Sketchy Craigslist Ad?
 

I responded to an ad for a guitar amp on the local CL. The seller said he could not show it where he lived, but would be willing to drive over to my house (30 miles away) to show it to me. Sounds pretty odd--it's a good amp at a little bit below market, but it's not expensive. At the risk of sounding naive, is this a scam?

Seems a little odd, but I don't know how it could be a 'scam.'

Open carry and wear your FOP Tshirt, and buy that amp.

meet him at a location nearby your house, just to be sure.
No need to give him your adress

Make sure the location has a wall socket to plug into! :D

This sounds a lot like my last (and probably last...) cl transaction for a while.

Perhaps he lives in a small apartment and can't crank the amp up.
Perhaps he is ashamed of where he lives.
Perhaps his place is full of his roomate's drugs or something.
Perhaps he's scared of sketchy CL people and doesn't want to have people at his place.
Perhaps the amp is stolen and isn't his to sell.

For him to drive 30 miles out of his way tells me he's either really young and full of boundless energy, or a little too eager to sell. edit- or retired, too much time on hands, doesn't want CL buyers around. :)

I made the last guy I bought from sign a letter stating a bill of sale with him comfirming the item was his to sell. (Not that that would have done a lot of good- but it would at least show I tried some effort in confirming it wasn't stolen.).

In my case- worrying about / buying potentially stolen stuff really soured the whole thing.

Def don’t have him to your home. Tells him where to find more guitar stuff to steal!

^^^ That
And yeah... sounds a bit flaky. Not a scam if they're willing to meet you but something doesn't sound right.

Dunkin' Donuts and put the open case out to collect tips! ;-)

There are nice people in the world. I bought my bike on CL, I said I couldn't come down until after work, he said he would bring it to me. He drove 45 minutes. Super nice guy when we met.

A lot of police stations have areas set aside now for meeting people to buy something from Craig's list.

I like to meet at a Walmart parking lot when I’m selling things. There will be an outlet at the gas station where you can plug in.

That was my first thought.

This. Tell him that you’ll meet him at a local police station. If he agrees, good chance he’s legit. If he disagrees or no-shows, you have your answer.

That was my thought.

I know--in the "old" days, I wouldn't have thought much about it, other than he's a nice guy for offering to drive it over. But I worry about buying something stolen--I've had things stolen before, and it sucks. I think I'll buy new, and trade in one of my several old amps. Besides, I wanted tweed instead of black.:)

In a related incident, yesterday I got an email ostensibly from the dean of my school, whom I've never met. He asked me if I was on campus, and then asked if I could buy some Amazon gift cards for him. He said was stuck in an important meeting, couldn't use his phone, and it was an urgent request--he wanted the gift cards as a present for his best friend's son's birthday. I told him I'd like to help, but I had a meeting with a Nigerian prince who needed my help transferring money out of Lagos. Also let the real dean know, who got campus security on it.

It's stolen. Don't support the thieving asshats.

Bingo!

Yep, best place to meet but not always convenient. People I meet coming to me I give them a place next to the freeway. And I pick places next to the freeway when I have to travel to meet.

Not always.

I got burned on my last CL purchase so I'm a little sour on the idea right now.

I sold a amp on CL, we have wall outlets in our parking structure so we met there

I'm afraid my guitar playing would result in criminal charges if I did that.

Went over to Guitar Center and bought a new fender Blues Junior in tweed. They gave me $120 on my old amp, plus 10% off the new one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxQ6Lp_BHjU

I was thinking about playing "I shot the sheriff..."

Probably not good idea :D


Not buying the CL amp was probably good idea. The worry over it wouldn't have been worth the savings (if any).

Now that's funny!:D
Agree. I bought an acoustic bass from Guitar Center and they had to hold it for 30 days after the sale to clear a "police check." Completely approve.

I buy used guitars from time to time, but I always try to make sure the seller is the guy who actually owns and plays it. Ten years ago I got my 1999 American Strat from a guy who played in a skittle/ska band, and it had a ton of nice upgrades like noiseless pickups, locking tuners and graphite saddles. Young guy had a wife and baby and it was pretty clear the wife had decided his pursuit of the dream needed to end. He showed me pictures of him playing gigs with it, and asked me to take care of it. I gave him full asking price.

The Strat looks nice with the tweed and sounds terrific.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1555704935.JPG

Lake Placid Blue? The best of ALL Strat colors!

I never knew what it was called, but I love it. Thanks for the info!

Well, to be fair I THINK it is LPB. Fender has had number of colors that are close, but not quite the same. Yours might be slightly darker. LPB looks different depending on the lighting.

Example under a flash:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1555716955.jpg

I think you are right. Mine is more aqua than most photos I see online.

Good pic!

I don't know if anyone told you but, that guitar sounds even better when you PLUG IT IN. :p

😋

Trust me... Not when I play it.

Meet him at a guitar store, such as the Seattle Guitar Store near Greenlake. Electrical plugs, and you'll be able to crank it no problem.

I bought this Gibson J 150 off of Craigslist. $1800.00. Guy said cash only. I told him I wouldn't come to his house with that much cash, but would he meet me at his local police station. He agreed, I call the police station and explained. They said sure no problem..Easy

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1555777779.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1555777779.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1555777779.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1555777779.jpg

^^^^ That is one beautiful guitar David! Bet she sounds clean!

Since we're showing new hardware, my first Ric, love the "jangle"...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1555779172.jpg

hoo wee! that is one pretty guitar buddy! Nothing sounds like a Rick. Yes that J150 sounds wonderful. Actually I think it sounds a bit better than my SJ200, but the 200 just hasn't been played as it was a case queen since 2004. I play it every day now and it is sounding better and better. That 150 still has the edge though. It's a special guitar.

fender color chart.

https://support.fender.com/hc/en-us/articles/214034783-Instrument-Finish-Color-Chart