Selling an amp on Gumtree

[permafunk]

I'm selling an amp on Gumtree and obviously potential buyers want to try it out first. I hadn't considered this issue, but it turns out I'm not comfortable with having strangers at my home. First I thought I could ask one of the local stores, as I've sold basses after having buyers try them out there before. But then I realised it'd be downright rude considering they sell the same type of equipment there.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Am I being unreasonably paranoid?

[gjones]

I personally don't have that problem, but can understand why some may feel that way. Live music in Edinburgh sell stuff on commission and I think Mev Taylor Music do too. It may be worth your while seeing if they would sell it for you?

[ambient]

I've sold loads of things on Gumtree, never had a problem.

If you're not easy with a stranger in your house (isn't everyone a stranger when you've never met them before ?), bring the amp in to a room with nothing valuable on show, hallway or somewhere, let them try it there.

Make sure someone is with you.

[Zenitram]

Put some clothes on as well.

[LukeFRC]

watch out for a big fat taxi driver guy from falkirk who's just a bit rude.

Seriously though, have someone else in the house bring the amp into the hall or some neutral room or something and then meet them there.
Or hire a practice studio take it there (they can crank it then too) and do the deal there.
I tend to make sure theres enough emails gone back and forth first that you can work out if they are ok or not, and agree the price and then you should be ok.

(the fat guy from falkirk came over and offered me half the price I was selling it for as it was a bit battered (a 25 year old bass!) tried the hard bargain, he went home without the bass.... then decided to send me a stream of text messages with slightly upgraded offers in, by the time he got to prices I would have sold it at I was so annoyed at him I told him I was just going to give it to my brother... next day apologetic sorry and agreed to buy at my price - I made him come to my work (a coffee shop with a scary looking full sleeve metal head boss) ... any way he got it from me, had it on ebay at a higher price within 3 days )

[JTUK]

It is going to cost you to sort an alternative.... studio or shop, so
you have to make up your mind what you are prepared to do.

[tonyquipment]

Stick it on eBay with postage and send it on

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Best answers have already been posted, I don't like strangers in my home, but I've sold amps in the past, and the hallway works just fine - buyers are coming to buy the amp, so you really don't need to entertain them with food and drinks or give them a full tour of your living arrangements.

Commission sale is also really painless, but it is a good idea to check in with the shop in person from time to time as these type of sales are usually very low priority for shop staff - a friend of mine sold a 4x12 cab this way, and expected them to call him when it was sold(which they didn't), they did sell the cab and he got his money no problem, but only after going down in person approx 2 years after he first took it in.

Some rehearsal studios might consider selling amps/cabs on comission, and can be good places to advertise backline(most have a noticeboard), as their clientel is the sort of people who are most likely to want to buy amps/cabs.

[planer]

I considered Gumtree when I sold my Bassman 70 recently, and tbf I think I'd have got the willies about all and sundry potentially being in my house.

The advice about hallways and having a mate round is all good.

I just put mine on eBay in the end, offered postage (yes, on a 35 year old valve amp!), had buckets of interest and sold it to a lovely fella.

If you're gonna go eBay though I would say you will only get the best money if you're prepared to ship.

[permafunk]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1394892977' post='2396378']
Put some clothes on as well.
[/quote]

Well, that explains a lot.

In all seriousness, thanks for the advice guys. I thnk I'm gonna end up renting a rehearsal studio after all. I'm not gonna go into details but I personally know people who've had bad experiences with this sort of stuff. Granted, it was outside the UK. I know Edinburgh is really safe overall but some habits/precautions are hard to unlearn.

[ambient]

What's the difference between a total stranger from on here, Ebay or Gumtree ?

A stranger is a stranger, or am I missing something, has there been a spate of mad axe men killing people whilst posing as buyers of goods from on Gumtree ?

Seriously though, I do totally understand what you're saying. I've never taken anyone up into my studio room. When someone calls to pick anything up, then I take it downstairs and set it up there for them to try it.

Some of the nicest people I've sold to though were off Gumtree, the rudest was actually from off here. A presenter from a local radio station bought a condenser mic from me recently, you get all sorts.

Edited March 16, 2014 by ambient

[Myke]

Have you considered taking it to their house? Or is the thought of being in a house with a stranger the paranoid part?

Obviously, this would only work if it was local.

[Fionn]

[quote name='permafunk' timestamp='1394891143' post='2396348']
Am I being unreasonably paranoid?
[/quote]

Aye, pretty much.

There are horrible b@st@rds out there, for sure, but it's a sad world when we cower in fear and assume such guilt of our fellow man in the street.

[permafunk]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1395006203' post='2397757']
Have you considered taking it to their house? Or is the thought of being in a house with a stranger the paranoid part?
[/quote]

It's more about wanting to deal in a neutral, public place where stuff like [url="http://www.neontommy.com/news/2013/11/arrests-made-south-los-angeles-murder"]this[/url].

Anyway, I just wanted to check what the protocol was like in the UK since I know for sure that stuff like this would not be acceptable back at home. Glad to know that people are able to trust each other here!

Edited March 26, 2014 by permafunk

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='permafunk' timestamp='1394891143' post='2396348']
Am I being unreasonably paranoid?
[/quote]

Since you ask... yes you are.

[ahpook]

I take (what i consider to be) a couple of sensible precautions if someone's coming to my house to buy something - I'm never on my own, and any tryout happens in the front room, not in the spare room/studio where all the goodies are. Also a quick check-round before they arrive to make sure anything of interest is out of sight.

I don't think you're being paranoid, just wary - that's no bad thing.

