# Low-ball offers



## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

Anyone getting ridiculous offers for their for-sale items? I post a guitar for sale at $750 and indicate that the price is non-negotiable. Right away, within a couple of hours, I'm getting offers like "I'll give you $450. You can have your money as soon as tomorrow morning". 

I have so far resisted the temptation of telling them how I really feel. I'm simply deleting the offers at this point.

I should mention that I didn't get the offers here but rather through kijiji.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

pattste said:


> Anyone getting ridiculous offers for their for-sale items? I post a guitar for sale at $750 and indicate that the price is non-negotiable. Right away, within a couple of hours, I'm getting offers like "I'll give you $450. You can have your money as soon as tomorrow morning".
> 
> I should mention that I didn't get the offers here but rather through kijiji.


u can't take offence at those. you know never know when someone is in real need of CASH. Putting Non-Negotiable in your add is your first mistake actually. you would be better off putitng it at 800$ and put negotiable and then drop to 750$. EVERTYTHING is negotiable mate..hehe. it's the way it goes. last strat i bought, was advertised at 800$ Non Negotiable, it was posted for well over 6 weeks. offered the dude 600$..and guess what!..it's sitting in my basement right now. 

i mean even in stores you will make an offer on new gear don't you?..


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

al3d said:


> u can't take offence at those. you know never know when someone is in real need of CASH. Putting Non-Negotiable in your add is your first mistake actually. you would be better off putitng it at 800$ and put negotiable and then drop to 750$. EVERTYTHING is negotiable mate..hehe. it's the way it goes. last strat i bought, was advertised at 800$ Non Negotiable, it was posted for well over 6 weeks. offered the dude 600$..and guess what!..it's sitting in my basement right now.
> 
> i mean even in stores you will make an offer on new gear don't you?..


Yeah, I usually set a price that I would like to sell the item at and then post a slightly higher price, because lower offers are to be anticipated (this refers to Craigslist and Kijiji, not here, cuz you guys are usually a little more reasonable :wave

If I really want to get 150 for a pedal or something, I'll post it for 175, ignore all offers below 125 and tell anyone that offers 125-ish that I need a wee little bit more.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

They are incredibly annoying, but not quite as bad as "will you take my Canadian Tire 10-speed or Super Nintendo as a trade for your Strat." 

It's either a 14 year old kid with no money or a middle aged jack ass (with money) who spends all his time trying to get "deals."

TG


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2008)

KiJiJi ads seem to draw a lot of those sort of offers. I usually reply and advise the person making the offer that it might be more prudent to shop for instruments made by Samick if that is the extent of their budget.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Yoda said:


> KiJiJi ads seem to draw a lot of those sort of offers. I usually reply and advise the person making the offer that it might be more prudent to shop for instruments made by Samick if that is the extent of their budget.


hehe..true. i get some nice ones myself sometimes. Got an offer on my mesa boogie last week from Kiiji, the kid, and just by the way he wrote the email, it was pretty obvious, to me....OK..i will offer you 400$..it only as one speaker so it's not worth more, since a marshall with 4 is around 1600$...LOL..i tried to make sens of it...but i could'nt...


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

al3d said:


> OK..i will offer you 400$..it only as one speaker so it's not worth more, since a marshall with 4 is around 1600$...LOL..i tried to make sens of it...but i could'nt...


I read this and just about sprayed a mouthful of pop all over my desk.......

This is killin me!!...I can't stop laughing

You have to admire his applied math and applied logic 

What would he offer you for an 8 X 10" ? :banana:

Thanks for telling us about this one al3d :food-smiley-004:

Dave


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

*offers*

I dont reply to the low-ballers and they get the hint when there is no reply. I also dont reply to the highballers. your asking $550.00 and you get an offer of $ 2,000.00
Rick


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I had a Leslie for sale last year for $500. A dude from Montreal offered me $150 if I delivered it Gee it's only 5 hrs one way.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

shoretyus said:


> I had a Leslie for sale last year for $500. A dude from Montreal offered me $150 if I delivered it Gee it's only 5 hrs one way.


