Ebay Fender's....getting worse...a real snake pit...and avoid the wine!

[iconic]

Is it me or Ebay getting worse and a dangerous place to shop for bass 'bargains'

it seems every old'ish Fender I like the look of for the last 3 years has/is/been:

1/ ...a dead cert' fake? An Encore/Westfield/Squier/Aria with a decal.
2/ ...a vendor who suddenly looses internet connections goes quiet when after numerous mails is asked the "so is it puka wth no serial number"?
3/ ...at the end of the super long description comes the caveat "maybe/possibly refinished with new body/neck/scratchplate/tuners/pups/ pots"...easy to miss after a glass of vino and the feeling of my god it's a steal everyones an idiot?

Honestly, if I was really dishonest and not just a used car dealer I should be selling [i]'Fenders'[/i] for a living instead of used cars...must be up with drugs, prostitution and Gucci bags...but try going to the plod or trading standards and..well you know the rest, for all the whingers this is the safest place to buy a Fender....I hope

Edited June 29, 2013 by iconic

[Grangur]

Agreed totally. I bought one recently and I mailed the seller when I bought it asking for assurance it was a genuine Fender. It to turn out to be a Squier with a decal.
One complaint later - Ebay judged in his favour - a Squier IS a Fender; made by the same company isn't it?

I love the sound of a Fender and feel tempted, but I wouldn't touch a Fender on Ebay with a barge-pole.

[BassTractor]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1372530013' post='2126929']
One complaint later - Ebay judged in his favour - a Squier IS a Fender; made by the same company isn't it?
[/quote]

Sigh.
And yet another good reason to contemplate to stop using EvilBay. EvilBay and PaynPal are really doing everything they can to scare away honest people.

best,
bert

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1372530553' post='2126943']
Sigh.
And yet another good reason to contemplate to stop using EvilBay. EvilBay and PaynPal are really doing everything they can to scare away honest people.

best,
bert
[/quote]
Let's hope they scare more and more buyers away then there are more and more bargains for me.

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1372530369' post='2126939']
Its a minefield out there especially with vintage guitars. I was lucky. I bought my Jazz from ebay and its genuine, but there are so many fakes. I always think, you should never spend on ebay anymore than you could afford to lose. That way, if it all goes tits up, its not gonna sting too much. In short, dont buy expensive guitars, if you are not totally sure
[/quote]

And don't expect some of the guitar shops to know much about them either, even some of the friendly ones with good reputations. Although they're more likely to sort things out if you find the bass isn't what they said it was.

Always run the neck plate through the Fender serial number checker thingy before buying, you'll be surprised how often they're not what they're supposed to be.

[Grangur]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1372547825' post='2127168']
And don't expect some of the guitar shops to know much about them either, even some of the friendly ones with good reputations. Although they're more likely to sort things out if you find the bass isn't what they said it was.

Always run the neck plate through the Fender serial number checker thingy before buying, you'll be surprised how often they're not what they're supposed to be.
[/quote]
I've been searching online for a checker and can't find one. Rich, can you please post the link?

The Warwick checker is great, it gives you a full description of the bass. All I've found from Fender is the first few letters telling you the factory and the next number tells you the year.

[KiOgon]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1372572013' post='2127222']
I've been searching online for a checker and can't find one. Rich, can you please post the link?

The Warwick checker is great, it gives you a full description of the bass. All I've found from Fender is the first few letters telling you the factory and the next number tells you the year.
[/quote]
Here's a very useful site for Fender serials & others; http://guitardaterproject.org/

[Stacker]

I haven't sold anything on ebay for a while but I recently sold some guitar parts. Had to send the (sole bidder) a reminder to pay and sent 'em two days after he did, Special Delivery. A week later I get and email saying the parts hadn't arrived and could I look into it. I gave him the tracking number but looked it up myself to find it was still in transit! I phoned up Royal Mail who then proceed to tell me that the item had been refused at that address and was being held (due to lack of return address - Doh!) until I got in contact with them. The cynic in me says the guy has had second thoughts about the purchase and this is his way of getting out of it but they are going straight back to hime as soon as they land on my mat!

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1372572013' post='2127222']
I've been searching online for a checker and can't find one. Rich, can you please post the link?

The Warwick checker is great, it gives you a full description of the bass. All I've found from Fender is the first few letters telling you the factory and the next number tells you the year.
[/quote]
[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1372573212' post='2127227']
Here's a very useful site for Fender serials & others; [url="http://guitardaterproject.org/"]http://guitardaterproject.org/[/url]
[/quote]

That's the one I use.