Anyone ever buy a used guitar on ebay?

[MrDowntown]

I'm wondering the same about the pickups. But to your question and point, NO, if the pickups advertised aren't in the guitar then it was falsely advertised, and to a lesser extent, but potentially impacting the value, the guitar was an "aged white", not "original white".

Just being honest here, the guitar has some age, and you could have drawn a fair conclusion that the guitar was not the same white as it was when brand new; but obviously it wasn't advertised as "aged white" or "kept in smokers possession". If it wreaks of cigarette smoke, use as a defense to get your money back. To some cig smoke is no biggie, but to others, it bothers allergies, smells there studios/offices, or they just find it overly offensive. If it wasn't advertised as smoke/smoke free, then there again, falsely represented.

The neck issue, IMO, really is your word against his. It very well could've been straight when it left but dried out and moved during shipping (seems that happened to someone selling a guitar here back during the summer months). It may be able to be repaired by someone that knows what they are doing; which takes time and money. PP/Ebay may require quotes for the repairs to apply a value, if you play that card heavily, or if the guy digs his heels in regarding the play-ability. If he has a date stamped video of the guitar performing (no buzz), prior to shipping, that you don't know of, then you lose the wrapped neck battle most likely. He could file an insurance claim, maybe (?)...i'm not sure who that works, but it's likely he wants you to have to deal with it now.

End of the day, and my opinion, you've got enough to ask for a refund if that is what you truly want. And the PUP swap alone warrants a full refund, if that's what you want (in lieu of discounts or correct pups shipped etc.)

 

[charvelstrat81]

I'm wondering the same about the pickups. But to your question and point, NO, if the pickups advertised aren't in the guitar then it was falsely advertised, and to a lesser extent, but potentially impacting the value, the guitar was an "aged white", not "original white".

I have seen numerous other late 80's and early 90's RG in white and all are not as yellowed/darkened as this one is?
it literally looks like it was kept in a very small room with a heavy smoker since it was bought and exposed to smoke all the times
I tried to polish it but it is IN the clear coat and it is also uneven in tint.
some areas are more dark than others?
It does NOT look like it did in the pics or i would have never bought it.
I agree with you about the neck, that is hard to prove especially to ebay who is not a guitar player or repair person.
Honestly i think the incorrect pickups being in it are really the only grounds i really have and i am starting to think i will be out the money i paid and this wont go nowhere and may even be a waste of time?

 

[charvelstrat81]

What pickups was it supposed to have?

FROM THE AUCTION,
"With 24 frets, an amazing fretboard, tremendous action and a floyd rose I bet anyone could be the next Satriani or Vai with this beast. It has a 5-way selector, one volume and one tone knob. The pickup config is H/S/H ie. V8/S1/V7 Ibanez pickups. The floyd rose of course has the nut lock and the bridge locks with fine tuners.The tone knobs and selector switch are scratchy, cheap fix"

The RG was also listed as a PRESTIGE in the title but i doubt that holds anything i can use against the sale. that was probable used in the title for more search hits.

 

[charvelstrat81]

End of the day, and my opinion, you've got enough to ask for a refund if that is what you truly want. And the PUP swap alone warrants a full refund, if that's what you want (in lieu of discounts or correct pups shipped etc.)

Honestly if this only needed the pots and some knobs and maybe a switch as i was told
I would not have any problem with the guitar and just restore it as i originally planned.
I do blame myself for not being more suspicious of it but i talked to the seller on the phone
and he seemed like a straight up guy.
trust me i would MUCH rather NOT have to try to get a refund, i really dont need the headache of it or the time it will use up trying to get a refund.
IF i just kept it i figured out my total cost would be $600 to get it to the point i thought it was orignally before buying it.

 

[MrDowntown]

I'm wondering the same about the pickups. But to your question and point, NO, if the pickups advertised aren't in the guitar then it was falsely advertised, and to a lesser extent, but potentially impacting the value, the guitar was an "aged white", not "original white".

