Crappy Craigslist deal - rant .. sorry

pfschim · #1 12-02-2006, 07:25 PM

RANT ON
hey just wanted to say that the Mesa Buster Bass 200 head that I thought I had made a deal on just went south. I was dealing with a guy in Chico, CA who uses the name Modulust on eBay. We agreed to a price and were going to meet on Sunday to close the deal.

Well, he just emailed to say sorry but he found a better buyer.

I do not make a habit of buying and selling used gear. I play and only look for gear that I am going to use. I may be naive, but once you tell someone SOLD, they should expect that the item is theirs. Am I wrong on this ??

RANT OFF

whew, thanks for listening

This is not the end of the world, I'm just kind of pissed about this ethically challenged situation. Guess, I should just stick with the TB classifieds or buy new. Only problem is that I can't buy the Mesa gear I'm GASing for new .. so I guess its back to the drawing board.

Hmmm I see Demon666 has a buster for sale

jvbjr · #2 12-02-2006, 07:35 PM

Using your theory there should never be a deadbeat bidder on ebay either. A deal is a deal when the money hits the table, everything else is negotiations. I had the exact same thing happen to me two weeks ago. Guy had an ad on ebay for a guitar with his phone number in it. Since I was local I asked if I could pick the item up to avoid shipping, he offered it to me for a price to stop the auction, we agreed and he never showed up! Two days later he e-mails, "sorry sold it for an extra $100 to someone else".

chaotick · #3 12-02-2006, 07:45 PM

As much as I love money, and that is quite a bit, I have never went back on my word as a craigslister once I have agreed to sell; It really makes me question human decency when people pull stuff like that.

fradubio · #4 12-02-2006, 07:47 PM

I recently had a bum deal on craigslist in MA. Drove a good distance and met a fella at a bookstore (I guess I should have clued in that this was sketchy). Bought a Mesa 4x10 at what I thought was a good deal ($200) with one speaker blown. Turns out, only one speaker worked, the rest were fried, so the good deal ends up being about double the price w/ recones. Fella claimed he didn't know and hadn't played the cab in years.

TrooperFarva · #5 12-02-2006, 07:54 PM

I can see both sides of the argument. If he said he would sell it to you, then he should have followed through, you had an agreement. But if you were in his shoes, and got an offer for more money, I'm not sure if you, or anyone really, would have turned it down, on principle.

But as far as agreeing to meet, and then not showing, that's just messed up.

pfschim · #6 12-02-2006, 07:56 PM

As I said, I must be naive. I do not go in for the eBay thing because I really am not interested in wheeling and dealing and all the other kinda snarky stuff that seems to happen in the bidding process. I find it very underhanded.

I'm just interested in picking up an all tube rig.

Just out of curiosity, does your view hold true for the TB For Sale forum as well ? ... that the deal is not done till the cash hits the table. If so, thats too bad. In this virtual/web based world, its unlikely that we'll be 10 minutes away from anyone selling stuff we might be interested in. So using your theory, how would we ever expect to consummate mutually agreeable deals.

Ah well, I'm just cranky pantsed over this, it'll pass.

nad · #7 12-02-2006, 07:57 PM

If cash is not in hand, the deal is not done.

I've had numerous buyers say "I'll be there on _____ with $_____" only to be never heard from again.

This is why Paypal is so great, it's instant.

EDIT: I also make it clear that it's a first come, first served basis. If I make arrangements for someone to meet me in X amount of days, I always remind them that the sale could go to someone else first because I do not hold items (tried that a few times in the past, got burned).

-Kramer- · #8 12-02-2006, 08:05 PM

I understand where you are coming from pfschim, but to some people money is more important than their word and an extra $100 is pretty good money.

**Kelly Lee** · #9 12-02-2006, 08:05 PM

This is really not an Amps topic so I'm moving it to Misc.

Kelly

tplyons · #10 12-02-2006, 11:57 PM

It happens. I tell the buyer to meet me within 1 or 2 days at a specified time and location and will hold it until then. No later, no exceptions. But will pass on any other offers telling the interested party it's on hold. I've never had an upset customer.

bongomania · #11 12-03-2006, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfschim

As I said, I must be naive. I do not go in for the eBay thing because I really am not interested in wheeling and dealing and all the other kinda snarky stuff that seems to happen in the bidding process. I find it very underhanded.

