Dealing with people selling guitars who don't have a clue

[Medford Guitar]

So on FB Marketplace the is a 1976 Guild F-50. Looks nice from the pics but we all know how that goes until you play it. The ad said it's been sitting in a closet for the past 25 years, which makes me nervous in itself. Well, they want $2500. Willing to negotiate but no low-ball offers. I made an offer and explained I'm going to have to inspect it very well because it's been sitting in a non controlled climate and that could cause many possible problems. Seller rejected my offer clsiming it is in perfect condition because it's been untouched got 25 years and then told me she had researched it and the guitar is worth over $7K! And she refused to even counter offer.

I wished her well and good luck finding a buyer at $7K

[abn556]

Be careful with a guitar that’s been sitting that long. I recently traded for a Gibson LG-0 that had been sitting in closet for 35 years. Humidity was not controlled in the space. The guitar had 7 loose braces, some minor top and back separation, and a center seam crack that needed a cleat. In addition it needed a new bridge and saddle. Guitar plays great now, but it took $350 worth of luthier work to bring it back.

[sonic romp]

Well, to be fair, phenomena will show that we often feel that we know better than the other person. Statements like “good luck…” are passive aggressive and maybe the conversation wasn’t so much about the guitar but missing or present interpersonal ingredients in both sides. I wish that it might have worked out better for both sides…it still may.

Recently, I was selling a guitar and one communication was simply “Hi. Let me know if $10K will do it. I can pay you immediately.”

A cold cash offer is no replacement for interpersonal decorum. I could get $10K up and down the boulevard; what makes your offer green to me, the seller? I quickly moved on to a warm, well-informed, reciprocating buyer and did much better. Human character develops human-to-human skills.

[Skydog]

Make your best offer and ask her to get back to you if she changes her mind (e.g. gets educated). When/if she does, tell her your interest has waned but you’re still interested and ask her what she now wants for it.

[SRL]

There are basically three types of sellers:

* Hostile
* Normal
* Motivated

The hostile sellers are not worth dealing with, in my opinion. Ask any realtor about them and you'll hear some fun stories. It's just not worth it, especially not for a widely available guitar like a Guild F-50.

[rllink]

She thinks she has a clue. Let's face it, there are a lot of people out there who own guitars that don't know as much about them as we think we do. Sounds like this one just came into it and is not a motivated seller either. Maybe if she doesn't sell it she will learn to play it.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by SRL

There are basically three types of sellers:

* Hostile
* Normal
* Motivated

The hostile sellers are not worth dealing with, in my opinion. Ask any realtor about them and you'll hear some fun stories. It's just not worth it, especially not for a widely available guitar like a Guild F-50.

Here's an example. Years ago I saw a used electric guitar but it was in a finish I hadn't seen. Now electric guitars can come in a myriad of finishes, some made just for one retailer.

So I just innocently said I hadn't seen that finish before. I may have asked for some more information but I don't think so.

The seller for some reason shot back and accused me of accusing him of selling a fake. Huh??

I told him I'd passed on the guitar.

He replied by calling me a well-known curse word and some other stuff.

To this day I still don't know what I did wrong. So yes, I think the seller was very hostile.

[brencat]

Frankly, I’m much more concerned about a hostile or overly fastidious buyer, looking for problems where none exist, and/or putting on an act in the hopes of getting additional money off the purchase. Had a close call years ago, and is part of the reason why I no longer accept PayPal or related services for payment.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by SRL

There are basically three types of sellers:

* Hostile
* Normal
* Motivated

The hostile sellers are not worth dealing with, in my opinion. Ask any realtor about them and you'll hear some fun stories. It's just not worth it, especially not for a widely available guitar like a Guild F-50.

I have drawn similar conclusions about sellers.

When I bump into a hostile seller, I just move on. Life's too short. Also, $7K for a Guild F-50 is way too high. Used prices are at $2500-3K.

I did a quick search and there are a fair number of used Guild F-50 guitars out there. I have played a few over the years; they can be very nice.

- Glenn

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by rllink

She thinks she has a clue. Let's face it, there are a lot of people out there who own guitars that don't know as much about them as we think we do. Sounds like this one just came into it and is not a motivated seller either. Maybe if she doesn't sell it she will learn to play it.

I think about this a lot. Many of us here on AGF (if not most!) know WAY more about guitars than just about any other guitar player on the planet, including professional musicians. I remember going to a concert a few years back by a popular acoustic guitar singer/songwriter (as in he has records and tours professionally) and since my son is the sound engineer for this venue I'm always able to get up on stage after the show and check out the gear they use and on occasion stick around and talk with the performers.

In this instance, the artist came out to pack up and I asked him what pickup system he had in his guitar (a Gibson) and he had a blank look on his face and said, "Honestly, I have no idea... Whatever it came with when I bought it." Sure, there are pro's that are guitar nerds like us (Chris Stapleton and Vince Gill come to mind) but there are many that really don't know and care even less. As long as it plays well and sounds good, they leave the details to their techs or in-house sound people.

And then there are the not-so-famous players that you encounter at open mics or shows you play that come up to you and ask about your guitar and I start going into the details of what I'm playing that day and their eyes start to glaze over as the amount of knowledge I'm spewing out like it's nothing overwhelms their brains! My wife always gets a kick out of this. If she's near me when someone asks she chuckles and says out loud, "Here we go! Remember you asked him. See you in a half hour or so!"

But I agree with the OP and others that posted. When buying AND selling, I only like to deal with people that have an in-depth knowledge of guitars in general. I also will only deal with someone I get a real good feeling about. My gut has never let me down when it comes to buying or selling a guitar here on AGF, Reverb or wherever. If I get even a whiff of something being off, I move on. There's always another buyer or seller coming down the pike. No need to be stressed out but someone that is clueless.

[Mr. Paul]

Originally Posted by sonic romp

....

Recently, I was selling a guitar and one communication was simply “Hi. Let me know if $10K will do it. I can pay you immediately.”

A cold cash offer is no replacement for interpersonal decorum. I could get $10K up and down the boulevard; what makes your offer green to me, the seller? I quickly moved on to a warm, well-informed, reciprocating buyer and did much better. Human character develops human-to-human skills.

I've responded to so many questions from friendly "buyers" ... many that involve taking measurements and/or photos ... that never acknowledge getting the answer to their question. I always welcome a simple, no conditions cash offer even if it isn't enough.

[RP]

As we boomers continue to die off, sellers like the one in the OP will become increasing the norm. More and more heirs who know little to nothing about guitars will be inheriting instruments that they'll put up for sale. We represent a a pretty knowledgable group so we'll probably know things that these sellers will not.

I suppose that the way to handle this is to try to educate these sellers in a respectful manner as to potential issues that may involve a vintage guitar that's been sitting in a closet and how these issues might affect pricing...

[b1j]

I've seen several threads lately that could all be batched under a single title: "Don't buy a used guitar from anywhere but the AGF Classifieds." It has the best likelihood of hitting all the bases: careful stewardship, fact-based pricing, knowledgeable answers to relevant questions.

FaceBook Marketplace? Not in a million years.

[CharlieBman]

I don't see the problem dealing with sellers who don't have a clue. They can still be nice people who are open to communication. If not, just move on. Really not a big deal.

[Thunder22]

Originally Posted by SRL

There are basically three types of sellers:

* Hostile
* Normal
* Motivated

The hostile sellers are not worth dealing with, in my opinion. Ask any realtor about them and you'll hear some fun stories. It's just not worth it, especially not for a widely available guitar like a Guild F-50.

4. Passive. just seeing what they can get