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Craigslist Rant

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BCam
Posted 2017-06-19 12:52 PM (#535568)
Subject: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
October 2014
Posts: 266

I have to vent regarding some pet peeves I have with Craigslist ads. I regularly check Craigslist for Ovations and I'm continuously frustrated by listings that say something like: "Vintage Ovation guitar, great condition, $300" without listing a model number, age or any other pertinent details other than something useless like, this is my favorite, "has original strings." If they don't know what model it is, how do they know it's worth $300? One recent ad did have a photo of the label but it was completely out of focus and unreadable. My other pet peeve has to do with sellers who fail to take down their ads when sold. I'll call, be told the guitar has been sold but the ad is still up two weeks later. They must be lonely and like getting phone calls.

Sorry, but I just had to get it off my chest.
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DaveKell
Posted 2017-06-19 3:24 PM (#535570 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
November 2011
Posts: 741

Location: Fort Worth, TX
Also the sellers who never respond. An ad for an Ovation 1537 ended up in the Dallas, TX craigslist with a price of $150. The pics looked good and the description said like new. I looked up the town where it was and found out it was in Oklahoma. So what, a 4 hour or so drive for me. I was visiting a brother in law who is a Kiowa Native American. I asked him if he ever heard of the town as he was from Oklahoma originally. He told me it was a reservation town near where his oldest son lived. I probably messaged the seller 3 or 4 times a day for over a week with no response. We called my brother in law's son and asked him to check local newspaper to see if it was listed in classifieds. It wasn't. He told me if the guy got in touch with me he'd go pick it up for me and bring it down to Texas so he could visit his dad. I practically begged the seller to respond but to no avail. A few times I've gotten replies on other ads a week or two late telling me item was sold. I hear ya!
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-06-19 4:41 PM (#535572 - in reply to #535570)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
I have a hard and fast rule concerning for sale ads.

I refuse to chase after someone to give them my money. If they don't respond, then I move on. Period.
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Jimmer
Posted 2017-06-19 6:16 PM (#535573 - in reply to #535572)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
May 2013
Posts: 152

DanSavage - 2017-06-19 5:41 PM

I have a hard and fast rule concerning for sale ads.

I refuse to chase after someone to give them my money. If they don't respond, then I move on. Period.


Same here. I'll rarely check on anything without a price.

I make exceptions if it's in my town or close and it would be easy to go see or a specific guitar that I've been after.

I suppose if they don't list the model you might have a seller that doesn't know much about it. In that case it could be over or under priced.
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Love O Fair
Posted 2017-06-19 9:40 PM (#535575 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1768

Location: When??
1) Free advertising. 2) Liars and flakes being liars and flakes. Sadly impossible to avoid under such a combination.

For things like guitars, it seems you have to stay directly on top of the Craigslist postings, like a couple of times per day, if you are serious about pouncing on a decent deal. If you live in a medium to major market, and you respond to a CL ad for a typical item like a guitar that has been posted for 2 or more days, it's best to assume going in that it isn't all that great of a deal or it would have already have been snatched up by someone who monitors the lists in frequent time. It the olden days we had to go down to the newspaper office to get the first edition off the press in order to do any decent pouncing.
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Mr. Ovation
Posted 2017-06-19 9:46 PM (#535576 - in reply to #535572)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7209

Location: The Great Pacific Northwest
DanSavage - 2017-06-19 2:41 PM

I have a hard and fast rule concerning for sale ads.

I refuse to chase after someone to give them my money. If they don't respond, then I move on. Period.


Yep.. me too.

In fairness, we are all guitar nuts. The vast majority of people selling, especially on Craigslist or Facebook, have no real idea what they are selling from "OUR" perspective. From their perspective they spent at least 5 minutes googling something and made their ad based on that information.

I don't fault them. It's not their thing, they are just sticking a sign out saying they got something for sale.

As far as taking down listings... I admit I am guilty of that as well. Craigslist does not make it easy to manage ads. I only worry about taking things down from places that will cost me money if I don't take them down. My reminder is when someone contacts me about something that was already sold... then I take it down.

