS, then I know plenty of people who won't even look at them unless it is complete like the day it came out of the final checking, tags, tickets and all.
My YouTube Channel
In your scenario I'd at least ask them to throw in a strap of equivalent value, as that *is* material (to me). They are already sorting the trem arm.
Of course you could just ping it back for a full refund
Also I think the bass from the online shop was missing the hang tags, too. The shop offered to send them out, and did. A few days later an empty envelope arrived which had opened in the post...
@gassage You mean a further 20% off if they fail to come up with the hardware strap and tags?
I’m not keen on naming and shaming. The interpersonal connections are too many in this case. And the knowledge I hold too great. I don’t want to take a dip with my feet set in concrete. Speakers Corner too is accessible to anyone who makes an account.
I don’t want to mention the brand name on the forum, the guitar is rare enough that the trader would be obvious.
@guitars4you The text only mentions the strap and case. The wang should be obvious, but the tags are not mentioned, only shown clearly in the pics.
@Sync The idea is to play the thing. Live, too, if I can make that happen again. Band’s on a hiatus of sorts.
@TimmyO It’s not about me, Tim. It’s about any potential buyer, even years later. As I stated in my OP, getting a full refund and replacing the guitar from elsewhere would leave me very much out of pocket. I think the most expensive offer mentioned above was roughly the list price when the guitar was released. The strap that came with the guitar won’t be that special, but surely has a value of more than a single set of strings. I hope they really can sort the hardware, this stuff is super specific and I’d be out at least 60 if I try to order it myself.
My guess is that this guitar is not new at all, and has been sold and returned with the first buyer 'mislaying' (ie keeping) the missing stuff, dinging the headstock and scuffing the case.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
This has happened to me with both Guitar Guitar and DV24/7 and naturally I raised it as an issue and eventually returned the goods.
My viewpoint on guitars is a little different to most as I work as a repairer of guitars
An inspection ticket is meaningless once the guitar is more than 12 months old anyway as it would really only be useful to the manufacturer if goods had gone out that were substandard and should not have passed final inspection.
I know that a guitar goes through a lot of changes once it goes out into the world because it's made from wood and wood SHRINKS. So set-up and straightness/evenness of necks can change, and it doesn't matter that it had a Plek treatment at the factory 2 years ago when it was made if the neck has altered by shrinkage.
I do believe that the whole hangtag and case candy thing or maybe the absence of one of them has been created by buyers wanting to knock a few quid of a secondhand sale and in some circles it has become a be-all and end-all of trading terms.
Because you travel around a lot you put the case and all it's gubbins in the cupboard and the guitar went in your gigbag and then got slung around, subjected to touring abuse , left in sub zero temperatures in a lock up or the boot of your car etc etc.
2 years later you choose to sell the guitar on, and put it in it's original still factory fresh case with all the tags and gubbins and list it .
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
Not only that, the 'case candy' is meaningless when it comes to authenticating an expensive guitar because it's far easier to fake a printed piece of cardboard than it is to fake a guitar to anything like the same standard.
So I really do not get the obsession with it at all.
Nevertheless, a new guitar that is shown with it in the listing should be supplied with it.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Any ideas?
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein