The Trials and Tribulations of CL/Facebook/etc.

[Buddha Pickups]

I very rarely sell anything on Craigslist but I've had a few winners on reverb over the years. Just a couple off the top of my head:
1. Guy buys a single humbucker and requested approximately 8.4 to 8.6. It came out to 8.8 and when he received the pickup he requested his money back and stated it wasn't what he requested...before trying it. I told him to put it in the fridge for 30 minutes, measure again and install it before complaining. No response except a few months later asking for me to make him some more pickups. I did not respond.
2. Guy buys a pickup off reverb and writes me a few days later asking why his item hasn't shipped yet. I said I'm sorry but it clearly states that I have an approximate 4 week wait period. So he responded he wanted his money back cause he needed it for a birthday present. A few days after refunding him, he writes me asking if I can make him a pickup for his son. I responded "we just tried this a few days ago. If you need immediate turnaround, im not your guy". He just called me an asshole and said he'd take his business elsewhere.
3. Guy buys a set of pickups and a harness. Writes me about a week later asking why I haven't shipped yet, again I pointed to my 4 week wait time stated in all my listings. He asked for his money back cause he couldn't wait that long. I told him he will have a very hard time finding someone to make him a custom humbucker set and a custom harness that quickly and he said he'd try bare knuckle. I said ok good luck and he also called me an asshole for saying that.
I think anyone here thats done business with me knows I never am an asshole but its always fun when we try to assume emotion on the internet. I'm just being honest.

I've really thought about charging a fee for anyone that cancels cause they can't read.

[glasshand]

Another drum kit shows up! But they want more than the price for a new one? I write and make a counteroffer, pointing out the price of a new one (just under $380) and what they've been going for used (in the $200s), then a second counteroffer when the first is refused. They respond that this kit is virtually new and they won't take less than $350. OK, well, good luck with your sale then. Lesson to self: if somebody is asking more than the new price, then they're probably severely confused about the value of used gear, and bargaining with them is likely to be fruitless.

[voodoorat]

Another drum kit shows up! But they want more than the price for a new one? I write and make a counteroffer, pointing out the price of a new one (just under $380) and what they've been going for used (in the $200s), then a second counteroffer when the first is refused. They respond that this kit is virtually new and they won't take less than $350. OK, well, good luck with your sale then. Lesson to self: if somebody is asking more than the new price, then they're probably severely confused about the value of used gear, and bargaining with them is likely to be fruitless.

yeah i find that if there's some red flag like that in the listing (like clearly having no idea what it's worth) it's light neon colors on an amphibian: stay away. another one is instruments without strings--in my experience they're probably hiding some problem that would be obvious if there were strings and it's sorta plausibly deniable ("weird, the pickups worked great/the action was fine last time it had strings on it").

[Houblues]

.... another one is instruments without strings--in my experience they're probably hiding some problem that would be obvious if there were strings and it's sorta plausibly deniable ("weird, the pickups worked great/the action was fine last time it had strings on it").

In that same category are "cheap fixes". I always take it for granted that something advertised as needing a "cheap" fix needs much more, or the seller would have already taken care of it.

[glasshand]

.... another one is instruments without strings--in my experience they're probably hiding some problem that would be obvious if there were strings and it's sorta plausibly deniable ("weird, the pickups worked great/the action was fine last time it had strings on it").

In that same category are "cheap fixes". I always take it for granted that something advertised as needing a "cheap" fix needs much more, or the seller would have already taken care of it.

Oh, that reminds me, another good one is a photograph of a disassembled whatever-it-is, with "I think all of the parts are here." You think they're all there? Can I just hand you a random pile of bills and say "I think all of the dollars are here"?

[slowhand84]

