Selling My 5150iii: How craigslist slowly stole my life force

[C_F_H_13]

Selling My 5150iii: How craigslist slowly stole my life force​

About three months ago, as 2013 began, I had made two gear related decisions in my life: I wanted to get rid of my mint 5150iii, and acquire a Kemper Rack Profiling Amp. For type of audio work I do, being a chief engineer of a commercial studio who can be hired by ANYONE, it made the most sense to have a versatile guitar/bass tracking box. Something that no matter how shitty of gear a band brought it, I could get great tones. The added benefit of being able to save great tones was what sealed the deal. I decided the money I'd make on a trade/sale for the 5150iii would easily offset the slightly high cost of a Kemper. I was ready, excited, and determined.

So began what shall be from this point known on as "The Craigslist Rapening". (insert sinister music here)

The Craigslist Rapening

Chapter 1-Terrible Offers and No Shows​

As most people would do in this situation, I tried to sell it privately first. I asked around to some friends in bands and other people who had asked about the amp at some point. I had a few bites, but after about 2 weeks or so, it was clear that none of those people were interested. No problem, I can deal with that and completely understand.

Due to the size/weight/shipping costs, selling this thing outside of the greater Vancouver area seemed kind of silly, so the next logical step was local a Craigslist add. As with any good add, I included pictures of the amp, description of condition and usage, and made it very clear I was looking to sell fast and was open to almost any reasonable offer. After about two days the first few emails came in:

Email #1:

Hi, I would like to buy your 5150iii. I offer 500$.

Email #2

I have a Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 I would like to trade for your 5150iii. Straight trade no cash.

Email #3

Looking for one of these, have 1100 to spend.


The first two emails, were so offensive, I didn't even respond to either except for writing "No". The third email, while a slightly low price, I knew I could work with. I had already spoken to the local music shop about a trade in on my 5150iii. They said that if it's mint (which it is) they'd be able to get me 1150 on trade towards my kemper. So, I figured I'd aim for 1200 from this guy, and at worst case take 1150. Cash in had is better then a trade.


Here is (with editing) the email conversation that transpired over the next two days.

Jan 26th​

Me- Lowest price I can go is 1150, as that is the price l and m will take it on trade. But if u can do that then it's yours.

Him- I can do that. When are you able to let me see/hear it? Sunday works best for me. Would I need to bring anything to test it?

Me- Sunday would work best for me, and I have a cabinet here but i would say bring your guitar.I can meet pretty much any time Sunday.

Him- Kk, just let me know, cause I will be there for sure sunday , anytime works for me just let me know when.

Me- Hey man, If you're coming, I'll be in the studio 10-6pm. If you aren't coming let me know though as I'll work from home if you can't make it.

Him- I will be there

Jan 27th
​

Me- Hey man didn't hear from you.

Him- Sorry man, I got confirmation on another amp that I'm checking out tomorrow. If you wanna shoot me a number I can give you a shout if that doesn't work out

Ok, so strike one. Can't really knock the guy, but saying "I WILL BE THERE FOR SURE SUNDAY", and then not coming is kind of a dick move. This kind of thing happens all the time on craigslist though so what cha you do. Back to the drawing board. Re update the add and try again.

Chapter 2- Dicks, Assholes, and the light at the end of the tunnel.

Feb 1st​

The next few days were full of assholes low balling me, dicks claiming I'm "charging too much what a joke LOLZ" and all and all no solid leads. I started to lose hope, and was at the point of just doing the trade with the local music store. Went in, placed my order for my kemper. They suggested I keep trying to sell it locally as the kemper would take 2 weeks to arrive probably (at this point their comps told them rack units would start showing up the week of feb 17th). So, once again I updated my add. The following contacts I made were worst then the previous. I had 2 people pull no shows at the studio, and one guy who texted me EN ROUTE to the studio, and then never showed up. Never responded to another email, just fucking vanished like he fell into a black hole. SERIOUSLY ON THE FUCKING WAY. I got a text saying "20 mins away from studio". I had lost all hope in humanity, and more importantly selling this amp.

Along came "George".

Feb 3rd​

George- Can you send me some more pics. casing/controller/cables?

Me- There are already a bunch in the ad, but yes I can. Out right now send pics mid afternoon tomorrow

George- Thanks.

At this point I entered the studio for a week on a "Real" project, and being totally brutally honest, I forgot to send pictures.

Feb 9th​

Me- Sorry for the delay in getting you pictures, I ended up out of town for a week on business. Right now I may end up just trading it into l and M as they are offering 1150 for it and no one seems willing to match that price. So just wanted to let you know before I send pics or anything that that is now the base price I'll take.

George- Chris, send me the pics, why are you selling it?

