Buying From Ebay

[rhythmdoctor]

Hey all,

 

It's been awhile since I've been on here. Anyways, there is a guitar on ebay I want to purchase but the seller has no previous selling history. My question is: Has anyone purchased from a no-history seller on ebay?

 

The guitar is a really good deal and I desperately want it but I don't want to throw away $400. Any help will be much appreciated.

[dhoenisch]

Buyer Beware. I got screwed by one of these no feedback people. Took my money, than was no longer registered. I did get my money back, but what a pain in the butt for a couple of weeks. (basically, I got his e-mail address, and let him know that I work for a rather large law firm in Chicago).

Dan

[athomas]

does he have any rating?

[rhythmdoctor]

Buyer Beware. I got screwed by one of these no feedback people. Took my money, than was no longer registered. I did get my money back, but what a pain in the butt for a couple of weeks. (basically, I got his e-mail address, and let him know that I work for a rather large law firm in Chicago). Dan

 

 

I'm in Chicago too! If this happens to me I may have to use your services!!

[rhythmdoctor]

does he have any rating?

 

 

Has a 0 rating.

[athomas]

I would be careful. Pay with paypal and request a tracking #.

[rhythmdoctor]

I would be careful. Pay with paypal and request a tracking #.

 

 

There have been 3 bids (one bidder has 0 history - and two others have ratings of 78 & 279). The fact that there are rated bidders gives me hope but I don't know. I really want to bid on this guitar!!

[Queequeg]

talk to him on the telephone. Convince yourself.

make it Paypal.

Ask for some more pictures. something specific that he will have to shoot for you.

everybody is a noobie on ebay @ some point.

[rhythmdoctor]

talk to him on the telephone. Convince yourself. make it Paypal. Ask for some more pictures. something specific that he will have to shoot for you. everybody is a noobie on ebay @ some point.

 

 

That's what I'm thinking. I sold my ES 335 about 7 years ago as a newbie and got $2300 for it - so someone trusted me. Paypal has the $200 insurance coverage so I might lose out on the other $200 but I really want this guitar!!

 

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[denvertrakker]

What's the item number?

[rhythmdoctor]

What's the item number?

 

 

You promise you won't bid on it?

 

200154447868

[dhoenisch]

I'm in Chicago too! If this happens to me I may have to use your services!!

 

 

Well, I'm not actually a lawyer, but I work for 130 of them, and am friends with a couple who would have backed me up if I had to take action.

 

Dan

[denvertrakker]

You promise you won't bid on it? 200154447868

 

 

:rolleyes:Totally not interested. Even though I love archtops.

 

Just wanted to look at the listing to get a feel for the seller. Sounds legit, unusual piece, plenty of pictures. Only bad thing is he's got zero feedback.

 

What makes you think it'll go for $400? I'd guess it would end up being much higher.

[happy-man]

I personally wouldn't do it. I got my D12X1 on eBay. I knew exactly what I wanted and wasn't in a rush. One listed with a zero history seller at a low price. I thought about it. I emailed with questions, and just didn't have a warm fuzzy feeling about it. I let it pass. Someone did get it at a great price, if I can believe the feedback, but I didn't feel like I missed out. It just wasn't worth a $400 risk for me. Someone has to the the first buyer, I'm just willing for it to be someone else. I was patient and ended up getting one with a hard case for $460 including shipping from a seller that had 100% positive feedback which included several guitars. That's always a question for me, does the seller know how to ship a guitar? I've had three sucessful guitar purchases so far on eBay, but I've been fairly cautious.

Just looked at the guitar, and this is a little different since it's such an unusual item. I'm still too timid.

Scott O

[rhythmdoctor]

:rolleyes:Totally not interested. Even though I love archtops. Just wanted to look at the listing to get a feel for the seller. Sounds legit, unusual piece, plenty of pictures. Only bad thing is he's got zero feedback. What makes you think it'll go for $400? I'd guess it would end up being much higher.

 

 

Thanks for taking a peak! I guess I'm hoping it will stay around the current bidding price - obviously it could go up but I'm hoping since it's a newbie seller others are staying away, hence a cheaper auction price.

[denvertrakker]

I've had three sucessful guitar purchases so far on eBay, but I've been fairly cautious. Scott O

 

 

That's been my experience as well. The Cort was a steal, primarily because the seller:

 

1. Listed it in the wrong category

 

2. Wrote a fairly pathetic description.

 

My first nylon-string was listed as a "crappy guitar", and boy was it ever. But, I learned a lot fixing it up, and sold it for a bit more than I had in it. My Yammie actually turned out to be a lot nicer than the seller's description.

 

You just have to be careful, and patient, and use common sense.

[Dave W.]

Just looked, lousy pix

[drnihili]

Looking at the other auctions he has listed can give some clues.

 

There are some amps, a keyboard, and extra drums in the background of the timpani picture. THat makes sense with what he's said and gives me a bit more confidence. He gives the same story in the timpani auction about the music estate sale. The third item for sale isn't a musical instrument, but it is the sort of thing one would find at an estate sale. The tone of the postings along with the secondary evidence leads me to feel that this isn't an intentional scam. Of course, it doesn't say anything about how honest and careful he is. I suspect most sour ebay deals are the result of insouciance rather than malice.

 

In your shoes, I would send a question asking about the seller's background. Is he a pawn shop that's just getting on to ebay or an individual that just happened to find some cool stuff? If you can talk on the phone, that's even better.

[knockwood]

Don't do it. No good deal on eBay is the LAST good deal on eBay. Others will come along with sellers that will have more confidence-inspiring (and worthy) histories.

I absolutely agree with Queg that all eBayers have a zero history at some point. It's possible that all it means is you're looking at an honest seller who is new to the Bay. But it's not your responsibility to risk your money to satisfy some principle of fairness. You can call the guy, email him, etc., but at the end of the day there is no way to diminish the risk. Not that there is no risk associated with a good history. I learned the hard way earlier this year that there are sellers out there who maintain numerous positives through retaliatory bad feedback, which they then use to leverage their suckers to mutually withdraw the {censored}e feedback... Ultimately, you just never know. I will never attempt to purchase an instrument on eBay again, and I couldn't care less how good a deal it seems to be. But that's me. To anyone who is planning on buying an instrument on eBay, my suggestion would be to at least take whatever safeguarding measures are available, and this would include dealing only with sellers who have established themselves to some extent with a verifiably good history (look for mutually withdrawn feedback as a caution).

[naterz]

I paid $100 for some drum samples from a guy who was brand spanking new with a zero rating. Took maybe 3 or 4 days longer than he said that it would to arrive, but otherwise everything worked out fine and I thought I got a good deal.