I very rarely sell anything on Craigslist but I've had a few winners on reverb over the years. Just a couple off the top of my head:
1. Guy buys a single humbucker and requested approximately 8.4 to 8.6. It came out to 8.8 and when he received the pickup he requested his money back and stated it wasn't what he requested...before trying it. I told him to put it in the fridge for 30 minutes, measure again and install it before complaining. No response except a few months later asking for me to make him some more pickups. I did not respond.
2. Guy buys a pickup off reverb and writes me a few days later asking why his item hasn't shipped yet. I said I'm sorry but it clearly states that I have an approximate 4 week wait period. So he responded he wanted his money back cause he needed it for a birthday present. A few days after refunding him, he writes me asking if I can make him a pickup for his son. I responded "we just tried this a few days ago. If you need immediate turnaround, im not your guy". He just called me an asshole and said he'd take his business elsewhere.
3. Guy buys a set of pickups and a harness. Writes me about a week later asking why I haven't shipped yet, again I pointed to my 4 week wait time stated in all my listings. He asked for his money back cause he couldn't wait that long. I told him he will have a very hard time finding someone to make him a custom humbucker set and a custom harness that quickly and he said he'd try bare knuckle. I said ok good luck and he also called me an asshole for saying that.
I think anyone here thats done business with me knows I never am an asshole but its always fun when we try to assume emotion on the internet. I'm just being honest.

I've really thought about charging a fee for anyone that cancels cause they can't read.

I was selling a strat online a few years back and a guy offered to trade me an infant car seat for it. I had to tell him I had neither a car nor an infant

[voodoorat]

I very rarely sell anything on Craigslist but I've had a few winners on reverb over the years. Just a couple off the top of my head:
1. Guy buys a single humbucker and requested approximately 8.4 to 8.6. It came out to 8.8 and when he received the pickup he requested his money back and stated it wasn't what he requested...before trying it. I told him to put it in the fridge for 30 minutes, measure again and install it before complaining. No response except a few months later asking for me to make him some more pickups. I did not respond.
2. Guy buys a pickup off reverb and writes me a few days later asking why his item hasn't shipped yet. I said I'm sorry but it clearly states that I have an approximate 4 week wait period. So he responded he wanted his money back cause he needed it for a birthday present. A few days after refunding him, he writes me asking if I can make him a pickup for his son. I responded "we just tried this a few days ago. If you need immediate turnaround, im not your guy". He just called me an asshole and said he'd take his business elsewhere.
3. Guy buys a set of pickups and a harness. Writes me about a week later asking why I haven't shipped yet, again I pointed to my 4 week wait time stated in all my listings. He asked for his money back cause he couldn't wait that long. I told him he will have a very hard time finding someone to make him a custom humbucker set and a custom harness that quickly and he said he'd try bare knuckle. I said ok good luck and he also called me an asshole for saying that.
I think anyone here thats done business with me knows I never am an asshole but its always fun when we try to assume emotion on the internet. I'm just being honest.

I've really thought about charging a fee for anyone that cancels cause they can't read.

I was selling a strat online a few years back and a guy offered to trade me an infant car seat for it. I had to tell him I had neither a car nor an infant

ok, how about the infant car seat, some (slightly) chewed gum, a microsoft zune with no charger, and about a half a pound of decorative aquarium rocks? FINAL OFFER

[slowhand84]

I very rarely sell anything on Craigslist but I've had a few winners on reverb over the years. Just a couple off the top of my head:
1. Guy buys a single humbucker and requested approximately 8.4 to 8.6. It came out to 8.8 and when he received the pickup he requested his money back and stated it wasn't what he requested...before trying it. I told him to put it in the fridge for 30 minutes, measure again and install it before complaining. No response except a few months later asking for me to make him some more pickups. I did not respond.
2. Guy buys a pickup off reverb and writes me a few days later asking why his item hasn't shipped yet. I said I'm sorry but it clearly states that I have an approximate 4 week wait period. So he responded he wanted his money back cause he needed it for a birthday present. A few days after refunding him, he writes me asking if I can make him a pickup for his son. I responded "we just tried this a few days ago. If you need immediate turnaround, im not your guy". He just called me an asshole and said he'd take his business elsewhere.
3. Guy buys a set of pickups and a harness. Writes me about a week later asking why I haven't shipped yet, again I pointed to my 4 week wait time stated in all my listings. He asked for his money back cause he couldn't wait that long. I told him he will have a very hard time finding someone to make him a custom humbucker set and a custom harness that quickly and he said he'd try bare knuckle. I said ok good luck and he also called me an asshole for saying that.
I think anyone here thats done business with me knows I never am an asshole but its always fun when we try to assume emotion on the internet. I'm just being honest.

I've really thought about charging a fee for anyone that cancels cause they can't read.

