Craigslist...

[retrosurfer1959]

Yep Craigslist can get bizarre the key is to set up a special e-mail account so you don't have to deal with the fallout in your standard mailbox. but it's also a pretty good place to sell stuff if your serious and not in a hurry and if you don't mind the weird stuff, I use it sometimes for guitars that I don't want to ship and amps etc. that don't ship well.

 

I understand that some people need money now so they post on CL and if you put up a ad without a price or a make an offer or best offer over xxx your kind of asking for trouble. I usually put the pice as firm or serious offers within 10% of asking price etc. but even then I always get the three strange kind of buyers that show up on craigslist and nowhere else at least for me those three kinds of weirdness are;

 

1. The commercial reseller - get these people all the time they start out the same saying well I am a guitar dealer so I'll give you (usually 50% of what your asking) there reasoning they have to make a profit also so they need you to sell it at half price so they can sell your guitar at the real value which is what your asking. I usually just respond as no thanks or say I'm not interested in selling it at a discount price which is why I listed it as firm. They always seem to be hurt that you don't want to cooperate with their business venture and Ive had a couple get pretty upset saying that's how they make a living like I should care if I want to give stuff away I have family and friends.

 

2. The trader - never fails that I get at least a few e-mails from somebody that wants to trade something, usually something totally unrelated for your guitar and they are usually adamant that the product they have is somehow worth more or cooler even if you have no interest. The two biggest categories seem to be sporting goods like fishing gear, or exercise gear etc. or the most common for me for some reason is that somebody wants to trade a paintball something or other for the guitar or amp. It's weird I usually respond that I'm not interested in trades but thanks. they usually send a e-mail back telling me the parts alone are worth 10 times more than the guitar and that I should trade them and then I could sell the paintball crap and make twice as much money. I don't respond any after that because obviously there just dreaming.

 

3. Last and most probably annoying is the Idiot - this is the guy that doesn't believe that you have really sold the product they often come from category #1 but they always seem to think your not telling the truth for some reason and I get a email once a week sometimes for months asking me is I either magically got the item back or if I have another one I want to sell which seems odd especially for the #1 guys again, If I wouldn't sell the first guitar at 50% off what makes him think I would sell another one at that price.

 

I've had great luck on furniture and big stuff on craigslist which is maybe what it's made for stuff you can't ship but if it can be sent i usually go E-Bay seems to have a few less weird people. Although Even on E-bay toy usually get at least one strange contact I always say US or Canada only since I don't want to hassle with shipping international. Never fails though somebody usually Italy for me at least puts a bid in and then get's mad when I cancel it and won't sell to them and they always explain that it's so simple to ship to them etc etc. funny how they never want to pay cash up front or anything but they want me to trust them just because. It's a pain to resell sometimes but I guess it beats getting ripped of by pawnshops or GC.

[saturn]

I'm usually pretty good at sniffing out the scammers and wierdos who reply. Just by the way some of them are worded, you know it's BS.

 

Just a few weeks ago, I sold my B52 amp off CL. I had a lot of the usual crap replies which I ignored, but one seemed like it was legit. Now I don't have a Facebook, but my buddy let me sign into his and I looked up the guys name. Sure enough there was a Facebook listing of the name of the guy responding to my add and he was from the same area the CL responder claimed to be from. I thought that was safe enough so I gave him my address to come by and test it out. He turned out to be very nice and bought the amp for what I asked.

[jnastynebr]

Japanese 80's Fenders get a lot of praise, but they hit their peak and bottomed out a few years back. As sweet as they are, most have Basswood bodies which scares away traditionalists that are looking for Alder or Ash. I was interested in a MIJ 80s 62' Tele a little while back, and was watching them. They seem to be going pretty cheap these days. I think buyers get turned off by Basswood and the location of the truss rod end (in some models you need to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod!) Some have photos pasted to the body under the paint to simulate figured tops?!

Bottom line, Craigslist is a good place to score some good deals, but I have never tried to sell anything for the record. Now a days, there are a lot of people that need some quick $, and will part with things for less than they are worth if you wave a wad of cash under their nose. Not everyone is going to part with their item for less than they say, but you dont know until you send an email or two.

If your going to put something up on a free site for trade/cash, you WILL get some idiots contacting you. That is a fact. If you dont want to deal with idiots, Sell on consignment or dish out the extra $ in fees/shipping to put it up on ebay, and use buy it now. Dont cry cause some dope on craigslist low balled you. Welcome to the world.

[Artie Owl]

Fred, from a sales perspective the mistake you made was not having a firm price to begin with. If you want 300 for the guitar you can't advertise 300 on Craigslist. You advertise 375 (ish) then when they email you and say things like "will you take 300$?" You can say "maybe I have a few emails to go through first (even if you don't) and that you'll get back to them, wait a day and if they're still interested and 300 was what you wanted then you both win. You let the buyer take control and that's what happens.

