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My apologies, I only posted this because he's now harassing and threatening me. I put a modified {by the previous owner, added D-Tuna, upgraded pickups, trem stop} slime green USA Charvel up for sale a few weeks ago for $799.00 shipped. I bought it for my son. He did not like the color. Within a day or two I put it up for sale. I did not dis-assemble the guitar before selling it. It looked, played, sounded great as it was. I described it honestly, and as it appeared to me. Jim {VECTOR} contacted me and said "Hey Bro, I definitely want the Charvel." I replied "Hi Jim, I'd prefer a deposit but I'll hold it for you as long as I don't have to chase you around." He replied in part "No need to chase me around, I want the guitar." I then proceeded to accommodate Jim so he could buy the guitar, holding it for him 2 days on his word. Six hours later I get a PM from Jim... "What model/year is that Charvel? What's the condition? Any dings, scratches or other boo-boo's? How's the fret wear? Are you the original owner?." My response was "Are you still intending to buy the guitar? I have no problem answering any questions at any time during the process, but I'm getting the feeling your backing out. Is that the case? Let me know." He replied "No. Still want the guitar. Just trying to get a handle on the item, it's condition, previous ownership etc. In short, being an informed consumer." to which I said "The reason I asked is that you committed to buying...THEN asked questions. I normally do the reverse. Just thought you might be having second thoughts or a change in finances. No problem, let me know when your ready." Jim's reply was "Guilty as charged- I'm a Madison Ave. marketing firms wet dream- I tend to "buy on sight" and not use my head." He paid me a $50.00 deposit on the 3rd day, and the balance due on the 4th day. I sent the guitar right out. Upon receipt, he had several complaints. "First, I didn't get a trem arm with the Charvel. Second- there has been some extensive modding done to the trem cavity, i.e. the guitar has 6 seperate holes drilled in it near the edge next to/in front of the trem block. Someone installed a trem stop {if you want to call it that- it's actually part of an angle bracket that some one sheared off to fit and then drilled/ screwed it in with some household screws. No telling how deep these screws go or what kind of impact that could have on the wood's structural integrity. It certainly doesn't help the value in the event of wanting to trade it. Lastly, whoever installed the DiMarzio apparently used a non-reg length screw as it protruded thru the cavity by an 1/8th of an inch and I damn near tore my hand up trying to check one of the trem springs. I gotta be honest with you, while the guitar sounds fine and plays okay, other than the rattling of the EVH Dtune whenever the trem is used {I had to take a bar off one of my other OFR equipped axes} it's not really what I thought I was buying. I'm a huge stickler for full disclosure on used guitars. I don't think their was any intentional hiding of pertinent details, as you have to be looking for the issues I discovered, it really was not adequately described either. I'd really appreciate a refund upon return." I replied... "Jim, the tremelo arm & wrench is in a USPS Priority mail envelope in the box. I never ship with that stuff in the case. Regarding the other issues... I had no idea...never looked at things that closely. I purchased the guitar for my son, send it back for a refund {minus shipping}, no problem at all. My apologies...Doug." I then followed up with an offer of a $75.00 partial refund which he declined. I then I noticed Jim posting on the forum about the guitar. This is AFTER he rejected buying it. "the sound/tone I got out of that SanDimas 2H was just pure wet dream awesome. The stock bridge pup had been replaced by a Dimarzio of unknown variety. (will check tonight before I return it) Me like." My immediate thoughts were...At this point you've rejected buying it, you've rejected a $75.00 refund offer, and in my opinion you were amateurish right out of the gate on this deal, so what right do you now have to remove the strings and remove the pickup to view underneath to benefit your own agenda? The guitar had a great set-up and I didn't want him removing the strings and pickup so he could look see what model pickup was in it. I told him he had no right to dis-assemble the guitar after he rejected purchasing it. His reply to my concerns was, get this... "As long as I did no damage or modified the guitar in any way (which I didn't) I am entitled to look at the pup. I was curious and there is no law or rule, written or otherwise, that precludes me from looking at the pup." then followed with "I apologize for removing the strings (and then putting them back on just as they were) and looking at the pick up. I assure you that no damage was done to the guitar." Also in his post he mentions "On the down side, the trem obviously has no rout & was set to dive only. Even if the trem was able to pull a little sharp (some retard had installed, rather badly, an aluminum angle bracket, sheared off to fit in the cavity, as a trem stop) it's not enough float for this Floyd junky. The other unfortunate (but not deal killing) characteristic was the 22 frets. Again, no surprise there- I knew before buying that the promod has 22. But I missed having those additional 2 frets on the SD. Love my 24 fret CS Star ( 95% of all my axes have 24) So, I've been toying with placing another cs order and maybe I need to go with a variation on the San Dimas promod- thinking San Dimas alder body, 24 jumbos on a maple quartersawn (possibly neck thru? CS will not do this at the moment), 2H config w/ Dimarzio in bridge, 59 in the neck, routed OFR, and some snazzy graphic finish, possibly snakeskin or bengal." Sounds reasonable don'tcha think? Return a used promod and in lieu of, order a CS San Dimas? & "Sadly, the clown that put the block in, also misdrilled about 6 or 7 times (or redrilled for a different positioning 3 times over- hard to tell) and the bottom of the cavity where the block attaches looks like swiss cheese. Then there's the missing 2 frets- Nah, I'm returning it - got a custom order I've just put in with Matt for an SD 1-2H with 24 frets, routed OFR, the Dimarzio/Seymour pups and a snazzy custom paint job..." Sounds to me like he regretted buying a guitar that he already knew didn't fit his type. Or he needs the cash back. He's talking all this sh*@ while my guitar is still in his possession. So, I get the guitar back today {packed sloppily, full of dried sweaty handprints and fingerprints} and as a direct result of him removing all the strings, then stringing it up poorly, the set-up is gone...it needs to be set up again. I deducted $50.00 for this, and he's throwing a hissy fit. Here's a few of the things he's said..."given your neglecting to take the time to inspect the guitar beyond a cursory topical observation at the cleanliness of it, I would have to question your judgment & findings in such a case. My brother-in-law, a lawyer and one-time district attorney agrees." & "Hope that defense holds up well in court, Doug. It'll be interesting to see how the membership on the JCF feel about this as well." & "Can't WAIT to hear how a magistrate or judge reacts to that one." & "I will NOT hesitate to recount this transaction in detail on the JCF and let the other members see what a petty and slimy person you are acting like." & "You have until midnight tonight to refund or I commence proceedings to recover my 50 bucks and to expose you as a lousy seller to avoid on JCF." & "Please, don't make me get ugly about this." And the best one of all, when I told him the guitar arrived filthy with his hand/fingerprints, his reply was... "FYI- I have a workshop in the basement that is climate controlled for temp & humidity and the likelihood of me sweating during that inspection is ZERO! Moreover, my skin type is decidedly non- greasy, leaning towards the dry side so the possibility of those being MY prints are slim-to-none." Who can argue with that logic, eh? Jim is so perfect, he doesn't even sweat AND he's "non-greasy"! To sum up, I have bought, sold, and traded guitars for 35 years. I have nearly 2,000 pos. ebay feedbacks {dan-electro}. I have a stellar reputation for buying, selling, & trading guitars. I am considered a world authority on Danelectro's and wrote two books on the subject. I do not need to steal $50.00 by being dishonest. My reputation is important to me. Despite the fact I thought Jim at a minimum, shared equal responsibility over these "undisclosed" issues, I immediately offered two remedies... Both to his benefit. A full refund {minus shipping}, or a partial $75.00 refund. On the other hand, I am not going to be sh#& on by Jim. So, he got a full refund minus shipping and minus $50.00 for my time/trouble to re-set this guitar up. Sure, I certainly could have dis-assembled the entire instrument and gave a more accurate description, but I didn't. Neither did I defraud him. He could have asked anything prior to buying it. I answered EVERY question he asked, I accomodated the hell out of him, that's it. Jim needs to take responsibility for himself. Clearly he buys first, and asks questions later. That's kids stuff, he's a grown man and I'm no babysitter for grown men who buy then ask questions after the fact. I was truthful and honorable in my dealings with Jim. BOTTOM LINE: Based on his removing the strings to see what pickup was in it AFTER he declined purchase, the guitar now needs a set-up. Simple... I'm keeping $50.00 for that. I've included a couple of photos of the cavity and the guitar...
) and I've heard a laundry list of superfluous reasons why he feels he is justified in withholding 50 bucks of my refund. Man up and refund the rest, Mr. Graphic.
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