Why I won't be buying from Eastwood/myrareguitars again...

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 12:46 pm

Hurb wrote:
robroe wrote:this thread makes me sad.

i love you dude. i really do.

but.

if i got some 29 dollar pickups in the mail and they didn't have 4 screws with them, i would have shrugged my shoulders, got off my couch and walked to the hardware store, go to isle 3 and pay .29 cents for 4 screws.

this whole thing is hilarious. you are arguing over 4 fucking screws. this is not man land at all.
this is some pussy shit some lady would bring back a pair of shoes to me at work because her shoelace ripped instead of going to the dollar store and buying a pair of new ones.

i got to call you out on this. sorry.

as far as the pickups go. fuckin drop them in, and if you don't like the way they sound, take another 3 minutes out of your day and switch em around. who gives a shit if one doesn't have a B marked on it and the other a N

if there is one thing that i have taken away from this group of friends of 10 years its about doing shit for yourself after being shorted on ebay. its happened to me, its happened to EVERONE ON HERE. if all you got fucked over was 4 screws consider yourself very lucky, cut your losses at 40 cents and a trip to the store, and wire that shit up.
Balls, the product was incomplete doesn't matter if it was cheap screws, mounting plates or whatever. if you buy something that is supposed to come with A, B OR C it should arrive complete. the value of what's missing is rather unimportant.
This happened with a shower I bought from ebay, it was missing two little plastic covers (cheap plastic covers) so now my 300 quid shower I got for a song was worthless because it was incomplete. The fact that the guy was a dick just emphasises that people shouldn't do business with him.

in the end i wouldn't buy shit from this guy either, just like i won't buy anything on here from anyone with a bad rep, or no rep for that matter.

as for the 300 dollar shower... comparing a 300 dollar shower missing parts and 29 dollar pickups missing parts is like comparing an apple to an orange. 29 dollars is bar/pub money. its piss money for screws to be missing. 300 dollars is an entire paycheck for some people, and im sure the 2 little plastic covers for your shower aren't as easy to find as taking one of the pickups to your hardware store and seeing which screw fits in the hole. if going to the store and finding out if peg A fits in hole B is too much work for someone to be bothered with then OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK, GET THE BUTLER OR YOUR PERSONAL SERVANT TO DO IT FOR YOU SINCE YOU CANT BE BOTHERED.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 12:49 pm

Yup - myrareguitars is Eastwood.

EDIT: Rob, as I've pointed out once above already, the issue was his piss-poor customer service and attitude to his own product. But maybe bung me $29 since you're clearly so flush?

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:10 pm

im not giving you 29 bucks. you got your 29 dollar product. ill send you 40 cents worth of screws though.

hell all this could have been avoided if you just posted a couple days ago. "i got these new pickups but they are missing screws anyone got any extra?"

i got tons of screws in my guitar box. i have saved every part from every guitar that i have ever torn apart, or bought parts for.

there are lots of people on here that have parts laying all over the place.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:17 pm

robroe wrote:there are lots of people on here that have parts laying all over the place.

Yeah, I should tidy them up really, place looks a mess. But I do need some scratchplate screws for my 60's Burns Double Six.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:13 pm

robroe wrote:hell all this could have been avoided if you just posted a couple days ago. "i got these new pickups but they are missing screws anyone got any extra?"

Avoid what, precisely? My full refund? The outing of a shady seller with a low opinion of his product? What if I'd paid the $59 BIN that was on them originally? Would it be different then? And why should shortscale's parts buckets run empty when that knob had sold me some in the first place? Also, and importantly: you've homed in on a point I've repeatedly told you isn't the crux of the argument. Once again...

benecol wrote:No, you're deliberately misunderstanding this.

avj · Post by **avj** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 4:39 pm

Jeez -- how about a little solidarity, brothers? I don't think this has anything to do with how easy it is to correct someone else's fuck-ups, no matter how minor they may be perceived.

I think the point here is that benecol is far from an uneducated, unseasoned twerp. If it was indeed [url=http://www.myrareguitars-REMOVE_THIS.com/about.html]Mike R.[/url] (Eastwood's founder) who brokered this deal, he is in charge of an established company and should know better. This wasn't a transaction with xXx_guitarlover69_xXx; presumably, there was some expectation of minimum professionalism that was not met.

As a consumer, I like to hear about both the good dealings and the bad. When I had great dealings with Darren Riley, I fellated him and shouted about it from the highest mountaintop. I mentioned it immediately on shortscale, as good service should be rewarded with recommendation. Conversely, if there's someone out there handling their business affairs like a dickbag, they deserve to be called out on it.

I prefer to give my money to someone who knows how to conduct business like a big boy.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 4:44 pm

Yep, it was Mike Robinson.

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 5:19 pm

That's crap service, can't say I'm surprised.

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 5:40 pm

I bought shoes for my mother from ebay, and they didnt show up..and they disappeared somewhere.
:/
I think I didnt even get the refund.
100$
yup.

I think the stupid thing is that the guy, was rude. About those pickups etc.
He could just said.. and chilled.
About those screws.. if he said hell give them, he should, he didnt.. he gave back money.
So I think all looks quite fine.

The deal with those pickup rings was dickish.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:49 pm

Hardware stores are the most depressing side of retail. Going into one of those places for two tiny screws, carrying a pickup around like a boy with his action figures, holding it up to stuff, AGH just fucking kill me.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:54 pm

paul_ wrote:Hardware stores are the most depressing side of retail. Going into one of those places for two tiny screws, carrying a pickup around like a boy with his action figures, holding it up to stuff, AGH just fucking kill me.

