Price watch (10)

This is a Fender Modern Player Tele Plus listed for sale in the after-market. The corroded parts are indicated as seen above (among other areas).

The seller considers this as slight corrosion based on his interpretation, of course. I'm not instigating you to agree but I don't think this is a worthy 9/10 rating, the picture speaks for itself. The inevitable replacement of these parts will happen & that's costs entailment on the buyer's part which should be factored in prior to purchase. It's listed for $450, you could have bought it new for $599 (if it's still in stock). The way I see it, seller should consider any offerings in the $300-$350 range. Being sentimental & citing it as a Fender won't do any good in view of the condition it's in.

My ratings

I've been selling things away recently & people are wondering what makes me label my item 8/10 for instance, because when they see what I have in store for them, it could've easily been a 10/10. So here's what I have to say:

Despite being the initial owner, I won't rate my stuff 10/10 for a simple reason; my item bears a pre-owned status. Suppose I have tested it at the store but have kept it aside & unplayed even at home, then I decided to sell it away for some reason, it gets a 9.5/10 rating at most. I have handled the product & it's downright disrespectful to tag it as a 10/10.

If I have treated an item in terms of maintenance & parts replacement, I'd move into an 8/10 or 8.5/10 rating. Along the way, these instruments received much handling, there might be scratches/ dents which are undiscovered despite due diligence. I don't believe the fact that just because some well-known or reputable parts made their way into my instruments, it would alleviate my item into a 'better' status- no. Parts swapping or 'upgrading' as it's referred to loosely, do not imply an upward value of the instrument. The final value of it belongs to the buyer. He/ she might not like what I have done to my instrument, maybe he/ she prefers it in an all-original condition instead so that's how I see things. This is true with names like Fender/ Gibson because the after market prefers untouched Strats/ Les Pauls- dirt, grime, dings & all. 

Finally, a 7 or 7.5/10 rating means the item has an anomaly: Dysfunctional pots, missing pickups, cracked pickguard, dents, stuff like that. In any case, it won't render the instrument defective, it just needs some attention & involves some spending on your part- just like a car sold with worn tires or seasoned upholstery. I won't rate anything below the above-mentioned conditions. I personally feel that such items should be considered/ viewed on a personal, case-by-case basis. It usually involves many pictures exchange over e-mail/ text messages over conditional agreements.

I keep all buy-sell e-mails in tact, I screen capture stuff as well. Maybe one of these days, I should list them all down, especially all the low-ball, below the belt offers which are downright juvenile & disrespectful. It's utterly rotten to appraise myself as being too kind to others because that's what I become once a deal goes through, I respect the buyer's decision to part with his/her cash for my items. More often than not, I would offer an alternative meeting point to the buyers' convenience (less those monstrous items like amps for instance)- it's my way of seeing the deal through pleasantly, my indirect way of saying thanks to the buyers. I have ever travelled to Sengkang to deliver a $30 pickup before & it took me at least an hour to get there- all for $30, you think it's worth the sweat, crowd & untimely buyer arrival?

In any case, my ratings are my personal references. It's not marked against any other standards of evaluation but my own. I hope I have put smiles on you faces after you bought stuff from me, otherwise, please let me know :-)