What would you do?

[davidbeinct]

I’d check my phone. In my experience tech never works in dreams.

[hopdemon]

I had something like that happen to me.I met a gentleman with a 68 fender pbass in olympic white that had turned a beautiful butter color. The price he was asking was way to low(this was early 2000's)I told him he was asking way to little, he got really po'd at me and told me he knew its value and that he was asking a reasonable price...but he wouldn't sell it to me cause I questioned him on it, he sold it to someone else for his asking price and that fellow tripled his money on the resale.I no longer quibble over low asking prices anymore..learned my lesson.On the other hand I did buy his Ampeg B15 and his Ampeg B12 from another fellow who got to him earlier and got a great deal on them. still have the B12(both were late 60s ampegs)an amazingly warm tube amp. I traded the b15 for 2 guitars and a Vox amp.

[ryanHD28]

Wow some great answers all around. So on the two I mentioned the Framus Apollo was a guitar covered in stickers and what seemed to be a few years or Pepsi stickiness. Took some time to clean up and get everything working but I turned into a great guitar that I kept for awhile. The Lap steal was advertised as a toy guitar. When I went to pick it up it looked like a crack house and the people said that they found it in the closest when they moved in. In both cases I have no guilt as they both needed work and time to get where they were sellable. The kid (19ish) that bought the lap steel was super happy with the deal and for 19 he put on a hell of a clinic on it. Wish I could play slide like that.

All the best deals I used to find when I bought and sold were thru the Facebook Bidding sites. Never did I find a good deal on craiglist or all the flea markets I went to. I actually avoid flea markets like the plague as the sellers are all mostly out to lunch on there pricing.

[Huskyman]

The days of walking into a barn owned by a 95 year old woman who lost her husband 20 years ago and seeing a pristine 1957 Chevy or probably long gone.

Here is something I have heard my mom talk about. I grew up in a small town with a population of 50 at most. There was a elderly couple that my mom used to visit and she grew up with. Old old two story house and the old man was a WW1 Vet and he had a case full of stuff. A ton of beautiful old coins was one of the things in the case. He had many many silver coins. He passed at the age of 90 and not too long after the wife called my mom and asked her to bring her to the bank. The next town with a population of about 40 people had a small B of A. So my mom brought her and the lady went in while my mom waited. The old lady came out with a smile on her face and a check for something like $2300. The banker took her silver coins with a face value of $2300 and gave her $2300. And I know that legally he did nothing wrong but morally I just thought the guy was awful for doing that.

This was 1966 by the way.

[Bridgepin]

Originally Posted by hopdemon

I had something like that happen to me.I met a gentleman with a 68 fender pbass in olympic white that had turned a beautiful butter color. The price he was asking was way to low(this was early 2000's)I told him he was asking way to little, he got really po'd at me and told me he knew its value and that he was asking a reasonable price...but he wouldn't sell it to me cause I questioned him on it, he sold it to someone else for his asking price and that fellow tripled his money on the resale.I no longer quibble over low asking prices anymore..learned my lesson.On the other hand I did buy his Ampeg B15 and his Ampeg B12 from another fellow who got to him earlier and got a great deal on them. still have the B12(both were late 60s ampegs)an amazingly warm tube amp. I traded the b15 for 2 guitars and a Vox amp.

I find very odd that someone would get up set with someone offering advice to the fact that their merchandise might be of a greater value....and then refusing then to sell it to them.....The first thing that come to mind is the bass might have a checkered past.....Just a thought.

[Nicky Parrish]

I’d try to talk them down a bit on the D-35.

Back in late seventies at a garage sale I bought a 1960 Les Paul Jr. for $100.
Still have it, all original

[Rixtoy]

Years ago I had an investment client who was worth a lot of money and his hobby/retirement gig was dealing in lead crystal glassware pieces.
Lead crystal was stopped being made during World War I because the government channeled all the lead to bullets.

So, he knew his stuff and would run up to garage sales, look around and see if he saw any pieces. To me they just looked like Grandma's glassware, but he knew. (I always wondered why people run up to a garage sale and turn around and run back - now, I know . . .).

He showed me some pieces he bought for $3 that were worth $6,000 as part of a collectible set on the open market and he travelled to shows with his wares.

he had no qualms whatsoever - they were of no value to the seller (well - $3) because they didn't know what they had and he didn't feel it was his responsibility to tell them - Seller Beware, I guess.

It changed my mind a bit about that equation and I saw nothing wrong with it.

The cool thing was he had boxes of this stuff he would take to a show and didn't even lock his van because if someone opened the door, they would think it was Grandma crap. The van actually had $40,000 worth of stuff in it. Crazy.

He made a nice living doing that.

[rstaight]

I never seem to find these types of deals. But, I would like to think I would offer a more fitting price.

[Br1ck]

The one and only time I ever butted in to a store's business, a young woman had brought in a 50s J 200 that was her grandfather's guitar she was looking to sell. They offered her 10% of it's value. I was so mad I walked over and told her the value of the guitar, what a fair offer should have been, what she could likely sell it for privately, and where to go if she wanted to sell it on consignment. The store owner was so mad he told me never to come back, to which I replied I had no problem with that.

Out in the parking lot the girl thanked me and said her grandma really needed the money. She was heading to the other store. A good deal is one thing, thievery another.

[hopdemon]

Originally Posted by Bridgepin

I find very odd that someone would get up set with someone offering advice to the fact that their merchandise might be of a greater value....and then refusing then to sell it to them.....The first thing that come to mind is the bass might have a checkered past.....Just a thought.

