bassatnight Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Hi All, I recently purchased a preowned Musicman Bongo from a well know music shop (PMT) for a significant amount of money. The bass turned up a couple of days later and looked very nice, until I had a closer inspection, the bass was filthy! The neck was grimy, sticky and covered in fingerprints, the pups were covered in a fine layer of dust and clearly no attempt to even give it a wipe had been made. I have been buying basses and guitars for some forty years and never received an instrument in this state. I appreciated it was preowned, but surely a shop would at least give it a clean before shipping? After a basic clean she is now looking lovely, no marks or scratches - but is it really acceptable for a major music store with many outlets around the country to send out an instrument so clearly dirty? Anyone else had a similar experience? Cheers, Steve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 1 hour ago, bassatnight said: Hi All, I recently purchased a preowned Musicman Bongo from a well know music shop (PMT) for a significant amount of money. The bass turned up a couple of days later and looked very nice, until I had a closer inspection, the bass was filthy! The neck was grimy, sticky and covered in fingerprints, the pups were covered in a fine layer of dust and clearly no attempt to even give it a wipe had been made. I have been buying basses and guitars for some forty years and never received an instrument in this state. I appreciated it was preowned, but surely a shop would at least give it a clean before shipping? After a basic clean she is now looking lovely, no marks or scratches - but is it really acceptable for a major music store with many outlets around the country to send out an instrument so clearly dirty? Anyone else had a similar experience? Cheers, Steve. No, I would have taken pics of the bass and explained to them how the bass was shipped. They should have given you a credit . I'm concerned about internal damage that might surface in the future. Can you send it back? Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 It doesn't create a good impression and may influence your future purchase decisions, so it doesnt make good business sense. I assume you bought it having seen online pics - did the pics show the grime? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Pass Me Turps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 That's sloppy as all feck from a private seller, never mind an established retailer. For shame. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 By not packing it up and returning it you contributed de facto to making it acceptable. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Downunderwonder said: By not packing it up and returning it you contributed de facto to making it acceptable. I agree, I had a bass from Bass Direct that wasn't as described condition wise, I should have just lobbed it back, but after challenging them I unwisely accepted a small bit of dosh back instead. I the event I was never happy with it and flogged it subsequently at a loss. If you're unhappy with it let them have it back, there's lots of other instruments out there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan63 Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 3 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said: I agree, I had a bass from Bass Direct that wasn't as described condition wise, I should have just lobbed it back, but after challenging them I unwisely accepted a small bit of dosh back instead. I the event I was never happy with it and flogged it subsequently at a loss. If you're unhappy with it let them have it back, there's lots of other instruments out there. This happened to me too, but I sucked it up as it was an exchange deal and other than the poor set up (basically a fresh set of strings fitted (probably to replace the old rusty ones) but no cleaning or polishing of frets or intonation setting, dirt and the loose strap buttons that needed plugging of the body to resolve it was basically a very nice bass that I much preferred to the one I had swapped it for, though I sold it on at the beginning of Covid as by then I had finally built my custom version which is my avatar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Downunderwonder said: By not packing it up and returning it you contributed de facto to making it acceptable. If it were in any way not working, like dodgy preamp or whatever then I would send it back. But needing an hour's worth of cleaning would be a quandary. It's sloppy by the shop for sure, it worth the hassle of sending it back (assuming by post?) and hoping they do a good job of sorting it would make me think it's better doing it myself but sending them photos and asking WTF they're playing at. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asingardenof Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 That's terribly shoddy of them. I'd be worried that they hadn't done any quality control checks on it either. Maybe they got lucky and it was fine, but if they hadn't even bothered to make sure it was superficially clean then I would have my doubts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 (edited) It's not really on to ship an instrument in such a state, but I'm not sure I'd send it back. Give them a shout and tell them it's not on, but go through all the hassle of returning it ? Perhaps not. Edited July 18, 2023 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 If its a case of it just being dirty but you're otherwise happy to keep it, you could contact them and have a moan with the idea of getting a bit of cash back as a goodwill gesture ( to go towards some cleaning products blah blah ) In my case the back of the neck was dinged and gouged up a bit so more of an issue than just "dirt" .. but it's your call, I'd certainly not just leave it without contacting them for some resolution in your favour. