Craiglist & shipping?

[dalek]

Hi,
Here's a silly question from across the pond. Is Craiglist USA only meant to make transactions locally or do people ship gear to other states (or even to other countries)? I guess it depends on what sellers are willing to do, but you can correct me here.
I've been doing some searches and I'm amazed at the volume of gear for sale! thanks

[tplyons]

Ask the seller if they're willing to ship. A lot of times they are, sometimes they just want the local transaction to make it easy on them.

[coreyfyfe]

Agreed it depends on the seller. My drummer found and Ayotte snare he wanted in Montreal and the seller was not only willing to ship it, but he even went out and picked up a hard case for it (Drummer paid the cost of course). The best way to do it is through paypal. As a buyer, if the seller tries to screw you, you have some recourse with the buyer protection crap (I think? At least it's documented), and as a seller you're guaranteed the money is good.

[dalek]

Thanks for the input. Best scenario would be being able to meet the seller, not my case. I was a bit concerned about Craiglist being so big scammers could be be lurking, although it seems paypal gives some cover (I had to use it once and it seemed to work, at least the seller after ignoring me for months ended up sending the goods). I'm suffering GAS for an ampegV4 maybe I can hold it for a few months or find something more available around here to play with. Still I guess not too many people are willing to ship a 69lbs head! and at the moment i'm too afraid it could be damaged during shipping...

[bongomania]

It's a big gamble. I did successfully/happily buy something via CL where it had to be shipped to me, but before I sent them any money I asked for verifiable references (Ebay feedback, identities on forums, business associations) and I checked those references. Generally speaking CL is meant for face-to-face transactions only, but again if you are diligent and cautious you can make shipping work.

[stflbn]

I ONLY use Craigslist for local purchases, or purchases that I'm willing to drive to pick up face to face and pay cash with.

There's NO way I could trust someone on Craigslist to follow through with a long distance purchase. NO WAY.

[BillyRay]

Everytime I put something on craigslist or Kijiji, I get spammers and obvious crooks asking me to ship items to weird locations, so I would not be too fond of shipping an expensive item. I even had peeps try to trick me into shipping a winter coat I was giving away for free with the old "I'll give you 50$ and transfer me the difference once you ship the item" scam. Quite pathetic.

I'd ask for a phone number, address or even work references before money exhanged hands on anything worth more than 30-40 $.

[jk215]

Craiglist is supposed to be for local transactions. You cant trust someone to ship your item after youve sent payment and Craigslist is not responsible for it. At least with Ebay you have some sort of safeguard when dealing with shipping items. Be very careful.

[baba]

Originally Posted by stflbn

I ONLY use Craigslist for local purchases, or purchases that I'm willing to drive to pick up face to face and pay cash with.

There's NO way I could trust someone on Craigslist to follow through with a long distance purchase. NO WAY.

+1 Don't say we didn't warn you.

[coreyfyfe]

Originally Posted by dalek

I'm suffering GAS for an ampegV4 maybe I can hold it for a few months or find something more available around here to play with. Still I guess not too many people are willing to ship a 69lbs head! and at the moment i'm too afraid it could be damaged during shipping...

I would do ebay and talkbass before trying to find one through craigslist. There's at least one in the classifieds now, and a few on ebay.

[Pilgrim]

Craigslist is primarily local. If you ask someone to ship, you're taking a big chance on getting the short end of the deal. I won't use Craigslist unless I can go pick up the item in person.

[stflbn]

Originally Posted by stflbn

I ONLY use Craigslist for local purchases, or purchases that I'm willing to drive to pick up face to face and pay cash with.

There's NO way I could trust someone on Craigslist to follow through with a long distance purchase. NO WAY.

In fact... there's NO way I even allow potential buyers for something I'm selling to come by my house to 'check it out'. I'll meet them somewhere well lit and public. If they can't tell that what I'm selling is quality then they shouldn't buy it.

I always tell people that anything I sell comes with a 100% Guaranteed Limited Warranty. Limited to when they put their money into my hands and put the item in their vehicle. Then it's THEIRS and theres no more warranty what-so-ever.

Honestly... I've never had anyone surprised or opposed to those terms.

[Stumbo]

I went through the same thing trying to figure out how to get CL sellers to feel comfortable shipping and item. I lost out on several deals because I didn't have everything lined up when I first started attempting to do the shipping thing through CL.

I've had CL items shipped from Denver, Boston and a couple of other places.

I had the seller send more pics so I knew they had the item. I talked to the seller quite a bit and got the feeling they were on the level and to let them know that I was on the level. I faxed my driver's license one time and got theirs in return.

I then got the size and weight of the item. I also got the seller to agree to:

1) allow UPS to pack and ship the item,
2) take Paypal after the UPS tracking # was issued(UPS has a computer that can be used to check your Paypal account)
3) and also to ship the item based on the following:

a) I got the seller's street name and found the nearest UPS store. Or maybe the seller knows the location.

b) I called the store and spoke to the manager. I let him/her know that I would be paying for shipping by credit card for an item that someone would be bringing in.

c) I got the manager to agree that I could speak with whomever was clerking at the time of shipment so I could have them describe the item to me. Note: With the ease of sending cell phone pictures, maybe someone at UPS could send you pictures of the item to be shipped)

d) I also told the manager I would have the seller call me when he arrived at the store.

e) I called the UPS store clerk and had them describe the item to me and if it was the item, I had them pack it.

f) Note: Packing should have NO peanuts-only about 6 inches thick of large bubble wrap around the entire item including the corners. For an amp, I also had small bubble wrap placed in and around the inside of the amp(especially for tubes). They can get a box to fit by adding more bubble wrap if necessary

g) I then paid for the packing/shipping.

h) I contacted the seller after the UPS tracking # was issued ( I had the clerk give me the #), I then dropped a payment into the seller's paypal account which he could check online at the time.

i) After everything was cleared by the buyer/UPS, the transaction was complete.

Be sure and have the seller include a signed receipt with the item (including all the details). I didn't for a couple of items and had to request a receipt after the fact.

Note: for the item I had shipped from Boston, I used a freight consolidator and the speaker cab was freighted out to Los Angeles. There were additional charges to get the freight from the distribution center to my house and to have the pallet moved from the truck to my garage.

IME, there are no refunds/returns on CL items shipped unless the seller agrees. Even if he/she agrees there's really no practical way to make pursue someone who won't give you your money back.

BTW, I've had worse luck with some ebay sellers.

YMMV.

[dalek]

Thanks for the warnings! That's what i supposed, deals like these are better done face to face. You're lucky to have all that stuff around! Still with such great distances you may have a great deal say in New York and be living 2000 miles away, so it depends.

[dalek]

Stumbo, thanks for sharing your experience, that's quite a procedure you followed! It'd be too much for my situation though.