I just wanted to relay a story of how I almost got ripped off on a purchase of a 1979 Strat. I had been talking to a guy for about a month who was selling a 79 Strat. I should have known better as his price was below market price. The guitar was pretty beat up but the neck was great and there were no major issues. So I finally agree to purchase the guitar and picked it up Saturday. Well, on sunday, I decide to take it to my local Guitar Center and see my "guy" there and show him my new addition. Well, you shoulda seen everyone checking out the guitar. My suspicions were raised when I realized the pots were wired backwards. we took the pick guard off and you shoulda seen the mess. The pick-ups were not even Fender pu's, the pots were some knock-off and the body was routed for a humbucker and was not even real wood! Well, you can imagine my embarrasment. Stupid me, I never checked out the guitar enough, mainly because I am new and even if i did look under the hood, i wouldn't know what to look for. The good news is the guy agreed to give me my money back. Yes, the neck was real (1980), but missing the shim. Lesson learned on my part. Please don't reply that I should have done this or that to make sure it was real, I know, i beat myself up already, you don't have to. Just a lesson to everyone to simply unscrew the pickguard and take a look. I was afraid to do that because of course it wasn't my guitar until i bouoght it. Thankfullythe guy i bought it from was a stand-up guy. He felt bad claiming that he didnt know either and that was the way his dad bought it 20+ years ago.

Glad you got your money back. lesson learned for the future. if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. if you sense a red flag check it out.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

thanks, i felt pretty stupid. I shoulda known better, I'm a grown man with plenty of experience in business. Greedy i guess.

Well, you are certainly one lucky "SUCKER".

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

It just goes to show that even if you are buying a guitar in person (and not long distance), you can still get ripped off.

When it comes to "vintage" pieces, sellers know that they HAVE to show under the hood. So it would be appropriate to ask to pop the pickguard or even the neck.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

HI mxcagg: I don't see why. The world's full of guys, including very good players, who just are not interested in the gear minutiae we obsess about here.

My brother-in-law is a very fine guitarist, has played bigger better gigs than me, even has a couple of (very small) TV soundtracks to his name - yet doesn't know the first thing about his guitars' innards. While visiting for tea one day he was amazed to see me pull apart a guitar, swap parts in and out, resolder, shim the neck, yadda yadda... He couldn't understand why I'd bother: he just visits his local shop's tech.

Here on the Forum we often forget that getting under the hood is as much the exception in the guitar world as it is with cars. Most people just fill 'em up and drive off.

No one needs to beat themselves up for being with the majority who are more interested in playing than scrutinizing. Perfectly honorable.

Glad you got your money back though.

Cheers - C

You got lucky in that the seller was honest. Unfortunately, there are a lot of knock-offs out there, and I'll bet that most times the seller doesn't even know that he is selling one, like in your case, so it's easy for an unsuspecting buyer to be "had". With media technology today, it's a breeze to create a fake using decals made from downloaded logos, etc. And even attaching an old Fender neck to a junk chassis is no challenge. It's hard to get a real feel for the quality of a used instrument in the first five minutes that you play it, especially with the seller standing there watching you. At such times, one is not likely to whip out a screwdriver and ask, "Do you mind?"

Best bet when unsure: buy only from an accountable source that has some sort of guarantee or acceptable return policy.

I myself just posted an inquiry in this forum about an unusual used axe I am interested in. I do not know the seller personally, but my impression is that they are honest, and anyway I know where they live.

My policy is to limit the cost range of used equipment when I am unsure as to its authenticity. In other words, I wouldn't look for a $2,000 axe from a private seller that I did not know, unless there are verifiable docs/certs. But I'm likely to bite when the range is only a couple hundred bucks.

Don't let one bad experience deter you from hunting for used toys! Let's keep them old Strats circulating!

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Larry C.
Lead Guitar
"Mauricio Morais & Flash"

Well said Larry, thanks for the thoughts.

at least your seller was honest, and returned your money. he could have ran the second you left. by the way, how much did you pay for it?

Hi, i am new here, sorry to hear u were almost ripped off. I own a 79 almost impecable.
I might build my own custom srat with an excellent buider i know, getting all the original machinery and putting it 2gether with the characteristics i want, that would have a bit ot a deluxe, standard and vintage reissue parts and concepts put 2gether.

I paid $1150 for the "79 Strat"...and got back $1150 (thank fully)

So you can see how it was too good to be true.

good that you got the full refund

That says it all. There is no need for finger pointing. Thankfully, you got all your money back.

I sold my 79 strat yellow/maple for $2600, was that a good deal?

i would think so, especially considering it's condition