Nope Bridgepin it was all legit. He was a local country musician and an old man when I was put in touch with him and very set in his ways The bass had been in a case in his garage for about 40 yrs (he didn't like the way it sounded so he stuck with his upright) I probably came on a bit strong but I was trying to be helpful. You deal with some of these old dutchmen in this area and you would know what I mean.... hardheaded is a way of life I guess I insulted him by telling him I knew more than he didanyway he sold it and got the amount he wanted and I looked elsewhere for a pbass ...ended up with a nice 83 fender Fullerton 58 reissue

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by ryanHD28

Was driving around on Saturday and passed a few garage sales. I always slow down and look to see if there are any guitars and then drive off. As I was doing that I had a thought. If I ever come a cross a High end expensive guitar for way too cheap would I buy it or would I tell the seller what they has. My younger days I took the guitar. Two great deals. One was a 50s Harmony Lap Steel for $10 that I sold for $500 and the other was a '69 Framus Apollo for $25 that I sold for $600. Now that I am older I think if I came across a D35 for $100 at a garage sale I would inform the seller. But a D35 for $100 would be so tempting.

So lets make this a 2 part question.
What would you do?
and
Whats the crazest deal you ever got?

Part A:

I'd tell them it was under-priced, offer them something I'd consider a bargain for me, tell them that, and let them make the decision. If I wasn't really actively looking to purchase that particular instrument I'd consider that fair. There are a lot of "high end guitars" that wouldn't interest me in the least at my age.

Part B:

I garbage-picked a 40's Epiphone Triumph arch top (carved spruce top, birdseye maple back and sides) with original case and several items in the case pocket, including the original DeArmond "monkey on a stick" pickup. I re-strung it and played it for several years and finally traded it in at a local store because I knew it really needed to be in the hands of a jazz player.

It was in a pile outside where they were cleaning out an old house to get it ready to sell and was waiting to be picked up by a trash hauler. I've often wondered what else was in the pile. At the time my mom was dropping off one of my playing buddies from band practice (I was 14 at the time) and I just thought it was an old guitar case. I grabbed it and threw it in the back seat and found out the guitar was part of the deal when I got home.

My parents were antique dealers for something over 30 years and I had an appreciation for art glass and primitives, which they specialized in. They had a steady stream of people that would contact them looking for what they would "offer" as a way to get a free appraisal. They never offered, and always told anyone who stopped in to tell them what they wanted, and they would either buy the item or pass.

Since Antiques Roadshow has been on, the public is now way better informed as to value of what they have. The problem with musical instruments is if someone sees an "old guitar" given a value of several thousand dollars then they think all old guitars are equally as valuable.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

The one and only time I ever butted in to a store's business, a young woman had brought in a 50s J 200 that was her grandfather's guitar she was looking to sell. They offered her 10% of it's value......Out in the parking lot the girl thanked me and said her grandma really needed the money. She was heading to the other store. A good deal is one thing, thievery another.

I had a similar experience once. While sampling in the good guitar room ne Saturday, a teenager walked in. His grandmother had given him a 514 Taylor, and he did not recognize the brand name. The store was about to trade him even-up for a $400 Takamine (nothing against Tak's but he at least knew of that brand name). I pulled him aside while the salesman was away and told him what he had already probably cost his grandma close to $2K new and that they were ripping him off by giving him a much cheaper guitar in trade. The sales dude didn't know why the young man left suddenly, and I didn't tell him. It was probably two years before I went back into that store again. And then only for strings in an emergency.

[Eryc74]

Originally Posted by ryanHD28

Was driving around on Saturday and passed a few garage sales. I always slow down and look to see if there are any guitars and then drive off. As I was doing that I had a thought. If I ever come a cross a High end expensive guitar for way too cheap would I buy it or would I tell the seller what they has. My younger days I took the guitar. Two great deals. One was a 50s Harmony Lap Steel for $10 that I sold for $500 and the other was a '69 Framus Apollo for $25 that I sold for $600. Now that I am older I think if I came across a D35 for $100 at a garage sale I would inform the seller. But a D35 for $100 would be so tempting.

So lets make this a 2 part question.
What would you do?
and
Whats the crazest deal you ever got?

I'd buy the guitar and never look back - not because I lack conscience - but because it is risk you take too, albeit 50-100 bucks is a small risk. Somethings you buy aren't what you hope they will be.

If the seller is willing to accept your offer then so be it.

It nice to pick up a buck or two profit for your time or better yet - find a guitar you love for short money.

Nothing wrong with that in my mind

[Thom PC]

Not guitar related, but I went to a thrift shop and found something that looked a whole lot like a Mies Van Der Rohe Barcelona chair priced at about the equivalent of USD 30. I am not sure of the exact value on the 2nd hand market, but would probably be something like USD 1,500-2,000.

My first thought was that it had to be a knock-off, but after checking photos online on my phone, I wasn't so sure. I did take a few moments to contemplate what to do, but then I went to the counter and said that they should probably double check on that chair. The guy called his boss on the phone and I talked to him to explain the situation - he said thanks, and they would get someone to investigate. I said, you're welcome, here's my number, please let me know how it turns out. I never heard back from them which does annoy me a little bit.

Anyway, I later checked online videos on how to spot Barcelona Chair originals from knock-offs, and I am 99% sure that it was a knock-off. Still would have liked to get that call, though.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by UncleJesse

I’ve heard a version of this story many times. The urban legend changes but usually it’s a fancy sports car for $100 in auto trader. Either the guy going through a divorce is selling that low so he doesn’t have to give half of that money to his wife or the wife selling it that low to spite the cheater.

...but have you heard the one about the guy who bought a 63 Corvette for $100, got it home and found a mint 1942 Martin D-45 had been left in the trunk?

Oh, there was also the owner's large diamond ring and Rolex Daytona left behind in the guitar's case, too.