Worried about a trade

[jnidoh]

A year ago, purchased an OMC 15 ME to see if I liked mahagony. Been a love/hate relationship, sometimes sounds great, other times don't like the sound and it goes unplayed for a few weeks at a time.

Time to move on, posted it on local CL for 1250 and willing to deal. Received an offer yesterday for a straight out trade for a Martin OM 21 and was surprised. Did some research on the 21 and noted that Reverb was asking over 2200 for used.

He described the guitar as having had some binding repairs but essentially in beautiful condition.

Responded and told him no thanks and then woke this morning and decided to rethink the offer. Always loved the Martin sound. Recently sold a D-35 as I'm downsizing to OM's for the shoulders sake and feel the 21 would be closer to the sound I like instead of the 15. Wrote him and asked several questions and also for pictures of the guitar and the S/N.

Two questions: If the binding continues to deteriorate, how expensive to repair, and more importantly, due to the apparent difference in value, how to check if the guitar could possibly have been stolen.

Thanks,

john

[sgfoutz]

I can’t offer any answer to the binding question. However, if you are trying to ascertain if the guitar is stolen I would recommend two things:

1. After obtaining the serial number I would “Google” it. Search the serial number, search stolen Martin OM-21, etc.

2. Contact your local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction you reside. Explain why you feel it may be stolen and provide the serial number. They can run it through a state and national database. Depending on the size of the agency and their policies they could tell you they don’t do that but you’ve done your due diligence.

3. If you decide to move forward meet at a public location with lots of people and cameras. Maybe even the parking lot of your local law enforcement agency. It would take a lot of guts to bring your stolen guitar to that parking lot. Look it over and you can get a read on the owner.

Best of luck. Let us know how it ends up.

[rmp]

I always come to the "if it's too good to be true........" thing

be careful
good luck

[Rogerblair]

What rpm said.

Rb

[rllink]

Originally Posted by sgfoutz

2. Contact your local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction you reside. Explain why you feel it may be stolen and provide the serial number. They can run it through a state and national database. Depending on the size of the agency and their policies they could tell you they don’t do that but you’ve done your due diligence.


Best of luck. Let us know how it ends up.

Don't tell them why you think it might be stolen, just tell them you just want to check to be on the safe side. It is a matter of semantics but it will make a huge difference in how they proceed with it. The difference between, "I want to report a possible theft" and "I'm just checking that it is clean before I buy it." In the first case they open an investigation, in the second they run the make model and serial number through the system to see if it gets a hit.

[mawmow]

Originally Posted by rmp

I always come to the "if it's too good to be true........" thing
be careful
good luck

+1 on this too !

I got some very interesting deals over the years,
but I can remember one that was actually very suspicious…

[mercy]

An OM21 would be worth the trouble to check it out.

[rollypolly]

I got a great deal on a HD-28 because the binding was falling off. A little CA glue later and you're rockin and rollin. Some people might think because of the binding issue that the guitar isn't worth as much. Which is sorta kinda true.

[pdx]

Originally Posted by jnidoh

A year ago, purchased an OMC 15 ME to see if I liked mahagony. Been a love/hate relationship, sometimes sounds great, other times don't like the sound and it goes unplayed for a few weeks at a time.

Time to move on, posted it on local CL for 1250 and willing to deal. Received an offer yesterday for a straight out trade for a Martin OM 21 and was surprised. Did some research on the 21 and noted that Reverb was asking over 2200 for used.

He described the guitar as having had some binding repairs but essentially in beautiful condition.

Responded and told him no thanks and then woke this morning and decided to rethink the offer. Always loved the Martin sound. Recently sold a D-35 as I'm downsizing to OM's for the shoulders sake and feel the 21 would be closer to the sound I like instead of the 15. Wrote him and asked several questions and also for pictures of the guitar and the S/N.

Two questions: If the binding continues to deteriorate, how expensive to repair, and more importantly, due to the apparent difference in value, how to check if the guitar could possibly have been stolen.

Thanks,

john

Martin binding doesn’t deteriorate, it separates from the guitar at the waist. Sadly it is a common Martin occurrence and gent only on smaller bodied guitars and mainly on tortoise shell binding.

[deejayen]

There's a fair amount of detail about the Martin binding problems on the web.

I looked into it recently as I was interested in a guitar which might have been affected.

There seemed to be a range of opinions, from those who said it was a quick and easy fix, to others who said it was time-consuming and difficult to make a really neat job of the repair.

I think the problem is that the binding can shrink, so it's a different size from original, and the repair can leave a ridge between the binding and the wood, plus there's the potential for glue to get where it shouldn't be!

I suppose one other thing to bear in mind is that if you have one section repaired, it might later come unstuck somewhere else!

I'd budget a repair cost of a few hundred - I remember somone saying they sent their guitar to Martin to repair, and that cost around $300 at the time, but they did a perfect job. Unfortunately, I think I also read that Martin aren't currently taking in repairs. I'm also in the UK, so sending a guitar to Martin isn't really an option anyhow.

[Br1ck]

I don't think any honest person would mind meeting at a police department and having the SN run through their database. If they do, move on.

[CharlieBman]

Just be straight with him. It's only smart to be suspicious of a deal that sounds too good to be true. Ask for a pic of the SN. If he bolts, you've done yourself a favor.

[jnidoh]

Just want to say thanks for the help and ideas but guess it has become a non-issue.

Tried contacting the individual again, told him I reconsidered and asked for photos and S/N. It's been about 4-5 days and no response.

Don't know if it was an attempted scam, a joke, or just someone that had no idea of the value of their guitar, and will probably never know. The good part is, at my age and with lousy short term memory, won't remember or care in a week or two.......

john

[rmp]

Originally Posted by jnidoh

The good part is, at my age and with lousy short term memory, won't remember or care in a week or two.......

there ya go!


always look on the bright side of life, do-do, do-do, da-da. da-da-da..

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by jnidoh

A year ago, purchased an OMC 15 ME to see if I liked mahagony. Been a love/hate relationship, sometimes sounds great, other times don't like the sound and it goes unplayed for a few weeks at a time.

Time to move on, posted it on local CL for 1250 and willing to deal. Received an offer yesterday for a straight out trade for a Martin OM 21 and was surprised. Did some research on the 21 and noted that Reverb was asking over 2200 for used.

He described the guitar as having had some binding repairs but essentially in beautiful condition.

Responded and told him no thanks and then woke this morning and decided to rethink the offer. Always loved the Martin sound. Recently sold a D-35 as I'm downsizing to OM's for the shoulders sake and feel the 21 would be closer to the sound I like instead of the 15. Wrote him and asked several questions and also for pictures of the guitar and the S/N.

Two questions: If the binding continues to deteriorate, how expensive to repair, and more importantly, due to the apparent difference in value, how to check if the guitar could possibly have been stolen.

Thanks,

john

I had an OMC 15 ME and sold it.
Still miss it to this day because it’s a great gigging guitar.