aNOTher craigslist fiasco.....

[bender-freak]

okay, i've pretty much quit Ebay since their PayPal only policy, and have been "running" craigslist for the last month or so...nothing but garbage showing up...until...day before yesterday, a full-body orange Gretsch with Bigsby with hardcase, an Electromatic, but still a great! price...i contact the guy immediately, tell him i would pay CASH, where can we meet and i can see the guitar and i will pay off like Las Vegas if all is as described...like NEW, he claimed....pics were blurry, but still all looked okay.....

i won't go to someone's house i don't know, and i don't want them coming here if i don't know them, call me paranoid if you will, but i had a situation a few years ago that ended very badly for the OTHER guy..!!!......anyway, the Gretsch guy says he WILL call me in the morning, gives me his cell#, and we'll set up a "meet" in a neutral place...no call yesterday morning, by noon i start calling him and get nothing but voicemail...okay, i understand things can come up, i left him several messages....finally about 5:00 yesterday evening he calls me and says he can't do it THAT day, but he can meet me at 3:00 this afternoon at the Bass Pro Shop front entrance with the guitar and case....i'm there 10 minutes early, by 25 after 3:00 still no sign of him, no call...!!?...i am one of those guys that if i'm told 3:00, it means 3:00, and i don't dally/wait long.....i boogie on outta there and back home...still no call, no word of explanation..nothing........

i am feeling now that this guy was not only a total flake, but a liar as well...i suspect he thought me or someone else would just send him the money, sight unseen...i've done this on Ebay in the past, but a local sale...not on yer life.....

sorry for the long discourse here, but my butt is in a knot and my attitude is definitely chapped and sore....GGGRRRRRRR...!!!!!

[rextasy]

Welcome to Craigslist. I listed some western shirts the other day. Guy mailed me within an hour from his phone saying he had to have one. Said he call me first thing in the morning to get it. Mailed me again later that evening to say basically the same thing. He was excited, exclamation points and everything. Never heard from him.

I'm still reluctant to completely conclude that he flaked out, but anyway, the world's full of 'em.

[Tarnisher]

Maybe the guy's a total flake and got drunk and forgot. Maybe he decided he didn't really want to part with the guitar. Maybe there was an issue with it that he was afraid you'd find. Unfortunately, that's just part of dealing on CL. If you want to buy a guitar from someone more reliable, go to a music store. Only you can decide if the hassle is worth the discount.

[graphs]

That's the Craigslist shuffle.

But for all the flakes and lowballers, I've got some great deals and sold a load of stuff there so I take the good with the bad.

[bender-freak]

yep, i've "seen" some of the deals others here have made on the craig....i just thought this was "my time...!!!".....ya would think when you say "CASH" they would jump on it....i have never been one of those "i'll be back" buyers on anything, be it a music store or individual.....if i'm happy with the price, i PAY.....

i told lady bender-freak i just had a feeling from the start the guy didn't want to sell...oh well, i needed another guitar like i need a stick in the eye....this one experience, tho, will cause me to put the Craig on the same "no more" as i have EvilBay....

i don't understand the logic of listing something if ya don't wanna sell it..????...daddy always told me "don't put a price on anything ya wanna keep..."

[pchilson]

You can never count on what others will or will not do. My pet peeve is the folks that post their stuff for sale, then sell it but can't be bothered to remove their ad. I've bought stuff, sold it again and the original ad is still on the list...

I bought this amp 2 weeks ago for $120
I kept the Eminence speakers then traded the amp for this.


.

[sax4blues]

In my insurance sales office I have the following quote posted:

"Some people want cheap insurance, they just don't want to be inconvenienced by the things that make it cheap."

Kinda the same thing for CL, which I buy/sell on. I can go to the guitar store during their posted hours and find within reason well taken care of merchandise, someone to help me with it, stable pricing, and several payment methods accepted. Or I can go on CL and give up all of that convenience for a good price.

I would also be frustrated by the experience you had, but... not surprised.

I wonder if the glossiness of technology, organized postings, pictures, all the bells and whistles of the internet have raised our expectations. It all seems so professional. Fifteen years ago this would have been a tatter note pinned to a guitar shop wall with no date or picture. If the person was flaky we might have just blown it off.

CL is just a flea market with non business people making non business transactions.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by bender-freak

i don't understand the logic of listing something if ya don't wanna sell it..????...daddy always told me "don't put a price on anything ya wanna keep..."