I was selling a strat online a few years back and a guy offered to trade me an infant car seat for it. I had to tell him I had neither a car nor an infant

ok, how about the infant car seat, some (slightly) chewed gum, a microsoft zune with no charger, and about a half a pound of decorative aquarium rocks? FINAL OFFER

I actually sold it for full asking price the following day. I should have that guy send me insane offers every time, maybe his nonsense is my good luck charm

[voodoorat]

this was first for me. this guy responded to my listing for my fender paramount pm-te travel guitar and offered a trade on an old (very well worn) square-shoulder j-50 deluxe from what looked like the late 70s. told me he wanted to trade it for a small-body guitar so he could gift it to an older preacher friend of his. he sent me some pictures of it and i sent him some more of the fender so show the size more clearly.

i told him i was interested and tried to arrange a meeting and he said he was really busy during the week but should be able to meet this weekend. i left him alone all week (the prior message was on monday) and asked on friday if he still wanted to meet and he didn't even reply but just read it and blocked me. fucking weirdo. meanwhile two other people had offered to buy it for my listing price but i had to tell them a trade was pending, so now i have to loop back around and see if they're still interested. why do people do this kind of shit?

i've had a bunch of bad luck recently with a few bright spots, but this one was the most annoying even though it wasn't a scam (as far as i can tell). the only reason i'm not super disappointed is a) i don't know how that guitar would have sounded anyway or how much work it would have needed and b) i was getting a flake vibe from him from the first time i talked to him so i had a feeling the j-50 was a mirage anyway.

[Gear_Junky]

Interesting thread, although I only managed first page and last couple of posts

Mostly good experiences for me, IMHO it depends on the area. I've sold a few things (and usually was happy with the outcome) and I do buy stuff occasionally. My one parameter, especially when selling, I always make sure to speak with the person on the phone. Somehow you can usually tell by the voice if you're dealing with a legit buyer/seller. Non-verbal cues exist even without a visual, but pure text format gives you nothing.

That is not to say that it's 100%. I had one "interesting" adventure. A woman called wanting to buy a sleeper sofa I was selling. We were living kind of in the sticks then. She said it's for a battered women shelter she's running. Fine. She sent a couple of guys to pick it up. As they called me, my spidey senses were tingling already, they were lost and one of them was yelling at the other one (don't you know instinctively that this type of lack of self-control is a sign of maladjustment?). In person they were as shifty as they sounded, looked like a couple of small time ex-cons in a rickety truck (formerly Ryder's). I don't like to judge, but I was scared (but not defenseless). The sofa was very heavy and difficult to move, after they loaded it the guy who drove asked me for a beer. Did I mention he already smelled like he's had one or three? I figured it was a way to get rid of them, so I said "I ain't yer daddy" and gave him a beer (the other guy refused). They did pay and leave, no issues, but I was very relieved. FWIW we didn't even have anything of value there, they just looked "like the type". I'm more picky now. If I'm selling anything, it's picked up from my garage, nobody goes in the house. And if I can, I'll rather offer to meet somewhere public, even if I have to drive.

But yes, I've had good deals - my second SCXD, my V16, I got them at good prices on CL. And a bunch of other non-music stuff. Half of our furniture in the house, for that matter (except upholstered stuff).

[voodoorat]

on the flip side, my buddy just scored a classic vibe 50s p bass with a bronco 40 amp, strap, cords, stand, gig bag, a slightly barbequed old fender dg-8s acoustic, and maybe a few other things for $225.

[glasshand]

The last few sales have actually gone pretty well. I have had one guy who expressed interest in an item, got to the point of asking when I was available, said he'd work it out, then crickets. My guess is his wife or girlfriend got to him!

[voodoorat]

my luck has mostly been good recently. got a 15" unloaded cabinet for a good price, an american deluxe jazz bass for a good price, a mexican standard p bass for a pretty good price (big caveat her though), and a dean electric acoustic bass for a pretty good price (another caveat).

the p bass's neck was super bowed, had to put it on a torture rack for a week to back end it back into shape. the acoustic bass's preamp battery wires were barely attached tot he preamp and immediately fell off. tried to fix but no luck so i ordered a replacement which makes it not quite so good a deal. but i do like it more than i expected so there's that.

[solteroblues]

I NEVER consider anything a done deal until after the money is in my hand. I also never say no to someone until the first person shows up, too many back out. Just over this past week I've had 2 occurances.