These are just too good to be true...LOL


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

My rule of thumb is think of a bottom-line price you're willing to sell at and add a certain percentage on top... that way the buyer thinks he's getting a deal and you've offered him the appearance of flexibility. A face-saving gesture that goes a long way. Not that it always works out this way, of course. It's a two-way street, too; I always consider that, when I'm on the hunt for gear and encounter a tempting ad, the seller thinks along much the same lines... that there's a lower price possible, if you can read them right.

People who instantly tell me they're inflexible? I don't believe it. It's almost a sign of weakness... it means they're not ready to bargain... and with used gear, it's all about bargaining.

People who insist too much 'no lowballing' are missing the point. If you think lowballers are annoying, don't even respond to them - why grant them more power than they deserve? Besides, the guy who really wants what you're selling will be able to cut through.

My .02, anyway.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

pattste said:


> Anyone getting ridiculous offers for their for-sale items? I post a guitar for sale at $750 and indicate that the price is non-negotiable. Right away, within a couple of hours, I'm getting offers like "I'll give you $450. You can have your money as soon as tomorrow morning".
> 
> I have so far resisted the temptation of telling them how I really feel. I'm simply deleting the offers at this point.
> 
> I should mention that I didn't get the offers here but rather through kijiji.


Kijiji and lowballers go together. There is no escaping it


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

I had a guy offer me $50 for an OCD on CL because that's the going rate...and he said he knew I was desperate for cash too. 
I did ask him (politely) to hook me up with a couple for that price. 
Another guy did the same thing for the magic $50 for a DMM "cos I'm a poor student". Straight to spam filter I'm afraid.

I'm also archiving this thread so I know how to see through all your poker faces when you've got stuff up for sale.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

pattste said:


> Anyone getting ridiculous offers for their for-sale items?
> ...
> I should mention that I didn't get the offers here but rather through kijiji.


Yes...I have been low-balled like crazy on Kijiji. I have had some non-negotiable ads up and I typically respond with an explanation of what the guitar has that merits its for sale price and then tell the person once again that the price is " X ". 
The ads that I post that don't say non negotiable I field the low-balls with entirely different responses. Just a quick "no thanks" man, the lowest I will go with is " X ".

An example is that I got one imbecile who responded to one recent Kijiji ad with "you could buy that same guitar without the wild paint job for $500 brand new" and he entered "dontexaggerateitdoesn'[email protected]" as his email address. Funny...ok...not funny...cowardly.

Anyway, that email address was obviously a fake one and I got an offer of exactly what the asking price in the ad was the next day. I'd love to have the guy's real email address so I could send a picture of the money when I get it but...


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

I put up my price and specify that it's firm. Any offers below it are generally ignored and deleted. 

Every once in a while I see something I like on Craigslist and eBay2 (look it up, they own Kijiji), but I cannot afford it or the price is above what I'm willing to pay. I send an offer, say flat out that I know it's not what is being asked and tell them feel free to ignore it if I'm out of line.

No headaches, no bad blood, sometimes good deals. Works for me.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

devnulljp said:


> I'm also archiving this thread so I know how to see through all your poker faces when you've got stuff up for sale.


Uhoh!


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

A quote from one of my CL ad responders, " I'd like to buy it, can you bring it over so I can try it with my amp". This would be a half hour drive, one way.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

i have sold, to date, one item via internet- on kijiji
was a soundcard, 2 weeks old, with all packaging and reciept, warranty not yet registered etc. got a guy emailing me repeatedly that it was only worth half my listed price and thats all he would pay. he wrote me maybe 6 times in 2 days- then i responded with a simple "fekk off".
on the third day a guy drove here on his motorbike in the rain and paid me cash the amount i was asking, and was happy to do so. 
i purchase stuff all the time, but the only place i ask for a deal is in a guitar store. even then i simply say, "whats the best you can do for ME- cash, no reciept", then i pay the amount answered.
private folks i dont even dicker with. if the asking price is worth it to me, im in. i shop on kijiji looking for deals- if im not interested at the asking amount, i pass it up without even sending an email.


