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Joined:
November 2008
Posts: 400
Location: Northwest Arkansas | Before you buy anything on eBay, ask as many questions about the item and get as many photos as you can. I got owned this week. eBay made 'em take it back, but 16 of the 20 frets were really bad. Nothing mentioned in the description. I get my cash back as soon as the item gets back home. Seriously, please ask every question you can think of. I know I will. I learned a valuable lesson. Some of you guys on here are pros at it. I just started last year. I wanted to thank OMA for all his help. Invaluable! |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 2150
Location: Orlando, FL | Glad to hear you got it worked out so quickly. It pays to get as much info as you can before you buy. I've been very lucky. I've purchased 10 guitars on ebay with no problems. Knock on wood! |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 613
Location: Zion, Illinois | I've been lucky on Ebay. I have bought many fine guitars and equipment. There was one time when I was looking for a classical guitar. I saw an ad for what I thought was a well made guitar. The seller said he was thinning his collection and that he wasn't a dealer. There wasn't enough time left to do the research but I placed a bid and won and THEN I did my homework. The Ebay ad had a scanned copy of another ad that they said was for this model of guitar; it even had a high price. It turned out that the ad was NOT for the guitar at all. I then checked the seller's history and found that he buys/sells guitars for a living (known as a dealer). I told the seller that I would NOT take the guitar. He tried to threaten me but I promised him I would make sure ANY bidder on his auctions would know what he tried to pull. Needless to say, that was the end of that. |
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Joined:
February 2012
Posts: 58
Location: Triangle area, NC | Yeah, you've got to be real careful. I have done LOTS of buying on eBay, some times great deals, sometimes crapola quality? When ive gotten "taken", only a few times, I usually realize in the end that I failed to be a cautious buyer and failed to research the daylights out of the deal. I also always try and buy only things I know a decent amount about. And when the deal has seemed "too good to be true" well, you know how that ends. Glad to hear it worked out for ya in the end. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I've made over 300 purchases on eBay and never been burned. Knock wood. |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 1249
Location: Texas | I have made several purchases on eBay and have done well, but I have also been interested in as many guitars that I didn't bid on...
You HAVE to do due diligence beyond what the seller offers in his auction ad.
I always ask for the seller to send me as high res pictures as he can via email. Additionally I will ask a dozen or so questions concerning the physical and cosmetic condition of the guitar. If I am still interested, I will usually try to get a phone # so I can have a conversation about the guitar to see if what they tell me over the phone is consistent with their previous correspondence.
Maybe that is a little anal, but it is a hassle returning something like a guitar and you are out at least 50 bucks for the experience.
I often bash Guitar Center, but their return policy is bulletproof, in terms of risk. |
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Joined:
February 2012
Posts: 73
Location: New Jersey | +1 for GC- I'm a long time Ebayer- but lately, I've been going the Guitar Center route. My newly acquired Ovation, plus my two Parkers were from the GC used section. All three were from three different stores -all three were described accurately, they sent extra pics before the sale and all three are still hanging on my wall. Having that 30 day return policy is the icing on the cake. |
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Joined:
November 2008
Posts: 400
Location: Northwest Arkansas | Music123 makes me angry. They will NOT send any more pics. They won't get a penny from me. I have a local guy that can get about anything I need at or near cost. I am going to start asking a heckuva lot of questions on eBay from now on. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7224
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | amosmoses - 2012-03-13 7:53 AM
You HAVE to do due diligence beyond what the seller offers in his auction ad.
I always ask for the seller to send me as high res pictures as he can via email. Additionally I will ask a dozen or so questions concerning the physical and cosmetic condition of the guitar. If I am still interested, I will usually try to get a phone # so I can have a conversation about the guitar to see if what they tell me over the phone is consistent with their previous correspondence.
Maybe that is a little anal, but it is a hassle returning something like a guitar and you are out at least 50 bucks for the experience.
I often bash Guitar Center, but their return policy is bulletproof, in terms of risk.
While I agree with the due diligence, there is the other side of this coin.
As a seller, in the above, I'd just refer you to the pictures in the ad and that's it. There is a saying that "if they ask for more pictures, they really aren't interested"... sounds counter productive, but it's been true for over 10 years across every ebay sellar I know. Any time I have accommodated a seemingly "just doing their homework" customer, inevitably, they were not the ones to buy the guitar or... if they do, they try to weazel out of some extra money anyway. Either way, it was a waste of my time and money. On the otherhand, those that just "drop the coin" I rarely ever hear from again. They know what they wanted, they bought it, deal over.
There must be a happy medium I assume. When I investigate a purchase on eBay, I actually investigate the seller more than the product. I read their feedback, i don't pay attention to the overly praised nor the overly derogatory. I look at the photos and writeup presented, I decide if this is a person I care to deal with, and go forward or not from there.
I certainly have turned enough people like Jay away from buying from us... but as it's eBay, it may be lost customer, but it's certainly not a lost sale and I saved a bunch of time which is money as well. Someone else will pull the trigger without having me jump through hoops, and as a sellar on eBay, that's really all that matters.
YMMM |
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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | One of my students bought an Epiphone from Music123. The online ad said it came with a hard shell case. When it arrived - no case. She contacted them and was told it was a "misprint" and there was nothing they could do about it. Then they tried to sell her a case! |
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Joined:
November 2008
Posts: 400
Location: Northwest Arkansas | I researched the buyer big time. 100% rating over 200 sales. They just tried to put one over on me. |
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Buyer beware!
