A couple of years ago, I sold (via buy it now) a J-45 on Ebay for an amount that was a substantially higher than the average market price for that type of guitar. For its age, it was in excellent condition. Here is part of my Ebay listing about condition of the guitar:
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I have personally cared for this guitar for almost 50 years. If you have any questions, contact me before you buy. I am happy to answer your questions.
There is play and handling wear. Also some vintage finish checking that does not show up in the pictures. The finish is all original finish and there has been no refinishing whatsoever.* There are light scratch marks that do not show up in the pictures. Scratch marks are mostly noticeable on and around the pick guard. The neck is factory and is in very good condition. The adjustable truss rod works. The frets are original with minor wear. Tuners are original and are in very good, usable condition. Some of the white paint decorating the sound hole has faded from age or has worn off. There are also some faded or wear spots on the fine-line detail portion of the binding.
Upon close inspection for this sale I noticed what some may describe as a hairline crack on the wooden bridge. I never noticed it before – it is very possible that it has been there for 30 or 40 years. See pictures. The small finish chips on the top side of the neck near the sound hole were on the guitar when it was purchased in 1969. They have not changed since 1969 and there has been no attempt to make repair.
Because of the guitar's dark finish, "dings" do not show up very well -- either in person or by photograph. And for being almost 50 years old, I could not find many. These measurements are approximate. Unless stated otherwise, each is less than 1 mm deep. (1) 5mm x 3mm on top of large bout, near upper binding; (2) 10mm x 4mm upper side, small bout; (3) 5mm x 5mm (1mm deep), 5mm x 2mm, and 2mm x 2mm which are on bottom side, large bout.
I have the adjustable bridge currently set at:
First fret bass E: .010 inch approx.
12th Fret bass E: .080 inch approx.
First fret high E: .010 inch approx.
12th fret high E: .070 inch approx.
with easy playability though 12th fret.
The interior photographs of this guitar were taken #/##/20##. On the neck block, there are two small white spots that may likely be paint or glue -- but I do not really know what they are.
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I too have seen sellers on Ebay (and especially Reverb) provide inadequate condition descriptions. In my opinion, these sellers are just lazy.
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