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nerdydave
Posted 2017-06-19 11:41 PM (#535577 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
August 2011
Posts: 887

Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah
Dave Kell welcome back. You have been gone far too long! Good to see that you are still in this mortal coil and still have interest in all things Ovation!!
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FlySig
Posted 2017-06-20 8:25 AM (#535579 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4025

Location: Utah
Along the same general lines, I am getting very annoyed at online sellers who don't actually have the item in stock. I needed a critical part for my motorcycle and it has a 3 week lead time from the factory. Yet everywhere online sellers claim to have them. One e-bay seller even stated he had 2 available, so I ordered from him, but nope. This has happened to me several times this summer with various kinds of items.
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Darkbar
Posted 2017-06-20 10:41 AM (#535581 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4535

Location: Flahdaw
One problem is CL is that people will set their account up with an email addy that they very rarely use. Consequently, by the time they finally get around to checking that email inbox, weeks may have gone by. Several times I have responded to a listing, only to get a reply back that says something like "Sorry, I just opened your email blah, blah, blah....I seldom check this inbox blah, blah, blah..." Pisses me off.
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DaveKell
Posted 2017-06-20 10:42 AM (#535582 - in reply to #535572)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
November 2011
Posts: 741

Location: Fort Worth, TX
DanSavage - 2017-06-19 4:41 PM

I have a hard and fast rule concerning for sale ads.

I refuse to chase after someone to give them my money. If they don't respond, then I move on. Period.


You did notice it was a 1537 for $150 right?
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DanSavage
Posted 2017-06-20 11:19 AM (#535583 - in reply to #535582)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2303

Location: Lake Forest, CA
DaveKell - 2017-06-20 8:42 AM

You did notice it was a 1537 for $150 right?


Of course.

But, to me, even that kind of deal is not worth the aggravation. Life's too short and there's a whole world of guitars out there.

Like I wrote, I refuse to chase after someone to give them my money. Period.
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Mark in Boise
Posted 2017-06-20 11:56 AM (#535584 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750

Location: Boise, Idaho
I am currently trying to sell a car and, after numerous spammers and scammers, I can relate to the sellers who don't respond. I've become gun shy about contacting someone who responds to an ad, particularly if they want me to text or email with additional information that anyone with a legitimate interest would know.
On the other hand, I used to contact sellers of Ovations and inform them of mistakes in their ads. After a few "if you're not interested in buying it, don't bother me" responses, I quit doing that. One guy was quite rude and told me I didn't know what I was talking about, but later corrected his ad.
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BCam
Posted 2017-06-20 12:34 PM (#535585 - in reply to #535581)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
October 2014
Posts: 266

I get the best response from sellers who accept texts, although, at some point, it's better to have a conversation rather than exchange 10 texts to agree on a time and place to meet.

Despite my rant, I have to say that my experience with CL sellers who are responsive, has, on balance, been pretty good.

My wife is disabled and I've made some good CL deals on a modular wheelchair ramp system ($2k for what was $20k new), a wheelchair "elevator" ($600 vs. $6k), etc. I guess the difference is that the sellers rarely paid out of pocket for the items. If only the same was true of guitars.
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mbedard
Posted 2017-06-21 12:38 PM (#535589 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
December 2005
Posts: 247

Location: Seacoast NH
"Original Strings"! God do I cringe when I see that. Who the hell deems that a point of value?!
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BCam
Posted 2017-06-21 12:59 PM (#535590 - in reply to #535589)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
October 2014
Posts: 266

mbedard - 2017-06-21 12:38 PM

"Original Strings"! God do I cringe when I see that. Who the hell deems that a point of value?!


Or, "has one broken string" -- That has to knock off at least $100 off the price.
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Love O Fair
Posted 2017-06-21 11:56 PM (#535601 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1768

Location: When??
People who advertise guitars with original strings are getting guitars confused with classic Mustangs.
People who advertise guitars with one broken string are getting guitars confused with 1993 Toyotas.
People who advertise guitars with an emphasis on the word "vintage" need to look up the actual definition of vintage.

