1956 ES 125 Ordered from online store - Has repaired sunken top...Input

[BillyHell]

I have been on the hunt for a beat up, but good playing es 125 Gibson for a while. I found an interesting one on the web and spoke to the shop, looked at all the photos and felt good about the deal. When it arrived it was packaged well, played good and sounded amazing (especially through my amp). This is also a guitar for my slide playing 19 year old daughter to play. She loves it.
THE PROBLEM - No one at the store had mention (or shown photos) that the top had sunken. I knew it had some repaired cracks but the pick guard hid a big top face crack. I took it to my luthier that was a former Gibson luthier. He works on ES guitars for big names in Nashville (I almost scored the ES 125 used by the Black Crows guitar player).
He said that at some point in time someone stabilized the sunken top and internally all structures were solid. He said to take it home and play the crap out of it without worry. If any issues arose he said he could fix it no problem.

THE QUESTION - I could send this 56 ES 125 back (for $100). It is full of mojo, sounds amazing, and I like the neck and how it plays. I paid $1,300 plus shipping for this. Would you keep this guitar given the info above? I'm totally 50/50 on the fence. I don't think I could ever sell it but if my daughter is going to keep it then that doesn't matter.

Thoughts?
(Links to photos)
https://imgur.com/uJ0JFUB

[jdgm]

Keep it if you like it that much!  It can only get better for you, and you can always get your guy to fix it.

Certainly looks pretty amazing.  

If you call the shop and point out the obvious fault....they must have known.... could you get some $$ back?

Edited September 7, 2020 by jdgm

[merciful-evans]

The sunken portion is just on the upper bout? 

The old pick guard would have hidden some of that. Personally, I agree with jdgm. It couldn't hurt to contact the seller and say you are undecided at present.

[BillyHell]

This link should show all the photos. You can see the hidden body crack next to the top left F hole. 
https://imgur.com/a/VCqHpUF

[Twang Gang]

Looks like it has had quite a few more than just one crack repaired.  But I see these old 125s advertised for quite a bit more than you paid so as long it plays well and you like the sound I would say keep it.  Fortunately if something serious happens you have a luthier nearby that can handle the repair.  As others suggested I would call the seller and see if they are willing to refund some money since they didn't disclose all the issues, but overall I think you got a fair deal and might as well just enjoy playing it.

[bobouz]

ES-125s are plentiful on the used market.  The lack of disclosure regarding the additional damage is not okay at all in my book.  I'd return it in order to look for another, and ask them to cover the shipping cost since they did not fully disclose the instrument's condition.  A sunken top & notable cracks are structural issues you should have been made aware of. 

I say this having previously owned a '50s ES-125, and currently owning a '66 ES-125T, so I know they can get under your skin in a good way & you might not want to let it go.  In that case, asking for a significant discount would certainly seem reasonable -perhaps $200 or you send it back (which in all probability they really don't want to have happen).  Again personally, I would not want to give the dealer a pass on this, and there are many other ES-125s out there.

Hope it all works out to your satisfaction.  

[BillyHell]

You have hit the nail on the head and I totally agree. I will contact Buckdancers Music Choice today and see what we can work out. 

 

[BillyHell]

Here is what I sent today to Buckdancers Music Choice - 

Are you going to offer a refund for not disclosing in photos, description or on the phone that this guitar had a sunken top, that the bridge was maxed out and the P90 was so low due to the sunken top that the pickup screws were raised to a ridiculous level? Your store is old and established and it looks like you deal in vintage Gibsons so I would expect that you would have noticed all these things. You took my money without disclosing any of this to me and I have to say that it has left me feeling like I'm stuck with an inferior ES 125. I'm willing to have my luthier see if he can make it right but I feel like I threw my money at a problem. I am super frustrated over this. I have $1,400 in what is at best an $800 guitar. I'm about to put $300 more in it in an attempt to make it right. If I had to sell this I would have to disclose the issue with photos and description. If you can cover my $300 luthier bill I will make the best out of a bad situation and move on. 

[Sgt. Pepper]

2 minutes ago, BillyHell said:

Here is what I sent today to Buckdancers Music Choice - 

Are you going to offer a refund for not disclosing in photos, description or on the phone that this guitar had a sunken top, that the bridge was maxed out and the P90 was so low due to the sunken top that the pickup screws were raised to a ridiculous level? Your store is old and established and it looks like you deal in vintage Gibsons so I would expect that you would have noticed all these things. You took my money without disclosing any of this to me and I have to say that it has left me feeling like I'm stuck with an inferior ES 125. I'm willing to have my luthier see if he can make it right but I feel like I threw my money at a problem. I am super frustrated over this. I have $1,400 in what is at best an $800 guitar. I'm about to put $300 more in it in an attempt to make it right. If I had to sell this I would have to disclose the issue with photos and description. If you can cover my $300 luthier bill I will make the best out of a bad situation and move on. 

If you paid by credit and they won't refund you call your bank and put a hold on the transaction.

[merciful-evans]

On 9/9/2020 at 5:10 PM, BillyHell said:

Here is what I sent today to Buckdancers Music Choice - 

Are you going to offer a refund for not disclosing in photos, description or on the phone that this guitar had a sunken top, that the bridge was maxed out and the P90 was so low due to the sunken top that the pickup screws were raised to a ridiculous level? Your store is old and established and it looks like you deal in vintage Gibsons so I would expect that you would have noticed all these things. You took my money without disclosing any of this to me and I have to say that it has left me feeling like I'm stuck with an inferior ES 125. I'm willing to have my luthier see if he can make it right but I feel like I threw my money at a problem. I am super frustrated over this. I have $1,400 in what is at best an $800 guitar. I'm about to put $300 more in it in an attempt to make it right. If I had to sell this I would have to disclose the issue with photos and description. If you can cover my $300 luthier bill I will make the best out of a bad situation and move on. 

 

Good job

[BillyHell]

Update - they looked at the ad, photos and my issue and offered a full refund. I have to admit I would have been happy with a $300 refund. I shipped it back (they sent me a shipping slip to print) on Friday. I'm hoping to get the money back in my account on Tuesday.  With all that said I would have liked to keep that guitar even with the stove in top, just not at the price paid. So when the money gets put back in all I will be out is time. 

[bobouz]

Glad they did the right thing & offered a full refund.

Happy hunting in the quest for another ES-125!

[merciful-evans]

Glad they did the right thing.

Better luck next time. You will be better informed about what questions to ask now too. 

[badbluesplayer]

Good move.  I'd never pay that much for that guitar with that kind of damage.