eBay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!

Subject: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 01:19 AM

Just a warning to anyone looking for an upright bass. A friend recently bought a brand new one from a dealer selling on Ebay. (CLICK HERE to see add.)

After we put the bridge on it, and tuned it up it was buzzing very badly in the lower positions on all strings. After giving it a few days to settle in it hadn't gotten any better, so he took it to a repair shop. The neck is badly bellied. The repair shop quoted $180.00 to remove the fingerboard and true the neck up. The repairperson said that she has seen several new basses with the same problem in recent years. The dealer is obviously not performing any kind of setup or even giving the instruments a token checkover before shipping. The dealer has said he will take the bass back, but he will only refund the purchase price of the bass. He will not refund the original $200.00 shipping charge and my friend will have to pay return shipping.   

Moral of story: If less than $500.00 including shipping for an upright bass sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Bruce

Subject: RE: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: GUEST,Nerd
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 02:04 AM

You should consider giving him negative feedback. From what I've seen on the site, that dealer has never had a negative comment posted, but HAS had about 250 positive ones. It's important to keep people honest by sayng what you really think.

Subject: RE: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: Sorcha
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 09:38 AM

That, and ask for more photos. Often a neck fault can be seen in a profile picture.

Subject: RE: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 12:43 PM

Boy, it's hard to picture a bass at THAT price being playable at all. Can you tell what it sounds like yet? I guess if it doesn't look like it's gonna fall apart (and it sounds ok) I'd eat the 180 bucks)

I tell ya though, I'd ask SO many questions before buying something from Ebay (or any place on the net). If it seemed that the seller wasn't VERY up on his instruments, I'd give it a pass.

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: NicoleC
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 01:45 PM

Ouch. Your friend is going to lose money on this one way or another. Might as well get it fixed, as shipping it back would cost more.

Please have your friend post negative feedback about the condition. So many of the newer/cheaper instruments are factory seconds or have a serious flaw in them -- 'sokay if you know ahead of time, but many folks don't realize that's what they are buying and the sellers don't specify.

Subject: RE: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: Cluin
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 01:51 PM

From what I've seen on E-Bay, nothing is too good to be true.

Subject: RE: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 01:57 PM

In UK, if seller is a dealer, Sale of Goods Acts apply. Proceedings may be brought in small claims court on several bases.

I think you are in USA, and it may be worth consulting a friendly lawyer. You you not have things like trading standards officers too?

Subject: RE: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: Tiger
Date: 31 Dec 02 - 04:13 PM

There'a another one there that has me intrigued. $500. Look at:

Another double bass

They keep listing it over and over, so I guess they've got plenty of 'em.

Includes shipping, gig bag, bow and setup (which I assume to mean bridge and strings), all for $500. I wonder how much of that gets into the instrument itself.

Subject: RE: Ebay Bass Fiddle - Buyer Beware!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 01 Jan 03 - 03:03 PM

It turns out that somewhat of a retraction and apology is in order on my part.

The dealer whose ad I linked to is not the one from whom my friend Phil bought his bass. He bought it from a guy in Oklahoma offering the same exact deal ($289.00 + $200.00 shipping). I was not aware that there are a number of folks selling cheap brand new basses on Ebay and linked to the first ad I saw, assuming it was the only one. My apologies for dissing the guy from WPB in error.

However, I still have doubts about being able to get a bass that plays and sounds decent at that kind of price from anyone. Phil's bass arrived with the strings attached at the tuning machines and tailpiece, but we had to install the bridge. (Incidentally, there were no installation instructions. We knew how to do it, but I doubt that every purchaser would.) I had assumed that the dismounted bridge was for safety in shipping, but I now have doubts as to whether the thing had ever been installed. It wouldn't surprise me at all to find that such instruments leave the factory in China without ever being tuned up.

Bruce