Why so many weird sellers lately?!?!? Or common practice?

[JackBootedThug]

Couldn't you just remove one side handle and shine a flashlight in.?That is what I've always done when buying used cabs.
He'd likely have still been offended though lol.

nah fuck him and his cab.....cocksucker....it was a cheapo kustom anyway...lol

 

[Mrevol]

There's always going to be some weirdos out there when buying/selling things, you just have to get good at filtering them out in your conversation prior to the transactions. I guess I'm good at this because I've sold a ton of stuff locally on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for years. I've had multiple people over to my apartment to play an amp before buying. Everyone I've actually met in person has been nice, normal and reasonable.

This is what I relate too. If you’re selling a cheap $500 amp then yeah I’m sure you’re gonna deal with some idiots. But generally speaking, when selling good gear, I’ve had great buyers that have been awesome to deal/chat with.
That’s why it feels weird for me to deal with sellers not trying to accommodate.

 

[MatrixClaw]

I haven't let anyone come inside my house and play something in years. I let a guy bring his amp and plug it into my cab on the front porch but usually I just meet them somewhere and sell or trade. Going over to people's houses and talking about gear and seeing all their stuff used to be my favorite thing about the deal. Now, there's too many weirdos out there. I don't want them knowing where I live.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I haven't let anyone come inside my house and play something in years. I let a guy bring his amp and plug it into my cab on the front porch but usually I just meet them somewhere and sell or trade. Going over to people's houses and talking about gear and seeing all their stuff used to be my favorite thing about the deal. Now, there's too many weirdos out there. I don't want them knowing where I live.

For sure. I have a finished room in my garage with all of my gear in it. I don’t need any strangers knowing what’s in there.

 

[Techdeth]

I live in middle of nowhere. The land of MGs and Fender Mustangs. I have to but blindly or I’d never get shit . I trust reviews and words of people on here

 

[scriptphase]

In the first case, I'd have no problem pulling the chassis for you and taking pics, given the situation w/ the power, but I could see someone being freaked out about that if they don't know how to do it safely. Most people should not be taking their amp chassis out of the headshell.

Try-before-you-buy in the second situation? No, but I'd put you on speaker, or Facetime call, and give you a quick rundown of the amp. I live in New Methico. Not a stand-your-ground state and I really don't want anyone coming over to my house and scoping out what I have for future reference.

 

[Mrevol]

In the first case, I'd have no problem pulling the chassis for you and taking pics, given the situation w/ the power, but I could see someone being freaked out about that if they don't know how to do it safely. Most people should not be taking their amp chassis out of the headshell.

Try-before-you-buy in the second situation? No, but I'd put you on speaker, or Facetime call, and give you a quick rundown of the amp. I live in New Methico. Not a stand-your-ground state and I really don't want anyone coming over to my house and scoping out what I have for future reference.

See but this still seems accommodating to me. I’m not saying you have to let someone in, use your crapper, and make them coffee. But once seller said I couldn’t hear the amp, I then asked if I could get a photo of chassis just to verify, and no photo.
When I start getting declined on all fronts then I start to feel weird.

Just like you, I would easily take a pic at least.

This is once again on boutique/vintage/hand-made stuff.

If selling a mass produced pcb amp then it becomes a lot easier. Hell, I just drove an hour away and met someone at a gas station to buy a 50w stealth unheard.

 

[stratjacket]

On the 2nd Seller and meeting in public, I actually agree with that. I have never and will never let someone off Craigslist come to my house. I will meet them at a music store and let them test it there.

 

[tallcoolone]

I buy/sell prob 15/20 guitars/amps a year off CL and never had any issues. Yeah there are weirdos out there but I’m not going to hide from them. Most sellers aren’t going to pull a chassis for you but I don’t think the request was out of line in the OP’s case. I prob would have walked from the deal but if you really want the amp roll the dice. That’s the choice.

 

[angelspade]

My general rule of thumb for gear transactions is I’m out at the first sign of weirdness/flakiness

This 100%...life is too short. And another one will show up eventually.

 

[Candiria]

I think it's weird that people want to try stuff before buying it. I'm not a store. I can count on one hand the pieces of gear I've tried before buying.

I have pretty much stopped buying stuff though because it's too hard to flip things and be close enough to break even now with the price of used gear selling fees, and tax implications.

 

[RedB4Black]

I think it's weird that people want to try stuff before buying it. I'm not a store. I can count on one hand the pieces of gear I've tried before buying.

I have pretty much stopped buying stuff though because it's too hard to flip things and be close enough to break even now with the price of used gear selling fees, and tax implications.

if I’m interested in an local amp on a cash deal, I don’t necessarily want to play it, but I want to ensure everything functions properly before I hand over cash with no recourse. if I’m selling local, I’m not letting people come by to see if they like the amp, but if we make a deal, I’ll run through all the functions so that when they leave, they know everything works properly

 

[scottosan]

Hey gents, so just unloading my frustration and looking for perspective. I recently started getting into the modded Marshall thing and discovered Ceriatone amps.
A yeti popped up on my local Craigslist and I was interested. I emailed seller and negotiated what seemed to be fair price. AFTER negotiating, seller then tells me he just got amp from France and that it’s wired for 240v.
I ask him if he has been using a converter - “no”
So I then email a tech and Nik (which have both been very awesome and helpful) and they say that it could be as easy as a wire switch on the bottom of the PT. They just need to see a pic.
Email seller back and ask for a pic of inside chassis - he sends me a pic of the tubes. I communicate nicely that I need to see the guts just to verify the re-wire can be done. He then states “Oh I'm not removing the whole chassis. The power transformer needs the voltage to be discharged. Very dangerous”.