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## the_fender_guy (Jul 22, 2008)

I've had stuff up on craigslist for trade and the offers are laughable at times but I just delete the offer and wait for something more realistic.
There's nothing wrong with making an offer that seems lowball to a seller but no point in trying to put one over on a seller either.
Sometimes a buyer does know the real value of an instrument(especially if the seller has an emotional investment in the instrument)
It's hard for a seller to see that swapping out pickups for something of greater value may devalue the collectibility of an instrument. I've seen sellers who think they improved the resale value of a Les Paul by routing it out for a Kahler back in the 80s.
When buying/selling you'll get offers that aren't acceptable and eventually you get one that is mutually satisfactory.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

the_fender_guy said:


> I've had stuff up on craigslist for trade and the offers are laughable at times but I just delete the offer and wait for something more realistic.


I forgot about trades. I had one guy offer a pair of old jeans for a pedal -- can't remember which one, maybe a sunface or it might even have been a zen. Seriously. And you always get some guy who wants a straight swap for a MT-2. Best policy: add to spam list and ignore.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

devnulljp said:


> I forgot about trades. I had one guy offer a pair of old jeans for a pedal -- can't remember which one, maybe a sunface or it might even have been a zen. Seriously. And you always get some guy who wants a straight swap for a MT-2. Best policy: add to spam list and ignore.


Hahahahaha!


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

HAHA!! 

Now I have the opposite end of the spectrum going on. I left the price in the ad but marked the item "sold pending payment" and I just got an offer $25 over the price stated. Crazy times!

Thing is that I have 2 of these guitars so...hmmm...I just told the guy that ethically I can't do that and the only way that I could offer it to him would be if the current buyer backed out or there was a problem with his payment. 

I did tell him that the other guitar is a dead mint one that I was planning on keeping as part of a collection and that an offer would have to be really good for me to consider selling it...and I wasn't lying. 

I'd love to have kept the info on the idiot from Spain who offered $300 and now I have 2 offers twice that. IDIOT!


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Paul said:


> I'll give you $100.00, but you have to bring the coffee too!


I suppose you want me to throw in a Patty O' Caster to sweeten the deal too. 

:sport-smiley-002:


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## Zeegler (Jan 2, 2006)

pattste said:


> Anyone getting ridiculous offers for their for-sale items? I post a guitar for sale at $750 and indicate that the price is non-negotiable. Right away, within a couple of hours, I'm getting offers like "I'll give you $450. You can have your money as soon as tomorrow morning".
> 
> I have so far resisted the temptation of telling them how I really feel. I'm simply deleting the offers at this point.
> 
> I should mention that I didn't get the offers here but rather through kijiji.


LOL, I got so many of those when I had stuff for sale. I ignored them at first, but then I started getting pissed off. Canadians seem to be some of the cheapest bastards on the planet. They all try to sell used gear at the same price they paid new, and then try to offer you a quarter of what something is worth for your used gear. Honestly, I have much more success selling stuff on Ebay, and usually to Americans.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Paul said:


> OK, but I'm a very busy man, so I'll have to charge you for my time whilst you are setting up the Leslie in my 4th floor studio. Can you get it up the spiral staircase by yourself?


I will just bring some tools .. you have room to park my crane ?


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

smorgdonkey said:


> HAHA!!
> Now I have the opposite end of the spectrum going on. I left the price in the ad but marked the item "sold pending payment" and I just got an offer $25 over the price stated. Crazy times!


I had this happen to me once when I was selling a London Power pre-amp, which is a pretty rare item.

I had it sold to a younger guy who was selling stuff to come up with the cash. In the meantime, a collector in California offered me several hundred dollars more than I was asking.

So I called up the other guy and offered him $200.00 to break the deal, which he readily accepted. Everybody came away happy.

I have gotten a lot of lowball offers too, but nothing as annoying as some of the things posted here. Many of these lowballers are actually dealers.


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

Scottone said:


> I have gotten a lot of lowball offers too, but nothing as annoying as some of the things posted here. Many of these lowballers are actually dealers.


I've found that a few times as well.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

A number of years ago I had this silly notion that I would enjoy selling cars for a living. One of the things I learned fast is that you should never scoff at an offer if the potential buyer is serious about making a purchase. The trick is in determining if he/she is, and then guiding him/her to a product that realistically fits their budget and needs. 

I had a guy once make me a ridiculous offer on a Mesa DC-5 I had for sale. We exchanged a few emails and I discovered that he wanted an amp - not specifically the Mesa and that he could only afford to spend so much. I ended up selling him a Fender Stage 100 for which I got a very good price and he got an amp within his budget.