Did daddy tell you about the guys who put the ads up that really do NOT want to sell, but go through the motions so the old lady stops her ICBM imitation ??

[rextasy]

Originally Posted by pchilson

You can never count on what others will or will not do. My pet peeve is the folks that post their stuff for sale, then sell it but can't be bothered to remove their ad. I've bought stuff, sold it again and the original ad is still on the list...

I bought this amp 2 weeks ago for $120
I kept the Eminence speakers then traded the amp for this.


.

That is a SHARP guitar. Is it a customized Custom or partscaster?

[robt57]

Originally Posted by rextasy

That is a SHARP guitar. Is it a customized Custom or partscaster?

Squier Custom II Tele, no?

[Tarnisher]

CL is free. Therefore, people often post that they want to sell (or buy) things when they may not be serious. If it cost money, they'd have to think harder, and if, like on ebay, they were legally bound to deliver the goods, they'd have to be really serious.

On the whole, though, I've had FAR more great CL experiences than bad ones. I've successfully bought and sold tons of stuff (furniture, appliances, instruments, cars), found people to share gas costs, found places to live- all for free. That more than makes up for the times that people have blown me off.

[pchilson]

Originally Posted by rextasy

That is a SHARP guitar. Is it a customized Custom or partscaster?

robt57 is right. Its a Squier Custom II stock P90 tele. Wonderful guitar. Try it you'll like it...

Like Tarnisher, we use CL all the time. We've sold unused household goods, furniture and just general things we no longer need or use. Better than having garage sales I think. We had a 15 year old vaccum that was just getting worn out and I was tired of fixing it. Told the wife to just buy a new one. I put the old screeching vaccum on CL and sold it for $25 the next day...The wife had told me to throw it in the dumpster at work. Hmmm, $25 bucks got me some new strings... I just don't throw anything out anymore.
I've had really good luck and experiences with CL overall.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by pchilson

I've had really good luck and experiences with CL overall.

Me too. In the last month I have picked up a Behringer 450 Watt Bass amp and a 1988 Peavey Tracer Custom with hard shell and an extra 500T Gibby HB for $95.00 for everything.

Around August I went on a Line 6 frenzy. I got a FlexTone II, and a FlexTone II Plus and 3 floorboards for 500.00. I sold the 3 floorboards on Ebay for about 400.00, I already had one so I did not need 4. One Flex had a road case/cover, like the one drummers use for symbols.


Deals deals deals! I ran out of money though...

My wife took my Debit Card away after I bought the 2007 HWY1 Tele with SD 5/2s, a B5 Bigsby Kit and a Hipshot, Fender Strap & Straplocks and deluxe gig bag shipped for 400.00.

Oh, I had to sleep out in the POP up camper for 3 days too!

[Brutalblues]

Originally Posted by bender-freak

*EDIT*....ya would think when you say "CASH" they would jump on it....i have never been one of those "i'll be back" buyers on anything, be it a music store or individual.....if i'm happy with the price, i PAY.....

I get a kick out of people who think that offering to pay CASH is going to impress anyone these days. For one, do you think he was going to take a credit card or personal check from someone else? Whether it's Craigslist or the local yard sale, whoever gets there first wins. What probably happened was the seller told the next caller that he was meeting some guy tomorrow and the guy after you offered more $ or insisted on seeing it right away and beat you to it.

When you find a "buy" you need to be in your car, cash in hand, getting directions as you drive there to get it. If you're not the first one there it'll be gone.

[pchilson]

Originally Posted by Brutalblues

I get a kick out of people who think that offering to pay CASH is going to impress anyone these days. For one, do you think he was going to take a credit card or personal check from someone else? Whether it's Craigslist or the local yard sale, whoever gets there first wins. What probably happened was the seller told the next caller that he was meeting some guy tomorrow and the guy after you offered more $ or insisted on seeing it right away and beat you to it.

When you find a "buy" you need to be in your car, cash in hand, getting directions as you drive there to get it. If you're not the first one there it'll be gone.

I agree but I always tell em cash. I got a deal last week, spotted an amp right after the guy posted it. It was a good 60 miles from me so I called him to ask if he would hold it for me as I didn't relish driving the distance to find it gone. He said he'd give me 2 hours and then it was open again. I left immeadiatly, while I was there playing it his phone never stopped ringing. I bought the amp for $100 dollars and sold it 4 days later for $300.

