When I received the Fender shipping box, the first thing I noticed was that it had already been retaped closed. That immediately raised suspicions that the instrument had been previously opened.
After opening the box and tuning the guitar, the high E string would not play at all when open. The nut slot for the high E was clearly cut too low, and the string was resting directly on the first fret. I temporarily shimmed the slot with a small piece of paper just to make the string playable.
Upon further inspection I noticed that the plastic protective film on the pickguard had already been removed. Inside the box there was also a brochure labeled “VIP,” stating that the guitar may have been used for a photo shoot or audio demonstration.
This left me quite puzzled. If the instrument had been previously handled or used, it should have been clearly sold as B-stock or otherwise identified as opened. Instead it was sold to me as a new guitar.
More concerning is that the guitar left Thomann in a condition where the high E string did not even function as an open note due to the nut being cut too low.
I have contacted Thomann and asked for two things: a replacement nut to correct the defect, and a partial refund reflecting that the guitar was clearly not factory-new.
At the moment I am still waiting for their response. Until the matter is resolved, I am disappointed by the lack of transparency in how this instrument was sold.
