MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm completely fed up with shitty sellers and crap shipping companies.
I've been buying stuff on eBay & Reverb since near their creation. I've bought a lot of stuff over that time and it was a rare occurrence for stupid shit to happen. In the last year or so though over half of the stuff I've bought I ended up having to deal with crap. Dishonest sellers listing things as excellent condition and/or not disclosing flaws. People that can't pack anything worth a damn and shipping companies beating the fuck out of the packages. You're lucky if the roll of bubble wrap you ordered arrives not beat to hell. You can barely trust buying stuff new. Ordering from GC or MF, they just grab something off the showroom that's been abused by every teenage wannabe who's smacked it up while fucking around the store. That's what everyone wants, a brand new $5K Gibson with built in buckle rash & scratches across the top.
Looking back at my purchase history, over the last year 6 of the 9 larger gear purchases I've made has had some sort of problem to deal with. The most recent was an alnico speaker that was delivered yesterday. Seller listed as excellent and showed up with thin/worn spots on the cone edge and a hole in the cone. The one before that was a bass guitar that was damaged in shipping. Before that was Peters amp with a double dose of stupid. Seller packed it like shit and UPS beat the hell out of it.
Of the 3 hassle free transactions, 2 were from members of RT; The KSR from JerEvil & Naylor from braintheory. Of course they're 110% honest guys, treat their gear well and professionally pack everything to survive a bombing raid.
So yeah, I've completely had it with the shitstorm that goes along with the online flea market sites. I won't buy from MF or GC either, even new. They've been too much of a pain in the ass to deal with too. I'm still good with buying new from Sweetwater for now. Especially with used gear, I'm sticking with buying from trusted members of the RT community. I feel confident that I can trust descriptions will be honest and accurate. Shipping companies may still bang the stuff around, but at least I'll know everything possible was done to pack it securely so it arrives safely.
I've been buying stuff on eBay & Reverb since near their creation. I've bought a lot of stuff over that time and it was a rare occurrence for stupid shit to happen. In the last year or so though over half of the stuff I've bought I ended up having to deal with crap. Dishonest sellers listing things as excellent condition and/or not disclosing flaws. People that can't pack anything worth a damn and shipping companies beating the fuck out of the packages. You're lucky if the roll of bubble wrap you ordered arrives not beat to hell. You can barely trust buying stuff new. Ordering from GC or MF, they just grab something off the showroom that's been abused by every teenage wannabe who's smacked it up while fucking around the store. That's what everyone wants, a brand new $5K Gibson with built in buckle rash & scratches across the top.
Looking back at my purchase history, over the last year 6 of the 9 larger gear purchases I've made has had some sort of problem to deal with. The most recent was an alnico speaker that was delivered yesterday. Seller listed as excellent and showed up with thin/worn spots on the cone edge and a hole in the cone. The one before that was a bass guitar that was damaged in shipping. Before that was Peters amp with a double dose of stupid. Seller packed it like shit and UPS beat the hell out of it.
Of the 3 hassle free transactions, 2 were from members of RT; The KSR from JerEvil & Naylor from braintheory. Of course they're 110% honest guys, treat their gear well and professionally pack everything to survive a bombing raid.
So yeah, I've completely had it with the shitstorm that goes along with the online flea market sites. I won't buy from MF or GC either, even new. They've been too much of a pain in the ass to deal with too. I'm still good with buying new from Sweetwater for now. Especially with used gear, I'm sticking with buying from trusted members of the RT community. I feel confident that I can trust descriptions will be honest and accurate. Shipping companies may still bang the stuff around, but at least I'll know everything possible was done to pack it securely so it arrives safely.