Course that only works in a pretty specific situation. My point is that you should always be a bit polite at first because you just never know what might happen.

BTW I starved trying to sell cars.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

allthumbs56 said:


> A number of years ago I had this silly notion that I would enjoy selling cars for a living. One of the things I learned fast is that you should never scoff at an offer if the potential buyer is serious about making a purchase. The trick is in determining if he/she is, and then guiding him/her to a product that realistically fits their budget and needs.
> 
> I had a guy once make me a ridiculous offer on a Mesa DC-5 I had for sale. We exchanged a few emails and I discovered that he wanted an amp - not specifically the Mesa and that he could only afford to spend so much. I ended up selling him a Fender Stage 100 for which I got a very good price and he got an amp within his budget.
> 
> ...


Haha, nice story! Yes, it's hard selling products that cost several thousands of dollars, but at least you were selling something that can be deemed 'essential.' For a while I was working in an upscale audio boutique selling incredibly expensive home audio products. Now THAT was hard. Here's your usual scenario:

_unwitting customer walks into store, looks around and sees a pair of gorgeous speakers_: "Gee whiz, how much are those?"
_nice salesperson tries to be helpful_: "$40,000"
_customer passes out in disbelief_

Back to original topic. The way I see it, putting up with lowball offers is what you have to deal with in order to use a service that gets you great deals sometimes. For instance, there's a guy selling a Boss DD-2 on the Toronto CL for $70 or 80 bucks, I can't remember. It's a pretty good deal. It's not that the guy doesn't know it's worth a bit more, it's obvious he just wants to move it. Recently, I saw a few Vibrochamps in the $350-400 range, again, good deals! Like anything, you gotta take the good with the bad.


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## Michelle (Aug 21, 2006)

I once saw an ad for an Ampeg stack, I was only interested in the head. Then I noticed the guy was also selling shoes, a suit, a wedding RING! DING DING DING! So I offered him $500 for the SVT3PRO, he was asking $800 I think, he replied that he wasn't giving it away. Ok, no biggie I didn't need it.

A month later on a different sale listing I responded to him with a $600 offer, said I had cash. He was at my door within an hour and I got a sweet head, (oh man, that didn't sound right),  for 'gig money'.

I'm keeping my eye on an Eden 4X10" right now, dropped from $900 to $800 and he's sayin' that he needs to feed his big family this Christmas. I also checked his myspace and he's been 'touring all over the Maritimes for the last 2yrs', hmmmm I'm gonna get it for $600, I bet.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Paul said:


> I rarely bid or offer to buy used stuff, but when I do I try to find a seller that is desparate for cash, so I can get the lowest price possible. What something is worth to the seller is not the same as what that same something is worth to me. If the seller accepts my first offer, then that is a signal to me that I offered too much. If a buyer accepts my first offer, that is a signal to me that I asked too little.
> 
> The change in value of the Canadian Dollar from the mid 60's to virtually par devalued a crap load of things. Why buy used when new prices are the same or lower? That was very true with American made Fibson and Gender guitars.
> 
> But back to that Leslie.....$50.00, and that's my final offer!


Not desparate for cash.... just space:smile:...... and they Chinese haven't started building Lesulies yet.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

I have to wonder how many of the low-ball bids that are being complained about are not from folks on the take, but from folks who would love to own the item, but can't afford the posted price.

There have certainly been times when I've seen something amazing for sale, and at what I considered to be a very fair price, but I just didn't have the cash to cover it. 

I've bid what I was able to afford, or offered what I was able to trade, just on the off chance that the guy might take it. What's the harm in trying?

If you don't like the offer, ignore it, or politely decline, or counter-offer.

I don't see any reason to get offended, unless the bidder is being an "I know what it's worth better than you" sort of prick about it.


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

Got an offer of $75 on a Schwinn Orange Krate re-issue, listed at (and easily worth) $400.

Lowballer kept hounding me over the course of two weeks, eventually bringing her price up to $200. I decided to take the high road and just politely respond each time.

She must have added me as an e-mail contact, because she started forwarding sappy chain letters to me shortly after. :sport-smiley-002:


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Andy said:


> She must have added me as an e-mail contact, because she started forwarding sappy chain letters to me shortly after. :sport-smiley-002:


Block her address!!


