buying from craigslist.

68Goldfish · #1 02-18-2008, 11:17 PM

Do any of yous buy stuff from craigslist? I mean out of town stuff. I've bought stuff off of TalkBass and a couple things off of Ebay but I'm kind of leary about sending somembody from craigslist a thousand bucks for an amp. How do you protect youself and your money? I guess I'd only use paypal but I don't know how much protection that is. I guess actually talking to seller is a must as well to try to get a feel for the guy. Any other advise out there?

FunkyFrosty · #2 02-18-2008, 11:25 PM

Heck I've bought outta country stuff on Craigslist but I am a gear troll....

Rattman · #3 02-18-2008, 11:28 PM

Want to save yourself some grief? Then DON'T buy anything from craigslist that you can't hold in your hands first. Strictly a local trading place.. not very safe.

skaliwag66 · #4 02-18-2008, 11:35 PM

Only buy local from CL. Lots of scammers.

warwick.hoy · #5 02-19-2008, 01:45 AM

does accepting PayPal help avoid scammers?

FunkyFrosty · #6 02-19-2008, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

does accepting PayPal help avoid scammers?

Yep at least you have some comeback that helps you deal with it, with them if something goes wrong - if you enter a dispute and if PayPal settles in your favor - they will reverse the transaction.

Pilgrim · #7 02-19-2008, 09:20 AM

I've used Craigslist and been happy - but only for local purchases. I would be extremely reluctant to buy anything sight unseen, regardless of payment methodology. Paypal doesn't do ANYthing for you for purchases outside Ebay. Remember, Ebay owns Paypal.

Bryan316 · #8 02-19-2008, 09:22 AM

Bought PLENTY. A power amp for my PA, my old Ampeg 610HLF, then sold that back on Craig's List for the same money I bought it for, then got my current Eden cabs, then some Peavey 2-channel compressors, a 5-channel noise gate, and recently been helping my guitarist find a backup amp.

Oh, and checked out plenty of Tobias basses as well. Almost bought one... damn I still wish I bought that one...

A local bass-slingin' buddy of mine found two DIRT CHEAP cabs on Craig's List and ran out to snag them, and he called me once he got there. I listened to his descriptions, and told him whether they were a worthwhile purchase. The next day, he was blasting the cabs through his neighbor's walls. \m/

I've had no problems with Craig's List. Here's the secret. Do you TRUST the listing? Here's what I mean:

1. Does the ad sound like a used car salesman?
2. Does the ad have even remotely fair grammar, punctuation, clarity? Does the ad make sense?
3. Does the ad have any pictures? If someone is selling any serious gear, he better have access to a digicam or at least getting a photoCD when developing a disposable camera. I hate ads for gear with no pictures of the actual item for sale. To me, that's the biggest red flag.
4. Does it look like they just copied the manufacturer's website's info and pasted it in there with stock brochure photos instead of the actual item's photos?

You gotta weed out the serious sellers from the hack garage-sale guys unloading stolen gear.

disenchant · #9 02-19-2008, 09:23 AM

Deal local, deal in cash, meet in a public place and bring a friend.

I bought a laptop and Aerosmith tix on Craigslist. I was nervous about the Aerosmith tix being fakes because they were computer printouts (which I didn't know until I saw the tix), but they turned out to be fine and I could tell the guy wasn't a scammer.

Buyer beware!

kesslari · #10 02-19-2008, 09:27 AM

I bought a really nice bass remotely from CL. I was very careful about it
It worked out fine. I'd be hesitant to do it again, and if I did I'd be equally careful.

+1 on Bryan's list.

I also asked for additional, specific photos (serial number and others - this further verified that they had the instrument and hadn't posted generic pictures), and got a lot of info from the seller over several conversations. They should be as potentially unsure about the transaction (you could be sending a bad check or whatever) as you are - after all, it's easier and safer for them to sell locally for cash on the spot.

If it feels weird, no matter how good a deal it is, don't do it.

Diggler · #11 02-19-2008, 09:51 AM

Hint... they really don't want 'roses' as payment.

JanusZarate · #12 02-19-2008, 11:08 AM

Be very cautious... I'm very wary of non-local deals. I've only done it once, a few years ago... but I made arrangements to do it through eBay.

Even CL recommends highly against it: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

hbarcat · #13 02-19-2008, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

does accepting PayPal help avoid scammers?

Only on ebay.

And even then, there are conditions.

neurotictim · #14 02-19-2008, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disenchant

Deal local, deal in cash, meet in a public place and bring a friend.

+1

I love Craigslist, but I'd stick with local.

Bryan316 · #15 02-19-2008, 11:47 AM

Oh yeah, just discovered this one:

http://detroit.craigslist.org/msg/576978725.html

If you're selling something as nice as a Lakland, WHY DON'T YOU HAVE IT ON A GUITAR STAND???? I won't touch this one with Maki's schlong and Thor pushing!

Hey guys. How you doing?

MJ5150 · #16 02-19-2008, 01:30 PM

CL is for local deals, quit ruining it. You guys keep stretching the CL boundaries, and it is just going to turn into a text with pics version of eBay.

-Mike

rawdogg · #17 03-11-2008, 07:43 PM

REALLY BAD IDEA!!!

fenderhutz · #18 03-11-2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diggler

Hint... they really don't want 'roses' as payment.

Someone hasn't been searching for gear I see.

lunarpollen · #19 03-11-2008, 08:53 PM

I bought my Dillion bass from a guy in NY, and the deal was totally kosher. I paid for it, he shipped it, I got it, and all was good. Just use some judgement, I mean it's not usually hard to tell if someone seems legitimate or if someone seems shady.

Ericman197 · #20 03-11-2008, 10:05 PM

I bought a car off Craigslist (75 Plymouth Duster with a 340). Here's how I did it:

- Contacted a million people selling different cars. Most were already sold, or otherwise not worth checking out. Oftentimes the owner would admit to major problems I can't or don't want to deal with. In many of the pictures you can tell the car had problems.

- The Duster was the second car I checked out in person. I should have looked at more cars, but I really liked this one. I ended up driving 3.5 hours just to get there, and I wound up going twice. Why would I go so far out of my way? I had absolutely nothing better to do, it was exactly what I wanted (rebuilt engine, trans, diff, new everything else ie: intake manifold, carb, distributer etc.), and I was having a hard time finding it in NJ.

- The deal was that he wrote up a contract "I _____ accept payment of $1000 by check as a down payment..." The amount of $1000 was pretty arbitrary as it was more than 10% of the sale price but he was going to put in a few additional things for me so I thought that would be fair. Since I wrote him a certified check, there were copies in case of a dispute. Truth be told I wouldn't have wanted to deal with it if things went to small claims court, but I trusted the guy and everything worked out fine.

- I took delivery of the car shortly thereafter and paid the remainder in cash after he signed over the title.

So basically deal locally, or have the seller come to you (in this case he delivered the car himself on a flatbed and the deal was done at my house). Having a check and contract is useful for any major transaction in the event that the deal goes sour.