Craigslist inquiry.

[Bleecker]

Hello all.

I have been literally searching the world for a certain, apparently rare bass. I have had about a 98% good luck rate on buying through eBay Reverb and (locally) Craigslist. I have purchased many basses and gear this way. EBay and reverb are pretty safe for the buyer and will support a return and refund if not satisfied, damaged or its not as described etc. So far all my CL purchases have been in person...contact make a deal, meet somewhere pay cash, drive away happy. That's the back story.

So I finally have found my bass! Problem is its a CL ad in Los Angles CA and I'm in NY! How do I get this bass, it seem to be a lot about trust, but how can I get a guarantee from this guy? On my end I easily send him money through paypal. I'm not asking for a return policy necessarily, just how can I be sure he will even ship the bass?

Weird question I know, any help would be awesome as I don't want to miss this thing.

Thanks

 

[sleddogn]

Share ebay accounts for feedback, reverb too. I've done 2 CL transactions like this. Gonna be a leap of faith to a degree, unless you use an escrow company as middle man. Other way would be, find a family member or friend that might live close to go do it, no easy and perfect way

 

[Ostie]

I don’t have an answer for you, because CL is designed for local sales, and discourages long distance sales. So buy at your own risk.

 

[gln1955]

Road trip

 

[Bleecker]

I don’t have an answer for you, because CL is designed for local sales, and discourages long distance sales. So buy at your own risk.

Yup! That's my reason for hesitation. Thank you.

On another note, I like to click on where people live, and your's puts you in the middle of Michigan? Lol

 

[bassdude51]

Road trip

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or meet half way.

 

[Bleecker]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or meet half way.

and knock a thousand miles off the trip...Yeah!

 

[Killing Floor]

Meet halfway at a truck stop at night and don’t tell anyone where you’re going. That’s how I’d get abducted by a CL user.

 

[Thomas998]

You could have them send it to you COD through the US Post Office. The Post Office does COD as long as whatever is being sent is less than $1,000.

 

[BruceWane]

Ask him to put the bass on Ebay or Reverb, and offer to pay the extra fees. Agree on a time to do the deal so he can list it, send you a link to the listing, and you can complete the sale all within a few minutes. Listings take a while to be indexed on these sites, so it won't be visible to anyone else running a search for a little while.

 

[Warpeg]

Hello all.

I have been literally searching the world for a certain, apparently rare bass. I have had about a 98% good luck rate on buying through eBay Reverb and (locally) Craigslist. I have purchased many basses and gear this way. EBay and reverb are pretty safe for the buyer and will support a return and refund if not satisfied, damaged or its not as described etc. So far all my CL purchases have been in person...contact make a deal, meet somewhere pay cash, drive away happy. That's the back story.

So I finally have found my bass! Problem is its a CL ad in Los Angles CA and I'm in NY! How do I get this bass, it seem to be a lot about trust, but how can I get a guarantee from this guy? On my end I easily send him money through paypal. I'm not asking for a return policy necessarily, just how can I be sure he will even ship the bass?

Weird question I know, any help would be awesome as I don't want to miss this thing.

Thanks

I was in a similar position once. The bass was several states away. In fact, the bass was located in somewhat of a tourist destination. So....two birds with one stone - I went out there on vacation and picked up the bass while I was there.

 

[BruceWane]

You could have them send it to you COD through the US Post Office. The Post Office does COD as long as whatever is being sent is less than $1,000.

Eh, that's still a pretty big risk for the seller/shipper. If the buyer/recipient doesn't complete the transaction, the seller/shipper is on the hook for the cost of shipping both ways if they want their merchandise back.

There's absolutely no way I would ship a bass out COD.

 

[Thomas998]

Eh, that's still a pretty big risk for the seller/shipper. If the buyer/recipient doesn't complete the transaction, the seller/shipper is on the hook for the cost of shipping both ways if they want their merchandise back.

There's absolutely no way I would ship a bass out COD.

Depends on how badly the seller wants to sell the bass. If they aren't having any luck selling it locally it may be their only option if it is some rare bass with a limited fan base.

 

[dalkowski]

C'mon man -- what's the bass? (Don't worry I'm in neither L.A. nor a buying position so I won't poach, promise.)

 

[Stewie]

Nope Nope Nope. Even doing it locally, things will go wrong more often than you'd like. Be patient, it will come up closer to you.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

On my end I easily send him money through paypal. I'm not asking for a return policy necessarily, just how can I be sure he will even ship the bass?

PayPal are famous for siding with the buyer, so long you don't make the mistake of using the "Friend and Family" option.

 

[Bonafide]

I have bought and sold / shipped many higher end items from CL ads. All standard due diligence required for any Ebay, Forum, Reverb site etc applies here. Its just a matter of getting references, contact info and a secure form of payment. 99% of people on CL are legit. But you have to be willing to do the same and provide all your own details.

The biggest risk and most likely reason a seller would not ship from CL (my reasons) is you the buyer. It is easy to get your money back or freeze mine as a buyer with PayPal, but very hard to get the bass back. I require some feedback or references (even here on TB, Reverb etc I don't sell to history-less buyers) Plus I have great pre purchase investigating skills when dealing with a seller or buyer. Bottom line, it's 2021 and alot of us have been buying and shipping from various sites for 20 years. Its as safe as you are experienced and I can't say it any other way nor is there any way around that. Many sellers on CL have their gear listed elsewhere also. That is worth the asking. - Doable? Safe? Absolutely, but only if you pay due diligence.

 

[DanGroove]

Hello all.

I have been literally searching the world for a certain, apparently rare bass. I have had about a 98% good luck rate on buying through eBay Reverb and (locally) Craigslist. I have purchased many basses and gear this way. EBay and reverb are pretty safe for the buyer and will support a return and refund if not satisfied, damaged or its not as described etc. So far all my CL purchases have been in person...contact make a deal, meet somewhere pay cash, drive away happy. That's the back story.

So I finally have found my bass! Problem is its a CL ad in Los Angles CA and I'm in NY! How do I get this bass, it seem to be a lot about trust, but how can I get a guarantee from this guy? On my end I easily send him money through paypal. I'm not asking for a return policy necessarily, just how can I be sure he will even ship the bass?

Weird question I know, any help would be awesome as I don't want to miss this thing.

Thanks

I have never really run into a scam ad on Craigslist. I'm sure they exist, but is the ad asking for in person sale? That's usually a good sign of a legit ad. You may find that the real challange is convincing him to sell to you. I have only once ever shipped a sale I made on Craigslist. Usually my ads state "Cash sale in person only".

 

[Wesley R]

Maybe ask if there is a TBer who would go look at it for you and provide his opinion.

 

[TheReceder]

I've got to agree with DanGroove. I get so many calls from scammers asking for long distance sales that it's tough to know who's legit. To me it's better to just wait for a local sale.

I wish you luck, but nothing would ruin a dream bass more than finding out that after you went through the challenge of buying long distance, it ends out being a poor playing nightmare.