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POLL: Most irritating TB classifieds thread replies

The worst?

  • Trades?

  • Would you take a kidney?

  • I wish my wife would let me but...

  • If I buy another thing my wife will divorce me!

  • I know you said no trades but do you want this (piece of crap 5-string *inserts photos*)?

  • Wish I had the funds, GLWTS!

  • Hate to be a downer but <Inserts some TB rule>

  • Weight? Nut width? (with zero intention of buying)

  • Other - see comment

  • ALL OF THE ABOVE

  • if it were a 5er I'd be all over it

Results are only viewable after voting.
#161
IngloriousOz said:
Oh man, I guarantee if you said 9.310 lbs they would have said "oh shoot, I can only do 9.3 sorry!"
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But that’s fine. At least they know exactly what the bass weighs and that’s where their cutoff is. But the “weighs about nine pounds on my bathroom scale” most likely means it weighs ten pounds or more. Weight is an exact number just like the agreed upon price.
 
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#163
IngloriousOz said:
"I know you said you're only interested in 4 string fretted basses but I've got this cool one of a kind Hungarian 7 string fretless loaded with EMG's. Was wondering if you'd be interested in a trade (With cash on your end of course)"
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Oh yeah, the “cash on your end” trade offer. I’d like to offer you this bass in trade with $2000 on your end. Dude, that’s not a trade, that’s a sale. A trade offer should be a mostly even trade or offer money to make up the difference.
 
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#164
MultiScaleMale said:
Oh yeah, the “cash on your end” trade offer. I’d like to offer you this bass in trade with $2000 on your end. Dude, that’s not a trade, that’s a sale. A trade offer should be a mostly even trade or offer money to make up the difference.
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I was selling/trading a Ric 4003 a couple years ago and had a post in the comments that he wanted to trade me his 5 string Victor Wooten Fodera for my Ric and another $5k on my end and was dead serious.
 
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#166
two fingers said:
Ha! I am not exactly a "spoon fed" kinda guy.

But, there are several manufacturers that make models in 34" amd 35". They also make 18mm and 19mm spacing.

I will only buy a 19mm spaced 5 and prefer 35" scale. I also don't want an 11 pound bass.

So, I get get out of your dang hair and move on to another ad (or just buy yours) if those things are listed in the freaking ad.

Bass sales are no different from used car sales, used boat sales, and used tennis racquet sales.

I wanna know how many miles are on it, which engine it has, how many hours on the boat motor, how old the string on the racquet is.

These are BASIC stats on the item for sale. And, again, I'm not the one who needs/wants to sell a bass.

Have you ever worked in customer service of any kind? I'm guessing no.

If you are selling a bass, you are now in sales. And we are your potential customers. We will have questions. It's your job to provide customer service.

Let me ask you this. Let's say you go into a car dealership, or a phone store, or Best Buy. You ask an employee a question about a product. The reaction you get is an eye roll and "Dude, all thay stuff is kn our website". Your reaction, I'm assuming, would be "You're right, sir! My apologies! I should have done my homework. Sorry to bother you. Carry on, then."

Uh..... no.

The only difference is scale. They are trying to sell a billion things and you're tryimg to sell one or a few. But, make no mistake, when you are trying to sell something, YOU are in the customer service business.

Don't like it? Make a lamp out of that bass.
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@two fingers - you are fun to debate with. Yes, been in sales for the past 40 years, whether selling windshield wiper fluid to my full service customers when I was a kid pumping gas or selling millions of dollars of equipment to Fortune 100 companies, so I do know customers and customer service VERY WELL. My feedback here attests to my bass related gear sales and service. :)

I think everyone here has valid views and very accurate experiences - all part of the game. As a seller, I do my best provide to all pertinent info in my ads to mitigate as many questions as I can but you can’t please everybody - oh well, don’t buy it then. As a buyer, I do my homework and only ask questions if only the seller holds the answers (or pics). IMO - selling or buying here is not Amazon, Best Buy, or a car dealer. It is a bazaar that requires more bartering type of activity, so sellers AND buyers need to know what they are in for and be prepared as best as possible. If not, Amazon Prime is a good deal. Lol.
 
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#168
IngloriousOz said:
I'd assume it's because most folks only have bathroom scales sitting around their houses and don't want to go get a luggage/postal scale to cater to tire kickers who act like a few ounces is a big deal - again, when they have no intention of buying. I've bought dozens of basses on this site and have never cared what the weight is - however, if something that is of concern isn't listed in the ad and I am actually interested in purchasing - I'll message the seller and ask them. Pretty simple. Go back and read what this thread is actually about - it's not about WEIGHT BEING AN IMPORTANT FACTOR OR NOT.
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Yes! I dont even have a bathroom scale, as per orders from the boss (the missus) so getting an accurate weight takes work. And most of my basses are relatively more expensive and not going to be an impulse buy (for most people). Like I said before, im not debating that certain things are important for buyers, but its kind of like people coming in to GC to play stuff then order somewhere else online. After a while it gets old.
 
