Bass Direct - Charges

[Dad3353]

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1499793274' post='3333667']
Unless of course the instrument doesn't sell...
[/quote]

... but which case could be esteemed to be covered by the 20% of all the successful sales. Just sayin'.

[pmjos]

Over as far as I am concerned. The secret of good customer service is ''no surprises'. Customers are happy to pay charges they are expecting. I'll leave it at that.

[leftybassman392]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1499794324' post='3333678']
... but which case could be esteemed to be covered by the 20% of all the successful sales. Just sayin'.
[/quote]

Depends on the business model. As I've said already, I'd have no issues paying a fee, redeemable against a successful sale. Not exactly an uncommon scenario.

[leftybassman392]

[quote name='pmjos' timestamp='1499794724' post='3333687']
Over as far as I am concerned. The secret of good customer service is ''no surprises'. Customers are happy to pay charges they are expecting. I'll leave it at that.
[/quote]

Fair enough, but there's clearly plenty of people out there who think he's doing a pretty good job. Just sayin'...

[lurksalot]

A company re-visiting a policy is one thing , but when a customer is obviously genuine and spends £5K when dropping the basses off in the first place , it should surely show £30 worth of goodwill !

[uncle psychosis]

Maybe I'm crazy but if I was selling anything on commission at a shop there are two questions that I would insist on asking before we started:

1. If you don't sell my instruments and I take them back will I owe you anything?

2. If a buyer offers you a lower price what is the process you will use to decide whether or not to accept?

Do people do commission sales without agreeing these things in advance?

[Steve Browning]

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1499801268' post='3333749']
A company re-visiting a policy is one thing , but when a customer is obviously genuine and spends £5K when dropping the basses off in the first place , it should surely show £30 worth of goodwill !
[/quote]

This. I would be particularly galled to note the charge has only be levied twice in 10 years and I had been chosen despite a not inconsiderable purchase.

[artisan]

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1499801268' post='3333749']
A company re-visiting a policy is one thing , but when a customer is obviously genuine and spends £5K when dropping the basses off in the first place , it should surely show £30 worth of goodwill !
[/quote]
Exactly,it's a pretty crappy thing to do after that kind of sale.
I'd be shopping elsewhere in future.

[fleabag]

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1499836463' post='3333905']
This. I would be particularly galled to note the charge has only be levied twice in 10 years and I had been chosen despite a not inconsiderable purchase.
[/quote]

Quite unlucky, is our poster. On average, once every 5 years they pick on a customer. This half decade appeared to be your turn !!

Shop elsewhere

[titchfieldrelic]

Last month I sold my Fender Custom Shop Custom Classic through Bass Direct. It sold within 2 weeks.

No hassle for me.

Bass Direct did it all.

I made no attempts to sell it elsewhere. Bass Direct was my first and only 'port of call'. Personally, I'm very pleased with how the transaction was made.

I made it clear to Marcius, who met me when I delivered the bass, that I wanted to sell it, and I agreed a price to reflect that fact.

I took his advice concerning the sale value.

We all want more, but have to accept the fact the market is flooded with new and second-hand bases.

There is also a notion here of exclusivity.

As there is on Ebay.

Bass Direct do generate an overhead in selling 2nd hand bases.

The OP doesn't say when he sold his bases, but were they to have been sold during the time they were with Bass Direct, I think it's fair a reasonable charge is made.

Thank God there are specialists in business like Bass Direct.

They are not a charity.

People need to 'get real'.

[binky_bass]

The point is simply should one pay a fee if the fee is not mentioned and prior agreed? My opinion is no.

The fee in question seems fair, however the fact it was imposed without prior agreement is not fair. I wouldn't mind paying a £30 fee that is either deducted from the commission upon selling or that is paid upon the withdrawl of the bass from sale so long as the fee is agreed and stated.

That I believe is the only bone of contention here.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1499778345' post='3333532']
Does the £30 not include a re-string? I've seen that mentioned in their ad's before. If that is the case, then it's probably not that unreasonable. Is it?
[/quote]

Definitely not, I bought my Ibanez SR3006 from them as a used bass and the strings it came with were sh*t and completely knackered. Fantastic bass though, can't grumble too much.

[mcnach]

[quote name='binky_bass' timestamp='1499788311' post='3333610']
I think some people (myself included) get a bit miffed when asked to pay fees that are unexpected or not explained, even if said fees are reasonable. Maybe charge £30 for the service involved and say it'll be minused from the commission fee if/when the item sells. Keeps everyone in the know!
[/quote]

That's probably the best approach.

[richardd]

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1499801268' post='3333749']
A company re-visiting a policy is one thing , but when a customer is obviously genuine and spends £5K when dropping the basses off in the first place , it should surely show £30 worth of goodwill !
[/quote]

In my opinion Mark doesn't know the meaning.☺

[Chris2112]

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1499891209' post='3334398']


Fair enough. It was a genuine thought as I have seen it mentioned on some pre-owned stock.
[/quote]

Yes, I have seen them mention that some preowned basses come with new strings. The fact they advertise it as a selling point on some instruments tells me that not every instrument gets this treatment. I expect the customer pays for it on SOR guitars.

