UNhappy NGD

[rdsmith3]

I have been scheming for months to acquire an Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro. I initially put down a deposit on a heritage cherry burst model at GC, but that did now work out for various reasons. I ended up buying a wine red model from Musician's Friend. It arrived last night. First let me say that I love the neck on this guitar. It has a smooth satin finish and it just feels right to me. Overall it is a really nice guitar and a great value. Sadly, a shipper did a number on it.

 

Here it is. It still has bits of styrofoam clinging to it

 

 

Headstock got damaged

 

 

 

I'm guessing this same blunt force also caused a crack in the neck

 

 

 

There is another dent in the body

 

 

The edge of the bridge pickup is messed up a bit

 

 

Finally, back in August I e-mailed Epiphone to inquire if this model fits in the regular Les Paul hard shell case. I was concerned that the strap lock might cause some issues. They assured me that it did. So I'm guessing that MF sent me the wrong case because this one is not wide enough!

 

[ef_in_fla]

Bummer dude. What is worse that waiting on a NG and then it shows up busted? I hope you saved all the packing materials and took lots of pics. File a claim and better luck on try #2. I've never had one this bad, but have been disappointed a couple times when Ebay items showed up much worse looking than their photos. It sucks. Good luck!

[Whitmore Willy]

Rdsmith,

 

Truly sad to see such a beautiful guitar in that condition. Same happened to me once. I ordered a Studio from MF. It came with a cracked neck. Back it went.

 

You would think that ordering a case and a guitar at the same time would help.

They could put the guitar in the case...pack it and send it. They could also pack the empty guitar box and send it so that you would have all the original packaging. I doubt that it would cost them much extra. Certainly cheaper than having to send you a new one, paying for the return and having to write it off to insurance.

 

It's not much consolation, but, keep your chin up. Third time's the charm.

 

Willy

[rdsmith3]

Willy

 

I thought exactly the same as you -- why not ship it in the case? I thought they would do that. Also, they really do not protect the guitars very well. The packing material is essentially crumpled up heavy paper.

 

I edited my original post because I am not sure that UPS did the damage. The box did not have obvious signs of abuse. It could have been damaged on the slow boat from China. I think it was likely it was UPS, but I cannot be sure.

 

It is a really nice guitar, though. The pickups sound great. If not for the possible neck crack, I would have considered keeping it for a substantial discount.

[brianh]

I thought exactly the same as you -- why not ship it in the case? I thought they would do that. Also, they really do not protect the guitars very well. The packing material is essentially crumpled up heavy paper.

Had the same thought when I ordered my P93 - first guit I ever ordered online. Sure enough, the case and guitar showed up in separate boxes.

 

The thing is, sellers can't make insurance claims from carriers if the item is not packed in its "factory shipping box".

 

So, if the guit comes from the factory with a case, it will ship in it's case (inside another box) like the IBJL Casino ships, for instance. If not, it should ship in it's original factory cardboard box, plus a second outer box with all the paper filler.

 

Sometimes I wonder if some unscrupulous sellers don't knowingly ship shop-damaged items just so they can get their $$ back from the shipper's insurance company. (Sorry, but I'm just cynical that way.)

 

Anyway, it looks like a nice geet RD, hopefully you will be able to post a happy conclusion to the story soon...

[bigneil]

bummer,

[stumblinman]

What a shame, that's a beautiful guitar. Hope your next one is perfect. :(

[Plymouth58]

Had the same thought when I ordered my P93 - first guit I ever ordered online. Sure enough, the case and guitar showed up in separate boxes.

 

The thing is, sellers can't make insurance claims from carriers if the item is not packed in its "factory shipping box".

 

So, if the guit comes from the factory with a case, it will ship in it's case (inside another box) like the IBJL Casino ships, for instance. If not, it should ship in it's original factory cardboard box, plus a second outer box with all the paper filler.

 

 

Indeed.

And, as proven here, the case you buy seperate doesn't always provide a snug fit...

 

A couple months ago I bought a Stagg Ukulele and a Stagg Tweed case with Woodbrass. Unfortunately the (standard soprano) Uku doesn't fit (the standard soprano) case. The neck support is way too high and the uku too long. But nevertheless, Woodbrass shoved the uku in the case, wrapped it in a thin layer of plastic and shipped it off....

 

The uku got here unharmed, but I wouldn't trust buying an expensive guitar from them...

Adjusting the case was an easy fix, but still, I'd rather have the guitar and case packed seperately than together.

 

Another example, the more or less universal ABS Gator ES-335 case doesn't fit my Epi Dot Studio (same problems), but at least Thomann always packs guitars and case seperately.

[animalfarm]

RD - I HATE to see the pics of your git, far too similar to

a Project git I did recently. Returning Git after contacting MF is

really only option.

 

I bought an LP Special II dirt cheap from Craigslist, supposedly with

cracked neck (SURE looked like it - Pics to follow). The seller had the

EPI box it came in. (Don't know why it wasn't sent back. Didn't matter,

he wanted to Sell, I Bought).

 

Initially, I didn't pay much attention to Box, was focused on NECK to see

if it was really cracked and how bad. Turned out to be just a Finish crack.

 

Eventually, I DID look at box. From the outside, it looked normal. BUT, at the

TOP of the INNER box that holds the guitar, it was undeniably OBVIOUS that the

Box had taken a BIG HIT on the Headstock - dented and torn cardboard. Also showed

a bit on the Outer box.

 

Main point, the Factory Boxes the gits are put in are just not adequate. Gits are

just too close to edges for box to offer any REAL damage protection. Thought this

for a long time, but so far I've never had one arrive damaged. Pure Luck, I guess.

 

[Supersonic]

Absolutely beautiful guitar there. Sorry you got a damaged one. But hey, just be glad that you can send it back and you're not totally screwed like if you would have bought it on ebay. Better luck next time!

[Digger]

Beautiful looking guitar...pity about the damage.

 

Last year I imported a guitar from a well known supplier (USA) and sweated tears of blood over the 6 days it took to arrive here. When I unpacked it the outer cardboard carton had a ding in it that went through and fortunately the hard case took the impact with no damage to the guitar. There is a slight blemish on the case but nothing to get het up about.

 

I sure am glad I bought the case!!

 

 

Dig

[DennisMiller]

A number of years ago, I packed a guitar I sold on Ebay and didn't notice a little desiccant pack in the interior box. When the guitar arrived, the granules in the desiccant pack had ground a quarter size scratch in the finish of the guitar. I settled with the buyer, but it's something I remember every time I sell something and have to ship it. I felt so dumb.