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

This fellow from Texas has been tap dancing about with emails on a couple high dollar items I had for sale asking questions and the like . I can tell by the way he communicates he just wants to buy cheap and flip them . Sent him an email yesterday and told him unless he was willing to pay $XXXX ( not negotiable ) he was wasting his time and mine . Not a word since . :zzz:

Money talks......BS walks .


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

The point of listing the item as non-negotiable is that I can't be bothered with people who can't afford to pay what I'm asking. If I appear inflexible, that's precisely the point. Don't waste your time or mine. I hate negotiating "deals" with a passion. When I buy, the most negotiating I ever do is to ask what their best price on something is and tell them I'll take it or leave it. When I sell and they ask me what my best price is, I tell them the asking price *is* my best price. If the buyer is serious (and he came all the way to my place to see the item), he'll buy it.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Perfectly valid point, pattse. Goes to show there's always a different side to consider. Problem happens when you have two different purchasing/selling cultures clashing.

It happens with great regularity. Results aren't always happy for the parties involved.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

nitehawk55 said:


> This fellow from Texas has been tap dancing about with emails on a couple high dollar items I had for sale asking questions and the like . I can tell by the way he communicates he just wants to buy cheap and flip them . Sent him an email yesterday and told him unless he was willing to pay $XXXX ( not negotiable ) he was wasting his time and mine . Not a word since . :zzz:
> 
> Money talks......BS walks .


Exactly.

The thing with me is that I look at all of the factors first to see what would take the price of the guitar up and what would bring it down. All of the 'negotiating' is really taken care of by my market analysis prior to advertising the item...so...most often on a forum I will have my selling price listed whereas on a public classified ad I will have some 'beat down' built-in because some people would want to negotiate even if something was being GIVEN away.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

The funny thing about many lowballers is, that if you accepted their ridiculous lowball offer, half of them wouldnt even show up! 
They're just tire kickers and time wasters. I dont take them seriously.

I luv when they add "CASH" to their offer...eg. I'm asking $600 and he offers "$400- CASH". I usually reply with "of course cash....what the hell else would you be paying with, potato's? And its $600 -CASH"

But for the most part I havent had too many lowball offers. Cant blame someone for wanting to take advantage of a cash strapped, junkie musician, I guess...if thats their perception 

On the other hand, when I'm buying, I'll usually just ask "whats your best price?" If it seems appealing/fair, I'll buy it. If not, the negotiation ends right there. Life is too short to waste chasing bargains all the time. While I dont want to overpay, I dont want someone to feel bad from having sold me something. Its bad business. Both parties should feel comfortable with the transaction.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Years ago, when money was tight I considered selling my Mustang--I'm glad I never did--but I had one guy call twice (pre internet days--this was through the Bargain Finder)--he offered me less than half what I was asking, and said he could get them for cheaper in the States. "So go to the States," I thought--but didn't say it. He was actually looking to buy to resell--so of course he's going to low ball. I can guarantee he was going to list his resale price pretty close to what I was asking--if not higher. 

This wasn't a guy who couldn't afford it--this was a guy trying to rip me off.
I told him I'd rather hang on to it than sell it for his price. He wouldn't budge on price. I kept it.

Recently on a work bulletin board I offered one of my pedals for sale for less than I've seen them sell for online. One reply I ignored--I got an offer for about 25% of what I was asking. I was willing to come down in price, because I know people will ofer less--but 25%? No deal.


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## noman (Jul 24, 2006)

While I can sympathize for many sellers trying to get some cash for any item, I find it interesting that many of us (myself included) love to boast about the great deal we got...........if a brand new strat is worth $1000, a used one should be in the $600 -800 region, regardless of the mods put into it. I always find it laughable that everyone who sells has the 'best' guitar, picked from many. I am guilty of this myself (it's called marketing!). I am never offended with any offer, if it's too low, just a) don't respond or b) kindly decline. I have made enough low-ball offers to appreciate how it is meant.


