The joys of selling a bass

[Beedster]

On 24/06/2025 at 21:59, Dan Dare said:

If someone examines and plays an instrument at leisure, pronounces themselves satisfied and buys it, surely that's the end of it.

 

Intuitively yes, but not if the seller is a business

 

[Beedster]

41 minutes ago, SimonK said:

I think there is a difference between running a professional business where you do need to stick to more rigid policies just so the business survives, as opposed to being a hobbyist making a bit of money on the side, but primarily doing it for the love of it. I think if it is the latter that you are doing you could come up with some sort of guarantee period, something like so long as the customer can inspect it at time of purchase they can get a full refund for first 14 days, 50% for up to a month following purchase, but then only warranty repairs (probably worth defining carefully) for up to a year afterwards.

 

Unfortunately I think for this first "problem" customer I would just bite the bullet, take it back, and chalk it up to experience (albeit I would only refund what they paid - no more!). Then next time ensure you have the returns/warranty policy in writing and agreed to.

 

There are tales on BC and Talkbass of lutheirs who fail catastrophically, and reading some of the tales I can't escape the feeling that many of them failed because they didn't have a good understanding of how things might look in two years time if they proceed on their present trajectory, for example, promised timelines, post-sale care etc. Working methods/T7Cs that work fine when you have 10 orders can fail disastrously when you have 15

 

Either way, good luck @Silky999

[Burns-bass]

8 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

There are tales on BC and Talkbass of lutheirs who fail catastrophically, and reading some of the tales I can't escape the feeling that many of them failed because they didn't have a good understanding of how things might look in two years time if they proceed on their present trajectory, for example, promised timelines, post-sale care etc. Working methods/T7Cs that work fine when you have 10 orders can fail disastrously when you have 15

 

Either way, good luck @Silky999

 

Many businesses fail when they have to scale up to commercial levels. They lack the capacity, structures and resilience to do this. 

 

I think your idea of keeping this as a small-scale hobby business is a good one @Silky999 and I wish you all the best.

 

 

[Dan Dare]

15 hours ago, Silky999 said:

Not so much intimidated but my reputation, especially going forward in bass building and if I potentially want to make this in the next few years post Police (don’t hate me) retirement option, it is really important to me. This is especially when it comes to asking people to part with their hard earned cash. It doesn’t matter to me that in the grand scheme of bass prices, this is right at the bottom end of the scale. I have applied 2 tests to myself over the last 25 years of public service. The “my mum” test and the “mirror test”;

 

Laudable (I also worked in public service), but the obvious points are:

 

1) Not everyone is as decent as your mum. Would she try it on as this buyer appears to be doing? I suspect not. Handsome is as handsome does.

2) There is no shame in denying a chancer the opportunity to put one over you. chris667 has it right above, imho There's no virtue in setting yourself on fire to warm others.