Worst Guitar Sale (or Purchase) of your life

SonicBlue said:
I know I mentioned a Gibson above but a close second was a Yamaha SG-1802 Gold Top received with a broken headstock - From a seller who already broke it before selling.

Foreign seller in Asia had photos of everything but the back of headstock where it meets neck, I didn't notice that pre-purchase.
It arrives international after about 3 months of delays and excuses with a broken headstock. Close inspection reveals the packaging was intact and unopened and there were missing pieces of wood from the neck that weren't in the case, proving it was broken before shipment.

Bought on Reverb, but did paypal instead (mistake) so Reverb was less than helpful and paypal was not helpful because it was past the window due to seller delaying shipment then sending it on a slow boat method.

To make a long story short, I fought with the seller for 26 pages of back and forth and finally just shipped it back to him expedited Fedex w/signature required at my cost of $400. Sent proof I sent it to him and that he signed for it in Malaysia and since he had received it back, Reverb finally refunded me, minus my $400 spend to return it, but said they would never do this again because I shipped it back without getting all parties to agree.

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I had a Yamaha I shared here last year with the same head stock issue. That's the only similarity. It came from a US seller on Reverb and the break was much more nasty. Reverb came though with enough refund to keep the guitar and fix it. Its got fixed thank to recommendation from this Trusted Forum.

So sad at the start and it worked out somehow. That's my worst purchase so far. I think I got lucky 'cos I didn't have a shady seller.

I'm so sorry this gorgeous Gold Yamaha didn't make it. That's a very sad story to me 😟
 
archtop said:
I tried to help a friend who bought an ES-350 on Reverb from a seller in Malaysia (against my pleas for him not to buy an archtop from overseas). The guitar arrived completely over-sprayed with orange peel over the entire instrument. He also used PayPal and the seller seemed well aware that all they had to do was stall until PayPal's window to file and settle the claim had closed. PayPal was completely aware of seller's stalling tactics and just said "go hire a lawyer and sue us (PayPal)" if you want to re-open the claim. PayPal sucks.

At least there's a chance Reverb will be helpful, but Reverb's staff are far less knowledgeable of musical instruments since the sale to Etsy. I had a purchase a couple years ago that had some damage that wasn't disclosed, the Etsy/Reverb agent said I had to pay return shipping as it was a "preference based return" as it was my "preference" to have a guitar without cracks and gouges and the seller claimed that despite the undisclosed damage the "guitar played fine" so I had a functional guitar.
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My Singlecut Satin I got said not played much, took it to get checked and setup told it must have been played a lot as it needed re crowning of the frets and that was a shop sale via Internet.
 
SonicBlue said:
Gibson. Lots of Gibsons.

The worst of which was a 2018 Brazilian board Custom Shop R9. Many problems, totally unacceptable for an instrument over $1500, let alone the $10k it was in 2018 money. That was the beginning of the end of Gibson for me, have moved onto better alternatives from companies who treat their customers and "the little guy" guitar builders much better.
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I’d be interested in reading specifics about your problems with the Custom Shop. I’ve bought quite a few beginning in 2013 forward from the M2M program (including BRW fretboards), and have been very pleased and satisfied with the process and results.
 
aphantomvaper said:
I had a Yamaha I shared here last year with the same head stock issue. That's the only similarity. It came from a US seller on Reverb and the break was much more nasty. Reverb came though with enough refund to keep the guitar and fix it. Its got fixed thank to recommendation from this Trusted Forum.

So sad at the start and it worked out somehow. That's my worst purchase so far. I think I got lucky 'cos I didn't have a shady seller.

I'm so sorry this gorgeous Gold Yamaha didn't make it. That's a very sad story to me 😟
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I like the SG series of Yamahas. But mine had a couple of high frets. Needed the fret ends dressing and the G string still isn't ideal tuning wise after a few large bends. I'd never gig it. But the sound and playability are very good. It's a pity they couldn't have designed a straight string path to the tuners it would make it almost ideal apart from the neck moves over time more than I'd expect considering the process they put the wood through. I think the Gibson custom shop R9 would be a great guitar but the neck weakness near the headstock would worry me and the variable build quality. For that money the guitar should be as good as it gets. I still would love a brand new slight updated SG2000 though and a Nick Huber Orche- I've never played one but so desire one. The other would be a PRS core Santana they look beautiful and it's irrational but i keep craving one even though I dislike trems.
And the Joe Walsh signature.
 
