amazed

[mercy]

I have been seriously looking for a guitar recently here and reverb. It amazes me how often guitars are posted for sale without specs, especially on this forum. Do people think someone is going to buy their guitar just on looks? I can understand it happening once in a while but it is very often maybe even most of the time.

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by mercy

I have been seriously looking for a guitar recently here and reverb. It amazes me how often guitars are posted for sale without specs, especially on this forum. Do people think someone is going to buy their guitar just on looks? I can understand it happening once in a while but it is very often maybe even most of the time.

I suspect they figure folks will just google for them as long as they have a brand and model? Perhaps I'm missing something here...I guess maybe you're referring to custom made ones or something...

[Fatfinger McGee]

Yes, the looks are much more important, along with disclosing any condition issues not apparent in the picture. A lack of well-lit photos is a lot more of an issue than a spec list. If it's a well-known brand and model, pretty simple to Google it. If it's a custom, serious buyers will ask for the build sheet if not posted. Not something that bothers me at all, tbh. A couple of crappy dim photos with yellowed incandescent lighting hiding all the issues...now that's annoying. Fortunately not something you see here often.

[brencat]

Originally Posted by mercy

I have been seriously looking for a guitar recently here and reverb. It amazes me how often guitars are posted for sale without specs, especially on this forum. Do people think someone is going to buy their guitar just on looks? I can understand it happening once in a while but it is very often maybe even most of the time.

You probably shouldn’t be that surprised. Very few people are truly good at ‘sales’ and you see it everywhere with almost every product. The golden rule is always make it as easy as possible for a potential buyer, yet as you note, a lot of sellers fall down on this basic point.

[Methos1979]

Most people do an okay job. Back when I was buying/selling/trading a lot I always made sure my ads were extremely detailed in my thoughts along with great photos and my guitars sold well. Conversely, an ad with little to no details and worse, no photos or bad photos I scroll right on by. "Email for photos" really bugs me although I know for some people they just don't have the knowledge on how to do it. So if they state that I will frequently have them text or email me photos and I'll post them for them. Or at least I used to back when I went in the guitar classifieds. My GAS has been in remission since December and so I never go there anymore.

[Chipotle]

Remember, here on AGF you are dealing with a very small and focused group of guitar enthusiasts. The vast majority out there don't care (or don't even know) about minutia like specific woods, nut width, string spacing, neck profile, bracing pattern, etc. To them it's just a guitar. They know the logo on the headstock and general size/shape. Maybe they've noticed they find one guitar is easier for them to play over another, or sounds better to them, but they've never really bothered to figure out why that is. That carries over to when they list it for sale somewhere.

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by Dbone

I suspect they figure folks will just google for them as long as they have a brand and model? Perhaps I'm missing something here...I guess maybe you're referring to custom made ones or something...

Yep...takes a second for a serious buyer to Google specs on a production model. I save potential buyers that second by including the manufacturers spec link in my ad.

As for custom models, sure the build sheet should be included in the ad. Don’t most custom sellers do that?

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

Yep...takes a second for a serious buyer to Google specs on a production model. I save potential buyers that second by including the manufacturers spec link in my ad.

As for custom models, sure the build sheet should be included in the ad. Don’t most custom sellers do that?

Not on reverb. If you ask for it most of them will play dumb. I’m not sure if it’s because they never saved it or saw it or if they’re trying to hide the list price to over charge.

Or if they do include something it’s just the spec sheet from the custom shop which doesn’t list a price.

Last time I asked if a guy on reverb had the build sheet and his answer was “yes” but he never showed it or told me about it. Guess he didn’t want to sell to me ��

[Wade Hampton]

Well, sometimes the level of detail that prospective buyers want to know about guitars is granular, almost down to the molecular level. I can understand that when you're seriously considering a purchase, but for many asking super-detailed questions seems to be a form of recreational tire-kicking.

It's entirely relevant to put down all relevant details in the ad, especially on a guitar forum like this one. But unfortunately, in my experience the people who tend to ask the most endlessly detailed questions are then the most likely to vanish and not even take 30 seconds to write an email that says: "Well, thanks but I don't think it suits my needs."

THAT gets aggravating.

Don't feel singled out: the few times I've posted mandolins for sale over on Mandolin Cafe those guys can be even worse that way.

So what I do is try to put everything I can think of in the ads. But the aggravating behavior still occurs.

I don't think it's done intentionally so much as they lack any sense of the other human being on the receiving end of these barrages of questions. Plus it's far, FAR easier and faster to ask a billion questions in an email than it is to answer them. To go measure some of the measurements demanded can be truly infuriating if the person asking the questions then can't be bothered to reply or acknowledge once the answers have been sent, much less continue any possible negotiations.