Edited March 16, 2014 by ahpook

[Cameronj279]

Best answers have been said. Put it somewhere near the door and make sure all valuable things are out the way if you feel the need. I've never been fully comfortable with having someone in my house but my only valuable things (excluding my bass) are pretty big (i.e tv, speakers etc) and wouldn't exactly be easy to nick!

[mcnach]

[quote name='permafunk' timestamp='1394891143' post='2396348']
I'm selling an amp on Gumtree and obviously potential buyers want to try it out first. I hadn't considered this issue, but it turns out I'm not comfortable with having strangers at my home. First I thought I could ask one of the local stores, as I've sold basses after having buyers try them out there before. But then I realised it'd be downright rude considering they sell the same type of equipment there.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Am I being unreasonably paranoid?
[/quote]

I am cautious when letting people I don't know in, of course. Usually I might set up what I'm selling in the livingroom, or in one of my small rooms, and that's it, I'm not exactly giving them a tour But I'm not particularly worried.
If I were, I'd consider booking a rehearsal room somewhere in town, particularly if you play in a band.

Otherwise, I think that you might just have to offer taking the amp to them, which they may wholeheartedly embrace... If I want to buy something and the seller offers to come round and bring it to me, I'd be happy. Of course, if the seller is also worried about letting people in... you're stuck again.

But there's always eBay.

What is it that worries you? Being alone at your home with strangers? Allowing them to see what you have at home?

[Myke]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1395085212' post='2398532']

I am cautious when letting people I don't know in, of course. Usually I might set up what I'm selling in the livingroom, or in one of my small rooms, and that's it, I'm not exactly giving them a tour But I'm not particularly worried.
If I were, I'd consider booking a rehearsal room somewhere in town, particularly if you play in a band.

Otherwise, I think that you might just have to offer taking the amp to them, which they may wholeheartedly embrace... If I want to buy something and the seller offers to come round and bring it to me, I'd be happy. Of course, if the seller is also worried about letting people in... you're stuck again.

But there's always eBay.

What is it that worries you? Being alone at your home with strangers? Allowing them to see what you have at home?
[/quote]

He's worried about things like this happening. http://www.neontommy.com/news/2013/11/arrests-made-south-los-angeles-murder

[skej21]

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1395006755' post='2397761']


Aye, pretty much.

There are horrible b@st@rds out there, for sure, but it's a sad world when we cower in fear and assume such guilt of our fellow man in the street.
[/quote]

Plus, those horrible sonsabitches aren't going to care if they're in your house or not. If they want it, they'll have it. Whether that means nicking it from your gig, your car, your house, their house (if you take it to demo there) and so on.

[bagsieblue]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1394893677' post='2396393']
watch out for a big fat taxi driver guy from falkirk who's just a bit rude.

Seriously though, have someone else in the house bring the amp into the hall or some neutral room or something and then meet them there.
Or hire a practice studio take it there (they can crank it then too) and do the deal there.
I tend to make sure theres enough emails gone back and forth first that you can work out if they are ok or not, and agree the price and then you should be ok.

(the fat guy from falkirk came over and offered me half the price I was selling it for as it was a bit battered (a 25 year old bass!) tried the hard bargain, he went home without the bass.... then decided to send me a stream of text messages with slightly upgraded offers in, by the time he got to prices I would have sold it at I was so annoyed at him I told him I was just going to give it to my brother... next day apologetic sorry and agreed to buy at my price - I made him come to my work (a coffee shop with a scary looking full sleeve metal head boss) ... any way he got it from me, had it on ebay at a higher price within 3 days )
[/quote]

Hmmm, I had a similar story with a fella from that neck of the woods, who was on holiday in Blackpool (not too far from me) who made contact via Gumtree.
Tried to aggressively hassle me into a best price to collect the bass from me without any case / gigbag etc to make as cheap as possible.
Then got very aggressive, very quickly via text when I said I couldn't deliver to Blackpool for the same price with the Hiscox Case added back in, within a couple of hours for the same price...... It was my daughters birthday party and I'd had a couple of shandies.
Shandies = Brave juice so, I rang him and he said some silly things.

There's good and bad all around but I would certainly say there are more g0b5hite5 on Gumtree than on here.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='bagsieblue' timestamp='1395090248' post='2398634']
Hmmm, I had a similar story with a fella from that neck of the woods, who was on holiday in Blackpool (not too far from me) who made contact via Gumtree.
Tried to aggressively hassle me into a best price to collect the bass from me without any case / gigbag etc to make as cheap as possible.
Then got very aggressive, very quickly via text when I said I couldn't deliver to Blackpool for the same price with the Hiscox Case added back in, within a couple of hours for the same price...... It was my daughters birthday party and I'd had a couple of shandies.
Shandies = Brave juice so, I rang him and he said some silly things.

There's good and bad all around but I would certainly say there are more g0b5hite5 on Gumtree than on here.
[/quote] was his opening line "what's the best price you can do?" - makes my blood boil that one - like if we're going to haggle over the price lets do it properly. Right idiot that guy

[tonyquipment]

Shandies hahahaha

[mcnach]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1395085346' post='2398538']
He's worried about things like this happening. [url="http://www.neontommy.com/news/2013/11/arrests-made-south-los-angeles-murder"]http://www.neontommy...-angeles-murder[/url]
[/quote]


wow!

[mcnach]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1395093729' post='2398697']
was his opening line "what's the best price you can do?" - makes my blood boil that one - like if we're going to haggle over the price lets do it properly. Right idiot that guy
[/quote]


when they ask that, give them a price that's higher than the asking price.

"well, that's absolutely best... for me!"