Would you reject a guitar like this?
 

Hi,

Bought a brand new CSF3M parlor guitar (online) to play with and thought I would put a new set of strings on it to attempt to liven it up. A couple of the bridge pins were tight. Reached inside to push them up an noticed a lot of chaff and blow-out around the bridge plate and bridge pin holes. Thought I would take a look with the phone cam (sorry for the quality).

I know bridge plates look a bit rough sometimes, but this seems a lot of tear-out. My kids have a couple of older, less expensive Yamies where the bridge plate looks way better.

Would you send one like this back? There is a return policy.

No, I would not send it back just for that.
I actually don’t think that is too bad.
YMMV, of course. Cheers, _RP

Seems a little excessive but I wouldn’t think it will cause problems.

That's a super chewed up bridge plate for a brand new guitar. I'm not a very picky guy and in the vast majority of the "should I send it back" threads I'm usually on the side of keep it. But in this case I would send that guitar back.

Pretty surprising, being a Yamaha.
Yeah, I would return it. Not for any cosmetic reasons, but for the poor engagement of the string ball end to the plate.

Be sure to make a point of this as many online dealers will charge you for the costs of shipping it to you if it's considered an elective choice.

The last return I had from an online dealer (for damage) I insisted on a call tag for the shipper to pick it up. And I made it quite clear they were not to charge me with the initial shipping.

The issue is, and should be, between the dealer and the manufacturer.

a thought
 

One problem with mail-order buying, there's no chance to compare similar guitars (are they all this bad?). For sure, no backup was used behind the bridge pin holes to avoid this sort of ripout when the holes were drilled.

I've never put a mirror or a camera inside a guitar I was buying at shop -- is that part of the typical pre-purchase inspection?

Bingo, me neither.

I only look if there is something odd going on at the first string change - then maybe not unless I am curious about the build inside.

Some of mine I have never looked at the bridge plate, but those that I have look way better.

a thought
 

I like to know what I'm buying. I open the hood of used cars and look around. Same idea.

Wow, never seen that on a new guitar. If you loved it, if it sounded great and you loved the way it played I would hesitate to send it back. But right from the start you want to brighten it up. So send it back.

To me, that is not a big deal at all.

I recently got a used guitar like that. I made another plate of thin wood and used double edge tape to hold it in place over the bridgeplate. It works fine, but mine was not an expensive guitar. One can get the PlateMate, too. It is the same but made of brass.

It will cause intonation problems

I would love to hear how a bridge plate can cause an intonation problem. Could you explain this, please?

Edit to add: But I agree with a simple bridge plate patch...

As someone who has dealt with bad bridge plates in 20+ year old guitars, no way is that acceptable in a new guitar. Especially considering how expensive the repair is in relation to the cost of the instrument. If the ball ends find their way into the grooves they already have a big head start to creating a situation that needs attention. Not to mention the potential for cracks for form.