I have seen numerous other late 80's and early 90's RG in white and all are not as yellowed/darkened as this one is?
it literally looks like it was kept in a very small room with a heavy smoker since it was bought and exposed to smoke all the times
I tried to polish it but it is IN the clear coat and it is also uneven in tint.
some areas are more dark than others?
It does NOT look like it did in the pics or i would have never bought it.
I agree with you about the neck, that is hard to prove especially to ebay who is not a guitar player or repair person.
Honestly i think the incorrect pickups being in it are really the only grounds i really have and i am starting to think i will be out the money i paid and this wont go nowhere and may even be a waste of time?

The PUPs and the smoke smell...that's where it's at man.

PP and Ebay will likely side with you on the pups alone. Oh yea, and you may have been doing this already, but document everything in writing/email, even your phone conversation. It may prove helpful. Also, if you use AMEX as a backup for the PP account, and ultimately paid with that card, call them and let them know, they'll also help if need be.

GL dude.

 

[charvelstrat81]

The PUPs and the smoke smell...that's where it's at man.

PP and Ebay will likely side with you on the pups alone. Oh yea, and you may have been doing this already, but document everything in writing/email, even your phone conversation. It may prove helpful. Also, if you use AMEX as a backup for the PP account, and ultimately paid with that card, call them and let them know, they'll also help if need be.

GL dude.

So i am not exaggerating as the seller has claimed?
He say's i am making more out of this then is really the case and i should have expected these things?
easy for him to say since he has my $$$!

 

[charvelstrat81]

Also, if you use AMEX as a backup for the PP account, and ultimately paid with that card, call them and let them know, they'll also help if need be.

GL dude.

Thanks, i just used my Paypal which is linked to my Ebay account. it was a "Buy it now purchase"

 

[glip22]

What pickups was it supposed to have?

FROM THE AUCTION,
"With 24 frets, an amazing fretboard, tremendous action and a floyd rose I bet anyone could be the next Satriani or Vai with this beast. It has a 5-way selector, one volume and one tone knob. The pickup config is H/S/H ie. V8/S1/V7 Ibanez pickups. The floyd rose of course has the nut lock and the bridge locks with fine tuners.The tone knobs and selector switch are scratchy, cheap fix"

The RG was also listed as a PRESTIGE in the title but i doubt that holds anything i can use against the sale. that was probable used in the title for more search hits.

Tell him you played it and it did not make you Vai or Satriani as he promised. That alone warrants a refund.

Sucks you have to deal with this aggravation. Part of the game and most of us have been there. I had one recently where the truss rod nut was completely stripped and could not be repaired as it was part of the rod assembly. It took all kinds of convincing but the seller agreed to the return. He had no returns listed but that only means you can't return if you don't like it.
I explained the entire process of what exactly would happen to him if he did not agree, listing the day it would be escalated, the freeze on the funds in his PayPal account and so on. I simply asked him if he wanted all the aggravation to reach the same end. "You will lose and you were wrong regardless if you did not know about it". So fuck him.

 

[charvelstrat81]

Tell him you played it and it did not make you Vai or Satriani as he promised. That alone warrants a refund.

 

[charvelstrat81]

Sucks you have to deal with this aggravation. Part of the game and most of us have been there. I had one recently where the truss rod nut was completely stripped and could not be repaired as it was part of the rod assembly. It took all kinds of convincing but the seller agreed to the return. He had no returns listed but that only means you can't return if you don't like it.
I explained the entire process of what exactly would happen to him if he did not agree, listing the day it would be escalated, the freeze on the funds in his PayPal account and so on. I simply asked him if he wanted all the aggravation to reach the same end. "You will lose and you were wrong regardless if you did not know about it". So fuck him.

The seller of the RG is completely defending his "I did nothing wrong and listed the guitar to the best of my abilities" and basically telling me to F**K OFF and i am stuck with it now!
I honestly think he was more than aware there would be repercussions of this sale but he took a chance anyway hoping i would not know any better.

 

[MrDowntown]

The PUPs and the smoke smell...that's where it's at man.

PP and Ebay will likely side with you on the pups alone. Oh yea, and you may have been doing this already, but document everything in writing/email, even your phone conversation. It may prove helpful. Also, if you use AMEX as a backup for the PP account, and ultimately paid with that card, call them and let them know, they'll also help if need be.

GL dude.

