some people are mental shipping basses like that.... once a client returned a bass (which is his own right of course) and just gave the bagged bass to UPS without the outside packaging he received it with lol
laziness to the next level
very hard to say.
ive seen so many "weird things" dealing with Vintage Fender Japan so I would say very possible however They obviously go for so much less money.
don't choose ash body - northern ash is heavier than most , Swamp ash is hugely inconstant weight wise
just had a short scale 4 Ash chambered with USA hardware that came to 3,8 (which is fine for me)