Edited by Love O Fair 2017-06-22 12:06 AM
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Love O Fair
Posted 2017-06-22 12:19 AM (#535602 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1768

Location: When??
Oh, and people who advertise guitars as a precious family heirloom need to realize that we aren't related.
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BCam
Posted 2017-06-22 10:01 AM (#535608 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
October 2014
Posts: 266

Here's one that's currently posted on CL (and Reverb) and, surprisingly, is brutally honest but overpriced given the issues noted:

https://modesto.craigslist.org/msg/6145177458.html

1976 Ovation 12 string acoustic electric made in USA - $375

1976 Model 1615-4

The good:
Electronics work perfectly.
Neck joint is solid.
Bridge is secure, and not pulled away from body at all.
Soundboard is flat, and not warped at all.
All original, except one tuner knob has been changed.

The bad:
If you are familiar with these guitars, you know they are known for a few flaws.
The soundboards crack.
The necks twist.
This one is no different.
Has 3 cracks in the soundboard.
One of them is all the way through.
Usually you will see far more than 3, so it's not too bad by comparison.
I have seen far worse.

The neck has a slight twist.
Action is high on the bass side.
Absolutely common for this model, from that era.

Still a very playable guitar, but has those 2 problems.

Pretty significant fret wear, but that is to be expected for a guitar over 40 years old.

The price is far under market value.

Fresh set of silk n steel strings.
No case.

Send phone number if interested.
I will call you.

Will consider trades for gear of equal value. Guitars, amps, whatever.
Just tell me what you have to offer.


Edited by BCam 2017-06-22 10:03 AM
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jay
Posted 2017-06-22 10:28 AM (#535609 - in reply to #535608)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 1249

Location: Texas

You gotta bait the hook, if you are going to catch something

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Darkbar
Posted 2017-06-23 9:12 AM (#535616 - in reply to #535609)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4535

Location: Flahdaw

jay - 2017-06-22 11:28 AM

You gotta bait the hook, if you are going to catch something

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FlySig
Posted 2017-06-23 5:39 PM (#535623 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4025

Location: Utah
Where's the eye bleach?
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seesquare
Posted 2017-06-23 6:48 PM (#535624 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3598

Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire
Woof! Where's the brain bleach?!
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BCam
Posted 2017-06-27 10:37 AM (#535641 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
October 2014
Posts: 266

I just saw one this morning that made me chuckle despite they're not mentioning the model:

Ovation 6 string acoustic guitar with hard shell case - $300 (winters)

Ovation guitar from the late 70's. Plays with a lot of volume. Minor defects both sides of the bridge. Includes Ovation hard shell case, Korg tuner, Kaiser capo, strap and a rare Doritos pick. Gig ready. Will be in Carmichael Fri. 6-23 after 11 am and can show it there. Can be there earlier if necessary.

I want that rare Doritos pick! I tried real Doritos and they don't work very well.
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Love O Fair
Posted 2017-06-27 4:59 PM (#535642 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant



Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1768

Location: When??
Meat bees. Annoying little suckers when they descend upon your camp site.. but I found the solution many years ago. Bring with you a pack of baloney and drape the slices over limbs of trees that surround the outer reaches of the camp site. Make sure the limbs are small (1/2" diameter or so) so that there is a lot of dangling baloney, and the bees will gladly go to those instead of being attracted to your food. Thing is, after a day or two the baloney dries hard and loses its bee attraction properties, so it's best to bring enough to have fresh for the full duration of your trip. Anyway, the point is that you haven't lived until you have hand crafted a line of custom guitar picks made from dried, brittle baloney. Doritos picks are child's play.
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alpep
Posted 2017-06-28 1:56 PM (#535650 - in reply to #535568)
Subject: Re: Craigslist Rant


Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581

Location: NJ
I have had mostly poor experiences with craigslist both as a buyer and seller
but when they work out they work out well
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