NGD but issues

[Carbuff]

So, O bought an epiphone g400 sg off ebay described as being near mint with no issues at all and an upgraded bridge pickup. It looked great in the auction pics. The guitar arrived today. Its in great shape but...... it has cracks and some chipped lacquer around the neck joint. On the top where the fretboard meets the body there are bits of missing paint and one big flake that is lifted and could easily be picked off with a finger nail. There are 2 cracks in the lacquer on the back side of the body from the neck joint downward around the strap button. The one actually starts inside the horn cutout and goes around the neck joint and down the back. The other which is actually worse starts ant the joint and goes down the back and gets jagged. To me it looks as though the guitar either fell at one point or it happened in shipping. It was in the original epi case, single boxed, ups. The one crack on the back looks like it curves around the strap pin. Its like the screw from the strap pin held the guitar together when it got hit or whatever. Ive taken pics and done a horrible photoshop job to outline the cracks. The one on the back wouldnt show up at all but if held in the right light has that jagged flaking look to it and runs about 3 inches down the back. Also, the picks make everything look flat like they are minor stress cracks but aside from the one inside the horn there is liftage of the lacquer. I paid 250 shipped for it because it was supposed to be mint, had the case and the upgraded pickup. A return is gonna cost me money but I dont know if its worth a price adjustment if there is structural damage. I know these are infamous for letting go at that spot. Well, on to the pics. Remember it looks worse in person than in the pics and th one doesnt even show at all but I outlined where it goes. What would you do?

[sully]

Return it.

[Carbuff]

That was my initial thought as well. I just wanted to make sure I wasnt over reacting. I know youre pretty much an expert on this stuff. Thanks. Oh, and I hate ebay

[toejam]

Yeah, return it for a refund.

[rdamaral]

+1

[DalyTek]

Agreed. I wouldn't accept that. That's not "near mint" at all.

[Carbuff]

To be totally honest he didnt use the words near mint. Im paraphrasing. It was described as having a beautiful finish with no marks, checks, repairs. He did not specifically say no cracks but either way its undisclosed damage of a major sort. Id be happy with a couple of chips or dents. This seems structural to me. But in all honesty I think it happened during shipping, I cant see anything in the auction pics and they were not bad.

[tomanyjacksons]

There's just no pleasing some people, just kidding. I agree return it.

[straycat]

Those have a poly finish that is hard as a rock so that guitar took a hard hit.I would return it pronto.

[Carbuff]

Ive contacted the seller and sent him the pics. Ive also filed with paypal to move the process along. Just waiting to hear back from him. Im sure hes bummed too.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

That sucks. The '61 SG reissue (and the old '62 reissues from when I was a kid, and the actual, originals) neck joint is prone to those exact cracks, all of the stress goes right to the joint, and it's so short... The Standard-style joint is better but not as ergonomic.

Good luck with your refund and your guitar hunt, dude!

[sixx_ gunner]

That sucks! Hope it all goes smoothly in the return process.

[veemagic]

Hopefully the seller will respond the right way and be a stand up guy. Too many of these situations end poorly with "thats your problem" kind of attitude. Im keeping my fingers crossed for you! Good luck.

[Flatpicker]

Looks like it took a shot in shipping.

Return it and have him file a claim with the carrier.

[MetalMedal II]

It was in the original epi case, single boxed, ups.

Man, that blows. I wouldn't be happy buying that...and if it happened in shipping, which I agree likely occurred, I wouldn't be happy as a seller either. Which brings me to my question: When you say single boxed, do you mean there was no padding between the box and the epi case? Or was there some kind of padding between the 2? Because if it was the former, that's just asking for trouble in my book, and the seller should have known better.