I rarely get angry at anything anyone posts on the forum, even if it's someone reacting to something as though I'm a complete idiot. That's no big deal, and it really doesn't bother me a bit. But when someone has demanded (and that's the word, demanded) a bunch of additional information but then can't be bothered to even reply signaling a lack of any further interest, THAT'S when I want to reach through my computer screen and throttle the person on the other end.

So if any of you have ever taken that approach to email etiquette that we'll lightly call "casual," knock it off. When you know you have no further interest, say so. And remember it probably takes anywhere from ten to a hundred times longer to gather each bit of information in an answer than it takes to think of each question when you're on a roll typing an email at the speed of light.

Just a thought....


Wade Hampton "Not That I Have ANY Strong Feelings On The Subject" Miller

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by UncleJesse

Not on reverb. If you ask for it most of them will play dumb. I’m not sure if it’s because they never saved it or saw it or if they’re trying to hide the list price to over charge.

Or if they do include something it’s just the spec sheet from the custom shop which doesn’t list a price.

Bummer. The custom features are the biggest selling point.

When I bought my CME custom shop Martin CME didn’t provide a copy of the build sheet. Mine was their last one and they said they couldn’t find its sheet. I had to get one from Martin CS. CME basically blamed it on COVID. At the time the shop was closed and most everyone was working from home. If I ever sell the guitar I’ll post the Martin build sheet because that’s all I’ve got...

[Rosewood99]

I think that's why they have a message seller button.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Dbone

I suspect they figure folks will just google for them as long as they have a brand and model? Perhaps I'm missing something here...I guess maybe you're referring to custom made ones or something...

One problem with the Google method is that manufacturers have changed specs from year to year. For example, an older Martin 000-18 will have a 1 11/16" nut width.

I think that nut width would be a good spec to include in the add. For many of us, the wrong size would be a deal breaker.

[Goodallboy]

Buying a guitar unplayed is so full of risk, specs are the least of the issues.

[mercy]

If they dont provide basic specs I dont pursue the item. There are a lot of guitars out there. One example, there was just the guitar I was looking for recently on the Forum but no specs, just "or how wonderful the guitar is". The guitar went under with no one responding to it. It is now on Reverb with still no specs. Im not going to pursue it, it can die there. Im just surprised how often it happens. A related but different thing, on Reverb it has a tab for specs and there almost never are any specs listed there.

[pagedr]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Well, sometimes the level of detail that prospective buyers want to know about guitars is granular, almost down to the molecular level. I can understand that when you're seriously considering a purchase, but for many asking super-detailed questions seems to be a form of recreational tire-kicking.

It's entirely relevant to put down all relevant details in the ad, especially on a guitar forum like this one. But unfortunately, in my experience the people who tend to ask the most endlessly detailed questions are then the most likely to vanish and not even take 30 seconds to write an email that says: "Well, thanks but I don't think it suits my needs."

THAT gets aggravating.

Don't feel singled out: the few times I've posted mandolins for sale over on Mandolin Cafe those guys can be even worse that way.

So what I do is try to put everything I can think of in the ads. But the aggravating behavior still occurs.

I don't think it's done intentionally so much as they lack any sense of the other human being on the receiving end of these barrages of questions. Plus it's far, FAR easier and faster to ask a billion questions in an email than it is to answer them. To go measure some of the measurements demanded can be truly infuriating if the person asking the questions then can't be bothered to reply or acknowledge once the answers have been sent, much less continue any possible negotiations.

I rarely get angry at anything anyone posts on the forum, even if it's someone reacting to something as though I'm a complete idiot. That's no big deal, and it really doesn't bother me a bit. But when someone has demanded (and that's the word, demanded) a bunch of additional information but then can't be bothered to even reply signaling a lack of any further interest, THAT'S when I want to reach through my computer screen and throttle the person on the other end.

So if any of you have ever taken that approach to email etiquette that we'll lightly call "casual," knock it off. When you know you have no further interest, say so. And remember it probably takes anywhere from ten to a hundred times longer to gather each bit of information in an answer than it takes to think of each question when you're on a roll typing an email at the speed of light.

Just a thought....


Wade Hampton "Not That I Have ANY Strong Feelings On The Subject" Miller

Thank you for accurately putting into words how I (and I'm sure many others) feel so often when selling here and elsewhere. Honestly even when I do list granular specs, I still get messages from people who just don't read and ask for things that are already listed. And then, of course, never respond once that info is provided.