Selling Guitars on Craigslist?

[Archtop Guy]

BTW, more and more police stations are letting folks do CL transactions in their lobbies or in their monitored parking lots. You may want to check out that option if you aren't comfortable having a CL stranger into your house and would rather meet in a public place.

Great idea zdub! That should keep things on the up and up.

[Woody Sound]

BTW, more and more police stations are letting folks do CL transactions in their lobbies or in their monitored parking lots. You may want to check out that option if you aren't comfortable having a CL stranger into your house and would rather meet in a public place.

Wow, I didn't know this.

[va3ux]

I've probably done hundreds of CL transactions for everything from moving boxes to high end guitars. Countless people have been in my home and I've been in many of theirs. There have been some flakes but never a really bad experience. There are no fees, no shipping and face to face is always an easier way to do business for me.

Jim, since you're in Canada now, have you used Kijiji ? If so, any real difference from CL ? I wouldn't think so

[fritz jones]

I keep a .45 handy.

[Jonathan0996]

I've done a number of Craigslist sales and never had a problem. I always had them come to my home, and those who came always bought. First contact is by email. Yeah, there are some scammers and spammers, but they're pretty obvious. I just don't respond to them. Easy. Maybe I've been lucky, but it's worked out.

I try to talk with the prospective buyer on the phone and get a feel for who they are and what they're interested in. You can usually tell if somebody's for real. I don't put all the gear I own on display when people come over. Just the item I'm selling and whatever's needed to check it out.

Sometimes I think all the crazy things that are happening in the world make people a little overly cautious. Most people are decent people if you give them a chance. Even guitar players. :-)

[2bornot2bop]

Bolivian marching powder..??

I've never been to Bolivia, but I'd love to go!

It bears mentioning that with Craigslist there are thousands of items listed and/or sold daily, just in my local area. 4 days ago I listed a pair of 6 foot tall electrostatic speakers, complete with original shipping boxes, for sale on craigslist...And, because I'm comfortable with inviting strangers into my home having that freedom facilitated the sell of a pair of loudspeakers that otherwise would have presented a far more challenging sell...one isn't shipping used loudspeakers across the country to a potential buyer...not if they're of sound mind that is. Anyway, I cranked up the speakers for the buyer, and the speakers performance sold themselves. Ad placed and item sold the same day - That's the convenience of selling from your home.

The kicker to this short story is, the buyer arrived in a Toyota Prius. I thought no way would the boxes fit inside his rear hatch...but I was wrong...talk about cargo room in those little buggers!

[docdosco]

I've done a number of Craigslist sales and never had a problem. I always had them come to my home, and those who came always bought. First contact is by email. Yeah, there are some scammers and spammers, but they're pretty obvious. I just don't respond to them. Easy. Maybe I've been lucky, but it's worked out.

I try to talk with the prospective buyer on the phone and get a feel for who they are and what they're interested in. You can usually tell if somebody's for real. I don't put all the gear I own on display when people come over. Just the item I'm selling and whatever's needed to check it out.

Sometimes I think all the crazy things that are happening in the world make people a little overly cautious. Most people are decent people if you give them a chance. Even guitar players. :-)

Touche.

Qualify your prospective buyer, just like an actual salesman would. One can get a feel for whether the person is serious, just kicking the tires or if something is hinky. In addition, for jazz guitars, the buyers are generally other guitar players. I have had people over to my place to buy many times. I don't ever get any weirdos and thugs inquiring about a 17" jazz box. If I sold 'new, in the box' Play Stations for half price on CL however, that might be a concern.

If you are uncomfortable with strangers coming over, you can always have a friend or two in attendance. If you get a bad vibe, needless to say, cancel.

There is always an exception to any rule, but I think robbers aren't looking for say, a vintage archtop. Casing your place? Possibly. However the type of house or apt (and the security you have) may dictate how far you would go to open up your residence to a prospective buyer. A dark, secluded home, well off of the street might give you pause to invite in a stranger. It might also scare a potential buyer. "What's really going on in the basement???"

My apt is very secure, and I believe, very hard to burgle without attracting notice. Therefore I am OK with people stopping by, especially after talking with them at some length.

However, actual crimes committed in response to CL are mostly related to electronics, jewelry, sports gear, video games, cell phones etc. Just avoid selling music gear like DJ stuff on CL. That I wouldn't recommend.

[boatheelmusic]

A little off track, but the best experience I've had was selling an Olympic White American Deluxe Telecaster recently.

The buyer wasn't a player, and we met at the police station parking lot.

He was buying the guitar as a wedding gift for his brother and sister-in-law, both of whom played.

He took the guitar in its original double boxing to the wedding from PA to CA and needless to say they loved the gift.

He emailed me a movie of them trying it out.......

[John A.]

I've bought and sold by Craigslist, one $$$ guitar (sold), one $$$$ amp (traded for another of similar value), bought and various effects, doodads, and household items between ~$50-100. I've mostly met people on the street (that seems to be the etiquette), but also had people come to my home (for the guitar and amp). Never a problem. IME, flakes and scammers generally reveal themselves very early, interactions never get very far. As to whether the OP should do a craigslist deal, I guess a lot of that depends on where you are and how nervous you get. But I think overall craigslist is safe. To sell, you need a lot of patience and willingness to accept a lower price. To buy, you need to think in terms of whether what's on offer interests you, not whether what interests you is on offer.

John

[boatheelmusic]

I've heard it's best to buy on Craigslist and sell on ebay!

[medblues]

I've heard it's best to buy on Craigslist and sell on ebay!

I like selling on Craigslist much better: no fees, no feedback score blackmailing. Recently, I like Reverb better than eBay for buying used gear. Then Amazon, only as last resort eBay.

[arnie65]

Any of you folks have experience selling on Craigslist? I know enough to beware the scammers who say they'll pay you with a huge check and you send them the change in cash. D'uh.


But I'm not so keen on having total strangers come into my home to try out instruments. Since I'm selling some electric guitars (6-string), I can't really just meet them in the parking lot of a neutral place, as they would want and need to plug into an amp to try the guitars adequately.


So, what's been your experience, and what do you recommend? (FYI, I would offer these here on the JGO Forum - and might still do so if they don't sell locally - but I'd prefer to sell locally so I don't have to deal with packing and shipping, worry about damage in transit, etc.)


Thanks.

This is nothing new and has been happening for years, Craigslist is fully aware of it for hasn't taken any measures to prevent it, even when this charlatans have been reported. My best advice is to clearly state "NO CASHIER'S CHECKS" when you craft your advertisement; never have anyone come to your home to buy or sell anything; and always conduct your business preferably during the day and in a public place.




Cheers,
Arnie...

[Gitpicker]

If it's not an expensive item, a park or parking lot that is public is safe. If it's a rather expensive item, I don't mind throwing down a few bucks at a local guitar shop to use one of their lesson rooms for a bit. Generally speaking I do feel it's true that the buyer should facilitate that if he/she is serious.

I once sold a Schertler amp and the guy who bought it paid for the use of a rehearsal room so he could try out the amp with his own guitar and pedals before buying. That is the classy way to do it, but not all transactions are like that of course.

[Esport]

I’ve sold close to a dozen guitars via CL. Each time they came either to my work or Sam Ash. Never my house. If the wife saw a guitar going out it’d be that much harder to sneak another in.