So i am not exaggerating as the seller has claimed?
He say's i am making more out of this then is really the case and i should have expected these things?
easy for him to say since he has my $$$!

No man...you got a different guitar than pictured/advertised. It's not white, it doesn't have the pups as ad'd...and correct us if wrong, but you, in fact, are not Vai or JoeSat as stated?

jokes aside, i think you've got a valid argument. Hell i fought a dude on ebay once for a 100$...and won. For 600$, i might just off you, and keep the guitar.

 

[charvelstrat81]

No man...you got a different guitar than pictured/advertised. It's not white, it doesn't have the pups as ad'd...and correct us if wrong, but you, in fact, are not Vai or JoeSat as stated?

jokes aside, i think you've got a valid argument. Hell i fought a dude on ebay once for a 100$...and won. For 600$, i might just off you, and keep the guitar.

for the record the RG was a BIN of $400,
the $600 is what the total cost would be if i have to get it to the point
of it being in the state/condition i expected it to be in the first place.
and BTW, anyone know how Ebay's refund works?
I don't have to ship the guitar back first then get a refund?
and if the dude cleaned out his paypal account i dont see what they could do to him,
They cant make him give me a refund if the money is no longer in his account?

 

[MrDowntown]

No man...you got a different guitar than pictured/advertised. It's not white, it doesn't have the pups as ad'd...and correct us if wrong, but you, in fact, are not Vai or JoeSat as stated?

jokes aside, i think you've got a valid argument. Hell i fought a dude on ebay once for a 100$...and won. For 600$, i might just off you, and keep the guitar.

for the record the RG was a BIN of $400,
the $600 is what the total cost would be if i have to get it to the point
of it being in the state/condition i expected it to be in the first place.
and BTW, anyone know how Ebay's refund works?
I don't have to ship the guitar back first then get a refund?
and if the dude cleaned out his paypal account i dont see what they could do to him,
They cant make him give me a refund if the money is no longer in his account?

Yea, i understood the 600$ you were talking about. I guess my point was, while trying to be funny...i'd fight your ass over 600$, or 400$...it is a lot of money.

and yes, if you win your case, pp will refund the agreed amount of money. PP accounts, IIRC, have to be backed by a personal bank account, and/or major credit card. He can do all the cleaning he wants; if you win, you get your money back.

 

[charvelstrat81]

Yea, i understood the 600$ you were talking about. I guess my point was, while trying to be funny...i'd fight your ass over 600$, or 400$...it is a lot of money.

and yes, if you win your case, pp will refund the agreed amount of money. PP accounts, IIRC, have to be backed by a personal bank account, and/or major credit card. He can do all the cleaning he wants; if you win, you get your money back.

Yes it is a lot of money which is why i am so pissed!
Had the RG sold for say half that amount and was listed as
as it actually is,then there would be no complaints on my part but then again had the seller been 100% accurate i would not have even bought the RG!
I was not looking for a RG that needed this much work.
The week before last i bought a '91 RG on CL for $450 with case in complete mint condition.
not a single issue. talking like new condition, like it was just bought.
Needless to say unless it states the guitar can be returned i will not be buying any more guitars on ebay.

 

[psychodave]

I didn't read all of the posts... But do not take anything apart (or admit you took something apart). Once you do that EBay will say it has been altered and you will not get your money back. This happened with a simple guitar pedal I bought. It was noisy and I opened it up. I noticed someone tinkered with it. eBay said I should have sent it back for a refund and not have opened it up. I was pissed. I couldn't add a negative to the seller either.

 

[charvelstrat81]

I didn't read all of the posts... But do not take anything apart (or admit you took something apart). Once you do that EBay will say it has been altered and you will not get your money back. This happened with a simple guitar pedal I bought. It was noisy and I opened it up. I noticed someone tinkered with it. eBay said I should have sent it back for a refund and not have opened it up. I was pissed. I couldn't add a negative to the seller either.

Thanks, I have not done any altering to the RG.
tuned it,played it for a few minutes then looked/inspected the neck/frets over real good
this was after i had seen it had the different pu's and was almost yellow and not white
I started the claim/dispute,now just have to see what happens?
not getting my hopes up at all about it.