I put up my Dean Hardtail on Facebook (and ebay) with nothing for 2-3 weeks. Finally some guy messaged me saying he's been wanting one exactly like mine since he turned 18 about 14 years ago. Wanted a close up shot of the s/n, he traced it back to being built when he turned 18, and offered about $200 less than I was asking, saying he just didn't have more. We went back and forth and he said he was working on the money, and sent me a pic of one of his Dean guitars. I said I'd be willing to trade straight up, he said he'd have to think about it, as it was his favorite guitar. Came back a day later, said that he had it hocked at a pawnshop and they sold it without even letting him know, said all he had was $175 which was what it cost to get it back out, now $325 less than his original offer. Haven't heard from him since

Then I was selling a mattress and this guy was going to pick it up after dinner last Sunday. Asked if I could deliver it, I said no. Then he said he would get his brother's truck Monday and come get it. Monday passed, no word. I message him, nothing that night. Tuesday, he said he saw my message, but was at work and forgot about it. Said Wednesday he would come. Wednesday i asked if he was still coming, "Yes, already talked to my boss, I'm getting off early, and I'll be there." I said, "OK!" I've since been blocked and no word since.

[MichaelR]

I don't consider the deal as done until the return wait period is over and try to hold the money in the bank until I'm sure it is in fact a done deal.

[glasshand]

Got an offer for an item on FB...I think. The guy literally just messaged me "100". I'm tempted to respond, "Yay, you got a perfect score on the test!" or something. Also, $100 would be lower than 95% of Orange Micro Darks have gone for on Reverb in the past year, so I'm also inclined to just respond "no".

[glasshand]

A while I put a guitar on Reverb with "local pickup only". Of course I immediately have five thousand yahoos contacting me going "Will you ship it?"

More recently I put it back up with shipping as an option. Not a peep of interest. *sigh*

[PoodlesAgain]

Not about music, but still applicable, I think.

Back in 2004 (how sweet it was!), I was shopping for a 600cc road bike, like a Honda CB600F or such.
"Jason", young dude, has his for sale CL, overpriced, of course.
We talk, and Jason does not want to negotiate, even after I point out what the street value is for this common bike. Then Jason get very argumentative, admitting that he NEEDS that much to cover what he owes on the thing. I had to explain to him that it wasn't MY problem. He never got it, could not understand I wasn't there to bail him out!
Now, every time I run into someone named Jason, I go "Hmm..."!

[voodoorat]

I've had pretty good luck historically, especially during the pandemic. Actually sold something today and bought something the other day. It's a challenge for me sometimes because I'm a divorced dad with primary custody of 4 young kids (two of them special needs) and only have childcare during the workday, so if someone can't come pretty close to me I literally usually just cannot do it and those deals are off the table. I think sometimes people think it's just an excuse but there's really nothing I can do about it, I figure that's God's way of telling me those weren't good deals anyway.

I've had very few bad experiences face-to-face (KNOCK ON WOOD). A lot of people flake before then but I kind of assume they're going to until they actually show up at the meet so I'm not that disappointed. And of course there's always the people who offer you a trade of something that's worth a third of what you're trying to sell... But I've also met a lot of pretty cool people, some of whom I've kept in touch with after the sale/buy and some of who I'd jam with if I wasn't such a scaredy cat.

I can usually eke out a small profit buying and selling on the local markets. Not enough to make it worth the trouble really but it makes me feel like I got to try out something and learn something, find out maybe I didn't really need it or it wasn't for me or realize something else would do a better job at the same thing I had in mind when I bought it, and sell it without taking really any hit.

[glasshand]

"Does it come with a case?"

I guess there's no harm in asking, but... Wouldn't I have said if it did? It doesn't come with a pile of gold Krugerrands either, which you might have guessed because I didn't mention them.

[glasshand]

OTOH, I did have a painless buying experience today (picked up a DOD Gunslinger as a gift for my bassist, because he sometimes plays guitar too and every time I play through the Gunslinger he he mentions how much he likes the tone). And I sold a guitar on Reverb! Fingers crossed that that transaction goes smoothly!