11top said:
I’d be interested in reading specifics about your problems with the Custom Shop. I’ve bought quite a few beginning in 2013 forward from the M2M program (including BRW fretboards), and have been very pleased and satisfied with the process and results.
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From Memory:
2018 Brazilian R9 VOS Custom Shop
Headstock was bending forward so a straight edge across it would have a good bit of daylight in the middle. Not a good thing on this type of guitar that breaks necks very easily.
The ultra critical area where neck breaks happen behind nut was thinner than I believe it should have been.
The factory dented the back of the neck and repaired, refinished over it to hide it but it was very obvious. and was obviously finished over the top, not dented in shipment or by dealer or me.
Red aniline dye on back of neck and body was very inconsistent and splotchy
Same Red aniline dye is randomly on the fingerboard binding
Poor details around neck joint.
Bridge mounted wonky and one of the thumb height adjusters was so loose it was unstable and wobbled, the other was so tight it felt stripped/marred internally.
Had an annoying ping/resonant noise going on in hardware somewhere in body, never did figure that out.
Nut poorly cut and mounted horribly
Fret work was not great
The rolled edges of the fingerboard were very inconsistent and poorly done. It was not a Murphy, it was VOS.
I'm pretty sure they dyed the Brazilian fingerboard black (if it was even real)
Hardened buffing compound caked into cracks and crevices throughout.
Did not stay in tune compared to my Fenders and PRS's.

Am I nitpicking? Absolutely. It was a $10,000 guitar in 2018 that would be at least $15k today.
Contrast that with PRS, Yamaha, Huber, even Fender build quality at a fraction of that price and and I don't see how anyone can defend their routine quality problems. You shouldn't have to try hundreds or even dozens of guitars to find one that is acceptable.

I bought it not long before the "play authentic" attack on their customers, small guitar builders and even the TV & movie industry... something they all but deny happened now. And they launched their ridiculous lawsuit on Dean and others around this time. This is a company that even made a Stratocaster copy at one point and to this day, gives zero credit to OW Appleton, who they copied the Les Paul from.

PRS has spoiled me, to the point that guitars that suck are no longer acceptable to me.
 
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PXR5 said:
I doubt Santana could just pick a random Les Paul from thier stock and gig it without his guitar tech having to work on it first.
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A musician can walk into any guitar shop on earth, grab a PRS off the rack and walk straight into a show with confidence.

What does that mean for me, you ask? It means I can strut down my stairs into Madison Square Basement, pull any PRS out of my rack and play my pentatonic-noodling heart out making Carlos Santana faces all night long, knowing my guitar will never be the weak link.
 
SonicBlue said:
A musician can walk into any guitar shop on earth, grab a PRS off the rack and walk straight into a show with confidence.

What does that mean for me, you ask? It means I can strut down my stairs into Madison Square Basement, pull any PRS out of my rack and play my pentatonic-noodling heart out making Carlos Santana faces all night long, knowing my guitar will never be the weak link.
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In a video I saw Carlos said with PRS guitars you have a tool so good it leaves no room for excuses. I bet I can get my Singlecut out right now and not even need to tune it.
 
Back in 2014 I made the horrible mistake of selling my 2002 McCarty that I custom ordered new in platinum metallic with natural binding. I hadn't played it in a while and I really wanted to upgrade a bunch of my studio gear. I have had horrible regret over it ever since. I have tried to find one for sale but closest I came is the 2005 standard 22 I found. But no natural binding, not the thickness of a McCarty, and no McCarty pickups. Tried to get them to refinish a 2001 McCarty I picked up, but they wouldn't do it because it's not a current color they offer. They would only do it if that was the original color.
 
pwrmac7600 said:
Back in 2014 I made the horrible mistake of selling my 2002 McCarty that I custom ordered new in platinum metallic with natural binding. I hadn't played it in a while and I really wanted to upgrade a bunch of my studio gear. I have had horrible regret over it ever since. I have tried to find one for sale but closest I came is the 2005 standard 22 I found. But no natural binding, not the thickness of a McCarty, and no McCarty pickups. Tried to get them to refinish a 2001 McCarty I picked up, but they wouldn't do it because it's not a current color they offer. They would only do it if that was the original color.
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https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/msg/d/new-york-2004-prs-mccarty-in-rare/7838680715.html
 
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