If a Relic is Blemished, how can you tell?

[chrisr777]

Fender Custom Shop Builder Select Esquire Heavy Relic LTD by John English Blemished Item


http://www.music123.com/Fender-Cust...-LTD-by-John-English-520154-i1435177.Music123

This isn't just relic, it's heavy relic. So how can you tell if it has been dinged a little?

 

[chaddy45123]

a lot of large sites sell customer reterns as blems cause they cant sell them as new

 

[bluegrif]

Yeah, we've been down this road several times. Blems in general can be really good deals, since they're usually just customer returns and not actually blemished (although they can be both). With free shipping and a liberal return policy, they can be worth a shot. Of course there's always the possibility the guitar was returned because it just doesn't have the tone. But I'm betting a lot of returns are just about crappy setups though. And experienced players know that factory setups are all over the map and shouldn't be deal killers. The lion's share of new guitars I buy go straight to my luthier for top notch fretwork anyway, so if you keep that in mind, bargains can be had.

 

[doublee]

Yeah and if was beat to s--- during shipping, how would you know?

 

[chrisr777]

Yes, I understand the concept of B-stock, factory seconds, blems and open box. I think maybe you guys are missing the irony here.

 

[baimun]

THANK YOU!!!!!


Now I know how to get that Rory Gallagher strat I've been wanting without the wife saying anything!!!!!


Wife - "Where'd that guitar come from?"

Me - "Uhhh..... Would you believe I found it on the side of the road, in a ditch?"

Wife - "yeah. So are you going to try to fix it up?"

Me - "Nah... I'll just play it as a 'beater' guitar."

 

[chucke99]

Yes, I understand the concept of B-stock, factory seconds, blems and open box. I think maybe you guys are missing the irony here.

Not lost on me. But since factory relics are done with templates, I wonder if someone puts a REAL, actual scratch on the front of a Roadworn, whether it will decrease its value. I'd be willing to bet "yes, it will" because the actual scratch won't be artistically in harmony with the rest of the relic'ing.

 

[Auriemma]

... I think maybe you guys are missing the irony here.

The answer is NO, you can't tell the difference between an dinged "relic" and an undinged one. Its why Fender came up with it. So they can sell blems as new ones, full price.

Luckily...this FAD, like all others, will pass.

 

[baimun]

The answer is NO, you can't tell the difference between an dinged "relic" and an undinged one. Its why Fender came up with it. So they can sell blems as new ones, full price.

So for the new "Road Worn" series, they just take all their American Series returns and b-stock.... beat 'em to hell, and stuff 'em in boxes.

 

[Blue Fin]

I bought a blemished Strat from Music123 and it was perfect except it looked like it had been a return.

 

[buddastrat]

Lots or reasons. fret wear, torn vinyl on case. or it could just have been a return. Then it gest sold at a discount. The irony is old dudes.

And most relics don't follow any template. And even the road worns can vary. The smartest buyers imo are the ones who buy a used relic. They can play that thing like there's no tomorrow and then sell it and not take a hit.

 

[chucke99]

Most relics don't follow any template. And even the road worns can vary.

Not by much. Line them up at GC and take a look. Even the necks have the same "wear" patterns, and that pattern is duplicated on tele and strat necks.

 

[candid_x]

Isn't a blem on a heavy relic a section which was accidentally left shiny and new?

 

[Member 995]

If you chip the paint, you can see fresh wood under it.

 

[buddastrat]

Not by much. Line them up at GC and take a look. Even the necks have the same "wear" patterns, and that pattern is duplicated on tele and strat necks.

Maybe on the road worns if you sit and compare, but I've owned quite a few CS relics and they've all had totally their own thing. Now the latest heavy relic series issued for Music Zoo is an exception or where Fender is doing a replica of an artist's guitar, but most all through the years have been unique.

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

THANK YOU!!!!!


Now I know how to get that Rory Gallagher strat I've been wanting without the wife saying anything!!!!!


Wife - "Where'd that guitar come from?"

Me - "Uhhh..... Would you believe I found it on the side of the road, in a ditch?"

Wife - "yeah. So are you going to try to fix it up?"

Me - "Nah... I'll just play it as a 'beater' guitar."

Then while you're busy at work, one day the paper boy mentions how much he admires the old guitar from the ditch - the wife decides since it cost nothing, why not be nice to the young man and give it to him?



They've had that one for a while I think. It used to be available for about $ 2,000-3,000 less 3 months ago.

How does Music 123 and MF deal with someone who orders this guitar, keeps it insured to the hilt; has a great lot of fun playing it and then unapologetically returns it within the allotted time window. Seems like a fairly low risk way of easing the GAS pains by renting the fancy heavy relic guitar and then returning it. One wonders how many times this "blem" has gone out and been returned.