The "What the Heck Are They Thinking" Thread

[Lefty007]

Okay, I know I might have been guilty a few times or listing a bass for slightly more than it should really go for, but I find very entertaining all these grossly inflated prices on eBay, or just plain bad bass ideas. So, just for fun, I collected a few current offering that make me go, "What the heck are they thinking?" Or maybe these guys know something we don't? Maybe listing an overpriced bass on Ebay over and over and over has a purpose. . .

1. MIM bass: "customized" with SD pickups, pickguard, neck plate, "black screws" (oh la la) - asking price $750. Seriously? Who doesn't understand that when you customized a cheap instrument you don't get your money back.




2. $1100 dollar for a beat up Schecter/ESP experiment with 18 pickups, half of them don't work because they are not wired correctly. Lucky if he sells it at $300.




3. Zebra bass. Who wants a zebra bass?




4. There are a bunch of overpriced RICs on eBay (pretty much all of them) but this one takes the cake: $3500 for a black 2012 bass. Nuts.




5. Pink bass. Who wants a pink bass other than Billy Sheehan? Okay, I guess my daughter would want a pink bass.




6. $4000 for a Hofner? I know this model is highly collectable, but good luck getting $2500.




7. $8500 for a '71 RIC. Really?




8. Korean MTDs: These are/were, in my opinion, one of the most overpriced basses out there. $1250 for these. I paid $900 for one once, and I thought it was a $500 bass at the most. These basses can't cost more than $200 to make. They have nice fret work and set up nicely, but the woods are very low quality and the electronics are garbage. Arg.




9. CS Fender Bass VI, $5260. Such a rare instrument with such a narrow market. I predict this will sit there for decades. Lucky if they can sell it for $2500.

[AustinLeftyBass]

$5K is about right for a lefty VI IME.

[Matt R.]

5. Pink bass. Who wants a pink bass other than Billy Sheehan? Okay, I guess my daughter would want a pink bass.

Shell pink is one of the hippest colors ever. I had a Jazz in that color (the one you pictured above isn't shell though, to be fair) and it was bad ass.

[Lefty007]

$5K is about right for a lefty VI IME.

I agree with you, but what I'm saying is how hard it will be to find a buyer who pays that much. We've seen mint CS Fender sell recently for as little as 50% off new price.

[bhunt1]

I noticed a couple of these too. I like #4 selling for $1,000 more than a new one, it must be highly collectable

[bugsy]

Id take that zebra bass if cheap enough. Great for a 80s band

[danomite64]

I pointed out #2 before. The guy probably has $200 in the bass, I know the body was $99. It's astounding that the dude can't be bothered to wire the pickups properly. I have an ESP Jazz neck that's a much better match than that low-budget nonsense he put on it; Maybe I'll offer it to him for a mere $600.

[bbl]

That Schecter's been painted with unicorn blood. Seller forgot to mention that.

[AzWhoFan]

great thread idea. Keep 'em coming!!

[LefThanDed]

Any cheap instrument with "celebrity autographs".

[cangaroo]

... of course you have to add to the list the infamous 70s jazz bass maple neck, still unsold.

my two cents on the two rickies :

- i wouldn't spend more than 1800 / 2000 $ on a new 4003 ric, unless i can try before buy it and it sounds very very good.
- the 71 rick is very overpriced, it's been already discussed in this section of the forum, it was sold by route 66 guitar and they mentioned had some kind of problem / repair on the neck or headstock, and the current seller didn't mention that at all. you can see the bass on their original fb page

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 9164_n.jpg

i know that such a bass is a rare finding and it will sound amazing but i'm not willing to spend that money for a repaired neck bass ...

[Stingray5]

8. Korean MTDs: These are/were, in my opinion, one of the most overpriced basses out there. $1250 for these. I paid $900 for one once, and I thought it was a $500 bass at the most. These basses can't cost more than $200 to make. They have nice fret work and set up nicely, but the woods are very low quality and the electronics are garbage. Arg.

Agreed. They look nice but that's about it. I tried one and was extremely underwhelmed. I also know a guy who plays one in a local band and the tone is very lacking.

I remember Amazon had a blowout on these a year or 2 ago - they dropped them into the $500 range iirc. Surprised they still list for what they do.

[danomite64]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guitar-Pedal-Mo ... 2c6e776445

[fivebass52]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guitar-Pedal-Mounting-Bracket-Links-Pedalboard-for-Boss-Ibanez-VOX-Digitech-DOD-/190831879237?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2c6e776445

At first I thought it was just for the one pictured, but the description says it includes 16 pedal links and 16 screws... almost worth it!