So now he expects me to buy amp without hearing it or even seeing the guts?!?!? After emailing back and telling him opening amp won’t hurt anything as long as he’s not tinkering around he states “I’m just gonna keep it”.

Now too the second seller - local ceriatone comes up. Seller has high price and after trying to negotiate he just won’t budge, His right I understand, but come on, I’m offering more than you would clear on reverb. So I agree on price as I really want to try the amp. Now he’s saying I have to meet at a Starbucks and buy without hearing.

Is this seriously common practice? Do people really buy used amps without hearing them? When someone buys an amp from me I’m so gracious on letting them play it and do whatever they need to do to feel comfortable.

buying without hearing is commonplace, not different that buying on Reverb. I personally won't let some stranger into my house.

 

[RedB4Black]

buying without hearing is commonplace, not different that buying on Reverb. I personally won't let some stranger into my house.

it is different in person if you are paying with cash And have no recourse. You gonna hand over $2k cash on an amp without knowing it works? That’s a big risk, because once you walk away, you aren’t getting your $ back.

I don’t sweat having people over to my house. They don’t know it, but I’m usually armed. Lol. I’ve actually met a few guys on CL that I’m still friends with today.

 

[scottosan]

it is different in person if you are paying with cash And have no recourse. You gonna hand over $2k cash on an amp without knowing it works? That’s a big risk, because once you walk away, you aren’t getting your $ back.

I don’t sweat having people over to my house. They don’t know it, but I’m usually armed. Lol. I’ve actually met a few guys on CL that I’m still friends with today.

This goes back the phenomena of people paying as much to a personal seller as the would a store. The store provide a certain value add, such a demoing and refund, but there's enough illogical buyers out there that this has been common for a while now. Personally, I don't get it. Specific to the OP, I don't know why he would even want to demo something that he knows is mis-wired. What's the expectation, that it's going to sound and function like complete ass if at all with half of the power?

 

[DeLaYucca]

I tried to get a local to pop the back off a 4x12 to see what speakers were in it. He was very offended and said "I'm not doing all that...."guess he still has it. clown....

He’s a clown just for listing/selling it without pictures of the speakers!! Wtf?!
Maybe it’s just me, I own a cordless drill. I’ll have that back off in under two minutes if I take my time.

I had a guy come over to try a custom shop strat I was selling. He seemed really interested and asked all the right questions(via email) after having to listen to his wankery for 20 minutes, he gets up, puts the guitar down and says,”I just wanted to compare it to the MIM strat I’m buying from another seller”. I swear I wanted to punch him in the face. Guy had no intention whatsoever of buying it.
I got another guitar for sale on CL and I’m thinking of asking for a $20 non refundable fee for trying it out. If you buy it I’ll deduct it from the price.

 

[DeLaYucca]

…I don’t sweat having people over to my house. They don’t know it, but I’m usually armed. Lol. I’ve actually met a few guys on CL that I’m still friends with today.

Same here.

 

[JackBootedThug]

He’s a clown just for listing/selling it without pictures of the speakers!! Wtf?!
Maybe it’s just me, I own a cordless drill. I’ll have that back off in under two minutes if I take my time.

I had a guy come over to try a custom shop strat I was selling. He seemed really interested and asked all the right questions(via email) after having to listen to his wankery for 20 minutes, he gets up, puts the guitar down and says,”I just wanted to compare it to the MIM strat I’m buying from another seller”. I swear I wanted to punch him in the face. Guy had no intention whatsoever of buying it.
I got another guitar for sale on CL and I’m thinking of asking for a $20 non refundable fee for trying it out. If you buy it I’ll deduct it from the price.

I would have thrown him out headfirst. fuck.

 

[RedB4Black]

I would have thrown him out headfirst. fuck.

Yeah. I don’t do the whole come check it out to see if you like it thing. You buy it first then you can check it out to make sure all is as was stated.

 

[Mrevol]

This goes back the phenomena of people paying as much to a personal seller as the would a store. The store provide a certain value add, such a demoing and refund, but there's enough illogical buyers out there that this has been common for a while now. Personally, I don't get it. Specific to the OP, I don't know why he would even want to demo something that he knows is mis-wired. What's the expectation, that it's going to sound and function like complete ass if at all with half of the power?

This goes back the phenomena of people paying as much to a personal seller as the would a store. The store provide a certain value add, such a demoing and refund, but there's enough illogical buyers out there that this has been common for a while now. Personally, I don't get it. Specific to the OP, I don't know why he would even want to demo something that he knows is mis-wired. What's the expectation, that it's going to sound and function like complete ass if at all with half of the power?

I didn’t necessarily want to “demo”. I wanted to make sure it could be wired correctly. If he would have provided a photo of the guts I would have bought. Seller didn’t even want to do that.

I’m also not talking about “trying” someone’s amp. Like a few have said, when you buy off the streets, there’s no recourse. So I just want to know that everything functions ok.

Once again, we are talking hand made/boutique/vintage stuff. I think it’s crazy if you were to go buy a 66 fender Princeton reverb and just take it without making sure everything is good.