Members elsupermanny14 Posted May 17, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 17, 2012 This thread reminded me of a cool story. I bought my Mesa amp through Craigslist about 5 years ago I picked it up from a guy who lived in a trailer park. I drive over and when I get there and he tells me he has it set up inside and invites me in to his trailer to test it out. I go in and its an absolute mess. He guides me into and into the living room and we pass a tiny kitchen where there are disgusting dishes in the sink that look like they've been sitting there for two months. As I enter the room I see my future amp sitting on top of a TV and between probably 30 vintage amps of all brands and sizes stacked up on the floor. Amongst all these amps are maybe half dozen or so old beat up strats and Les Pauls. We start talking about the gear laying about the room and stacked up against the walls. He starts talking my leg off telling me stories about how he acquired each one and what year they are ect. Turns out many of these guitars strewn about the room are high dollar vintage models. Fifty something Les Paul blah blah, sixty something strat this and that. Some were just sitting on the coffee table with all the other trash this guy had. At this point Im marveling at a mid 50's Les Paul he has laying in a corner and he tells me to plug it into the amp I'm going to buy. I do and I noodle around and play a few riffs. Then the guy asks me If I want a shot of tequila which I accept. It turned out to be the first of what was to become a half dozen or so over the next few hours. This guy ends up taking me into his bedroom where he's got another at least another 40 Marshall amp heads stacked up and the sides of his bedroom walls from every decade. It almost looked like wallpaper there were so many. I've seen music stores with less inventory. He then shows me his closet and there are no clothes, just guitar cases. So many that he can hardly walk in to pull them out which he starts doing one by one and opening them up on his bed to show me whats inside. It was freaking unreal. You name a brand and model and he had one. Tesco, Harmony, some obscure europian brands as well as gretches, more gibsons. You get the idea. He's pulling them out from under the bed and even pulled a few out from his bathroom. I couldn't even guess the value of gear contained in his little {censored} hole trailer but it had to be well into the hundreds of thousands.From the outside of his double wide trailer you would have never guessed what was inside. Just a musical goldmine. It was very cool and I'll never forget it, but I could have been anyone and he just invites me in for guitar show and tell. Maybe he was just lonely, but it was just freaking mind blowing. Just thought I'd share. That being said. Personally I used to sell and buy off CL quite a lot and never had a problem having people come over to my own house, but I always caught hell from my wife for doing so. Late last year I gave a potential buyer my cell phone number and he started texting me some incredibly screwed up pictures and so fourth. It freaked me out so much I ended up notifying the cops. I have a daughter in my home and it really woke me up to the screwed up people in the world. My wife was freaking out. I still sell off Craigslist but now I just have buyers to meet me at my local drugstore parking lot. Its just not worth the risk. (Wow that was a long post!) All I took away from this story is that another guy got you drunk and invited you to his bedroom. After a number of Tequila shots you accepted and his invite to his bedroom. At the end of your experience you went into the closet haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SDshirtman Posted May 17, 2012 Members Share Posted May 17, 2012 All I took away from this story is that another guy got you drunk and invited you to his bedroom. After a number of Tequila shots you accepted and his invite to his bedroom. At the end of your experience you went into the closet haha.I guess you could look at it that way huh? I feel strange all of a sudden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brown, Charlie Posted May 17, 2012 Members Share Posted May 17, 2012 I guess you could look at it that way huh? I feel strange all of a sudden. Ofcourse that's how HC takes it ... But that's a seriously cool story, they're just jelly. I hope you got a 50/60s jr. for ~ $500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsupermanny14 Posted May 17, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 17, 2012 So the amp sale fell through. To be honest, I'm pretty happy it did, because I avoided the whole stranger in my home situation. The guy sent me a few emails asking when he could come by, so I replied back tell him the hours that I was available and when I could by HIS PLACE. Never got a reply back after that. Looking back at things, I think I'm going to keep my amp. It's the Blackheart Little Giant. Call me crazy, but rather than sell it, I think I'm going to buy a 2x12 for it haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted May 17, 2012 Members Share Posted May 17, 2012 last time I sold something I met the guy in a Target parking lot, guy was cool but I noticed on his front seat was a 9mm. I said, "is that agun?" he was like, "yeah, I have a concealed permit but I guess its not really concealed" lol I live in a military town and he looked like a cop so I didnt really think twice about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted May 17, 2012 Members Share Posted May 17, 2012 I don't mind strangers coming over. Because I'm not a {censored}. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members epi56ebony Posted May 17, 2012 Members Share Posted May 17, 2012 I don't mind strangers coming over. Because I'm not a {censored}. Are you from the planet Krypton? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarheo3 Posted May 17, 2012 Members Share Posted May 17, 2012 I don't mind strangers coming over. Because I'm not a {censored}.best post i've seen all year. bravo mr. capo, bravo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonny guitar Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 Is this fear of craigslist customers a US thing? I have sold over a 100 things via craigslist transactions in my home and have never had a problem; I have had initial phone conversations that lead me to recant my offer of sale because I got a weird vibe from them. I feel more comfortable dealing with people in my home than on a street corner or in a coffee shop. I have had some delightful conversations with several of the people that I have met through these transactions and I have maintained a correspondence with 4-5 of my past buyers. I don't want to live in fear of what can happen....I trust my instinct for judging people. FWIW I am not a big scary guy at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JTEES4 Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 I am in the US, and I am even in the NY area....so this is where the problems should be. I have bought and sold about a hundred items over the last few years...some at my place, some at others homes...and sometimes we met. Never had a problem. Growing up in The Bronx, I think I learned a bit about street smarts and I actually think that has helped me avoid the problems before they even came up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 I've sold a bunch of stuff on Craiglist and never had a problem. Generally I put the stuff outside or in my garage before they come over but not always. Nobody has ever messed with me probably because I am a total badass. Just last week I sold my Beanie Baby collection to some biker. He didn't mess with me. Here's a piece of advice: Never turn your back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sillypeoples Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 I don't mind strangers coming over. Because I'm not a {censored}. Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel. I just keep them in the garage, door to the house locked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 Sounds like most of you live in scary, dangerous, maybe post apocalyptic places. Maybe you should move to a friendlier place where people don't try to killrape you everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 probably. we're scared of everything. there was 1 craigslist killer of the hundreds of millions of cl ads over the last decade and thats all it took. its never a "Sg for sale" ad the killer will make but a "work on my horse farm in buttmunch oregone" ad to be weary of. Is this fear of craigslist customers a US thing? I have sold over a 100 things via craigslist transactions in my home and have never had a problem; I have had initial phone conversations that lead me to recant my offer of sale because I got a weird vibe from them. I feel more comfortable dealing with people in my home than on a street corner or in a coffee shop.I have had some delightful conversations with several of the people that I have met through these transactions and I have maintained a correspondence with 4-5 of my past buyers. I don't want to live in fear of what can happen....I trust my instinct for judging people.FWIW I am not a big scary guy at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benzem Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 Sounds like most of you live in scary, dangerous, maybe post apocalyptic places. Maybe you should move to a friendlier place where people don't try to killrape you everyday. New Zealand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 Never had a problem either buying or selling on CL. Even though I've sold about a dozen pieces of gear over the years, I've only had one what I consider to be a "tire-kicker" -- the rest were serious about buying. Course, it prolly doesn't hurt that I'm >250lbs and have a 29 yo son who looks pretty rough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 Sounds like most of you live in scary, dangerous, maybe post apocalyptic places. Maybe you should move to a friendlier place where people don't try to killrape you everyday. I live in a place just like that but I am a total badass so nobody messes with me. I'm a life-taker and heartbreaker. I'm serious, man, don't f*ck with me. I mean it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LOLRECONLOL Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 I live in a place just like that but I am a total badass so nobody messes with me.I'm a life-taker and heartbreaker. I'm serious, man, don't f*ck with me. I mean it. Where in NJ do you live? I don't need to worry about people around here, just bears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 I live in a place just like that but I am a total badass so nobody messes with me.I'm a life-taker and heartbreaker. I'm serious, man, don't f*ck with me. I mean it. I'm a coffee maker and an LA Laker. I hear ya. Fo sho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashtray Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 I've done buying and selling over CL. Lots of smooth transactions, as well as some sketchy situations I just wanted OUT of. Yes, I've gone to people's houses to buy stuff, and didn't try it out - just paid them full price and got out of there ASAP. In those situations, overpaying for something based on condition were the least of my worries. I've also had people come over, that I regretted, and just wanted them to leave. Not so easy. But for every bad situation, I've had 9 pleasant ones where you end up chatting away and whatnot. It's just those few scary ones where you think to yourself "what am I doing?!". I wouldn't go to a buyer's house with my amp btw. You could drive there and the guy isn't home, or you get there and it's not in a good neighborhood. Or the guy is there with his buddies. And I wouldn't say it's a safe bet he's paying full price - if anything he would have more pull to offer less. You drove all the way to his house, you going to go home with the amp and waste 2 hours bc of $50? I had one bad CL story that was just a flakey seller and wasted 3 hours of my time for nothing. I drove an hour to go buy a Mesa amp. The guy's house was nice. The guy seemed nice. The amp didn't work! (he failed to test it before I came over). I left. He called 10 minutes later saying he called the shop and they said its probably just a bad tube, and could I meet him at the shop? I turned around and headed across town (30 minutes) to the shop. It was just a bad tube - but now the guy didn't want to sell the amp! He played it, fell in love again, and said he couldn't sell it. I drove home after wasting 3+ hrs, dealing with LA traffic, etc. That pissed me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DarthElvis Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 ... i listen closely to the way they speak - sentence construction, word selection, items which point to obvious intellect....usually the smart ones have jobs and will just try out your stuff and buy it if it works. good luck. By and large, serial killers are highly intelligent, well spoken people. Just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashtray Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 Bc this guy might want to come check out your guitar for sale: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/msg/3023575923.html Hand sewn case made from 501 Levi Straus at California Institution for Men at San Luis Obispo. The case was made in 2001 and took me six months to make. Back in those days you could wear street clothes and old jeans were handed down and could be incredibly old but in excellent condition. Everything you have in jail is protected and cared for. I acquired a zipper from the jacket factory and lined the inside with "warm up" material . There is also a zippered pouch for music on top. Very cool case. Never seen one like it. I'm 62 and just got out in Aug. 2011. I did the whole tour . I was at San Quentin, Tehachapi, Wasco, Avenal, Corcoran, and Chino Prisons. I'm free and still not accustomed to the fresh air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 lol some tours are best kept to oneself...i dont even wanna ask how he 'acquired' that zipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LesPaulFetish Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 Even if the guy doesn't murder you, I'd be worried about them coming back later and stealing all of my other gear. This would be more my concern. Call me crazy, but if there are multiple people around the house in broad daylight I'd be cool with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LesPaulFetish Posted May 18, 2012 Members Share Posted May 18, 2012 Sounds like most of you live in scary, dangerous, maybe post apocalyptic places. Maybe you should move to a friendlier place where people don't try to killrape you everyday. LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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