 

Secondly, I know what you mean about stupid people. I have a friend, he was trying to sell an iPhone online, and at the time, the going asking price was 300-400$ used (good condition).

 

A "single mother" had posted 5 or 6 want ads for an iPhone stating that she "needed an iPhone" and "can't afford much because she's a single mother." The other 5 or so ads she posted were basically ads complaining that no one was offering to sell her an iPhone for 180$, and that she didn't understand what the problem was.

 

My friend emailed her and offered it for something like 280 and she fired back an acidic response about how no one understands that she needs an iPhone and that no one will give her one for what she has and that basically it was insulting to her to offer that when she made it CLEAR she doesn't want to be contacted unless you intend to sell her an iPhone at her price.

 

 

What a piece of work.

[Tman]

A bit of constructive criticism: don't give a range. If you say I've seen them go for anywhere from 300-700 nobody will offer you anything over 300 because you've told them what you'll take essentially (again this is constructive criticism not attacking you - I've done the same thing in the past and was frustrated like you). What he offerred is a definite lowball and insulting. I would consider what you want and say "firm, don't bother me with anything else" or offer more than what you'll take and be prepared to do the craigslist dance (which I absolutely abhor).

[Andy R]

From a CL buyer perspective ( and trying to score a deal) I usually take the following approach.

 

I look at most of the sales as that there is a good chance that there is a struggling musician on the other side. I've been there and can't tell you how much gear I pretty much gave away just to make rent or a car payment. ( 79 USA Dean explorer Mint $100.00 ) Still kicking myself....

 

I also just make the assumption that the person is usually in a hurry to get rid of it and wants somebody to get them cash fast. ( It may not be the case but it's an approach)

 

 

If the person is asking a fair and reasonable price ( still a good deal) I usually just say done deal... I'm not into taking complete advantage of someones misfortune ( if that's the case) and bickering for 25.00 to 50.00 is not worth it to me.

 

Now if they are asking a price that is let's say fair but not necessarily a price I couldn't get someplace else I do the following:

 

Determine if there is a GC near the area they live. Odds are the person has taken it there and got low balled and are hoping they can do better on CL and still make a quick sale. So I estimate about how much GC would offer and add maybe 50.00 to 100.00 bucks more (depending on how bad I want it) That way if they decide to come down I can still beat out a GC price and I get the gear instead of them...

 

If there is no GC in the area I offer what is a reasonable price for it to be a good deal for me ( not a steal) and see if they bite.

 

Doesn't always work but it does sometimes...

 

Ebay - I never bid anything until about 30 seconds or less before the end of the auction. That way I don't needlessly start running the bid up for myself or others. That way I can keep an eye on it and if it gets beyond what I'm willing to spend before the auction gets close to ending then there is no sense looking anymore. If it is still in range I do my Max bid at the last second so I don't end up spending more than what I plan just because I am "So Close" "Just a little more" justification... If I win cool if I don't oh well...

 

 

Andy

[GIANTRobOT42O]

I got a DL4 today off Craigslist for 100 bones. I'd say thats a good deal

[TommyK]

At first, I thought the 50 was what car salesmen call a 'Low Ball' price to get the negotiations going. But with a counter offer of 25, less the case. This is probably a kid who just got his first MacDonald's pay check and fifty is all he has to spend.

 

Ignore him. He'll get real sooner or later, or not.

[TommyK]

At first, I thought the 50 was what car salesmen call a 'Low Ball' price to get the negotiations going. But with a counter offer of 25, less the case. This is probably a kid who just got his first Mack Donald's pay check and fifty is all he has to spend.

 

Ignore him. He'll get real sooner or later, or not.

 

You set yourself up for this when you didn't list a price. If I were to post something for sale, I'd figure out what I really wanted for it, then ad 25%. It will weed out the ones who really don't have the money, like this youngster. If someone is really interested and your price is close to what he wants to spend, he'll either take it or negotiate a bit. Never, ever, ever tell them what you really want, then they'll try to negotiate down from that. Never split the difference. If the buyer/seller offers to split the difference, more than likely, he will buy at the last price you offered without the split. Splitting the difference, usually is your opponent's attempt to get a little better deal than the good one before him. I can't tell you the number of times I've bought cars when the salesman offered to split the difference. Some of them even asked the question as they were walking out the door to take the deal paperwork to the sales manager, "Oh, by the way, would you be willing to split the difference?" ..... amateurs.

 

I know, I know, many people don't like to negotiate, but negotiations is a part of adult life, Either get in the game or get abused.

[saturn]

Here's another obvious example of a CL scam.

 

I recently posted my Vox Valvtronix amp for sale on CL. I describe it pretty well in the listing. Haven't got much interest so far, but I did get one email from a "ryan" that simply said "hello, is the music instrument still for sale?" DELETE...next