[Mossman]

I've been selling stuff on Craigslist since I got fed up with ebay over 10 years ago, and it hasn't been terrible. As long as you're not in a hurry to sell, and don't get worked up about dealing with flakes and weirdos. I don't let them waste my time, and I don't take any guff. I find it kinda entertaining, actually. A couple of months ago, I sold my Squier Vintage Modified '70s Tele Custom, and I got a call from a guy who thought it was an actual vintage, '70s Fender (for $350!). He saw: "Vintage", "'70s" and "Telecaster Custom" in the title and jumped to conclusions, but when he asked me what year it was made, and I told him: "2018", he got all salty, like I was trying to scam him! I'm not the kind of person who puts: "Fender Squier" or "Gibson Epiphone" in the title in a cunning attempt to trick people. In fact, nowhere in my ad was the name "Fender" even mentioned, and there was a quite clear picture of the headstock, prominently displaying the Squier logo. Not to mention that it was in nearly new condition for a 40+ year old guitar, and there is no wucking fay you're going to find a vintage Fender for $350, even in the worst condition possible.

I told him to go look at my ad while we were on the phone, and said if he could point out ANY misleading information, I'd GIVE him the guitar. He actually went and looked, and sheepishly conceded that my ad was not misleading, but not willing to completely accept defeat, he grumbled that I should have put a disclaimer in there stating that it's NOT a vintage Fender. I told him I don't have time to point out everything that an item is not, when I clearly and accurately described what it is, and added that I expect reasonable people with working eyes and a functioning brain to USE them before jumping to unsubstantiated conclusions... Then I hung up.

About a week later, I got a call from another guy about the same guitar. He also asked me what year it was made, and I thought: "oh no, not again", but this guy asked because according to him, all guitars made in this century are garbage. ALL of them. I wanted to correct the error of his thinking, but I figured that would be pointless, so I just told him that since there were no Squier Vintage Modified guitars made in the 20th century, he was probably going to have a real hard time finding one.

Maybe he'd prefer a 1999 Affinity, or Bullet, made right before the entire industry decided to start putting out nothing but crappy products... Back then, Bullets were made of REAL plywood!

[honyock]

I've had no major issues selling or buying music gear this year, but we sold our nursery furniture this year and we had close to a dozen people call/message set up times to look amd then ghost us.

Finally sold both things over 4th of July weekend within a few hours.

People are so damn flake-y, they are quick to ask a question, you give a response and they won't even acknowledge the effort or the first thing they do is ask what is the least your will take...what kind of stupid question is that?



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[Mossman]

People are so damn flake-y, they are quick to ask a question, you give a response and they won't even acknowledge the effort or the first thing they do is ask what is the least your will take...what kind of stupid question is that?

Haha... Yeah, I love that one. If they ask that in text, I usually say: "Boy, somebody doesn't know how to haggle", and just leave it at that. If they come back with an offer, then fine. If you don't hear back from them, then all you lost was an opportunity to shoot yourself in the foot. If they ask that when they're on the phone with me, I say: "I already gave you my price. If you want to make a counter-offer, then feel free to do so". I'm not snarky or sarcastic about it, but I am firm, and matter-of-fact enough so they know that I'm not going to play their game. If they ask for my "lowest price" again, I hang up on/ignore them.

The thing is, people think everybody who's selling something on Craigslist needs to pay the rent, or is otherwise desperate to sell their item, and they think if they dangle any amount of cash in front of you, you'll take it. You have to act like you don't care if they buy it or not (I usually don't, so that's easy). Don't compromise yourself just because you have a buyer on the hook (I'm not saying you do, I'm just speaking generally here). There's plenty of other fish in the sea who will pay your asking price and not jerk you around. It does happen... You just have to be patient. You lose absolutely nothing by cutting loose the low-ballers and time-wasters.

Millennials are the most fun... They think that wanting something means they deserve to have it... just because they want it real bad. They get genuinely confused when they express their deep desire for your guitar and you still won't sell it to them for laundry money, or trade it for a comic book and a green smoothie....

"But... but... Don't you understand?? I really want that guitar!"

I've had at least three people who have tried to use their level of desire as a BARGAINING TACTIC.

It never works... I guess I'm just a big meanie.

---- Grrrr... No guitar for you!

[Mossman]

Oh yeah, I just remembered another fave... When people point out how long you've had it listed, thinking that will somehow inspire you to accept their ludicrous offer:

Them: "C'mon man, you've had that thing listed for like six months!"

Me: "That's because this burg is full of hilarious cheapskates like you."


That's how I roll in Clown Town.