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 If it was just dirty but a good player I'd give them a crap review but I wouldn't send it back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 3 hours ago, Downunderwonder said: By not packing it up and returning it you contributed de facto to making it acceptable. Get a grip - it's dirty, not defective. A simple complaint will suffice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 27 minutes ago, neepheid said: Get a grip - it's dirty, not defective. A simple complaint will suffice. The fact that cleaning was done with no complaint made gives the store no incentive to up their game, ie acceptable to ship grime. Get a grip your good self. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilorius Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 Whisky and gin from them and everything would be fine. If seriosly - this means that shop (company) is very client not respectable. I would accept a not set-up bass, but very dirty. Seems like they got it and didn't even opened the case or gig bag to look at condition before selling it. Screw them.Never ever buy anything from them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 17 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said: The fact that cleaning was done with no complaint made gives the store no incentive to up their game, ie acceptable to ship grime. Get a grip your good self. Returning an otherwise fine instrument because its dirty is a total overreaction, and I advocated for making a complaint. I can't grip this concept any tighter! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackroadkill Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 Years ago I worked in a music shop and really wanted a Fernandes Ravelle baritone, of which there were none in the country. The rep for the distributors (a grand chap who couldn't do enough to help, by the way) said that he'd see what he could do and a few days later rang me to tell me that he'd found one in a shop that he dealt with and they'd send it to me. Great, I thought, and sent him the money for it. Two days later a courier arrives holding an unpadded gig bag which contained most of a Revelle baritone, minus things like the nice padded gig bag it was supposed to have, the pickups it had been born with (these had been replaced with no-name cheapies and the pre-amp bypassed), one string and a few chunks of paint. To make up for these shortfalls there was a thick layer of dust, a covering of fingerprints and the smell of KFC. I've seen things recovered from shipwrecks that looked in better nick. It went back, to the mortification of both the rep and myself, and I've still never owned one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 I think a complaint followed by an apology and a complimentary set of strings from the store would suffice. As long as the bass is now as the buyer wants it to be, I don’t think any further action was necessary. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 Sadly this has become all too common here in the UK: generally speaking customer service has completely nosedived no matter what you're purchasing. Guitars are no different. I could go on a rant but shall refrain. Shocking. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 (edited) I’ve had many poor “ new” condition products from PMT over the years and vowed to stop using them however I did visit a store and buy my Jazz bass from them. If you see how a typical store is being run it’s no surprise goods cone out not as they should. Part of this is the online returns world we live in and the other is lack of investment in decent paid staff who are trained in customer service etc. Clearly that grubby bass was never inspected before sending out ? Shame on you PMT Edited July 18, 2023 by BassAdder60 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 Perfect example of the difference between a company that cares about their clients and their reputation and one that doesn't. If you choose to make a complaint I would link that to this thread advising you will make good on your complaint based on their response. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 11 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said: I agree, I had a bass from Bass Direct that wasn't as described condition wise, I should have just lobbed it back, but after challenging them I unwisely accepted a small bit of dosh back instead. I the event I was never happy with it and flogged it subsequently at a loss. If you're unhappy with it let them have it back, there's lots of other instruments out there. I had a bass that was similarly not as described. After an hour I decided I couldn’t live with it, emailed and had a refund processed very quickly. The bass was picked up the next day and it all went smoothly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 Just now, Burns-bass said: I had a bass that was similarly not as described. After an hour I decided I couldn’t live with it, emailed and had a refund processed very quickly. The bass was picked up the next day and it all went smoothly. This is bass direct I should say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassatnight Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 Thanks guys, the bass itself plays beautifully and now cleaned looks super. A complaint has gone in, I am not expecting anything but an apology and perhaps a lesson learned will suffice. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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