Ebay Auction Descriptions

[DavidE]

Now what if it came in the same condition as mine with the description offered in the auction?

I decided that with his responses, I'd leave the negative and prepare to take the retaliation and explain it.

[ZR]

I just PM'd ya! I'm agreeing with you! I just told my story to point out how I let my guy off the hook due to his ignorance, but your guy just seems jerky to me, especially as indicated by his last response to you. That's why I said in an earlier post that he was wrong to describe it that way. I'd be mad too!

[gwayne]

NO way is that PRS excellent. Very Good at best - I would call it "good". How Elderly rates a guitar is irrelevant unless they're selling it. When I list a guitar on eBay I have a clear picture of every single dent, ding, scratch. The seller is way off base IMO.

[atquinn]

Now what if it came in the same condition as mine with the description offered in the auction?

I decided that with his responses, I'd leave the negative and prepare to take the retaliation and explain it.

That's what I'd do, considering he seems like a dick. Specifically what I'd do is:

1) Make sure you save the original auction text and his pictures.

2) Put your pictures up on a free picture hosting site.

3) Flame him with negative feedback and include a link to your pictures (Something like, "Condition worse than desribed; pix at www.blahblah.com)

-Austin

[DavidE]

I invited people to contact me for pics.

Ebay sux.

[atquinn]

I invited people to contact me for pics.

Ebay sux.

Now, now don't let this turn you into MCChris; you're better than that!

-Austin

[elduave]

Def. not excellent, and he seems to be being a dick, and respectfully, he may have thought you where being a dick (didn't see your e-mails) but obviously you're on your game more than he is 'cause he writes like a 12 year old and you're a smart dude. HOWEVER! Hold yourself accountable for buying a guitar without a return policy that left you an acceptable out. So, flip it ASAP and move on. Go trade it for something you'll have a good feeling about. Fuck, I'll take it. What do you want?

[DavidE]

I'll keep it and gig it. Just like my once minty CUstom 22 with 10 top and birds. Unless you want to trade a Talldega for it! ;-) lol

[jisham]

Doesn't live up to his description but if it's a good player and sounds good, I'd play the hell out of it and move on. I never leave negative feedback personally, but that's just me.

[shesky]

I had the same problem with a different guitar. It was rated a 9.7 or your bass player would say "mint". It was at best an 8. Because most ebayer's don't follow the etiquette anymore and send feedback when payment is received, I save myself the revenge and didn't leave anything. That being said, you got a very good price on a piece with a flamed neck. Was the user deceitful in not showing more pics of the dings? IMO, Yes he was, but it's also your responsibility to ask for more pics if you had questions. You honestly could have an another auction with all the damage shown and at least get your money back.

shesky

[Steve Haynie]

Now what if it came in the same condition as mine with the description offered in the auction?

I decided that with his responses, I'd leave the negative and prepare to take the retaliation and explain it.

That's what I'd do, considering he seems like a dick. Specifically what I'd do is:

1) Make sure you save the original auction text and his pictures.

2) Put your pictures up on a free picture hosting site.

3) Flame him with negative feedback and include a link to your pictures (Something like, "Condition worse than desribed; pix at www.blahblah.com)

-Austin

eBay no longer allows links in feedback.

[Turdus]

It's funny. People can look at things so differently.

That is the key right there. A few years back, I bought an Explorer, described as mint. When I got it, I thought it was beat... had a huge dent in it, and a skull and cross bones sticker, that had been removed, but melted an image into the clear coat.

After emailing the guy, he claimed I was harassing him. I eventually sold the git to Kiz.... I attempted to describe all issues as best as possible. IIRC, when our boy got it, he did not think it was as bad as I thought it was.

Am I correct on that one Kizaroo?

[Scooter]

For an 11 year old guitar, the condition looks VG+.

Scooter: how is age relevant to condition? A 25 year old guitar can be mint and a 2 month old guitar can be dinged and dented down to good or poor condition. The age of the guitar is irrelevant to grading the condition.

Let me explain my rationale. I guess I look at guitars in two categories: players & collectors. This one is a player, and as such, 11 years of use would result in several nicks and dings. As long as it presents well and plays perfect, it would rate VG or VG+ in my opinion. A collector piece would have to remain in tip-top shape no matter the age if it were to rate EC. Of course, the pricing would be VERY different between the two categories. I hope that makes sense.

[jerseydrew]

David, the seller seems like a prick. I would call AMEX and tell them that you didn't get what you paid for. Amex will side with you (at first). They'll retract the money from Paypal. Paypal with retract the money from your seller.

And then there will be a dispute with Paypal. You probably will lose that dispute because Paypal just wants to know if you received the guitar, they don't care about the condition.

But all of the above is a big pain in the ass to the seller. He might think twice before he talks so cocky to people.

[MCChris]

Dave, Elderly would call that dead mint. They're the worst overgraders east of the Mississippi.

So true. I like Elderly and have shopped there many times, but their grading system is WAY out of whack. I'm guessing the seller knows that too and is intentionally using them as a yardstick.

