Almost got completely screwed on the 'bay...

TheJazzTerminator · #1 05-09-2007, 11:46 AM

A couple of weeks ago, this auction came up:

http://cgi.****.com/ws/****ISAPI.dll...109165823&rd=1

EDIT:

Forgot 'bay links don't work. Item number: 260109165823

As you can see... RG3120 with natural finish. It looks pretty nice from the pictures... like... an RG3120 IN NATURAL FINISH. So, I decided to buy it.

Well, it arrived yesterday and, when I opened the case... it was nice. It played well and sounded great, but it looked a little...rough. Not terrible, just a little raw. I figured it was just the natural finish.

So, I brought it to work with me (guitar teacher) and the owner of the place where I teach was looking at it and said, "Nice guitar, what was on it before?" and I was like, "What? It's natural," and he was like, "No, look there's BLUE in the wood," and then he pointed to the side of the pickup cavity and, sure enough, there was blue paint inside as well as a few other places. There were also scratches in various places on the front and back.

At this point, he concluded that the guitar had originally been blue (TW, maybe?) and had been sanded down. To be sure, though, he got on the phone with an Ibanez rep (they're an Ibanez dealer) and they looked up the serial number and determined that this guitar was, in fact, originally blue.

So, I called the guy I bought it from (had talked on the phone before the auction ended) and explained the situation. He acted very surprised and said he had bought it that way from another source. I told him that I'd keep it if he wanted to reduce the price or he could take it back and refund my money. He agreed to refund my money back, thankfully.

Andelusion · #2 05-09-2007, 11:57 AM

Well, it could have turned out much worse, and providing you didn't HATE the look of it in the flesh I can't really see the problem if the guy didn't know it had been 're-finished'. For that price I would have kept it

Passion_and_Warfare · #3 05-09-2007, 12:17 PM

290111427846 This one has the original finish.

choubix · #4 05-09-2007, 12:28 PM

it was a very nice guitar even though it was sanded at some point of its life...

Gurj · #5 05-09-2007, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andelusion

For that price I would have kept it

Same here, I thought it looked quite nice.

Passion_and_Warfare · #6 05-09-2007, 01:03 PM

Yeh I love that natural finish, Good price too.

Gusfmm · #7 05-09-2007, 01:55 PM

Same here, it looked great. Did it feel or looked that bad in person that you decided to return it??? Price was very reasonable.

Gus.

sroyboyk · #8 05-09-2007, 03:01 PM

I would have kept it, but to each his own.

Dee · #9 05-09-2007, 08:12 PM

There's nothing special about the price on that. I bought an absolutely mint condition 3120 in Deep Red from the Bay last year for $700. It was the 2001 model (now sold to pay for the 550 20th) which I got £500 / $1,000 for. Of course, UK prices are higher on these.

buddroyce · #10 05-09-2007, 10:31 PM

I would have kept it myself and just sell off the Ibanez Backstop that was in it to redeem some $$$.

Paul_R · #11 05-09-2007, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheJazzTerminator

To be sure, though, he got on the phone with an Ibanez rep (they're an Ibanez dealer) and they looked up the serial number and determined that this guitar was, in fact, originally blue.

I wish we had that kind of access on the internet at least to verify serial numbers. Wonder why they don't have this available to the public?

Glad it worked out for you though. Kind of sucks you didn't get what you wanted, but better than being screwed.

Paul

Rich · #12 05-09-2007, 10:47 PM

Serial number only told them the year and by which the models available that year, TW being it.

Paul_R · #13 05-09-2007, 10:50 PM

Oh. Darn. Well it was fun to dream of it for a short time.

Thanks Rich.

Dee · #14 05-09-2007, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buddroyce

I would have kept it myself and just sell off the Ibanez Backstop that was in it to redeem some $$$.

Thought it said Tremsetter?

EDIT: Should have looked more closely. Yeah, Back Stop. Cool.

TheJazzTerminator · #15 05-10-2007, 01:19 AM

To all the people saying I should keep it:

It doesn't look as nice in real life as it does in the pictures. Don't get me wrong, it's not HORRIBLE, but it's not a thing of a beauty.

Secondly, it needs a massive setup. That's about 50 or 60 bucks right there. It needs a better sanding job. It's not terrible, but it's certainly not very neat. You can actually SEE the blue that was originally on there in the wood. It needs to be stained or something. I don't know how much that would cost, but I'd assume it's at least 100 bucks.

So, at this point, if I kept it and did that stuff, it's up to $850 -- at least. It's just not worth it. For that price, I could track down a 3120 in Vintage Violin or even a Twilight Blue for even cheaper.

To me, it's just not worth the price. Not to mention, there's a tiny crack on the back of the neck, near the first fret.