Stupid things you've been asked when selling a guitar

breakstuff

When trying to sell my Yamaha THR10 on Gumtree some guy messaged me asking if I would accept trades. I really wanted cash, but stupidly asked him what he had in mind. His reply? A bloody oboe. 

DefaultM

Guy agreed a price on a Korean Tele, then turned up and tried to get me to knock a substantial percentage off because I'd put all USA switch/pots etc in it. Not original anymore is it!

roberty

People who demand lots of random information are rarely serious buyers imo. I get a lot of "can you do a demo" for pedals on Facebook. Plenty on YouTube mate

Kittyfrisk

breakstuff said:

When trying to sell my Yamaha THR10 on Gumtree some guy messaged me asking if I would accept trades. I really wanted cash, but stupidly asked him what he had in mind. His reply? A bloody oboe. 

Wasn't pink was it?  

DefaultM

That haircut one is my fave. Should have said no but you'd have a go at doing his hair for him.

chris_john

I don't know if this is a stupid question or not, but I was asked how many pieces of wood my highway one Tele was made out of. He seemed to think I was pulling a fast one when I said I couldn't see through the paint.

sgosden

"Can you drive to [250 miles away] for me to try it out "
It being a £300 guitar . 

IvisonGuitars

To play an R7 down the phone to a potential buyer so he could compare it to one he’d tried in a shop the week before....

MattNovak

Short version. 10 ish years ago:

I'm English
I lived in Belfast
I worked in Dublin, driving each way every day
Advertised a guitar on adverts.ie
Got a trade offer
Cash and an AK-47 replica

As much as I fancied owning an AK-47 replica (I actually still kinda do), driving over the border with a an AK-47 in the boot would not have ended well.

thegummy

MattNovak said:

Short version. 10 ish years ago:

I'm English
I lived in Belfast
I worked in Dublin, driving each way every day
Advertised a guitar on adverts.ie
Got a trade offer
Cash and an AK-47 replica

As much as I fancied owning an AK-47 replica (I actually still kinda do), driving over the border with a an AK-47 in the boot would not have ended well.

After the Good Friday Agreement a lot of them moved to rock music

thegummy

CMW335 said:

Also had a few asking what guage are the strings.... hmm well whatever guage you want when you buy them surely?

Can understand that question, if he wanted to use significantly thicker strings the nut would have to be cut but if you already used thick ones he'd save on that expense.

CMW335

thegummy said:

CMW335 said:

Also had a few asking what guage are the strings.... hmm well whatever guage you want when you buy them surely?

Can understand that question, if he wanted to use significantly thicker strings the nut would have to be cut but if you already used thick ones he'd save on that expense.

First they want to see our nuts now they want to cut them 

In the grand scheme I would still say it wouldn’t sway me either way... for context we are talking about a £4K guitar 

breakstuff

Kittyfrisk said:

breakstuff said:

When trying to sell my Yamaha THR10 on Gumtree some guy messaged me asking if I would accept trades. I really wanted cash, but stupidly asked him what he had in mind. His reply? A bloody oboe. 

Wasn't pink was it?  

Shit! I think I might have missed a trick there.

impmann

"Nice mate, but a bit expensive compared to elsewhere. Would you consider delivering it and accepting £200 less?" (£400 Fender Strat - I shit you not)

"Does it come with the amplifier in the background?" Does it say it does in the advert, dickweed?

"Would you consider a trade for (insert name of unheard of 'boutique' pedal that nobody has heard of that has been for sale on ebay for six months and nobody wants)?" You can throw it in plus the full price in cash if you don't want it.

Or the guy who bought the guitar after playing it (badly) in my living room telling me it was "wonderful" and then three months later wanted a refund because it was "unplayable". He was astonished when I told him to go forth on that one. He claimed that under distance selling rules he could return it... er, chap... firstly, I'm not a business so that doesn't cover it, secondly you tried before you bought, thirdly it was a private sale through a website (not even eBay) and lastly... you've had it three fucking months.

