Ducati said:
Let's see the original auction before we decide.
Not all sellers are professional guitar dealers. Every ebay purchase is a risk. Some people honestly don't know or don't care about such details that may affect your ability to resell a guitar.
That's fair enough but anyone wanting to see the listing will have to PM me for the link, as I don't want to get the PTB that govern this forum, in an awkward mood.
As far as the particular seller is concerned, he is a 'guitar dealer' as you state but certainly not professional, by any means.
ALSO, I never stated a purchase of the guitar for resale.
Please see the below email that I sent the seller. In the email you can see direct quotes taken from the seller's listing. The seller never made a single mention in his listing, concerning any laminate shrinkage, or delamination issues. Also, please see the below photos, from the seller's listing. The issues with the laminate are not obvious from the seller's poor quality & blurred photos.
As an eBay member, I believe that it is incumbent upon any seller (myself included) to tell the truth concerning listed items, and particularlly so when the issue is obvious to the seller listing the item. I really do not believe the seller is blind, rather I believe the seller was attempting to pass off something to an unsuspecting buyer, which he was successful in doing.
The seller even states, "biggest cosmetic issue is the two large scratches on the top", which is a complete & utter lie. The scratches that the seller mentions are about 1/128 inch into the finish/clearcoat, very small. The laminate shrinkage around the egdes is a full 1/16 inch, which is 8 times the width of the, "biggest cosmetic issue".
Yes, I would say that the seller was lying.
I do not believe that it is incumbent for any potential buyer to ask a seller any & every question immaginable, just to get at the truth of the condition of an item. Again, it is incumbent upon the seller to be honest enough to give any & all potential bidders/buyers reliable & accurate information.
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Ed,
I have been extremely busy since receiving the Greco so, I have just now gotten around to replying to you, concerning the transaction.
There are several items within this transaction that have been red flags for me, all of which I can overlook, and move on but one item is a sticking point.
I really don't believe it was necessary for you to complain to me, the buyer, and in such detail, your frustration with the shipping process.
You did this on more than one occasion, and doing it even once, is too much.
That is totally unprofessional, IMO.
This is a red flag for me but I can move past it.
The pickups are not Double Trick pickups, as stated in your listing; they are PU 2 pickups.
Any seller, including you, could have easily removed 4 screws, and the type of pickups would have been very obvious.
This demonstrates a disregard for an accurate description, for an item that is easily identified, by a very simple procedure.
This is a red flag for me but I can move past it.
The stop tail & studs are not original to the guitar, as the patina does not match, whatsoever. The very clever fashion in which the listing is worded, leads a reader to believe that the hardware, with the exception of the tuners, are a matched set.
This is a red flag for me but I can move past it.
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Your description includes many items, some of which are "If you have the skills you could fill in the scratches in the finish"..........."beat up, scratches into the finish, wear and dings, beat up and played hard, chipping in the finish"................"frets still good, no need for refretting"............."biggest cosmetic issue is the two large scratches on the top".............."structurally there are no problems, no breaks"..........
I do agree with most of the above descriptions, and have absolutely no problem with most of the above descriptions BUT you failed to mention the FACT that the laminate top is delaminated in many areas, AND that the laminate top has ALSO shrunk from the inside edges of the binding in many areas, most prominently at the two larger bouts. This shrinking of the laminate top has left huge gaps between the edges of the laminate top, and the inside edges of the binding, as much as 1/16 inch, and for lengths running as long as 6 inches.
This is a HUGE red flag for me, and I find this fact completely unacceptable.
The fact that the laminate top has delaminated, and shrunk in certain areas, does NOT agree with your listing claim, "biggest cosmetic issue is the two large scratches on the top" or "structurally there are no problems, no breaks" because the issue is BOTH a cosmetic, and structural issue.
I do not understand why you made such a big deal of the scratches on the top, while you completely failed to mention the gaping spaces between the shrinking laminate, and the inside edges of the binding.
I believe that anyone viewing your listing surely deserved to know of this issue, as it would likely have been the biggest issue for most viewers, and is certainly an unacceptable issue for me.
I would appreciate a responsible reply.
Regards,
Rich
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Seller's poor quality & blurred photos