# Ahh Kijiji in Ottawa...I won't miss you...



## Guest (Mar 26, 2012)

Clearing out a ton of stuff in anticipation of a move out West and man, what a ride.

Gave away a Sovtek 5AR4 tube that I was given by accident with that Mission 5e3 amp I bought last year. I had least a dozen emails from people who had no clue what it was, but wanted it anyways because it was free. Whaaaaaat?

And, just now, I had a guy stop by to look at a pristine condition J&D P-Style bass that I'm selling for a paltry $80. Eighty dollars. He wants me to play it for him because he's not a bass player. And then he's all put out because I don't have bass amp for him to here it through. It's an $80 bass. We're not talking fine instrument selection here.

And the KRK Rokit's I'm selling have drawn all kinds of nut jobs out of the wood work. One guy wanted me to meet him at L&M with them so he could A/B them against some Yahama's at L&M he was considering buying. Yea, because that'd go down so well with L&M staff...


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

LOLzzz man, I wouldn't want to be you. Except the moving to the awesome part of Canada, whereabouts?


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

that's brutal...

i hate dealing on kijiji.... but at the same time, it's helped me dump some gear quickly.


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

In Toronto and Montreal MIM Fenders go for $300-350. Here in Ottawa they want $500 or more. Some claim they are upgraded, however upgrades only matter to the seller and not the prospective buyer.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Yikes.

My first Kijiji experience locally, three weeks to contact me to see if I'm still interested.
I replied, in the same day, that I was and would like to see the guitar.
That's going on two weeks ago. Keep it.

Then, my only other experience, I started a thread in the electric section.
The guy with the old Ibanez, that thinks its value is double of its actual worth.
I think that I'm done with that circus.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

congrats on the upcoming escape
where out west are you moving?


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2012)

keto said:


> LOLzzz man, I wouldn't want to be you. Except the moving to the awesome part of Canada, whereabouts?


Vancouver!

Bit stressful doing this with two kids and the cats but it'll be good. We're pairing it down to the bare essentials.

I'll miss a few really nice people like mhammer and some friends from university who also settled here, but by and large I have zero love for Ottawa. Hate the weather. Hate the environs. Hate the job prospects here. We've got a chance to go so we're taking it. Should be there by the end of the summer. We're flexible and we won't actually split for BC until our house here sells.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

nice city... I visit there often, but don't think i could live there.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Awwww, man!! Great for you. Sux for me.


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2012)

mhammer said:


> Awwww, man!! Great for you. Sux for me.


Yea man, I'm going to miss hanging out with you. Still got a summer ahead of me here. So it's not like I'll doing a quick disappearing act.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

I grew up on vancouver island...could never get a liking for vancouver. neat to visit, wouldn't move there unless i had a wicked job lined up.

As horrible as it sounds, the winters are too mild to uhm "take care" of the homeless population out that way. Not trying to make it sound like i want homeless people to freeze to death, but a little bit of life or death motivation can be seen as a good thing imo.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Dont worry Ian - I'll keep you appraised of any great deals on Kijiji Ottawa. There's a guy currently selling a J&D P-style bass for $80, but I'm pretty sure I can get him down to $75!


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2012)

bagpipe said:


> Dont worry Ian - I'll keep you appraised of any great deals on Kijiji Ottawa. There's a guy currently selling a J&D P-style bass for $80, but I'm pretty sure I can get him down to $75!


Hehehe. 

You should buy my KRK Rokits.


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## TheRumRunner (Sep 29, 2011)

bagpipe said:


> There's a guy currently selling a J&D P-style bass for $80, but I'm pretty sure I can get him down to $75!


Don't bother, I went by to buy it and the guy didn't even have an amptitude thingy to make it work.

DW


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2012)

mike_oxbig said:


> I grew up on vancouver island...could never get a liking for vancouver. neat to visit, wouldn't move there unless i had a wicked job lined up.


Yea, I got me one of those which is why this is possible. My wife is ready to go back to work and her prospects are much better in Vancouver than Ottawa so that's the other motivating factor. Worse case we get there and don't like it and have to move back in a few years. We'd rather have tried it than to grow old wondering what if we had.

