AiRdAd wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:06 pm
Ben, the tone of your post indicates to the other forum members that you paid for the guitar, received it, weren’t happy with it, and then were unable to return it. The tone of the post implies that you had no way to assess the condition before purchase, had been asked to pay a high price for it, and had somehow been wronged and ripped off.
The reality of the situation from my perspective, is quite different to that. Without asking for any money from you, I dropped off the guitar to Auckland for you (to save you the cost of couriering it) - I gave you possession of the guitar for two weeks before you paid for it, so that you could have it in your hands before making a decision whether you wanted to purchase it - I made it clear that you were under no obligation to purchase it - and made it clear I’d pay the cost of the courier to have it returned back to me if you didn’t want to purchase it. If you didn’t want to buy the guitar, I even offered you unconditional use of the guitar for as long as you wanted, so you’d have something to use while you looked for another guitar, if you didn’t find this guitar suitable.
This is the most no risk buying situation for you that is possible. I offered it to you at what I thought was a fair price, you were able to accurately assess the guitar before you decided to purchase it, you were under no obligation to purchase it, and were offered unconditional use of the guitar if you didn’t want to purchase it, so I’m struggling to understand your motivation for the post that you made the day after you deposited the money into my account to pay for it.
Throughout our dealings with the guitar I felt like I was in a no win situation with you. Even after everything I’d done, I felt it wasn’t satisfactory for you, and I couldn’t come up with a solution to resolve the issue. I know you wanted to purchase the guitar for a cheaper price, but I felt the price I offered it to you for was fair. As our communication continued and I felt like you weren’t going to be happy with the guitar, I actually wanted to withdraw from the sale. To be honest, if it had of been anyone else, I would have; but I knew the guitar had sentimental value to you. I know the guitar wasn’t in the condition you were expecting before you received it in person, but unfortunately that’s the reality with the type of wood, and the guitar being owned by multiple owners over a period of 4-ish years since you last owned it. You were however, fully aware of the condition of the guitar before you made the decision to purchase it - having had it in your possession for over two weeks.
Here is more discussion on the points made:
Pickups not in the Guitar
You mentioned to me that money was tight, so I thought that since I was going to Auckland, I’d drop the guitar off for you, to save you the $40 courier cost. I had the guitar in storage at a place that I don’t always have access to. I was unable to get access to it until 9:30pm the night before I went to Auckland. I picked it up from storage, took it home and took the pickups out. When I went to put the other pickups in, I realised that they needed a different switch to work due to the unique wiring of the neck pickup. Unfortunately I didn’t have the required switch so popped the pickguard back on the guitar without installing them. I left for Auckland at 4:00am the next morning, and in the rush neglected to tell you that they wouldn’t be in the guitar. I apologised to you for that. I figured that it was better to get the guitar up to you without the pickups in it, to save you the courier cost, get it up to your quicker, and give you the chance to have it in your hands before you purchased it.
Price
I offered the guitar to you for a price that I though was fair. To be honest Ben, a local person who had played the guitar previously caught wind that I was selling it and offered me more than what I asked you for it, and that was without the pickups and the neck humbucker pickguard (which I could keep and use on another build). You mentioned money was tight and the guitar had sentimental value, so I offered it to you at a cheaper price.
Keep in mind it is a gret sounding and playing handmade instrument. The fact that Molly owned it for 2 years is a testament to how great it is. I think it’s the longest he’s held onto a guitar in recent times, by a long shot
On Slowy’s last visit to see me he played the guitar and without even plugging it in, offered (no begged) me to buy it. When I said I wasn’t interested in selling it, he jokingly told me he’d break my legs if I ever sold it to anyone else. We’ve all been talking about how prices have been increasing recently. Prices have increased in the 4-ish years since you originally sold it. I think the price I offered it to you for sits very well in today’s market. I know that you made me a counter offer on the guitar once receiving it, but I thought that was unrealistic, and for the above reasons declined.
Condition
I understand that you had a different expectation of the condition of the guitar when you owned it 4-ish years ago, and from the posts when it was last sold, and from our brief communication prior to me dropping the guitar off to you so that you could inspect it in person. I thought that if I sent the guitar up to you at no cost to you, and if you didn’t want it, you couriered it back to me at my cost, you would be able to get the guitar in your hands and make a decision if you wanted it. I thought this would be the best way for you to judge the guitar. Please also remember that you received the guitar without me asking you to pay anything for it, and had it in you possession for over two weeks before actually paying for it.
As a side note, I’m not sure what damage was made to the since it left your possession, but I have put two marks on the front of it, and probably contributed to other play wear on the body. Unfortunately, the wood used on the body is extremely soft. As an example, the round hole on the front of the guitar was caused from dropping a guitar cable from 1 metre above the guitar when it was lying on the ground. It is very susceptible to damage.
Communication
I offered to call you to discuss the guitar, as the written word can sometimes be misinterpreted, but you declined my offer to do that. I also made it clear in all of our written communication (multiple times) that you were under no obligation to purchase it, and that I was more than happy for you to return the guitar by courier at my cost.
Offer of use of the guitar
When I realised that the condition of the guitar was in after not being in your possession for 4-ish years was upsetting you. I offered you use of the guitar for however long it took you to find another guitar that was suitable for you. I said I was prepared to let you use it on a long term basis – if that’s what it took for you to find a guitar that was suitable for you. Even though it would of probably meant that I would probably miss out on the other sale I had lined up. I also offered to actively help you find that guitar.
Ben, I am truly sorry this hasn’t panned out like you’d wanted. And to be fair, it hasn’t for me either. I am left wondering, and don’t know what more I can do to make things so that you are satisfied. If you would like to discuss anything, I’m happy to call you, or you can flick me a PM.