You should immediately call your cc company and ask for their assistance so you know where they stand. The dealer may have no choice given the minor nature of their claims but to accept your return.

If what you are saying regarding the extent of the so called damage then it seems like the dealer is being unreasonable. There is inherent risk in offering to let someone try the guitar whether that is in the shop or off site. Its entirely reasonable to expect minor play wear that only shows up under magnification, which may have already been present when it was shipped to you. This is the cost of doing business that they should not be trying to pass on to customers in this manner.

I would not be bullied into paying a restocking fee, which could be substainhial, let alone the entire cost of the guitar. That is absurd. If pressed and if it would resolve the matter quickly I might possibly offer a token buffing fee of $50. Anything more than that and I would fight it tooth and nail.

Is there any evidence those scratches didn't exist before you received it?

I would refer the guy to this thread. He will see what this community thinks.

And for the record: if they don’t be reasonable and agree to let you simply pay for a buffing, if it was me, I’d feel duty bound the respond to those who have asked for the shops name.

Fiddler, I got your response to my PM, but your inbox looks to be full so I couldn't reply.

Instead of clicking "Send a private message (PM) to ..." you can click "Send email to ..." and reach a member that way.

I haven't read through the entire posts, but I would assume if they have a super high quality camera to scan these instruments, then I would ask for copies of the part of the body in question; before they sent it to you, and after receiving it back. If they can't provide that, then there is no legitimate case (I think) placing the blame on you. Who's to say a worker didn't just bang it after receiving the return and right before snapping the photos?

Credit card company would be your next best thing to dispute the charge.

I’ll play devils advocate and just say keep it! Those are sweet guitars.

If you got it from an online retailer then you most likely paid 60 percent of msrp, so even if you sold it you’d only take a small hit.

You’re getting a lot of advice, but I am living vicariously through you owning that guitar!

Will likely come down to local state laws of on-line retailer... The attorney's retainer would probably be more than the money lost to just accepted it back, listing it s used and then selling it here or on reverb.com.

If that turns out to be the case it's the value of fighting for principle or choosing to take the least path of resistance and not allowing this company to steel any more of his time.

When I bought a Martin from Maury's, they were very specific about what not to do in the 14 day evaluation period. They didn't even want me to scratch the plastic on the pick-guard.

I'm surprised that so many of you are ganging up on the seller. They are in business to sell new guitars, not to screw people. So WF sent a guitar back with what he calls ''micro scratches''. What's the seller supposed to do? A guitar with ''micro scratches'' is no longer a new guitar.

My legal opinion (based on years of watching Judge Judy) is that you accept responsibility for anything that happens to the guitar while it is in your possession.

If popular opinion is that the scratches can be buffed out, you could make arrangements to have the work done yourself. If indeed it ends up with a perfect result, the dealer should have no problem taking the guitar back. If the scratches can't be totally repaired, it seems like the old rule of thumb comes into effect - You break it, you bought it.

I know you had the best of intentions, but I can see how the seller might be the least bit suspicious when you order a $5000 guitar and a $250 guitar, then return the "damaged" $5K guitar.

I hope everything resolves to everyone's satisfaction.

^^^^
I agree.

How come you don't want to keep it? Why don't you like it?

The OP still has not shared the photo of the damage so lawyer talk is a bit premature.

IMO, This is 100% the dealer's problem not buyers.

If they offer a trial period then they run the risk of "minor" signs of play/use. It's no different than a guitar hanging in store.

Not to mention the OP bought 1 of the guitars. So it's not like they returned both. This is BS on the stores part.

If the item is in "the store's possession" and you have proof of delivery? Call CC company and dispute the charge. They'll sort it out in your favor.

Well, we don't know what the damage is. One persons "minor damage" is another person's "serious damage." And for a dealer, any damage is unacceptable.

And the dealer can say he ordered the cheap one, and just added the expensive one to play for a couple of weeks, with no intention of purchasing.

I'm not saying that is what happened, but we do know he kept the cheap guitar and sold it to someone else. I wonder if he sold it for profit?