BUYER BEWARE: Classified Ad for Ibanez RG320FM

[ankursamtaney]

http://www.soft.com.sg/classified/guitars/p23790-ibanez-rg320fm.html

BUYER BEWARE:

Went all the way from Tiong Bahru to Tampines to check out and potentially buy this guitar (for a friend who lives abroad and wanted a good 2nd hand guitar) after the seller explicitly confirmed "No Dings. Perfect Condition" via SMS. Note that theres a BAD, TERRIBLE ding / crack near the jack, which seemed like the guitar either slipped from the strap or was dropped and fell on that spot. To that, the bugger conveniently said "Oh, I never saw that".. and later said "But that's not a ding.. its only a scratch". It's paint chipped (to a point where its not even yellow. You can see the white from under it!) and binding / top cracked massively (you can see cracks) on a spot as big as 2 inches.

Secondly - by no means is the condition "Excellent". The bridge is quite rusty (not mildly oxidized, but rusty).

Honestly, the guitar worked fine and is usable.. but the advertisement is highly misleading.

I wish I had taken a pic to post, but unfortunately I hadn't. If you're interested in the guitar, my advice to you is to ask him to post detailed, hi-res pics of the pickups, bridge and the jack area.

What I found most appalling is that he opened the door, let me out and walked off inside. I was obviously mighty pissed off so didn't bother saying bye, but deserved a sincere apology for him having done this knowingly and on purpose. The nerve! Wasted 2 hours of my precious time and 25 bucks on cab rides!

 

[Santana]

Did you scold him upside down on the spot?

 

[subversion]

thanks for sharing

 

[ankursamtaney]

Did you scold him upside down on the spot?

Didn't scold him at all. Rather, didnt have the balls to, although I really wanted to give him a piece of my mind! Coz he was at home, with his folks. They were many of them vs 1 of me; me being 6'4" wouldn't help!

But the audacity of the fella! -- he gave me this look: and said "OK", when I said "Don't think I can take this man. You should have told me about this when I asked you if it was in perfect condition!"

thanks for sharing

Thought it was my duty to, after all that I've gained from the site (and its classified section )

 

[subversion]

you stood up to his fabrication, to put it mildly, + expose him here. i think many of us appreciate that.

 

[17wil]

It really comes down to HONESTY.

 

[RayKnight]

Maybe can request for a more detailed picture from him next time. Don't worry, a lesson learnt. It reminds me of the time I was duped into going to a career fair and it turned out to be some MLM thing...ewww...

 

[Santana]

You need to leave him with a negative feedback so other potential buyers will know what kind of an asshole they are dealing with.

 

[ankursamtaney]

You need to leave him with a negative feedback so other potential buyers will know what kind of an asshole they are dealing with.

Err.. As angry as I was, I wouldn't go to the extent of calling him that. Trying my best to keep this just about the issue without making it personal.

He called and clarified that he wasn't happy about how things unfolded yesterday, and that he was willing to lower the price a lot more if need be. I do appreciate that, but as I said, it was meant to be for a friend whom I convinced based on the advertisement that it's an awesome guitar in "Excellent" condition; I couldn't possibly go back to him and tell him it's not in excellent condition, but was cheaper instead.

As I said, from the little I played around on it, it seemed like a fine guitar (obviously not aesthetically, but functionally). May make a good deal for someone who doesn't care about dings but is just after good functionality; a decent guitar with a floating trem, at a good price.

To the seller -- as discussed before you hung up abruptly, the only reason I posted this here was because I felt the advertisement was misleading. I mean no personal harm. There's a reason why there are multiple options in the Condition field. "Excellent" is for guitars that are in mint or near-mint condition. Believe me, I have bought guitars on soft that you won't believe are second-hand; they're THAT shiny and new-looking. Many sellers put up pics of dings and state condition as "good" or "fair" or mention that there are dings, or "not for fussy buyers" etc. Perhaps you didn't know, but that's OK. No big deal.

Again -- for the sake of fairness, am reiterating that the guitar wasn't bad. I've seen horribly worn out Strats and Les Pauls that work just fine, and this likewise, was perfectly fine for someone who wants a good working guitar. Just wasn't what I was expecting it to be based on the ad or the discussions via sms.

 

[subversion]

Err.. As angry as I was, I wouldn't go to the extent of calling him that. Trying my best to keep this just about the issue without making it personal.

thumbs up to this my friend.
too many of us don't think/ feel this way, most of the time, it's always about getting back at the person.

 

[fgl]

It just goes to show honesty is the best policy. I have kena a few times when buying from softies & have on occassion rejected or asked for reduction of price as the itm was not as "advertised"

On my part - always advertised the truths & no issues with anyone who has bought from me ... ever