MattNovak

thegummy said:

MattNovak said:

Short version. 10 ish years ago:

I'm English
I lived in Belfast
I worked in Dublin, driving each way every day
Advertised a guitar on adverts.ie
Got a trade offer
Cash and an AK-47 replica

As much as I fancied owning an AK-47 replica (I actually still kinda do), driving over the border with a an AK-47 in the boot would not have ended well.

After the Good Friday Agreement a lot of them moved to rock music

Gerry Adams does a powerful version of Sweet child o'mine


Nothing compared to Ian Paisley's cover of Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bright Eyes' though.

tomajoha

MattNovak said:

thegummy said:

MattNovak said:

Short version. 10 ish years ago:

I'm English
I lived in Belfast
I worked in Dublin, driving each way every day
Advertised a guitar on adverts.ie
Got a trade offer
Cash and an AK-47 replica

As much as I fancied owning an AK-47 replica (I actually still kinda do), driving over the border with a an AK-47 in the boot would not have ended well.

After the Good Friday Agreement a lot of them moved to rock music

Gerry Adams does a powerful version of Sweet child o'mine


Nothing compared to Ian Paisley's cover of Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bright Eyes' though.

Martin McGuinness was known for a haunting version of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'

bobbatone

bgmartinsbridge said:

Is Boba a member on here, he could explain his nut width fetish! 

Turns out I am a member (who knew) so I can enlighten you, and also apologise to anyone I have ever forgotten to respond to.

So the nut fetish is fairly simple and I’d be surprised if it wasn’t a very common fetish. Considering the various sizes of nut that a guitar may come with, over the years I’ve come to understand what my preferences are. This is also true of the neck shape and depth which is also a question I’ll often ask. These specs give me a strong idea of whether I’ll get on with the guitar or not before I go see it in person. 

Going off a spec sheet (especially online) is not always going to work as the specs of guitars can change from year to year and even then, they can still vary to what the spec sheet says (in my experience). Also any particular guitar does not have a ‘standard' nut width or neck profile, most common sure, but they are not all made the same. So the best way to be sure is to measure the actual nut, on the actual guitar in question (with calipers or a straight edge, because yes the tape is not reliable).

Most people are kind enough to get back with these details and it’s very useful. If the specs sound good to me, I’ll then consider the other factors and decide whether I’d like to see it in person. I regulary buy/sell guitars depending on what I need for a session/project so when I need something, I usually end up asking a fair amount of people about their nut sizes to narrow down my search, and I do try to atleast say thanks. As I say apologies to anyone I haven’t responded to. Clearly your nuts are just too big for me.

bgmartinsbridge

Haha, Brilliant. 

Strangefan

bobbatone said:

bgmartinsbridge said:

Is Boba a member on here, he could explain his nut width fetish! 

Turns out I am a member (who knew) so I can enlighten you, and also apologise to anyone I have ever forgotten to respond to.

So the nut fetish is fairly simple and I’d be surprised if it wasn’t a very common fetish. Considering the various sizes of nut that a guitar may come with, over the years I’ve come to understand what my preferences are. This is also true of the neck shape and depth which is also a question I’ll often ask. These specs give me a strong idea of whether I’ll get on with the guitar or not before I go see it in person. 

Going off a spec sheet (especially online) is not always going to work as the specs of guitars can change from year to year and even then, they can still vary to what the spec sheet says (in my experience). Also any particular guitar does not have a ‘standard' nut width or neck profile, most common sure, but they are not all made the same. So the best way to be sure is to measure the actual nut, on the actual guitar in question (with calipers or a straight edge, because yes the tape is not reliable).

Most people are kind enough to get back with these details and it’s very useful. If the specs sound good to me, I’ll then consider the other factors and decide whether I’d like to see it in person. I regulary buy/sell guitars depending on what I need for a session/project so when I need something, I usually end up asking a fair amount of people about their nut sizes to narrow down my search, and I do try to atleast say thanks. As I say apologies to anyone I haven’t responded to. Clearly your nuts are just too big for me.

Post of the week for me. 

Clecko

This feels like a rare thread with a resolution.