[sax4blues]

Originally Posted by Brutalblues

I get a kick out of people who think that offering to pay CASH is going to impress anyone these days. For one, do you think he was going to take a credit card or personal check from someone else?

I'm one of those kick people that say cash. I'm trying to imply that I have cash in hand and will come right now to buy. I'm not looking to trade, or just see what you have and then go ask my girlfriend for a loan, or take my old tuba to the pawn shop to get cash. I want the seller to know I'm serious and I think that telling him I have cash in hand helps convey that.

[rextasy]

Originally Posted by pchilson

robt57 is right. Its a Squier Custom II stock P90 tele. Wonderful guitar. Try it you'll like it...

Can't believe I'm GASing for a Squier.

[Oskar]

I've been blown off dozens of times, big deal. You move on and can't take it personally. Believe it or not there are a few jerks in the world. I think Craigslist is great and have gotten tremendous deals e.g. '73 Deluxe Reverb $225, Mint '99 Rick 360 with the Ric-o-sound box, $800, Mutron III - FREE!

Maybe I'm just in a good location, but for me it's the only way to go.

[bender-freak]

Originally Posted by Brutalblues

I get a kick out of people who think that offering to pay CASH is going to impress anyone these days. For one, do you think he was going to take a credit card or personal check from someone else? Whether it's Craigslist or the local yard sale, whoever gets there first wins. What probably happened was the seller told the next caller that he was meeting some guy tomorrow and the guy after you offered more $ or insisted on seeing it right away and beat you to it.

When you find a "buy" you need to be in your car, cash in hand, getting directions as you drive there to get it. If you're not the first one there it'll be gone.

i understand what you are saying, but if you will re-read the original post i DID call/contact the guy immediately when it (Gretsch) showed up...he is the one that said to call him in the morning (next day) and we would meet and "do a deal"..i called early and got voice mail; he never got BACK with me until 5:00 that evening and said we could meet the NEXT day at 3:00...he's the one that never showed up or even bothered to call....i would have meet him in a public place the very hour the stupid thing showed up; he's the one that "flaked" twice, not me...and yep, in my world, cash talks pretty tootin' loud as opposed to....."i gotta check with the wife, i gotta see how much i can scrape up, i gotta see what my budget will allow, i'll be back, i'll see if i can put my rent off for a week"......i've heard them all...

the deal didn't happen, another one will turn up from a SERIOUS person, i've still got my money, and i'll give the money to a SERIOUS seller, not a flake such as this guy was....in my opinion, it was his loss, not mine...if he sold the guitar to someone else, that's cool, but that doesn't excuse him jerking me around for two days; he should have had the decency to call and say, "guitar's gone"...i would have..

[Oskar]

I just think you have to set your expectations pretty low. So you miss a great deal here and there. No big deal, life is too short to get bent out of shape. I've had so many deals fall through, both buys and sells that if I let them get to me I'd be in an institution right now. Hang in there, a great deal will eventually come along.

[Bob Mc]

I have done only one deal, $200 for a '71 Yamaha SA50 (ES330 style) which Elderly sells for $800. Great great guitar, 5 minute transcation with nice but clueless seller.
On the other hand, the majority of time I spend scanning it is to read the flame wars.
Is that common on all CLs?

[macheesmo3]

That is why I put stuff in the forums ( music oriented stuff anyway) I can usually trust the folks on here ( or on the Gretsch Pages) plus if they are regulars , they usually don't want to risk losing their posting rights for ripping someone off!

[twangcaster1]

Originally Posted by pchilson

You can never count on what others will or will not do. My pet peeve is the folks that post their stuff for sale, then sell it but can't be bothered to remove their ad. I've bought stuff, sold it again and the original ad is still on the list...

I bought this amp 2 weeks ago for $120
I kept the Eminence speakers then traded the amp for this.


.

Sweet trade!

[rextasy]

Originally Posted by Bob Mc

On the other hand, the majority of time I spend scanning it is to read the flame wars.
Is that common on all CLs?

Depending on which thread it is, unfortunately. I used to kinda enjoy Rants n' Raves. But as the political year went on, it got worse and worse until it was nothing but ugly, stupid stuff. Much better ways to waste my hours.

[mudbean]

Originally Posted by graphs

That's the Craigslist shuffle.

But for all the flakes and lowballers, I've got some great deals and sold a load of stuff there so I take the good with the bad.

+1

mud