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

I rarely sell, but I always buy and have amassed a rather large collection of Strats and later Les Pauls since the 60's. I'm a player and a collector and have a pretty good idea of what something is worth (guitars or amps) as a result of 45 years of playing and buying. It never ceases to amaze me as to what people think their used equipment is worth. If its a collectors item and has some rarity then I understand a strong asking price. However there are many people who sell run of the mill mass produced equipment and discount it by 10- 15% from retail. The item may be 3-5 years old, gigged, lots of wear and they're not even the original owners and they still want 85-90% of retail. Unless a newb picks it up it is simply not going to sell. I'm not offended if sellers turn down an appropriate offer or don't even bother responding but I'm shocked that its the seller who feels snubbed by what they perceive to be lowball offers. They're the ones trying to sell and should expect all kinds of offers reasonable or not. If they get several offers well below their asking price then maybe its time to re-evaluate the value of that equipment. In this economic climate, many sellers are going to get an unfortunate rude awakening in the coming months and will wish they had sold their gear at a fair price. In the meantime, the buyers will be patiently waiting.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Yknow what really chaps my ass? Lately I've emailed a couple sellers about their items and offered to buy it at the *listed* price, and they've never got back to me! 

One was a 70s silverface Vibrochamp in rough shape and the other was a Vox ac15. I never heard from either seller, and the Vox I saw relisted a week later for $100 more than the original asking price. Are you kidding me?!?!

This leads to a whole 'nuther part of Craiglist/Kijiji that irritates the hell out of me: the price jump. You and the seller agree on X, then the seller comes back and says someone else offered X+$20. I thought there was a site for auctions already??? :sport-smiley-002:


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Great last two posts from Roman and Intrepid. Excellent thread all around.

I think this kind of discussion is 'hot' right around now because we're seeing more stuff loose on the used market. Money being tighter, some people who are feeling a bit cash-strapped are attempting to part with stuff that they figure they can get good money for. Alas, would-be buyers look at the exact same conditions and conclude that recession eras mean recession prices. As ever, it's a dance.

I know a guy in my neck of the woods who has amassed an impressive collection of vintage Fender and Gibson gear. He's trying to flog some of it right now and, though I haven't spoken to him recently, I'm betting he's finding it a tough market to get what he thinks his guitars are worth. My feeling is that, if you're willing to take the hit now, keep your prized stuff and sell when the economy has bounced back. If on the other hand you need to get rid of stuff now, good luck and be wary... those low-ballers are definitely out there.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> This leads to a whole 'nuther part of Craiglist/Kijiji that irritates the hell out of me: the price jump. You and the seller agree on X, then the seller comes back and says someone else offered X+$20. I thought there was a site for auctions already??? :sport-smiley-002:


Yeah, seen a fair bit of that myself. It's like playing a game of chicken. I usually feign indifference and sign off, saying 'good luck, then.' Half the time they email back with a different tone. The other half? I tell myself that it's not worth the hassle.

I try at all times to be prepared to walk away if someone looks to be wanting to soak me.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

*guitar*

What makes me laugh is when some list there guitars forsale they will make the comment, " It plays like Butter "

What does a guitar feel like that plays like butter,??? and if its a cheaper guitar shouldn"t it play like Margarine.
Never could figure that out.. I guess maybe it sounds good , but i would rather have a guitar play like whip-cream.. mmmmmm much more yummy!!! LOL

Rick


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Or when they pile on the superlatives and hype it endlessly... it looks gorgeous, the neck's a dream, it's the ultimate shredder's machine, etc. etc. If it's so insanely great, why are you willing to part with it? I mean, won't you die if you let it go?


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## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

I Huff Paint said:


> Canadians seem to be some of the ceapest bastards on the planet. They all try to sell used gear at the same price they paid new, and then try to offer you a quarter of what something is worth for your used gear.


Man, that's the truth... I've had a lovely Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Sport for sale locally on and off for months... It's a $1600+tax guitar and I've priced it at $850 (hell, the local L&M offered me $720 trade value - add the tax and that's nearly $850 I'd get from _them_!)... Anyway, I've had offers of $500... I had an offer of a Chinese 7-string plus $100... I had one guy who wanted to trade me a Korean Gretsch Historic (beautiful white one with gold hardware) for it, but he wanted _me_ to pay and extra $250 as well!! Hell, I remember CG blowing out those old pre-Fender Historics for $500!! 