I go into hardware stores a lot looking for random bits and every time I ask a question they immediately ask me what I need the parts for and as soon as I say, "guitar stuff." I know they're disappointed in me.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:54 pm

I know, what is the deal with that? I went into home depot once looking for some plastic washers to use for strap lock type things (I could have used the rubber ones from grolsch tops but that would require drinking grolsch), I was perfectly capable of finding the things myself but naturally someone asks if I need help so I describe what I'm looking for, and then she asks what for. I get the feeling they are trained to ask this question as a way to help them sell you different options that might fit your needs. I find it kind of annoying though because usually I know exactly what I want. I'm trying to find a very specific part. I've already thoroughly researched it, and that's all I need. I don't want to get sidetracked into a bunch of other stuff or have to convince you that this is indeed the part that I need. so anyway, I tell her for a guitar, and she laughs and thinks it's hilarious that musicians come into home depot looking for parts. err... what? do you not sell hardware? I needed some hardware so naturally I came here, what difference does it make what I need it for? whatever....

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:26 pm

My tuppence-worth: the guy is on holiday; maybe he's answering emails from his mobile phone so his replies strike you as curt. I know I'd be as brief as possible if I was having to text you and god-knows-how-many-other punters when I'm supposed to be getting away from it all.

When he says "They're both the same", the smart money is on him meaning both pickups have the same output so you can fling them in either way round. If you'd said "Do you mean they're both the same output and can be fitted either way round?" rather than "They are the same, and yet they have different coloured wires, and you marketed them as a matched set?" etc. you'd probably have got a less terse response.

He seems to have been perfectly polite and solicitous until you got ratty with him on your third round of correspondence so, on the strength of your anecdote, I wouldn't be put off dealing with him if he had something I wanted to buy; but there's the rub....

The reason he is so disinterested in the wiring colour scheme and brings up their cheapness is because he knows that they - along with the rest of the Eastwood line - are cheap Chinese crap from a factory where the quality control is a total crapshoot. The same pickups may well come with wires in all the colours of the rainbow, but the output is always going to be (nominally) the same.

I take the point that he failed to supply you with 4 screws, but I really think you provoked the guy into being as rude to you as you were to him and I think it's a shame that there are are now people saying "Oh yeah, terrible customer service, what a douche, I'll never deal with him" who have obviously failed to notice who lost their cool first.

avj · Post by **avj** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:29 pm

Nice try, Mike Robinson.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:32 pm

I didn't lose my cool, I asked for better customer service.

Mike.

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:42 pm

benecol wrote:I didn't lose my cool, I asked for better customer service.

Mike.

Well, i wouldn't expect you to agree, but that's how it looks to a dispassionate observer.

James · Post by **James** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:51 pm

I don't understand anyone saying that benecol put this out of proportion.

He bid and paid for...

A - Two pickups
B - with mounting screws
C- That were advertised as a matched set (which I think with pickups we'd all assume would be two different pickups voiced to match each other and with outputs to suit their position)

He only received two out of three of those things. To say 'well whatever, it's only $29' makes no sense at all. Perhaps if he had just bought A, and assumed B and C that would be a valid response.

Ulricvon - Surely the onus here is on the guy at fault to quickly make amends. It might be relatively low value but he's sold something he's not provided. When he shows that he knew the fault beforehand and neglected to inform the buyer, then has little interest in actively resolving the situation (asking the buyer to sort it out himself) benecol has every right to be stern in his replies.

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:12 am

James wrote:I don't understand anyone saying that benecol put this out of proportion.

He bid and paid for...

A - Two pickups
B - with mounting screws
C- That were advertised as a matched set (which I think with pickups we'd all assume would be two different pickups voiced to match each other and with outputs to suit their position)

He only received two out of three of those things. To say 'well whatever, it's only $29' makes no sense at all. Perhaps if he had just bought A, and assumed B and C that would be a valid response.

Ulricvon - Surely the onus here is on the guy at fault to quickly make amends. It might be relatively low value but he's sold something he's not provided. When he shows that he knew the fault beforehand and neglected to inform the buyer, then has little interest in actively resolving the situation (asking the buyer to sort it out himself) benecol has every right to be stern in his replies.

Yeah, but there's BEING IN THE RIGHT and there's responding pragmatically to the situation you find yourself in.

Of the three points you raise, the seller only failed on B- providing the mounting screws.

In order to make amends, the options are i) for him to send 4 screws across the Atlantic or ii) ask Benecol to find some locally and refund him accordingly (which is exactly what he offered to do, straight off the bat).

Benecol has a legitimate grievance, but if he disagrees with the seller's proposal to rectify it, he should spell out to him exactly how he wants the problem to be rectified.

James · Post by **James** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:23 am

They're not really a matched set when they're just two the same, though, are they? I know it can sound fine and plenty of guitars have it but the seller is quite clearly lying and mis-selling his goods.

Benecol should not have to spend his own time to go and find and purchase 8 screws, and then chase the seller up for a refund. He also, as mentioned, wouldn't know which screws even suit. They might be a relatively small item, but if going out to buy them takes an hour of his time (allowing for travel as well as testing out screws in a hardware store) then should he also charge the seller for that hour?

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:32 am

James wrote:They're not really a matched set when they're just two the same, though, are they? I know it can sound fine and plenty of guitars have it but the seller is quite clearly lying and mis-selling his goods.

or... they could be matched because one is RW/RP so the middle position wont be out of phase. in this case it doesn't matter where you install the pickups, they will work in either location.