Me- Selling it cause I've got a Kemper Profiling Amp on the way and have no need for it anymore. I only ever used it in the studio and even then it was rare

Feb 15th​

6 days later, I had assumed he had bailed. Until…..

George- I would like buy this amp from you.Since I live 5hours away I will have a friend of mine contact you to arrange payment and pickup.

Me- That's fine but it's cash on delivery. No PayPal or anything like that.

Feb 17th​

Me- Hey rob. I need confirmation that we are actually doing this ASAP as I have another potential buyer that wants to come in tomorrow and buy it.*THIS WAS A LIE

George- Chris, yes I will purchase the amp. I live 5.5hrs away & will be sending down the money to a friend so he can make arrangements with you to pick it up.

Me- Ok what sort of time frame are we looking at for your friend to come get the amp? Cause like I said I can go to L and M and trade it in right away.

George- I will call him today and fwd your email to him but I would say next weekend.

At this point, I was going to bail. Call the whole thing off and just fucking give up. But then, to make matters worse I got a call from my friend at the music store: "Kempers are delayed till week of march 3rd at the earliest. You got another 2 weeks at least."

Fuck everything and everyone. This is no fault to Kemper, I want to make that clear. I was just frustrated by everything going wrong. So what did I have to lose by letting this whole thing play out with "george".

Me- Oh great thanks, Sooner he can get in touch the better just to touch base and get the ball rolling. Even just have him shoot me an email.

Feb 19th
​

George- Chris I have sent down the money & my friend will be in contact with you. just want to confirm there is nothing wrong with this amp, just nervous buying sight unseen.
Me- No problem man, he can test it out and I'll run through the whole thing with him. I'll plug into it and show him it all works and everything is all good.
George- OK thanks

Chapter 3: The Fuck Around

Feb 25th
​

Me- Still havn't heard from your friend at all.
George- Chris, I will call him tomorrow, I sent down the money & your email to him last week. I will email you after I get hold of him.

Feb 27th​

Me- Have you figured it out yet?
George- I'm worried. I've called and emailed him and he isn't responding. I fear he may of stolen my money.
Me- Seriously?
George- yes.

Feb 29th
​

Me- What Happened? honestly man I'm getting really impatient with this whole thing.
George- Figured out. Not sure why he hasn't contacted you but if you can sell it go ahead, can't ask you to wait any longer.
Me- What? So you don't want it? I thought you said you sent money down already?
George- I did. He should contact you soon.
Me- I'll wait a few days if he's actually going to get in touch with me.
George- He Will.

March 1st​

Me- No contact yet. Do you still want it?

March 3st​

Me- Really? Nothing?

March 5th​

Me- Fucking Hell.

Conclusion:​

I can't fathom how much time and energy was wasted on this guy. I'm still in a bit of shock just how fucking insane it was from top to bottom and how ridiculous the entire situation was. Take note, that from first email to last, was over a month. So here I am, still holding on to my 5150iii, still waiting for my kemper, and still have nothing to show for the last 6-8 weeks of my life.

Lesson learned. People are terrible.

 

[Terminus]

Heh pretty good read. I deal with this shit all the time, if it makes you feel any better. I had to talk the latest guy into selling his hm-2, he wanted to trade his whole pedal board for some MIM sunburst strat and wouldn't part it out, told me to wait a week and then finally! Took a few persuasive emails and me upping the offer. But yeah I hate dealing with flakes, too. My main thing is to act professional, be polite and forthcoming with info/directions/timeframes, and I expect the same thing out of buyers.

 

[The Unavoidable]

Jesus. It's like it doesn't matter how little you think of people, they still find a way to disappoint you.

It sucks bro.

 

[Dan R]

I feel your pain man. I just had a similar experience trying to get rid of an Ampeg SVTCL and 8x10e. I was constantly getting dicked around by people on kijiji. Everyone who offered me a fair price wouldn't reply after I went for it, or had some bullshit excuse and tried to weasel out of it.

I hate people.

 

[xFkx]

Selling my jcm800 has been a ball of fun lately, could write a similar story if I had the patience. The number of nutjobs around us is just astounding

 

[Sloan]

This is the nature of the beast. Once you send an email, don't ever send a followup, the ball is in their court now. If you sell it before they get in touch, oh well, their fucking loss. I have sold and bought almost everything via craigslist in the past five years. Be upfront and aggressive as a buyer and a seller and it works. Don't ever put any faith in anyone or you will get burned. That means don't 'hold' anything etc. The first person to show up and give me cash gets it, no questions asked.

I actually had a guy mail me his KRANK from michigan to trade for my tony iommi laney. He didn't know me at all, i didn't know him. I got the amp, it was fucking awesome, so i shipped him my laney and he loved it. Great trade and we never even met each other, he just called me.

