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Hamer Standard 1984 4 Digit #0739 - "Garbageburst" - Interesting Story and Looking for Advice


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TLDR: Bough a sketchy Hamer Standard on eBay for somewhat cheap.  It actually showed up.  Came damaged.  Looking for thoughts.

As I'm sure some of you were aware, a really sketchy eBay listing came up for a heavily modified Hamer Standard 4-DIgit a few days ago.  It was talked about over on the Hamer USA Facebook Group at least.  This guitar was previously discussed in 2021 when it was posted for sale on Reverb, for an unrealistic price.  Seems that the original seller got two offers and accepted one of them.  See the original thread at the bottom of my post.

So, I have a bit of history taking some chances on eBay purchases.  Usually, things don't end up coming together, and eBay, PP, or CC provides a refund.  As long as I have the patience for it, it has worked out before.  But, from time to time, I end up with some interesting things, usually not guitars, but other collectible stuff that has low buy-it-now prices.  With all that in mind, when I saw this pop-up, I took a chance on it.

One of the things that stood out to me was that these are original photos and not the photos for the Reverb listing.  Usually, scam listings use photos that I can find online somewhere else.  Additionally, once paid, the seller messaged me back.  This seller was happy to message back and forth about the guitar, going to USPS, etc, which all surprised me.  Then I got a shipping confirmation for the right size and weight.

The guitar was set to arrive yesterday from USPS.  I made sure to be home at our house is set back and our USPS mailperson would need help getting a big guitar box down.  She pulled up to the house and announced, "I got something big and weird back there for you!"  We walked to the back of the truck and she slid out a Hamer Standard case, no box, wrapped in packing tape with a label affixed to the side.  I have never seen a guitar shipped like this in person - only horror stories online!  Based on the case, I could see where this was heading, but still just shocked a guitar showed up.

Opened the case, and as expected, there is a crack in the neck near the floyd rose nut.  Talked with eBay and the seller.  Looks like the seller is happy to refund a majority of what I paid, minus shipping and a little extra.  He really seemed to think you could ship a guitar this.  Luckily, I got a customer service rep from eBay who is a guitar player and fully understands this situation.

So, besides sharing this ridiculous story, I'm looking for advice.

1. I've checked the stolen guitar registry and tried to reach out to the Reverb seller who originally owned it to try to establish a chain of ownership.  The person I bought it from basically said he won it from a friend with a lot of guitars in a card game.  He said he can try to provide a letter and or documentation from the former owner to show this somehow.   A suspect story, but crazier things have happened.  A repair tech in Florida confirmed that a previous owner was trying to sell this guitar to a shop in Florida and wanted too much for it still a ways back.  He was on the Hamer Facebook Group.

The eBay seller has a seemingly real name that matches the address of a reasonably nice apartment complex in Florida and also has a business with the same full name tied to it.

Is there a way for me to check that there isn't a police report for this guitar being stolen somewhere?

2. If it ends up being mine, clearly it needs to be fixed.  Would you go basic and get the neck crack repaired or find someone to do more of a restoration and proper refinish on this?

3.  Any other thoughts on all this are appreciated.

See other posts below for more pictures.

Edit - Calling it Garbageburst (for now) as someone did over on the Hamer Facebook Group as I got a kick out of that.

 

IMG_8189.jpeg

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If that neck crack is stable, hold off for a while.  You can get it repaired if you want to keep it.  Just do a partial refin over the repaired area. 

 

Next time I sell a T-shirt on eBay I think I am going to roll it up and pin a mailing label to it.

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9 minutes ago, Steve Haynie said:

If that neck crack is stable, hold off for a while.  You can get it repaired if you want to keep it.  Just do a partial refin over the repaired area. 

 

Next time I sell a T-shirt on eBay I think I am going to roll it up and pin a mailing label to it.

If this could ship like that, and USPS accepted it, shipping a t-shirt that way should be just fine, right?  Maybe a ziplock bag to keep it dry?

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There is absolutely no way that USPS are paying out on that if the seller it was damaged in transit! I have much experience in damage claims with shipping contractors. There is no way they will pay out on something that was not in a bobm-proof package. If you want it fixing/painting, BCR Gregg is your man. Good luck with your refund claim...

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2 minutes ago, Victor (Fret Friend) said:

There is absolutely no way that USPS are paying out on that if the seller it was damaged in transit! I have much experience in damage claims with shipping contractors. There is no way they will pay out on something that was not in a bobm-proof package. If you want it fixing/painting, BCR Gregg is your man. Good luck with your refund claim...

Agreed.  There is no leg to stand on for an insurance claim.  The money would be coming directly back from the seller through eBay, not USPS.

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2 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

If that neck crack is stable, hold off for a while.  You can get it repaired if you want to keep it.  Just do a partial refin over the repaired area. 

 

Next time I sell a T-shirt on eBay I think I am going to roll it up and pin a mailing label to it.

