* WARNING * DO NOT buy from Alleva-Coppolo

[gravesbass]

Very well said..... Glad the refund cleared and a lesson pretty much learned by ALL of us now. I agree, a credit card or PayPal is the best way if something gets out of line. Good rule to remember. With cash, you have no out. Its your word against their word.

Congrats Chris!!!!

[Basshappi]

I'm glad to hear that everything finally worked out for you.

[AzWhoFan]

Chris,
i am glad the nightmare has finally come to an end.

Life has a funny way of working ... now that the $$$ is back in your hands I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that your next holy grail will rear it's head at you. Everytime I think i'm DONE buying another bass, something out of the blue pops up that I gotta have, regardless of wether or not i can afford it.
Of course, this is not to say you should jump at the first fish that nibbles on your line, but instead realize that your opportunities are limited only by your ability to conceive of them (I sure hope that made sense!).

OK, enough of the Daily Philosopher Soap Box. Back to our regularly scheduled programming ....

[ptbass]

Glad to hear you received the refund, hope you find a great bass that will help you forget this ordeal!

[andrew]

Glad you got your refund.

I bit my tongue until I knew things would work out for Chris.

Jimmy Coppolo's response on Talkbass was utterly classless, and embarrassingly ridiculous. The kind of crap he tries to suggest and the mud he slung at Chris was pathetic.
I am the kind of guy that if I tried a Coppolo and loved it like nothing else, I would own one. But in light of this bull (and some previous experience with him), I'll never own an Alleva-Coppolo bass. Guys like me may not be the doom of A-C, but the people claiming this won't impact his sales are mistaken. I've seen the small builder business first hand, and losing even a half dozen orders in a year will be felt. He cost himself enough future orders that he will feel it. So know Chris that every insult he threw your way he will pay the price for.

A crazy plan for the next bass was alluded to, now that you have cash in hand we want details.

[NoXX]

Glad you got your refund.

I bit my tongue until I knew things would work out for Chris.

Jimmy Coppolo's response on Talkbass was utterly classless, and embarrassingly ridiculous. The kind of crap he tries to suggest and the mud he slung at Chris was pathetic.
I am the kind of guy that if I tried a Coppolo and loved it like nothing else, I would own one. But in light of this bull (and some previous experience with him), I'll never own an Alleva-Coppolo bass. Guys like me may not be the doom of A-C, but the people claiming this won't impact his sales are mistaken. I've seen the small builder business first hand, and losing even a half dozen orders in a year will be felt. He cost himself enough future orders that he will feel it. So know Chris that every insult he threw your way he will pay the price for.

A crazy plan for the next bass was alluded to, now that you have cash in hand we want details.

+1 on both of these points.

[fivebass52]

Anyway, I learned a few lessons and I wanted to share them with you:

• DO NOT EVER BUY A "NEW" BASS WITHOUT AN APPROVAL PERIOD... especially a high dollar bass. I understand that us lefties have it tough... and custom orders usually do not have any kind of approval period. That's fine... but there is simply NO REASON for a "stock" bass to not have one. If a builder won't allow you to take a couple of days to make sure a $5K bass is right for you, then they're hiding something. Plain and simple.
• DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. This might sound insane, but there isn't any reason not to document every single part of the process when you buy a high dollar bass. Keep a journal. Pretty much every phone has a video camera on it, so use it. Take video of the box before you open it... have someone film you opening the box... keep that camera on while you take the bass out of the case and talk to the camera while you inspect it and make note of ANY issues you might discover. This might sound paranoid... MOST builders are super cool and won't even question you when you call them to talk to them about a problem... but there are SOME builders out there who are so full of themselves, that they'll actually try to blame you for the piece of shit they let out the door. If you get it all on video the second it comes out of the box, they'll never be able to pull that shit on you. And if you ever have to return a bass, document the entire packing process from beginning to end. It all helps.
• PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD OR PAYPAL. If a builder keeps hinting to you that they take and prefer cash, there might be more to it than the fact that they save 3% in transaction fees. As much as I hate credit cards, they are obligated to protect you if someone tries to screw you... it's nice to have them on your side.
• If you get a bass that has problems, GET SIGNED STATEMENTS FROM A THIRD PARTY PROFESSIONAL TO BACK UP YOUR CLAIMS. In fact, get two... or three. DO this BEFORE you send the bass back. Make sure the statements explain why the bass does not match the description and make sure it details all problems, along with what it would take to fix the problems, and how it could permanently affect the value of the instrument. Have them explain what they find in a way that YOU understand, so this can be communicated to the builder.

I think that's everything...

Thanks again to everyone who reached out to me both publicly and privately.

-Chris

Chris, you've certainly been through the ringer with this experience, and your buying points above, although by now almost no-brainer rules to purchase basses by, should be followed by all of us in the future to avoid losing money on either shipping damage, or production/build flaws....

I'm glad this is all behind you now, and we all eagerly await news and pics on your next project! Peace, and Aloha!