[Kev]

Slightly bizarre thread, this.

Understand the point about not being told about a charge prior to agreeing to list (although clearly there is also some onus on the seller to establish what happens if they withdraw from sale; surely a safe assumption that there would be a charge for such a service without any reward otherwise?), but people complaining about a £30 charge if the bass does not sell or sells elsewhere? Why would Bass Direct or any other shop or business clean and photograph a bass, create a web page for it, share on social media and print in stock lists free of charge?? Why would anyone expect to list and withdraw w[i]ithout[/i] paying something, or even feeling obliged to pay something?

If I were Bass Direct/Bass Gallery etc I would probably make it a condition that the bass cannot be advertised elsewhere once listed as eBay do. Its far too easy to abuse as people have said. Same people who abuse would probably moan about the £30 too!!

[gs_triumph]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1500129062' post='3335802']
Why would Bass Direct or any other shop or business clean and photograph a bass, create a web page for it, share on social media and print in stock lists free of charge??
[/quote]

Because they stand to make a tidy profit should they be successful in selling it?
Speculate to accumulate?

There is otherwise zero risk to the business as the stock hadn't cost then anything except selling space and the costs of cleaning/listing.

Why should the owner of the equipment be asked to pay for cleaning/photographing/ listing when that's what the business should be doing on your behalf to sell the thing?

Edited July 15, 2017 by gs_triumph

[leftybassman392]

I wasn't going to post again in this thread, but I sense an undercurrent of entitlement here.

In case anybody's forgotten amongst all the noise, the payment turned out to have been voluntary and as such I'm tempted to wonder why the OP didn't just say 'well you never told me about that so I'm not paying it' and simply walk out of the shop with his unsold item.

Some have argued that he bought a £5000 instrument and so was entitled to a bit of leeway from the vendor. Putting the shoe on the other foot, if he was in a position to spend £5k on a new instrument then what's the beef with paying another £30 for work that had been done on his behalf in an attempt to save him the bother of having to sell his old gear for himself?

In business terms, recouping the loss from other commission sales is only as relevant as the vendor makes it. If his business model accounts for it then so be it. If it doesn't then it doesn't, and saying it should is neither here nor there. If you don't like it you can always look for another bass specialist near you who does commission sales...

I've said it already and so have others: simply assuming that there will be no charge is, frankly, a bit naive. Yes the dealer should have mentioned it, but what's wrong with asking anyway? Come to think of it, what's wrong with offering even if the dealer doesn't actually ask?

Edited July 15, 2017 by leftybassman392

[Steve Browning]

I do wonder if the fact that it was voluntary was communicated in any way.

[Thunderbird]

This thread is kinda turning into bass direct fan boys VS haters lol 😂

[mentalextra]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1500144587' post='3335927']
This thread is kinda turning into bass direct fan boys VS haters lol
[/quote]

Kind of a new thing on BC?

[leftybassman392]

Not a fanboy. Don't actually give a toss either way, and since I have no plans to do business with the company any time soon I'm not too sure what I might have to gain from supporting them. Just trying to see both sides of the argument.

Having run a business myself I happen to know there's rarely one side to this kind of story. OP has sought to paint himself as the innocent victim of sharp practice, but available evidence would appear to suggest it's not quite that simple and that there's been failures on both sides.

[Thunderbird]

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1500156899' post='3336021']
Not a fanboy. Don't actually give a toss either way, and since I have no plans to do business with the company any time soon I'm not too sure what I might have to gain from supporting them. Just trying to see both sides of the argument.

Having run a business myself I happen to know there's rarely one side to this kind of story. OP has sought to paint himself as the innocent victim of sharp practice, but available evidence would appear to suggest it's not quite that simple and that there's been failures on both sides.
[/quote]wasn't digging you or anyone else out was just having a bit of giggle 😆

[leftybassman392]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1500157079' post='3336023']
wasn't digging you or anyone else out was just having a bit of giggle ��
[/quote]

No worries.

Edited July 15, 2017 by leftybassman392

[Guest gazzatriumph]

I very recently sold some gear with them two sold quick and one took a while. I was definitely not aware of a £30 charge if the items didn't sell. If charging for a re string then wouldn't it make more sense to offer a new buyer the choice of strings rather than just putting a new set on from the start. I had a receipt for what I would receive when items were sold and unless I was asked to reduce the asking price following an offer I expected and got back what was on the receipt. I did get a decent price especially for the bass guitar which would have gone for a lot less if on ebay. I did have to chase the final payment up but was paid straight away after speaking to them. When the first two items sold I rang to ask about payment and they said they prefer to pay when all the items sold, I said I would prefer it to have to money when each item sold so they paid me for the first two sales. I would sell through them again as they did a good job.