This guy is a total tool. PLEASE don't let the fear of a retaliatory feedback prevent you from doing what needs to be done here.

I swear, rape victims are probably more inclined to identify their attackers than eBay people are inclined to leave negative feedback. eBay would probably suck less if more people outed the liars and scumbags on there.

[silentman]

David - I don't know the market on PRS's. Did you overpay?

[cmatthes]

Agreed about Elderly and "overgrading". I bought a Gibson Vee from them in '86 that was advertised as "N. Mint". I guess I should have made sure that they didn't mean "Not Mint" - it was what I'd consider very good or possibly a 6.5 out of 10. When I called them to ask what the deal was (same guy who described it to me over the phone - this was way before the internet), he said I shouldn't complain because I got it for a really good price. I sold it a couple of years later with no regrets.

[DavidE]

David - I don't know the market on PRS's. Did you overpay?

I don't really know if I did. Bolt neck CE's with flamed necks are pretty rare, though I know where to get a purple one with buckle rash and maybe otherwise in similar condition for $75 less.

[GusS]

based on the auction

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=160186435457

i'd have expected a guitar in better cosmetic shape, but based on his description and shitty pictures i'd find it acceptable provided there's no fretwear (as per description) and it's got no playability issues.

if it's too beat up for your liking, you should flip it. Even if you describe it as being only in good condition, if you provide plenty of pretty hi-res pictures you'll likely get more for it than what you paid (simply based on the quality of your auction - i have no idea what these guitars are worth).

[DaveL]

I think the pics are a little misleading but... the spelling/grammar is

brutal. That would tell me that maybe he's not capable of going

over the guitar fully and/or packing it correctly. I'm really picky

about it because I got burned once by a guy like this...

[MCChris]

the spelling/grammar is brutal.

And DavidE responds in kind with the negative:

"Description inaccurate.Contact 4 pics.Discourteous when adrsd. I pd. in minutes."

HA! Well done sir!

[silentman]

Should have added.

guy is a fukstik.

[DavidE]

The guy was actually nice and responsive before I received the guitar.

For those who mentioned they hadn't seen the emails coming from my side, here they are in the interest of full disclosure:

I received the guitar today. It's in one piece. I'll give a good look later, but my immediate impression is that you really understated the number of dings, dents and blemishes on the guitar. Lots of small gouges into the "binding" and top edge around the bottom of the guitar, dings and dings on the headstock (including what appears to be a broken or repaired truss rod cover), some dings on the top, lots of belt buckle type scratches all over the back of the guitar and some plating worn off of the bridge. I'll take specific photos and email them to you tonight.

It should be a nice gigging guitar for me, but I do think the condition was overstated.

________________________________________________-

I'll take some photographs of the areas I mentioned tonight and I'll let you decide whether you think you accurately described the guitar.

_________________________________________________

I'm going to seek some independent opinions, but here are my thoughts.

The age of the guitar makes no difference and has no bearing on describing the condition. A guitar in excellent condition is in excellent condition, regardless of age. You can have an 11 year old guitar without a mark that is mint and you can have a 1 month old guitar that has been trashed or is in good condition with lots of dings, dents, scratches and gouges. Age is irrelevant.

I expected a guitar that you described with no buckle rash, only "very small dings on the edges," and the only thing worth mentioning being the ding on the side. When you said that you're honest in all of your auctions, I expected that you would disclose the true condition of the guitar. You didn't mention the damage to the headstock, the deep gouges (not very small dings) in the edges, the worn off plating on the bridge and the scratches all over the back.

Understand, I'm not pissed, I'm disappointed. Take a look at my photos and tell me how I could have expected this: http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f61/deidelberg/PRS%20CE22/

Of course the people I run this by may tell me I'm being ridiculous.

__________________________________________________

I figured out that the truss rod cover isn't really broken. It's upside down. I turned it around and figured out that it's upside down because someone must have over tightened the screw almost through the screw hole before. It's staying on the correct way though and looks better.

I also opened the electronics cavity cover and at least one pickup was changed at one point. Did you check to see that these are Dragon 1s? Are they original? I guess I could pull them out, but if you already checked that's good enough.

_____________________________________________________

I guess I have no choice then but to leave negative feedback.

A magnifying glass was not necessary, I assure you. And it seems to me you know that as well. Will it be worth what I paid in two years? Probably. But my bids, and those of the others, were based upon your inaccurate description of the guitar's condition. I'm not "picky" but I expect accurate descriptions.

[Scooter]

DavidE: Looks to me that you were taking the high road in your emails. It almost sounds like all you were asking was for him to admit he understated the condition. You never even asked for a refund or anything!

[Guest pirateflynn]

And DavidE responds in kind with the negative:

"Description inaccurate.Contact 4 pics.Discourteous when adrsd. I pd. in minutes."

HA! Well done sir!

This is exciting. I can't wait for the retaliatory counter feedback!