Guitar buy/sell groups on Facebook... ARGH!

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SouthpawMarkSouthpawMark Frets: 620
Is it just me, or does anyone else only seem to attract c***s on there? 

I put some pedals up. Someone wanted my Caverns V2, so he messaged me. 

“Hi Mate (I’m not your mate) is the Caverns still available?”

”Yes”

”Great. What’s your best price?” 

“£140”

”Ok. Does that include postage?” 

“Yes”

”Tell you what, I’ll give you £100 and I’ll buy right now”.

”Hello?”

”Hello?”

”Let me know?”

“I told you my best price”

“They’re not much more new mate (yes they are, and I’m still not your mate, especially now). Reverb averages around £120 (no it doesn’t). I can go to £110 but that’s it“

I mean seriously, what sort of negotiating is that? I’m not desperate to sell, or a charity, and he seems to think he’s doing me a favour by offering such a ridiculous amount.

I have a good mind to accept £100 then take a chainsaw to the pedal and only send him 2/3rds of it.

Rant over. 
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Comments

  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    "Pal". :p
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  • preston61preston61 Frets: 690

    I've found most people on those forums to be pretty decent, and if I don't like the offer then responding with "thanks for the interest, but I can't go that low. All the best" tends to resolve things in a fairly stress free way.

    Never felt the need to chainsaw a pedal afterwards :-)

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  • preston61preston61 Frets: 690

    They don't appear to have that option, however eBay's completed listings would suggest that somewhere around £120-£125 would be more the norm
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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10337
    why be such a dick about someone calling you mate?

    I get the annoyance about the price thing but not the use of mate as a cordial greeting.
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654
    I quite enjoy the futility of Facebook pages like that, they're quite amusing if you don't let the frustration get to you.

    Stuff like "I really want this guitar, will you accept 50% of your asking price" and "Would you meet me 60 miles away for no extra petrol money" or my favourite "I'm doing you a favour offering you 50p for this guitar, it's value is only going to fall" from a regular poster who sells loads of used gear at his music shop nearby.

    I don't like acting this way when I'm buying stuff, but I can't help feeling like I might be missing out judging on the proliferation of people who negotiate like this, as presumably it must work sometimes for them to continue with it?
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Look mate, putting this on a public forum isn't going to make me up my offer. £110 is my absolute limit mate.
    The ball's in your court, mate.
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  • NelsonPNelsonP Frets: 3347
    I've been after one of them for a while. Would you take £90 for it, mate?

     ;) 
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  • NelsonP said:
    I've been after one of them for a while. Would you take £90 for it, mate?

     ;) 

    No, but you can buy the remaining 1/3rd of it for  £45. 
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  • NelsonPNelsonP Frets: 3347
    edited April 2019
    Quality!  =)
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  • OctafishOctafish Frets: 1937
    preston61 said:

    They don't appear to have that option, however eBay's completed listings would suggest that somewhere around £120-£125 would be more the norm
    That seems about right - £179 inc postage new would suggest 2nd hand price of about £120.00.

    Despite that I get the OP's annoyance with the "Hi mate, I'll do you a favour and offer you somewhat less than you're asking" routine.
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  • jellybellyjellybelly Frets: 734
    edited April 2019
    At least anyone saying ‘mate’ or ‘pal’ is at least being sort of friendly, on the surface anyway. And £100 isn’t totally insulting for a pedal that cost £179 new but I get that you’re annoyed he didn’t respect your best price. 

    If you're getting more than two two thirds of the retail price for any piece of current production musical equipment you’re doing very well indeed. Or it’s Strymon/Chase Bliss
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  • FortheloveofguitarFortheloveofguitar Frets: 4287
    edited April 2019
    I’m happy to be referred to as mate.

     Most people don’t even say hello it’s just straight in with ‘postage’?   ‘Case’? ‘£100’?

    I now completely ignore those messages if you can’t even be bothered to say hi and be polite 
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    I recently put something up for sale and I got a "best offer" from someone which was less than half, including postage to Holland; I didn't bother replying.

    Another time someone put up a bass case for £90 ono, so I offered them £80; they replied that they thought the 90 was a fair price, so I responded they'd said ono, hence my offer, to which they said OK then...

    I tend walk past where a seller says "firm" on a high price.
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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    Loads of them about.

    Re. the "mate" thing, some people don't see the problem,  some people really do. To the extent that if you ever get any training on dealing with random members of Joe Public , particularly pissed ones,  you'll get explicit instruction not to use it,  no matter how friendly you are. It's a good way to get chinned.
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  • riverciderrivercider Frets: 461
    I recently had a Gumtree enquiry, just a 'what's your best price' with no hi, or please, or anything else.  Experience told me to ignore it but I thought it may be someone young, or inexperienced in negotiating so I decided to dance.
    'What's the most you'd pay?' I replied, adopting a more forthright approach than normal to try to fit in.
    He then told me they were selling on eBay for half my listed price and gave an example that was a vaguely similar model but in a different finish, older year, and with different pickups etc., so basically only the name on the headstock was the same...
    My price seemed fair compared to all examples I could see elsewhere, incidentally.
    I was polite enough to tell him that in that case we weren't going to be able to agree a deal, and he didn't respond, which was good because further communication seemed pointless. But, rather than ignoring these people altogether,I suppose the moral of the story is to allow them their own style of negotiating up to the point it becomes absolutely clear that is a lowball artist you're dealing with, just in case.

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  • GoldenEraGuitarsGoldenEraGuitars Frets: 8820
    tFB Trader
    Wow. So, who knew the word “mate” would be such an issue.

    You’d hate reading my incoming emails and messages. So much so your head might explode. “Mate”, “pal”, “bud”, “buddy”, “chap”, “dear sir”, “man”, “dude”... they’re all used and appreciated. Try not to get too rattled by someone using a term of endearment towards you. 

    On the subject of Facebook selling groups... no worse than the fretboard, eBay, gumtree etc.. it’s all the same group of people using different names.
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  • SlimbertSlimbert Frets: 335
    Ranting on a forum about being called "mate"...1st world problems an' all that.
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  • ive often been called no-mates. if someone calls me mate il instantly give them 50% discount
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