Plus: we really miss living in a proper city.

I will miss some of the space we have here with the house. We won't have nearly as much home in BC I suspect.



> As horrible as it sounds, the winters are too mild to uhm "take care" of the homeless population out that way. Not trying to make it sound like i want homeless people to freeze to death, but a little bit of life or death motivation can be seen as a good thing imo.


I get what you're saying. We lived for over a decade in downtown Toronto and I known the migratory patterns you're talking about. We likely won't settle right downtown though. West Van, North Van and Burnaby our are three target areas. We'll rent for a year in West Van before we buy; get a feel for the neighborhoods.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I'll have to connect you up with Dave Smith from the stompbox forum, who works for Radial these days.

Personally I prefer Vancouver Island to Vancouver, but then I find just about any big city irritating when I'm a driver there. My typical experience of Vancouver consists f either looking for where I turn off, or cursing the fact that I missed where I was supposed to turn and looking for where I can exit and turn around.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Yikes, West Van...my bro bought a 700 sq ft condo there last year or late 2010, it was $350K. 700, my office is almost that big (no, not really.) If you want a big commute, you can buy a lot of house in Chilliwack for $350K.


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2012)

keto said:


> Yikes, West Van...my bro bought a 700 sq ft condo there last year or late 2010, it was $350K. 700, my office is almost that big (no, not really.) If you want a big commute, you can buy a lot of house in Chilliwack for $350K.


We actually have friends who bought a year ago in Chilliwack. Too far out for us. We're looking to stay public transit distance from the core of Vancouver. I've been looking at the condo prices and yea, it's a bit of a hurt, but we don't need much space. I personally think it forces you to be a much more conscientious consumer when you can't just pack it all away in to the corners of a big house.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

TheRumRunner said:


> Don't bother, I went by to buy it and the guy didn't even have an amptitude thingy to make it work.
> 
> DW


Just go to Peterborough and get this .... ha ha...... good luck in the move 

_hello i have got a 40 watt amp i had for my guitar but dont need it no more i sold my guitar and need it gone in two weeks. price is nogoshibile. or i am open to trades as well no junk like ps3 games or fishing stuff let me no what you and i will go from there _


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Well, it is nogoshibile...


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

It's been the better part of a decade since i've been there, but i have a few friends in abbotsford and it seemed nice. The ethnic segregation in vancouver is really prominent...you'll definitely want to check out the part of town you're moving to before making any long term living arrangements. chilliwack is beautiful but it's a good hour or so away from vancouver. I used to go camping every year with some lovely women from chilliwack. ahh farmers daughters...i wish i was young (by young, i mean single) sometimes.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

iaresee said:


> Clearing out a ton of stuff in anticipation of a move out West and man, what a ride.
> 
> Gave away a Sovtek 5AR4 tube that I was given by accident with that Mission 5e3 amp I bought last year. I had least a dozen emails from people who had no clue what it was, but wanted it anyways because it was free. Whaaaaaat?
> 
> ...


Thanks for the laugh! People can be so funny when they are ridiculous.


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## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

Oh man! Sucks for me too! I will really miss you. But I am happy for you - it's going to be awesome for you guys there. And you're sure right about the weather.


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2012)

mister.zed said:


> Oh man! Sucks for me too! I will really miss you. But I am happy for you - it's going to be awesome for you guys there. And you're sure right about the weather.


Dude: read your email BEFORE you read the forum!


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## bluesmostly (Feb 10, 2006)

Ian, good for you. It will be a great adventure if nothing else. I love Van, don't know if I would love living there... The weather compared to Ottawa, oh yeah. It is the only place in Canada I think where you can ski in the morning and play golf in the pm on the same day, within city limits. Plus, it is a fun city with a great vibe, and imo, the most beautiful city in Canada. 

The housing prices, over the top. It is a massively over-inflated bubble, it would be a bummer to buy before that bubble pops. I was just reading a couple of reports a while back that pegged it as one of 3 cities in the world, Sydney Australia and the other I can't recall, with the most inflated real-estate prices. 