 

[JeffTD]

Jesus. Sorry to hear that, man. CL is either painless or a clusterfuck; I've never had one that was "just OK."

 

[AllanD]

Hah! You think that's bad? Try finding musicians on craigslist. 9/10 drummers tried out were awful, or had some ridiculous issue (one with no car, one that's only 16). I got the 1/10 drummer who's fucking amazing though, so I got lucky finally.

 

[if6was9]

All classified sites are like that, here in Ireland we have adverts.ie.
Works well if you play by the rules and be upfront and make good communication. But the problem is that there's always someone on the other end and they could be a flake.

I was trying to buy a tube poweramp off a guy before and I was gigging in his city soon so I tried to get him to come meet me, he forgot about it and in the end I stopped trying to buy it from him.

I'm still addicted to it though as there's always great deals to be had.

 

[SimonSez]

I never deal over e-mail. I give my phone number and have them call me. Also on Craigslist the seller usually doesn't get the good part of the deal, it's a buyer's market on Craigslist.

 

[schwinginbatman]

Hah! You think that's bad? Try finding musicians on craigslist. 9/10 drummers tried out were awful, or had some ridiculous issue (one with no car, one that's only 16). I got the 1/10 drummer who's fucking amazing though, so I got lucky finally.

Fuck the Craigslist musicians section. It's filled with nothing but spammers, crappy musicians, but most importantly, flakes. Almost every single drummer I talked to dropped off the face of the earth mid conversation. We got really lucky and found a really talented guy, but we had to wade through 2 months worth of crap and stress to get that far.

 

[Sloan]

Fuck the Craigslist musicians section. It's filled with nothing but spammers, crappy musicians, but most importantly, flakes. Almost every single drummer I talked to dropped off the face of the earth mid conversation. We got really lucky and found a really talented guy, but we had to wade through 2 months worth of crap and stress to get that far.

Haha.
I once tried to find a bass player for a cover band and specifically stated requirements, like has to be 18-mid 20's etc and all i got was calls from dudes that were 40+ and wanted to play jazz. I hate trying to find musicians.

 

[Jind]

It's pretty simple really - everyone is looking to either pay less than the buyer is asking or wants more for something than the majority are willing to pay for it. It truly is the nature of the beast of the used gear market. Combine those two factors with the "quick sale" factor that many sellers are looking for and ultimately in many cases it's the seller that ends up giving in to a lower price than they hoped to get. Unless something is truly a rare item, it's probably always to the buyers advantage to low ball the offer and hope for a desperate seller. I don't look at people offering low offers as being dicks, as it never hurts to ask if your willing to accept someone saying no because when you get a yes it's a bargain.

Free trade at it's finest - both parties have the option of saying no - no ones forcing anyone to sell something for a price they don't want to - it's up to the seller to set the acceptable terms.

 

[C_F_H_13]

Update on the story.

So "george" emailed me back. Apparently he's "lost contact" with his friend again, and is pretty sure that he's been ripped off. I'd really like to know if A) this friend actually exists and B) if he's actually his "friend" if he is stealing from him.

Whole thing wasn't supposed to be a sob story, more of a "haha fucking people are terrible".

I think the only thing that was frustrating about this particular amp is that I had SO MANY offers that never panned out. I literally left out at least half a dozen decent offers, that when it came time to actually come get it they just stopped responding. I've never had a problem selling gear ever, this is the one item that I'm seemingly stuck with.

 

[JeffTD]

I wonder if he's trying to get a sob story going so you'll give him a discount or something? What a piece of shit.

 

[C_F_H_13]

hahaha hope that wasn't his plan, cause right now even if the money were to show up I think I'll just pass for wasting my time so much.

 

[Ermz]

Sounds pretty on par with local gear listings here too. I recall a friend of mine had a field day attempting to move an Ampeg SVP-CL.

If there wasn't an ocean and 120V transformer in the way, I'd have bought this amp from you in a second.

 

[C_F_H_13]

Sounds pretty on par with local gear listings here too. I recall a friend of mine had a field day attempting to move an Ampeg SVP-CL.

If there wasn't an ocean and 120V transformer in the way, I'd have bought this amp from you in a second.

Thanks! haha

 

[colonel kurtz]

while the whole ordeal seems pretty ridiculous, i'd have to put some of the fault for it all on you as well...you should've just told the guy that to leave you alone until him or that other dude were at your place, cash in hand

i'd learned over the years to have zero tolerance for bullshit in these kinds of matters. show me the agreed upon money at the agreed upon time/place or GTFO

 

[C_F_H_13]

It all worked out in the end.

Annnnddd 5150iii is gone. Today is a good day.