Members benricci Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 I feel so silly using smilies....but OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan Trevisol Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fabstrat Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 the downfalls of internet shopping at its finest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Maess Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 So this guy is a Fender dealer who just parts out the guitars? If so, I wonder what Fender would think of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JC777 Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 This wouldn't surprise me at all. I used to buy from them (them because I spoke to a female on the last order) but it bacame problem after problem. There always seemed to be little things that would pass on and it was too much of a hassle to return, and I think they knew that. My last purchase (and return) was a Fender Neck that when I received it the frets were dented in several places. Never mentioned on the auction and photographed at good angles to hide them. As far as the shill, I would be money it is. Put in a bid and then ask a question, then watch the bid activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benricci Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 So this guy is a Fender dealer who just parts out the guitars? If so, I wonder what Fender would think of this. Once he buys the guitar is he obligated by a dealer contract to sell it intact (assuming he's an authorized dealer)? I'm not sure there's anything contractually that precludes him from parting things out for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan Trevisol Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 I just remembered what I bought from him. It was the Midnight Blue Metallic Satin strat body that was my number one for a long time. Very nice body. That's the advantage of having him around; he's parting out colors on bodies you wouldn't get otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yarbicus Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 Once he buys the guitar is he obligated by a dealer contract to sell it intact (assuming he's an authorized dealer)? I'm not sure there's anything contractually that precludes him from parting things out for sale. Fender would not likely cancel a contract like that but I have little doubt they would decline to renew one for that behaviour. Unless he is buying B-stock in which case Fender would like to have him around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IG0R Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 I've always suspected as much. What's his buyers account name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 I've bought about four things from him... always got what I thought was a decent price, sometimes a great price. I got a set of Fender saddles and screws for about $14, I got a neck CS69 pickup for just under $40, I got bridge jazz bass pickup for $22 and I got a neck 57/62 pickup for under $10. The CS69 pickup was the only one that went for about what it should have gone for... all the others were well under what they should cost new. Having said that, he's always left me with a slightly negative impression of him for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harold heckuba Posted May 19, 2009 Members Share Posted May 19, 2009 You guys are giving reliable way too much credit for his business model. He is not a dealer, etc. He buys nearly all his wares off ebay under another i.d. His name is Matt Gib**n, he is also now selling Gibson parts under the name Gibsondependable. This shill bidding thing was exposed over at the TDPRI a couple of years ago, the evidence was pretty conclusive. One guy there lived close to him, he said the UPS man delivers 30-40 packages to his apt. every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmarsh Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 You guys are giving reliable way too much credit for his business model. He is not a dealer, etc. He buys nearly all his wares off ebay under another i.d. His name is Matt Gib**n, he is also now selling Gibson parts under the name Gibsondependable. This shill bidding thing was exposed over at the TDPRI a couple of years ago, the evidence was pretty conclusive. One guy there lived close to him, he said the UPS man delivers 30-40 packages to his apt. every day. With the volume he does I wouldn't think he'd be competing with ebay bidders for everything (his feedback is over 110,000 ), but you seem pretty sure you got him sussed. Story I heard a few times is that they get most of their stuff via a few Fender dealers that they are "close with". I have no idea how true that is, but it seems more reasonable - buy in big lots, chop it up and sell the pieces. In any case, that's a LOT of crap to buy 'n sell! I wonder how high he ranks in ebay sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar Heel Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 As a seller, I always take the seller's side. However, in this case, I can confirm that their auctions, EVERY auction, has been suspicious. This has been the case for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 You guys are giving reliable way too much credit for his business model. He is not a dealer, etc. He buys nearly all his wares off ebay under another i.d. His name is Matt Gib**n, he is also now selling Gibson parts under the name Gibsondependable. This shill bidding thing was exposed over at the TDPRI a couple of years ago, the evidence was pretty conclusive. One guy there lived close to him, he said the UPS man delivers 30-40 packages to his apt. every day. Exactly. If you read the descriptions closely, a lot of the stuff is used, albeit slightly (in most cases). For example, I just typed in "Strat neck", and the first of his items to come up is a '57 Reissue neck, the condition of which he describes as "excellent", rather than new. He discloses that it's from a 2005 guitar. He's not a Fender dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Artslinger Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 Only the stuff listed as "mint" is new. I think a read over at The Gear Page he has a couple of Fender dealers he buys from at near dealer prices, he also buys used on ebay and probably his local Craigslist. Then he parts the stuff out and makes a good living off of the morons that over pay, and makes a small profit on the smart buyers that don't over pay in the auctions. It is freakn' eBay you are not dealing with Mother Theresa selling guitar parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan Trevisol Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 You gotta respect the guy for making a living out of his house over ebay, and while that's great for him, the problem is his shilling is setting the price for these items on ebay. It's HIM that decides that a set of Big Dippers is worth ~$350, or that a '57 reissue neck is worth $600, or whatever. And you say, "If nobody buys the items the price won't be that high", but that's the thing about shilling. If you do a completed items search for one of the items he sells, you'll see why. When he shills the price up there, and the shill wins, it gets logged as a completed sale and while he gets screwed out of the final value fee, the amount of volume he does makes his shill prices (whether they're being paid by real people or not) the de facto average price on eBay. So other sellers, when pricing their items, only have to undercut Reliable fender by a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 30-Day Summary Total bids: 1070 Items bid on: 958 Bid activity (%) with this seller: 96% In English, this bidder put in 1076 bids on 958 items in the last 30 days. 96% of these items were for reliablefender auctions. That cinches it for me. The guy is definitely shilling. Way too much circumcisional evidence! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 I feel so silly using smilies....but OK That's sooooo not you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the new guy Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 Ebay's policy on shill bidding : http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-shill-bidding.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Artslinger Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 I see alot of the same people bidding there all the time, they may be like me. When I want to buy a neck, body, parts, whatever I will bid in many auctions until I get my price, it make take 5-10 auctions with 3-5 bids per auction. I do a search for the lowest price on that item and never bid more then a little over the lowest bid I find in my search or watches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 30-Day Summary Total bids: 1070 Items bid on: 958 Bid activity (%) with this seller: 96% In English, this bidder put in 1076 bids on 958 items in the last 30 days. 96% of these items were for reliablefender auctions.I just reported them using your information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members itieu Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 I just reported them using your information. Kudos for trying. I know from experience ebay will do nothing to those who make them big bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benricci Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 That's sooooo not you. I know. I feel kinda dirty now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 I like the Stratosphere. The parts I got from him were brand new, a CIJ Tele neck and CIJ body. THis was the basis for my partscaster and it rivals my 52RI Tele. THe stuff I got wasn't B stock as some suggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members headless Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 I don't know a darn think about ebay, but I know I like the Strat/Tele hybrid on this guys page: http://myworld.ebay.com/reliablefender/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.