Am I a Fusspot Curmudgeon for Wanting my new product NEW, and in a NEW Box?

[sprint]

Coming back to this statement I made a while back here in this thread which has been nagging at me - probably too little too late, but fwiw, I realize it was an unacceptably bad way for me to communicate - no excuse other than a bad day, bad frame of mind on the thread subject, and misreading between the lines - apologies to Mr lqdsnddist

 

[marsonic]

Contrary to a number of others...no, I don't think you're a curmudgeon for that. But, I also don't really agree with you, at least not for most of the things I buy.

There are a few. I've definitely exchanged things like torque wrenches or gauges in the past because the calibration report was too far off or missing or it showed (even minor) signs of being used. But...the reason for those things is that I have to be able to trust precise tools and generally can't re-do the calibration myself. Some of those things are easy to subtly break so that they'll always be wrong....and you might never know about it.

When it comes to the music gear you mentioned....I don't personally care. But, I decided a long time ago that it wasn't worth even keeping boxes and usually not manuals for very long. Yes, I know I might get a little less selling them. And, yes, I keep them until I'm sure I won't return the thing. But, my house wound up so full of empty boxes for things that I ended up keeping for years and years that I finally just gave up on it. I'm not a collector, and I kind of suck at flipping/selling things anyway...I don't really have the patience for it. And if I travel or move with my stuff, it's going to be packed up a different way anyway. The boxes and usually paper manuals/documentations/etc. are of no value to me once the thing makes it to my house un-damaged.

For guitars, which I know you weren't talking about, it's almost the opposite. Stores have tried to sell me a new one out of the back, and I always refuse. If I tell an employee that I want to buy a guitar, it's because I want that guitar. The closest thing I've ever had to an argument about it was when I bought my (normal) Les Paul. The case that was in it's box was for a Custom Shop and had all the CS paperwork in it. I didn't really care one way or the other (the case still fit), but I didn't want someone who did buy a CS to get stuck with a USA box and papers in case it mattered to them. AFAIK, the warranty is still valid....and I'd probably take it to a local luthier to fix any problems rather than shipping it back to Gibson anyway.

The shop apparently lost track of them because the ops guy who put them out just put the cases in the wrong boxes. I think we figured it out...not sure I did get the right case, but it's at least not clearly wrong, and it's not my fault that someone else didn't get the case they paid for. So...whatever.

 

[NeoSound]

I still shop for gear at my local music stores but there's a problem: They only ever seem to have one of anything, and the one they have is often dusty and used looking perhaps due to the demoing it's been thru. And often, the box for it is ratty or not even avaialable as was the case today for an item indicated to be in stock but when I got to the store to pick it up, they didn't have the box it normally comes in - I was p.o.'d and didn't bother buying the item. This seems to be the case waay too often and drives me to forget about buying local and to just buy online where I usually get a new undemo'd item in a new box.

Am I just an old curmudgeon with nothing better to complain about? My reasons seem logical to me:

• My obsession with guitar tends to result in a lot of buying amd selling and I know from experience that original packaging in good shape gets more $ when one is selling gear.
• Stuff that's been demo'd in the store has some life taken off it. Sure, the warranty starts when it's purchased, but nontheless its got miles on it and so, to me, should be sold at a "demo" price particularly for pedals /amps / pro-sound stuff (Maybe a different story for guitars as they tend to be more "personal" in a way).

Thoughts?

Curmudgeony shopper?, Stores too cheap to maintain separate demo units?, or, just the way it is?

Drives me nuts! If it's a demo item, it should have a decent discount. In recent years most guitar stores within a hundred-mile radius sell at least half their inventory on the internet (maybe more). They have new boxed items and save them to ship for online buyers. Occasionally sell demos at a discount when they sit in the store too long. I don't mind spending a little more money to support local business, but with this attitude it can make buying decisions a little tougher.

 

[Jipps0525]

I still shop for gear at my local music stores but there's a problem: They only ever seem to have one of anything, and the one they have is often dusty and used looking perhaps due to the demoing it's been thru. And often, the box for it is ratty or not even avaialable as was the case today for an item indicated to be in stock but when I got to the store to pick it up, they didn't have the box it normally comes in - I was p.o.'d and didn't bother buying the item. This seems to be the case waay too often and drives me to forget about buying local and to just buy online where I usually get a new undemo'd item in a new box.

Am I just an old curmudgeon with nothing better to complain about? My reasons seem logical to me:

• My obsession with guitar tends to result in a lot of buying amd selling and I know from experience that original packaging in good shape gets more $ when one is selling gear.
• Stuff that's been demo'd in the store has some life taken off it. Sure, the warranty starts when it's purchased, but nontheless its got miles on it and so, to me, should be sold at a "demo" price particularly for pedals /amps / pro-sound stuff (Maybe a different story for guitars as they tend to be more "personal" in a way).

Thoughts?

Curmudgeony shopper?, Stores too cheap to maintain separate demo units?, or, just the way it is?

This is why i stopped going to guitar shops/stores to check out guitars before purchasing. Every time I did that, the guitars have been out sitting for who knows how long, played by many people, old, dry strings and dirty necks. I know it's just the nature of the store music floor, but even $2k+ guitars feel like garbage when theyre not kept in shape

 

[spagthorpe]

I've had the opposite problem a few times. I've gone on to Reverb to buy a pedal, and often find one at a local place that also has a decent sized online store. I almost always buy used if I can help it if it's in good condition. I'll buy the item, and then stop in there to pick it up since they are near work. Handful of times now, they can't find the used item in the back, but give me a new one instead. Maybe it's a weird way to generate business, I don't know. Works for me though.