fender73 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 well.......I went to see two basses advertised on Gumtree today - both of which were being sold as being in 'very good condition', couple of small marks etc - nothing major....well........it would appear that my view of 'very good condition' is very different to someone elses! The bass was covered in marks, dings, big headstock chip, missing cap on the tuner, bowed neck, duff strings....the list is endless. The 2nd bass was marginally better, but still NOT very good condition. A waste of a two hour drive, and it has put my back up to be honest - i've always sold my gear with very honest desciptions, as do the people on this forum - i wish people elsewhere would too. Grrrrrrr (ps...did end up in Denmark Street and bought two more sets of bargain Trace Elliot strings for a £10!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 [quote name='fender73' timestamp='1325515648' post='1483817'] (ps...did end up in Denmark Street and bought two more sets of bargain Trace Elliot strings for a £10!) [/quote] I remember buying a rotosound bass amp from them once. Lol jk. Yeah it is annoying. I mean who does he think he is going to fool? All that's going to happen is people are going to be pissed off and want their money back, thus wasting both parties' sets of time. Might as well just be honest, put it at a bit of a lower price and then at least he won't waste any of his own or anyone elses' time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I bought a tumble dryer off Gumtree this morning and it was exactly as described! ....I'm getting my coat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender73 Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 [quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1325516043' post='1483822'] I bought a tumble dryer off Gumtree this morning and it was exactly as described! ....I'm getting my coat... [/quote] 4x10 or 1x15? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBike Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 In my experience Gumtree is used for things that weren't sold on ebay, or stuff that's nicked - or both ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I`ve had similar experiences when buying cars. I usually, after looking at the car that I`ve been shown, then, looking them straight in the eye, without smiling, ask them where the one that is advertised is, as I would prefer to see that one. It usually makes people feel more than a little embarrassed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I would hope I would have a pretty good idea about the condition before I got in the car...and I would be very suspicous if there were no pics. If I couldn't satisfy myseff that this was a good idea,..and 2 hour drive is no fun for a wild goose chase... I would quickly loose interest and let it go. Sympathise with you for getting a couple of time-wasters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I drove from Northumberland down to Lincoln to buy a motorbike which was described as 'excellent condition'... hand painted over every panel and surface inc' swingarm where it had slid down the road at 30+mph did not constitute 'excellent' in my book and that was virtually a full day wasted travelling to and from! Folks on here can generally be expected to be fairly accurate (at least if they wish to maintain any integrity over time) but the problem is definitions of poor/average/good/mint! Oh and in the very near future I will go into greater detail about sellers not declaring faults that they 'knew nothing about' and what one can reasonably expect to be done to rectify things when it is found that basses have things like duff pups and seized truss rods! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) My drummer described himself as "a taller, slightly more muscular Brad Pitt lookalike" on a dating site. He's a proper ugly lanky streak of p**s but by law of averages he eventually snared a hot girlfriend. I guess these cowboys on Gumtree are working on the same principle. Edited January 8, 2012 by mrtcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 [quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1325523788' post='1483939'] Folks on here can generally be expected to be fairly accurate (at least if they wish to maintain any integrity over time) but the problem is definitions of poor/average/good/mint! Oh and in the very near future I will go into greater detail about sellers not declaring faults that they 'knew nothing about' and what one can reasonably expect to be done to rectify things when it is found that basses have things like duff pups and seized truss rods! [/quote] that get sorted yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1326060849' post='1491859'] that get sorted yet? [/quote] I'll simply say that at least dialogue is opened and the bass is with a respected luthier! I've not started naming and shaming because I am well aware that mistakes and circumstances can happen; I'm giving my seller the benefit of the doubt just as he is giving me the benefit of the doubt (somewhere between him selling it and me buying it, these issues have occurred but 'blame' is a difficult thing to pin down)! The measure of a good seller is rectifying or remedying problems after all it doesn't take a great seller to simply take your money and send you a perfect item, a 'good' seller is one who sorts out issues or makes sure that there are no issues by going above and beyond simply putting a bass in a case and posting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 [quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1326062727' post='1491910'] I'll simply say that at least dialogue is opened and the bass is with a respected luthier! I've not started naming and shaming because I am well aware that mistakes and circumstances can happen; I'm giving my seller the benefit of the doubt just as he is giving me the benefit of the doubt (somewhere between him selling it and me buying it, these issues have occurred but 'blame' is a difficult thing to pin down)! The measure of a good seller is rectifying or remedying problems after all it doesn't take a great seller to simply take your money and send you a perfect item, a 'good' seller is one who sorts out issues or makes sure that there are no issues by going above and beyond simply putting a bass in a case and posting it. [/quote] Some really great sellers package the wife up in the car and drive to another country on a day trip to deliver a bass, thats all I'm saying. Was it craigmiller castle you ended up at? I must only live half a mile away from there but still not been, any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatboyslimfast Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I've mentioned it on here before about an ebay bass that was "nearly new" and turned out to have a few dings and a broken nut. So now I always phone first and politely ask questions that can't be glossed over - "Are there ANY scratches, dents or cracks", "is ANY of the metalwork rusty", "do the controls make any scratchy sounds when they are turned". I then justify this by telling them how far I'm coming, so I want to get a fair idea before travelling - and that if it isn't as described it'll be wasting both our times. If I get a "Don't really know much about it mate", or "I'm selling it for a mate/brother/sister/great aunt" etc, unless its less than 15mins drive, I pass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 People will expect you to buy it anyway thinking you have got a good deal when you knock the price down. Seems odd in this day and age not to have lots of pics emailed to you of any damage so you can decide if it is good, very good, excellent or immaculate. I've had conversations with peole who've advertised cars as "immaculate for age". I think "good condition" is probably the lowest condition you can reasonably sell something in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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