Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

How Elderly's "rating" system works?

Read this description, and tell me if you see any contradictions...

"VG-EC except needs much work (glue headstock crack, reglue bridge, dress frets, reglue loose pickguard, setup, etc. - sold AS-IS), 16-1/8" lower bout, sloped shoulders, natural finish spruce top is heavily weather checked as are the mahogany back and sides, 14-fret mahogany neck, 20-fret rosewood fingerboard, pearloid dot inlays, replacement bone nut, 1-9/16" nut width, 24-3/4" scale, rosewood reverse belly bridge with rosewood saddle and pearl dots, black plastic pickguard with Gibson logo, white-bound body, b-w top purfling, 3-on-a-plate Kluson Deluxe tuners with white plastic buttons, replacement bridge pins, chrome hardware, with flat-lid OHSC (blue lining)."

The guitar in question is a beater Gibson J-50 ADJ with a cracked headstock...

Huh?

Wow, that's even worse than all those eBay ads that read: "MINT! (except for two small pickup routes and a well repaired headstock crack, and some minor belt buckle rash etc etc etc...)

Every Monday a.m. I get the Elderly bulletin, and it is always filled with contradictions like this.

Here's what I've got figured out, at least for acoustics:

VGC: Body and neck are still glued or screwed together. If screwed together, there are at least (2) screws present. Cat hairs in case.

EC: In addition to the above, paint or varnish is still present on the body and/or neck and/or headstock. May be shiny.

GC: No strings, three tuners. Multiple body cracks. Headstock in separate box or envelope.

PC: In pieces measuring no larger than 1" (25mm), in gig bag with less than 3 rips or tears, less than 1 ounce of rodent droppings present. Some sawdust acceptable.

Eden.

weemac wrote:

Eden.

Ditto!

Well.....in their defense.....the "rating system" is about as useless as those annual buyer guides they still print.

Couple of high-res photos should tell you more than any rating system would.


Besides, I'm continually impressed with Elderly's realistic prices....

Being a record collector, it's obvious they've adopted the same rating system many record sellers use. You should see some of the junk people try to sell as 'Mint-'.

jingle_jangle wrote:... Read this description, and tell me if you see any contradictions ...

I had a hard time finding anything that was not a contradiction!

...and on top of it they might call it "vintage"!

It all comes down to how you translate "elderly"...run - do*n, sha**y...it's never too late to improve my english finding new synonyms....not intended to bash them ...

This guitar is dead mint, except for the parts that ain't.