For the most part, I have experienced less "wheeling and dealing" on Ebay than on TB, CL, or any other buy/sell venue. With certain exceptions, the bidding and payment system on Ebay is fairly well regulated and straightforward, and the feedback system does provide a small amount of accountability. Sure, it's not even close to perfect, but it's better IMO than having no systems or accountability at all.

Even the TB classifieds, as awesome as this community is, are not free of jerky behavior. The whole place is populated by humans!

pfschim · #12 12-03-2006, 02:23 AM

well, for comparison, I just picked up a Turner fretless 4 string on Thur. I made a point to look local (craigslist SF) and once I found the Turner, made an offer. The seller and I batted it back and forth just a little and then agreed. I was ready with the cash and we closed the deal. Nice guy, nice bass nice transaction.

The Buster deal was the same up to the point of the sellers email to me this evening. He sent me a "SOLD" note last weekend then disappeared till Friday when he set a place and time to meet him. Then this evening, I get the "tough luck" email. What a jerk.

The additional crappy thing about this is that in the mean time I DID find another very attractive deal on a very cool tube rig at a great price, again locally, but passed on it because I had made a deal with the Buster seller. As an ethical guy, I decided not to renege on my offer as he did to me.

Anyway, I'm over it .. it's not the end of the world. Just have to keep looking. This just reinforces to me why used gear wheeler dealer types are such a waste of protoplasm.

Perhaps the Buster was just not meant for me.

Thanks for the replies.

jondog · #13 12-03-2006, 07:40 AM

I answered a CL ad and met his price, I confirmed the meeting the day before, I took the train into the city, he didn't show so after 15 minutes I called him. He says "I decided not to sell." ***!!! You owe me for my train fare and 2 hours of my time mofo!!!

So, it could be worse, at least your guy emailed you.

I did a CL trade yesterday, we did minor testing together and I agreed to the deal but now that I'm home I know one of the speakers is blown. I have his email and phone, seemed like a decent guy, should I bother trying to get him to make up for it?

Lowner · #14 12-03-2006, 08:14 AM

I had a CL guy say he was selling this bass gear he never used because he was moving out of town in 2 weeks. I was to get a Washburn bass(I forget what model) and a Peavey 100 watt amp for $45.00 and he said if I bought the gear on the spot he would throw in a Yamaha RBX 175 as well. Then he gave me a phone number in the same e mail that when I called was disconnected.

Craigslist makes me wonder sometimes about the integrity of the sellers and so I have yet to buy anything. I just browse the ads.

MysticMichael · #15 12-03-2006, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfschim

I may be naive, but once you tell someone SOLD, they should expect that the item is theirs. Am I wrong on this ??

If this had been a transaction on eBay - or on TalkBass, for that matter - there would have been repercussions for this kind of behavior. It's called "negative feedback". Which means that sooner or later one's bad reputation will catch up with him. Seems to have a decent deterrent effect, IME...

Craig's List, however, is a much less regulated environment. There, it's pretty much law of the jungle: caveat emptor - let the buyer beware. And the seller too, for that matter...

MM

**Kelly Lee** · #16 12-03-2006, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jondog

I did a CL trade yesterday, we did minor testing together and I agreed to the deal but now that I'm home I know one of the speakers is blown. I have his email and phone, seemed like a decent guy, should I bother trying to get him to make up for it?

Personally, if you checked it out before you paid and then agreed to buy, it's on you and not him. IMO and YMMV.

Baryonyx · #17 12-03-2006, 03:46 PM

You took a bit of a burn on buying the Mesa there, and I agree that it is a bit dodgy of the seller to pass it on to someone else because he got a better deal. Still, it's craigslist and some people are naturally greedy. Paypal is the way to go if you want assurance. To this guy, you're nothing. You're not a guy on TB who can come and sully his reputation, you're just the guy who got stepped on, which is pretty low.