I must say I don't mind having my 'digital tutor' closer by. Enjoy the move. D


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2012)

David, we'll have to get together when we finally land out West.



bluesmostly said:


> Ian, good for you. It will be a great adventure if nothing else. I love Van, don't know if I would love living there... The weather compared to Ottawa, oh yeah. It is the only place in Canada I think where you can ski in the morning and play golf in the pm on the same day, within city limits. Plus, it is a fun city with a great vibe, and imo, the most beautiful city in Canada.


I've watched my friends post pictures from Grouse at night where it's snowing like mad...in April...and then talk about how they biked to work in the morning in a t-shirt. I really think I want that!



> The housing prices, over the top. It is a massively over-inflated bubble, it would be a bummer to buy before that bubble pops. I was just reading a couple of reports a while back that pegged it as one of 3 cities in the world, Sydney Australia and the other I can't recall, with the most inflated real-estate prices.


We're quite concerned about that. So we'll be renting at first. This gives us time to get our bearings without making a huge financial commitment to the area and, if the bubble's on the edge, we could be okay. We're pretty conservative and we'd never buy anything that'd stretch us, but if the bubble did pop it'd mean we'd be absolutely locked to the home.



> I must say I don't mind having my 'digital tutor' closer by. Enjoy the move. D


Ha! Yea. BTW I'm loving the II. Played it tonight at rehearsal with the new beta 6.00 firmware on it and it was jaw dropping. One of the guitar players from another room in the rehearsal space stuck his head in to see what I was playing -- it was the updated JCM800 model through a stereo cab that was using two different stock IRs (the OwnHammer M75 and a farfield one I forget now...). He didn't believe it was all coming from that little black box.


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## bluesmostly (Feb 10, 2006)

firmware 6.00? I had better look into that...


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2012)

bluesmostly said:


> firmware 6.00? I had better look into that...


In beta still. I'm on the team.


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2012)

Sold that J&D bass to nice little kid the other night. Couldn't have been more than 10. Made his dad wait in the car while he did the deal. He was such a nice kid I let him have it for $60 *and* I threw in one of those old school triple guitar stand tree things.

Walked away a happy kid I do believe.


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## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

That's an awesome story. Something similar happened to me when I was in high school. I got my acoustic via a classified ad for a couple hundred less than he was asking because that was all the paper route money I had saved at the time but it was clear I loved that guitar. He said he was glad it was going to someone young who would love it and play the hell out of it. I never forgot his kindness and I have that guitar still.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

I remember last year some time, a guy was selling a high end taylor for like 200$. He said he knew full well what it was worth, and just wanted to do a good deed to someone who wouldn't normally get the opportunity to own that nice of an instrument. He also spoke a bit about hoping other people would follow his lead. That never happened. Quite the opposite, in fact.

http://www.usedottawa.com/classified-ad/Gibson-Epiphone-Guitar_16976088


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2012)

mister.zed said:


> That's an awesome story. Something similar happened to me when I was in high school. I got my acoustic via a classified ad for a couple hundred less than he was asking because that was all the paper route money I had saved at the time but it was clear I loved that guitar. He said he was glad it was going to someone young who would love it and play the hell out of it. I never forgot his kindness and I have that guitar still.


Ohh...your Guild? I've always loved that guitar.


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2012)

mike_oxbig said:


> I remember last year some time, a guy was selling a high end taylor for like 200$. He said he knew full well what it was worth, and just wanted to do a good deed to someone who wouldn't normally get the opportunity to own that nice of an instrument. He also spoke a bit about hoping other people would follow his lead. That never happened. Quite the opposite, in fact.
> 
> Gibson Epiphone Guitar. Goulbourn, Ottawa


I....don't....understand where people come up with these numbers!