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#170
IngloriousOz said:
I'd assume it's because most folks only have bathroom scales sitting around their houses and don't want to go get a luggage/postal scale to cater to tire kickers who act like a few ounces is a big deal - again, when they have no intention of buying. I've bought dozens of basses on this site and have never cared what the weight is - however, if something that is of concern isn't listed in the ad and I am actually interested in purchasing - I'll message the seller and ask them. Pretty simple. Go back and read what this thread is actually about - it's not about WEIGHT BEING AN IMPORTANT FACTOR OR NOT.
Click to expand...
How about this, tire kickers are a fact of life as well everyone has an opinion and various consideration factors when looking at a bass.
If you want to make a "Classified Ad" a "public open forum posting as well" for the people, you simply create the opportunity for it.
Why not just make a classified ad posting just that, no open/public forum discussions necessary and have all replies be the way of just PM's like a typical classified ad?
Problem solved. Just seems to me to be the perfect solution to those who are so bothered.
 
#172
greenduke said:
How about this, tire kickers are a fact of life as well everyone has an opinion and various consideration factors when looking at a bass.
If you want to make a "Classified Ad" a "public open forum posting as well" for the people, you simply create the opportunity for it.
Why not just make a classified ad posting just that, no open/public forum discussions necessary and have all replies be the way of just PM's like a typical classified ad?
Problem solved. Just seems to me to be the perfect solution to those who are so bothered.
Click to expand...

How about you just let everyone answer the poll and add their two cents about whatever bothers them with tire kickers and/or people who don't clearly read the entire ad before posting below instead of playing devils advocate to derail this thread?
 
#174
There are definitely some irritating ones in this poll, but many of them wouldn't really bother me. Some are legitimate questions when asked in the right spirit (weight, nut width). I think comments like "beautiful bass!" can pump up interest in a seller's item, even if the commented isn't in a position to but it.
 
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#177
IngloriousOz said:
I know August is a slow month for gear sales across the board but that doesn't stop the TB classifieds threads from filling up with the same obnoxious replies from tire kickers who have no intention of buying anything - even when sellers ask to keep everything in a PM to keep threads clean and/or they don't check back on the ads as much as they check the PM's.

If I missed something, comment below and I'll add it (you gotta vote to see the results)
Click to expand...

The flip side is the most irritating ads:

  • "Pics coming soon" and they never come.

  • Can't weigh it and don't know the neck specs but I expect you'll give me a $1000 anyway.

  • I have to sell this to pay medical bills (also considering trades for xxxx).

  • Plays like "buttah".

  • This is "my favorite bass ever" but I am selling it to buy another bass.
 
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#178
pcake said:
i always ask the weight of any bass because i have physical limitations and the weight makes a difference. since i've bought over 20 basses in the last ten years (not sure how many over 20 because i've lost track), i think it's safe to say i often intend to buy - but not if a bass is over my limit, which is why i ask.
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I would say the great majority of people who buy basses want to know the weight and have a lot of different reasons for this. I have never understood why people can't buy a ten dollar scale to weigh a bass that they are selling for $1500 or more. Just seems really silly to me and counter productive to the goal of selling the instrument.
 
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#179
Texican said:
This is a point that a few of us have hit on already, but I think the tone of this pretty much sums up the problem I have with sellers. I google the specs myself usually, but only because I enjoy it. A buyer may be looking at every bass in the classifieds, while a seller only has to know the specs for the one instrument he is selling. I’ll say it again, when you sell a piece of equipment, you are no different then a salesman at guitar center. You better know your product. And you better not cop an attitude with a potential buyer because they may take their business elsewhere. This is why a shop takes a percentage on consignment sales; because they are doing all the work for you. Being a buyer however is not supposed to be work. My advice to anyone that feels that they are somehow being victimized as a seller would simply be to keep your bass and find some other means of making that money.
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Bang on! 100%
 
#180
john_g said:
Yes! I dont even have a bathroom scale, as per orders from the boss (the missus) so getting an accurate weight takes work. And most of my basses are relatively more expensive and not going to be an impulse buy (for most people). Like I said before, im not debating that certain things are important for buyers, but its kind of like people coming in to GC to play stuff then order somewhere else online. After a while it gets old.
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$7

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