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Another eBay guitar deal goes south.


6down1togo

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Against my better judgement, I put a Sears Effector guitar up for sale on eBay. There is a glut of these (all beaters) on Reverb and I couldn't sell mine at the premium price its mint condition commanded.. A guy who claims to be a collector w. 100+ guitars bought it and immediately asked if it was truly a collectible guitar. That was the first red flag the deal was going to fall apart. I responded that they were more a curiosity that a true collectible guitar but were desirable to those who place a value on nostalgia or owned one as a kid. I told him they weren't great guitars by any stretch but the built-in-effects were fun to fool around with and it is rare to find one like this in near-new condition with OHSC,

 

The buyer receives the guitar and comments on its unbelievable condition but immediately begins nitpicking that is has a little string buzz but he'll set it up and "make it play like buttah". Yes he used those exact words.

 

I received the following from him this AM which is ebayspeak for "I am having buyer's remorse now because I didn't due my homework to find out that catalog guitars of this type and era aren't so great so you should take the fall as a seller." You just can't sell on ebay anymore because the buyer is always right and eBay will back them.

 

After all that has been said, I have continued to tune the guitar, expecting it to hold tuning, and it will not. New strings should help, but the "intonation" is off, such that the Guitar will not play in tune in all positions. This may not be easily fixed !? So, if you would care to have the guitar back, I could pack it up and ship it back to you. I'm sorry, but I don't encounter this problem very often. I can invest $100 To $150 and possibly solve the problem. Carroll G.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One more reason I use CL ,cash and carry

I actually sold an Effector strat last summer

It was missing the term arm but otherwise complete

Some of the effects worked and some not

Got $80 for it but only paid $35 with an amp

These are more of a novelty like you said

A fun piece of wall art at least

This bonehead had no clue what he was bidding on so we reward stupidly once again

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Which is why I always state, "Guitar is AS IS, and no returns"

 

It doesn't matter what you state. I always select the return policy of "Seller Does Not Accept Returns" and that carries no weight. PayPal allows a buyer to claim an item was misrepresented without proof for up to 180 days after the sale and eBay/PayPal always side with the buyer regardless of the lack of proof.

 

I sold a guitar neck to some clown in Rochester NY with shipping included. When I provided a USPS tracking# he went ballistic about it is going to take 2 weeks, the post office loses every package, they handle the boxes with meat hooks … yada yada yada. I told him I wished there was more that I could do and if the item did not arrive within the guaranteed delivery day window, he could send it back. He sent me a message (through eBay no less) saying "... screw you, I am just going to claim it is damaged and make you take it back."

 

It arrived on time and he filed a PayPal claim that the box was damaged (a brown shipping box) and eBay/PayPal made me issue a full refund including return shipping. I filed an abuse of return policy counter-claim, providing his email as proof of return policy abuse and advised the shipping carton had no bearing on the item I shipped. eBay/PayPal says not our problem, the box was damaged case closed. To add insult to injury, eBay allowed the buyer to provide my only negative feedback saying I was unethical and a liar. They then removed my feedback on the buyer in which I said simply " Problem buyer, abuses return policy".

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Initially, he thought the guitar was in amazing condition. He mentioned a few string buzzes (there were none unless he is a ham fisted player) which he would take care of. He sad he might contact George Gruhn and see what it is really worth. I replied "Good luck with that." Then he came back claiming every fretted note on every string was off key and the guitar wouldn't stay in tune. I had put new strings on it before shipping, but did not adjust the intonation.

 

I told him that for a guy who claims a collection of 174 guitars and obviously have a tuner, you should be able to perform an intonation adjustment. I gave him a quick how-to but followed up quickly to advise he should not touch anything and just file an eBay claim since that is where this is headed.

 

I advised that I would video the unboxing and myself playing a tune for eBay customer service on what you claim is an unplayable guitar so they may determine whether you get a full or partial refund (less the return shipping).

 

He shifts gears again and wants to take the guitar to "his guy" and claims repairs could be in the range of $100-$150 and possibly more (claims it needs a new fretboard because the frets are not accurate. I told him he is expecting a lot from a guitar from Sears and should just send it back before he does any damage or alters anything and no I will not split the cost with you. He says he is being more than fair by requesting only half the repair cost.

 

You and I know how that works. His buddy writes a phony work order and he pockets the cash in compensation for a guitr I can only assume he thinks or was told he paid too much for.

 

I sent him 1 final email that said "Send it back at your expense or take your chances with an eBay claim. Do not touch any thing on the guitar if you intend to send it back."

 

He decided to keep the guitar and basically says I am a jerk.

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eBay can be a pain in the hole sometimes. You could some great deals with genuine people and then a few greedy people ruin it by nitpicking at the smallest thing or in many cases just lie.

 

I agree that the main problem is that they always side with the customer. eBay can be a bit of a haven for scammers sometimes as it's difficult to get ebay to side with the seller.

 

The only thing you can do is be as clear and honest as possible in the description and as [uSER=658630]badpenguin[/uSER] says: "Guitar is AS IS, and no returns"

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I have heard so many negatives over the past ten years that I will NEVER sell on e-Bay. Reverb, sure...and I'm not a fan of our CL here in LA...claiming 'all sales final/no returns' does not protect you on e-Bay, probably never did.

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On 6/21/2019 at 8:23 PM, Mikeo said:

I bought one thing on ebay some 20 years ago.

 

I don't care to buy instruments that way.

 

Sold a few amps on CL over the years and had excellent result dealing with people in a 50-mile radius.

I really hate using ebay and avoid it if at all possible.  I did sell a super rare pickup there a few months ago to a first time buyer.  I was a little leery dealing with a first timer, but the deal went smoothly.

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