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## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

Kijiji is starting to drive me insane too. For one thing, you _CAN_ find some people unloading MIM's for $350 here in Mtl, but usually they're starting between $500 - $600. Also, when you contact someone to negotiate a price here in Montreal, they seem to think that I care that they paid taxes on it. I don't - the retail is what I care about, and I'll pay 70% retail for something in new condition, and come down from there based on condition. The low-balling is insane as well. I think we get a little spoiled on the forums because we cut eachother some decent deals - but I know I'm guilty of applying forum prices to kijiji listings. I don't think that is lowballing. but some take it that way. o me, lowballing is something like an email I received last week. I have a pair of Graf 709 Supreme skates for sale on the local kij. I've worn them twice, but the doc has basically told me any more hockey and I'd find myself getting discs cut out of my lower back, so I posted a $500 pair of skates for $300 with some room for negotiation. Someone - either a kid or a mentally challenged person -contacted me offering $75. I said no thanks, then this fellow emailed me 3 more times explainging why I should sell the skates at that price - I had to block him from my hotmail account before he started making sense - lol. 

I feel your pain, Sulphur - I'm sitting right now waiting on a guy to get back to me on a swap we lined up for that Legacy Special I have listed FT here. 3 days ago he contacted me about a swap offer saying he would take it with some sweetener - I got back to him right away asking where he was and how much $? He got back to me the next day saying only that he was in Quebec City - odd considering the listing is mapped in Montreal. 2 more emails and nothing. Drives me nuts!

The big peeve I have with Kijiji is the lack of a vendor's section. I can't stand stores that go on the general ad site, list something for sale or trade without any mention of them being a retailer, then when you contact them you basically get a response from Rick on Pawn Stars about how they have to check out your guitar, get a guy they know to come down, and if it's real and in good shape they'll give you 1/3 the value of it towards a guitar that was worth less than your's in the first place because they gotta make a profit.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

Yeah the montreal kijji is even worse than ottawa for resellers...i was checking it out while I was there a few months ago and some douche with a bunch of no name and used entry level guitars was flooding the page with 30 listings every day, asking 180$ for a used epiphone special II claiming that the price was "fair and non negotiable" and that he "wasn't a store, he was a private collector." I wrote him an email saying if he didn't quit spamming the site i'd inform revenue canada. he called my bluff though, he didn't stop and i didn't stay there long enough to care.


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2012)

I never even thought to look at Montreal -- it'd have to be a helluva deal to want to drive that far!

In related news: not moving to BC. Going to stay in Ottawa for the time being. Once we had "lived with the idea" of BC the charm started to wear off. That and hunting for a house left me pale and feeling some what inadequate in the wallet department. Insane doesn't even begin to describe Vancouver's real estate prices.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

From someone who grew up in BC, there's a lot nicer places to live (for the money) than vancouver...but a good job is a good job, if i was to move back there i'd live outside the city and commute...it might be a pain in the ass, but 400k will get you a mansion in chilliwack as opposed to a condo in vancouver.


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## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

iaresee said:


> I never even thought to look at Montreal -- it'd have to be a helluva deal to want to drive that far!
> 
> In related news: not moving to BC. Going to stay in Ottawa for the time being. Once we had "lived with the idea" of BC the charm started to wear off. That and hunting for a house left me pale and feeling some what inadequate in the wallet department. Insane doesn't even begin to describe Vancouver's real estate prices.


LOL - I can only imagine! I've been trying to convince the wife that a move back to Peace River would be a good idea - then I went on MLS and saw the price-hike since we left 10 years ago...ouch!

Either kijiji works geographically for me - I live pretty much between the two, and with the 50 being almost done, I'm as close to Ot as I am to Mtl when you factor in the traffic around Mtl. Honestly, I prefer to deal with the Ottawa one - people seem to have a bit more common sense - Montrealais seem to think they can list stuff for the full msrp they paid for it and only lose the taxes they paid, and many get kinda snarky whne you even _suggest_ their price may be a little high for used merchadise. There seem to be more stores on the Ottawa one though.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

Ottawa kijiji users are no better. Most of them fail to understand that NO RETAIL STORE -EVER- sells stuff for the full msrp. so they look up a 1600$ msrp and think their shit is worth 1400$, when it's going for 1100 brand new in store.


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