This ^^^^^.   Your aware of the history but it is a shame it was shipped like this. 

I had an eBay’er send me a ‘78 Sunburst in a cheap intro guitar box one time.  
Opened no packing and the body had separated from the neck.

 I kept  the guitar and shipped to the factory to rest the neck.  

I agree with Steve wait, let the dust settle if your keeping it have it repaired how you want  

Hamerica 

 

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4 hours ago, Hamerica said:

This ^^^^^.   Your aware of the history but it is a shame it was shipped like this. 

I had an eBay’er send me a ‘78 Sunburst in a cheap intro guitar box one time.  
Opened no packing and the body had separated from the neck.

 I kept  the guitar and shipped to the factory to rest the neck.  

I agree with Steve wait, let the dust settle if your keeping it have it repaired how you want  

Hamerica 

 

Thanks for your thoughts on this one.  This confirms a lot of what I thought already about letting it be for a while.  I have more than enough guitars to keep me busy.

I hope to keep it, as I really won't be much into it at all, even after repairs are done.  I doubt I will ever find another standard like like this and only be in it for like $750 all said and done these days.

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I can believe some sellers don't know squat about shipping!! I had a 335 clone shipped to me in 2 pillow cases and package taped. 

I'd say it's your's but you've done a wonderful thing checking to see if it was hot!!

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3 hours ago, Dutchman said:

I can believe some sellers don't know squat about shipping!! I had a 335 clone shipped to me in 2 pillow cases and package taped. 

I'd say it's your's but you've done a wonderful thing checking to see if it was hot!!

Agreed on the shipping!  The seller seemed to know very little about guitars in a way, but he's a solid guitarist.  He sent me a link to his instrumental album, which while not groundbreaking, was still better than I could do these days.  But, I've met a number of musicians who just happen to be guitar players instead of guitarist/gear geeks/etc.

And thanks for that!  As much as I want to protect myself in transactions, I've been lucky to never have a guitar taken from me and I hope that someone would try to do the same if it ever did happen.  If it is someone else's, I would want to get it back to them, and then I would deal with eBay from there.

Thanks for the reply!

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I won‘t make statements on US shipping from my position. However, you are still having a worth having Standard there. I‘d like to have it im my collection. 

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On 8/20/2022 at 9:52 AM, WorstBandName said:

Crack

image.png

                               From what I see that IS just a crack,I have certainly seen worse where the headstock is actually separated from the neck. That can be fixed and hidden by the right guy certainly someone like like Greg Paltzer or Jay Kolanda, both have taken some very damaged instruments and brought them back to life. Regarding shipping this guitar I once had a guitar shipped to me just like that although no where near that rareness or value. [a Yamaha RGX Custom] I was surprised that it was accepted by the USPS as it was just in a solid case no box with all the case latches working and closed  with duct tape wrapped around the ends of the case and the USPS shipping label pasted on the case, the guitar made it to me just as shipped [Excellent condition BTW] , I couldn't believe it that the seller shipped it that way or that it wasn't damaged. I would have the cracked neck area repaired /refinished and leave the rest as is.

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On 8/20/2022 at 6:12 PM, WorstBandName said:

I hope to keep it, as I really won't be much into it at all, even after repairs are done.  I doubt I will ever find another standard like like this and only be in it for like $750 all said and done these days.

Yeah, you buried the lead there.
I think any of us would sign on for a $750 4-digit Standard - even one with a headstock crack. 
 

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5 hours ago, kizanski said:

Yeah, you buried the lead there.
I think any of us would sign on for a $750 4-digit Standard - even one with a headstock crack. 
 

You're right!  I was trying not to be braggadocios with getting a 4-digit standard for $999 before the break.  But, honestly,  with all the modifications, I wasn't even sure how good of a price it really might have been.  I don't pay a lot of attention to 4-digit stuff as I tend to prefer the vintage round necks more overall. 

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4 hours ago, Brooks said:

"Garbageburst" = WorstFinishName, ha

What kind of pups are in there? That's pretty cool w/ the Floyd, congrats

The original Reverb ad says Dimarzio super distortion clones from Buchanan- custom wound to 1980s overwound specs.  I have not played SDs in a while, and usually play PAF style, but these sound pretty good to me.  I don't know much about Buchanan though and didn't really find these when doing a quick search.

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1 hour ago, BCR Greg said:

I can fix that for you.    Or buy it FROM you.

Hey Greg - I was actually planning on reaching out to you even before you posted as I'm just over in NJ, about 2.5 hours away. 

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1 hour ago, JGale said:

Greg is working one for me now.

Before:

679251450.jpg

After:

82NeckAfter.jpg

 

 

Beautiful work, as expected.  I follow him on Instagram and am genuinely amazed how nicely everything comes out.  Additionally, if I had it fixed and let it go down the road, I would think HFC would appreciate it being repaired by BCRGreg vs. some random repair person in my area.

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