Safest way to sell an amp on Craigslist? Should I let someone come to my home?

[elsupermanny14]

I found a potential buyer for an amp I'm selling. The only downside is the person who wants to buy the amp wants to come and hear the sound of the amp. This is fine and dandy, except that I don't want a complete random stranger coming to my home.

 

I sell a lot of stuff through Craigslist and I always meet people in busy open areas like malls and supermarket parking lots. I have to admit I'm not too thrilled about letting someone come over.

 

Any advice?

[boytbpc]

Do you live in an apartment complex or a single dwelling home? If the former, then setup in a common area. If the later, look into other options such as a practice space or a music store. There was a store I used to go to that advertised itself as available for craigslist trades. It was a great idea because I never left without picking something up, strings, cables, etc.

 

 

I found a potential buyer for an amp I'm selling. The only downside is the person who wants to buy the amp wants to come and hear the sound of the amp. This is fine and dandy, except that I don't want a complete random stranger coming to my home. I sell a lot of stuff through Craigslist and I always meet people in busy open areas like malls and supermarket parking lots. I have to admit I'm not too thrilled about letting someone come over. Any advice?

 

[arrowhen]

 

Do you live in an apartment complex or a single dwelling home? If the former, then setup in a common area. If the later, look into other options such as a practice space or a music store. There was a store I used to go to that advertised itself as available for craigslist trades. It was a great idea because I never left without picking something up, strings, cables, etc.

 

 

That's brilliant!

[Canadian Jeff]

Depends on the guy you're dealing with. There's always potential for disaster on CL. That being said, I've completed hundreds of CL transactions and never had anything messed up happen yet. *knocks on wood*

[harold heckuba]

Dont let someone in your home. I watch a show called "The Investigators" every nite at 3 am, and you would be surprised as to the

number of episodes where people were murdered just because a stranger knew where they lived.

[Brown, Charlie]

Extention cord

[GreaserMatt]

Offer to bring it by his place; thats always worked for me; I think they feel less inclinded to haggle as well, since they didn't even leave their house, LOL... I've bought & sold a ton of {censored} on the ol' CL, & have had tons of good trans... good luck!

[ajympt]

There are a lot of {censored}nuts in the world. You do not want them in your house.

 

Do yourself a favor and find a public space in the daytime.

[RaVenCAD]

 

There are a lot of {censored}nuts in the world. You do not want them in your house. Do yourself a favor and find a public space in the daytime.

 

 

This, 100%...

[billybilly]

I'm lucky, where I live, we come and go to each others places all the time but it will change, I can see it coming.

[fenderbender56]

Music store, I have brought my guitar to hear what an amp sounds like. I would bring my amp to hear what a guitar sounds like.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

Offer to bring it by his place; thats always worked for me; I think they feel less inclinded to haggle as well, since they didn't even leave their house, LOL... I've bought & sold a ton of {censored} on the ol' CL, & have had tons of good trans... good luck!

 

 

This sounds like a good compromise, also see if you can talk to them on the phone, I can often tell about somebody on the phone.

 

There's a whole lotta normal people out there, they far outnumber the nutters and murderers

[JTEES4]

I've sold plenty of amps in my home. Don't be alone, and if you don't have a dog...consider borrowing one.

[Yer Blues]

I've always wondered about this too. I actually have a guitar I want to sell and am not sure how I will go about doing it. It's only an Agile, so it's really not worth the hassle and I've just kept it so far.

[RaVenCAD]

 

I've sold plenty of amps in my home. Don't be alone, and if you don't have a dog...consider borrowing one.

 

 

A clearly visible weapon can help send a message too.. But still, no one comes to my home from Craigslist.. No exceptions.

[Blackface]

Even if the guy doesn't murder you, I'd be worried about them coming back later and stealing all of my other gear.

[rvschulz]

 

I'm lucky, where I live, we come and go to each others places all the time but it will change, I can see it coming.

 

 

depends on you and them, obviously. i think many people are totally honest. i am also pretty astute so i can judge other's character pretty easily. that is the key concerning letting someone into your personal space. how can you judge over the phone ?? you decide. personally, i listen closely to the way they speak - sentence construction, word selection, items which point to obvious intellect.

 

one major point of contention in the world is that some people are stupid/dumb but want nice stuff. yours. others are smart. if you can tell the difference, usually the smart ones have jobs and will just try out your stuff and buy it if it works. the dumb ones get greedy and want to take your stuff. them i execute. painfully. LOL ! of course, anyone i distrust in the least gets nowhere near my stuff.

 

good luck.

[BydoEmpire]

I've sold a couple amps on CL out of my home and never had a problem, though nothing over $500. The email correspondences before the sale were all seemed pretty normal and didn't give me any weird vibes. Good suggestion about borrowing a big, mean dog - might do that next time.

 

If I was selling anything more expensive I'd be more inclined to meet at a neutral location.

[bluesnapper]

Get him to ring you for a chat. If he sounds like a reasonable bloke then 99.99% chance he probably is.

 

If he's only willing to communicate through badly-spelt emails typed in block capitals, then probably best avoid him. Even in public.

 

Either way, it's your call. Don't do anything you feel uncomfortable with. But you can't go through life being paranoid either.

[gdsmithtx]

I've bought 2 amps from Craigslist and listened to them both before buying. One time I went to the guy's house, and one time I met the seller at my office.

[markblasco]

I always meet people at Guitar Center when selling expensive music equipment, so they have an opportunity to check it out. That way there is no way they can come at me later and say that something isn't working right, since they had as much time as they wanted to check it at GC. This also means they don't need to bring a guitar, since they can pull one off of the wall to test.

[jpnyc]

I

[Hookandcanman]

I agree with everyone - I've done tons of deal through CL but never once invited someone to my home even when buying or selling amps. I meet someplace public - like the GC as stated above. Usually if you're quick and not an asshole I've never had an issue with the staff not letting us check out gear for a private sale. Or take an extension cord to the outside outlet of a big box store or something. If I go to their home I'll call someone before I go in and after I leave - I also give them the address...paranoid I know but you never can tell.

[Jerry_L]

I've sold a lot of music gear through CL and have always had people come to my home. I set it up in the garage or basement so they don't walk into the rest of the house. Musicians are usually cool people. I would be more paranoid if I was selling some other household item. I also pay ADT for burglary alarm service, though, and have signs clearly posted.

[BydoEmpire]

When I sold amps via CL, I brought the ONE amp I was selling into the living room, and one relatively inexpensive guitar to test with. I obviously did NOT show them the studio or hint that there was more gear in the house.