Oh, and through all of this, no one - not ONE PERSON - has asked to come play the thing...

I've given up on a reasonable sale and started to look around at trading it; nothing's gone through yet, though at least I've corresponded with some semi-sane people in the process... I know that these guitars are a little obscure, and they take a hit on resale, but they're among the best production guitars in the world. You'd think I could find someone who at least would want to come out to the house and try it out... 

I know I could sell it on Ebay for a reasonable amount with a little effort, but I swore off that years ago - it's such a PitA, and ebay crackpots are as common as Kijiji ones...


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## Gizmo (Aug 7, 2008)

Very recently I had a nice Jap Tele up for sale. I posted my price and probably undervalued it as it was a bit of an impulse sale (to compensate for all the impulse "buys" ;-)

Anyway, some guy offered my price and said he couldn't come over for a couple of days, so as far as I'm concerned it is now "sold"

A couple of hours before he was due to arrive I got two offers from other people that EXCEEDED my asking price by up to $150, but being the kind of guy I am I remained committed to my original verbal contract.

Well the guy did show (hoping he wouldn't). One day later the guitar is listed for sale at $100 more than I sold it for, so basically I'd sold it to someone who just bought it to re-sale. Nothing wrong with that I suppose but boy was I pissed on two accounts...first I'd "lost" $150 but secondly I hadn't sold it to someone who REALLY wanted that guitar.

We live and learn.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

That's tough. Sometimes you can tell someone really wants your guitar because they want to play it & own it. Other times it's a crap shoot.

It's not always easy to 'flip' guitars either... the guy who did that with your Jap Tele might have had bad luck next time he tried to make a quick buck.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Gizmo said:


> One day later the guitar is listed for sale at $100 more than I sold it for, so basically I'd sold it to someone who just bought it to re-sale. Nothing wrong with that I suppose


That's like I noted above about my Mustang--Except the guy's offer was not as good in my case, but at least he was upfront about reselling it.


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## rhh7 (Mar 14, 2008)

I replied to a Craigslist ad for a Squier Standard Strat, asking price of $200.00, which is what I paid for my brand new Squier Standard Telecaster at Long & McQuade. The seller wants me to make a cash offer before he will tell me where I can see the guitar.

So I offered $135.00, which is the median price being asked by www.musicgoround.com, a large pawn shop chain in the U.S. I mean no insult, I do not want to flip the guitar. I like Squier Standards, and I would like to have a Strat to go with my Tele.

I mean no insult to the seller, and I will not be offended if he declines my offer. I am not stingy, but I am frugal by necessity. And I do believe the trend for the next year or so will be deflationary.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

My favorite is when I was selling a really nice blonde ES-335 from the early 80's with the Shaw pups....sweet guitar that was picked up by a forum member

Anyways, I had posted it on TGP and some chap on the west coast spotted it late at night and sent me a flurry of e-mails..

Next morning I'm checking my e-mails and have about 5 e-mails from the guy...as I start reading I can sense the excitement in his e-mails ..".ARE THE FRETS IN GOOD SHAPE?...GET BACK TO ME ASAP...VERY INTERESTED..".

I get to his last e-mail which indicated I'll take it if you include shipping and paypal. Can send you $450 right now..

The problem is that I was selling the guitar for $2,450....he had misread the price....but what made me LOL is that even at $450, he still wanted a deal with shipping and paypal included..


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## rhh7 (Mar 14, 2008)

Well, I paid an interesting visit to Long & McQuade today. Fender prices are up a minimum of 15%. So the Squier Standard that I bought for $200.00 a few months ago is now $230.00!

Fender guitars are being listed on Fijiji and Craigslist in Calgary for what was new street price only a few months ago. Maybe I'll sell mine while the selling is good...I still expect deflation ahead.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Jimi D said:


> I know I could sell it on Ebay for a reasonable amount with a little effort, but I swore off that years ago - it's such a PitA, and ebay crackpots are as common as Kijiji ones...


http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=17752


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Alex Dann said:


> Anyways, I had posted it on TGP and some chap on the west coast spotted it late at night and sent me a flurry of e-mails...


Can I just take the time to point out that wasn't me, west coast or no 










(I'll give you $500 for it...)


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