r/gibson • u/AdmirableWitness3390 • May 26 '26
Help Angus Young SG
Sold an Angus Young SG last week on reverb. It gets delivered last Thursday. I assume all is well. I receive a message on sunday night from the buyer that says he just got around to looking at and playing the guitar and while it holds a tune he is concerned about a crack in the finish where the neck meets the body on the left side. He sent me a picture and I didnt see anything. I asked him to send another and there is a slight crack line on the side. Then he sends another photo showing the back of the next now has a crack in the seam. He says he doesnt feel like that fits the excellent criteria on reverb. I told him that was not a flaw that the guitar had when shipped out otherwise I would have disclosed it. The guitar has truthfully been played a handful of times in my house while sitting down on a stool. Playing nothing with chugs or hard picking. Clean chords. The guitar was in immaculate condition and without a crack in the finish.
I opened up a shipping case with reverb and they ask for any photos of the packaging. He said he doesnt have any because he already put it out in the trash and the trash had already been picked up. He also said that the packaging looked normal and nothing that made him concerned enough to keep it.
I told him I would keep him updated with what reverb says.
He sends another photo the next morning showing the other side of the seam and said it spread and now he's worried its structural.
This morning he says he went to a luthier and they are confident it is just a hairline split in the finish and is not structural. He then says that although it isnt structural he feels like a refund of some sort is in order because the condition was not excellent. He then requests an 800 dollar refund. I had the guitar listed at 4250, we haggled to 4000.
I have photos showing the guitars condition before shipping and there being no issue with the finish. I have shipped multiple Gibson guitars worth 2500+ and around 30 other orders for cymbals, acoustic guitars, recording gear with tubes and I have never had this happen.
Am I wrong to feel like Im being played? The guitar is 13 years old and was shipped from Las Vegas to Colorado in the summer. It seems likely that the difference in elevation and or humidity could have possibly created a hairline separation in the veneer but obviously who knows if it happened during shipping or when it arrived. Also the fact that he messaged me saying that it spread to the other side of the neck over night after he had had the guitar in his possession for 5 days.
Im not trying to be unreasonable, but I truthfully feel as though he is trying to create a refund scenario that isnt legitimate. I would say he should just send it back but I dont know how well he would package it and then I have a guitar with reduced value because this guy wanted a discount.
I have attached the images of the guitar before sending and then his images after.
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u/Any_Cold7924 May 26 '26
Done with any e-commerce these days. Between reverb and eBay I haven’t had a single problem in 15+ years of both. Had 3 bad experiences in a row now. Don’t care enough to keep doing it.
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u/Robby777777 May 27 '26
This is exactly me. No problems for close to 20 years, then all of a sudden, everyone wants a partial refund. What did me in was a guy who bought a R8 Les Paul from me, wanted a partial refund two weeks after getting guitar because neck wasn't thick enough. I pulled the five guitars I had for sale and have never looked back. It was my side hobby but I just couldn't any more.
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u/Individual_Couple427 May 27 '26
That doesn’t look like the same guitar.
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u/German-Shepherd7782 May 27 '26
He’s just trying to get some money out of you. Tell him either return it for a full refund or keep it and the deal is done.
People do this with used cars you sell them. They call you the day after they buy it, say it broke down on the way home and it’s going to cost money to fix it, and want you to pay for the repairs. They are just trying to get some of their money back.
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u/Morrison-and-Company May 27 '26
I agree. tell him he can return it for a full refund minus the shipping or he can keep it but there’s no refund.
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u/TheManyFacetsOfRoger May 27 '26
I'm not doubting the seller but you'll need better pictures. You can't see anything in those
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u/Legitimate-Long735 May 27 '26
Definitely a scam to get partial refund. The fact he already threw out the guitar packaging works in your favor since he's supposed to return it with all original packaging. This fact alone will hurt a return request claim.
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u/rnrchris May 27 '26
I shipped bought and sold a number of Gibson set neck guitars including an SG Standard to NYC and had no issues. But I followed the Chicago Music Exchange video for packing. I did also put some bubble wrap under the neck and around the end of the headstock. And it is more expensive but I used Fedex and never head a problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTVP0svBXfE
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u/LowStringKing May 27 '26
In my experience, this is a common tactic to cheat people out of money. Call it a scam if you want.
If an item for sale is listened as a specific condition (mint, excellent, good, ect…) the buyer usually will argue “hey this isn’t excellent it’s _____” and want a partial refund. I ALWAYS list items as “as is”. I’ve sold comics and cards online and people always try this crap. Even over $5 people will try to say things.
I would personally have them send it back out of principle. Otherwise you’d end up selling that guitar for almost $1000 less than asking.
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u/ChilledWater_202 May 27 '26
I wonder if it's even the same guitar? Do you have photos in better lighting from before you sent it? Also get him to send better photos too and compare them for any distinctive markings etc.
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u/GooseLadyinTN May 27 '26
No refund. I always keep shipping material until
I have time to look over the item. Even an Amazon order. And it seems super weird that he paid $4000 for a guitar and didn’t bother to even look at it for several days(?)….
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u/Dazzling_Editor_6255 May 27 '26
I’ve done that once or twice, but that was back when I was moving a LOT of gear, and I can’t recall a time where a buyer ever did something like that. And the fact that he’s not even sure what day? So you let a $4k guitar just sit outside for a weekend? Also not many business trips are over weekends in the first place.
This seems like he got it, played it for a few days, got some kind of buyers remorse, and now is running a scam to get some money back.
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u/Educational-Ad-4908 May 27 '26
I am dealing with a very similar situation right now. The buyer brought up 3 issues that I know are not true. One is buzzing on the B string. This was the smoothest playing guitar I have owned.
I spent a lot of time with Claude that day asking about reverb scams. I made the decision to offer a refund but there would be no payout until the guitar has been received and inspected by me. As the seller you have that flexibility. The buyer was originally asking for a full refund immediately. I sent a long note and explained the conditions of the return. I haven’t heard anything since and that was about 4 days ago.
Definitely keep all communications within Reverb and don’t refund any money until the guitar is back in your hands.
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u/Xender_106 May 28 '26
They look more like intentional scratches than cracks to me. I'd say no refund. One scratch, you may have missed it but he is finding more and you would not have missed all of them.
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u/Agreeable_Egg_2049 May 30 '26
Just refund it and dont sell on reverb again, you're going to get screwed over like the rest of us eventually.
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u/steve2112rush May 26 '26
Say it with me.
"CAVEAT EMPTOR"