mistahbenn Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Precision-Bass-Fiesta-Red-1964_W0QQitemZ180264569642QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180264569642&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Precision-Bas...p3286.m14.l1318[/url] Up for £699 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilb Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 What makes you think its a scam? He seems open about the authenticity or lack of, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistahbenn Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 'I am into this bass for $8000 with the assumption it is an original Fender Fiesta Red finish.' seems a funny thing to say. And Im sure Ive seen these very pictures on other scams... Maybe it is genuine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Zero feedback is always a warning sign to me - I know everyone has to start at zero on eBay but with a $8000 bass? Hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 So it's down to interested parties to satisfy themselves about what they're getting. Ask questions - arrange a viewing etc and don't bid if you can't get the answers you want. If you pay big bucks for a fake - it's as much your own fault as the sellers in my opinion , maybe more so as he may be genuine about what he thinks he has. The zero feedback thing - well , as has been said folk have to start somewhere. If the dude had joined BC to sell it here half the membership would be on his back moaning so he can't win that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaussie Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 (edited) I'm suspicious about this one. And if this is a scam, the scary part about it is that the scammer is putting a bit of work into the auction to distance it from the original instrument, and has put a very good description up as well. Points to note. 1. Free shipping, anywhere in the world. It's not unheard of, but still, why?? Especially on an instrument starting at £699, no reserve - the shipping could severely eat into the final sale price if it didn't move beyond £699. 2. Starting price of £699 for a bass that, at worst, is a refin and has changed tuners. If his description is accurate, he could walk into any dealer in London and have £1500 in his hands within seconds, and I'm being ultra-conservative there. The neck alone is worth well over £1000. 3. The serial number. The seller has said "L4XXX", which, when compared to the photo of the neckplate, looks plausible. However, L series numbers are "LXXXXX" (6 positions, not 5). For me, it appears that the seller has looked at the neck plate photo, thought that the serial number only had 5 positions, and described it accordingly. But if you look at that photo closely, you can just about see the 6th position digit. For a seller who knows so much about pre-CBS Fenders (ie. stick marks, C profile neck, neck date stamp etc) this seems a strange error to have made. So I'd suggest caution with this. Maybe it is legit, and there's an amazing bargain to be had, but I'd strongly recommend collection in person. EDIT: This is a cached version of an auction for the same bass. It's from Italian Ebay. Make of it what you will. It's all very smart - finding this auction was very difficult, simply doing a search on Ebay didn't lead me to it. [url="http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:CSdku_kAAH8J:cgi.ebay.it/1964-Fender-Precision-Bass-Fiesta-Red_W0QQitemZ300227753954QQihZ020QQcategoryZ64401QQcmdZViewItem+1964+fender+precision+bass+5dec64c+fiesta+red&hl=pt-PT&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=pt"]http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:CSdku_k...;cd=1&gl=pt[/url] Edited July 13, 2008 by bassaussie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99ster Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 [quote name='bassaussie' post='238514' date='Jul 13 2008, 01:32 PM']EDIT: This is a cached version of an auction for the same bass. It's from Italian Ebay. Make of it what you will. It's all very smart - finding this auction was very difficult, simply doing a search on Ebay didn't lead me to it. [url="http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:CSdku_kAAH8J:cgi.ebay.it/1964-Fender-Precision-Bass-Fiesta-Red_W0QQitemZ300227753954QQihZ020QQcategoryZ64401QQcmdZViewItem+1964+fender+precision+bass+5dec64c+fiesta+red&hl=pt-PT&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=pt"]http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:CSdku_k...;cd=1&gl=pt[/url][/quote] Good detective work Bassaussie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaussie Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 [quote name='99ster' post='238538' date='Jul 13 2008, 02:15 PM']Good detective work Bassaussie![/quote] Thanks! I had a shot with "The Wayback Machine" too, but had no luck. What I've noticed lately is that scammers have twigged to the fact that people will seach on Ebay for serial numbers, neckplate stamps etc, so the scammers wait until the details have disappeared from Ebay. Damn shame all round, actually, as it looks like a really nice bass. Completely aside from the auction itself, do you think the finish is original - I actually thought it might've been, going by the undercoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 I just tried to look at the link and it looks like it's been pulled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99ster Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 [quote name='bassaussie' post='238540' date='Jul 13 2008, 02:24 PM']Damn shame all round, actually, as it looks like a really nice bass. Completely aside from the auction itself, do you think the finish is original - I actually thought it might've been, going by the undercoat.[/quote] Sometimes they had a white undercoat, sometimes not - & often custom colours were actually sprayed on top of a sunburst finish... But the absence of a 'paint stick' mark on a 1964 bass would definitely say to me that the finish was not original - & was in fact a later re-finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Dr Dave may disagree (see his comment above) but when something smells like poo, it invariably is poo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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