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I found someone selling a guitar online. a 1991 Ibanez RG770 in GREAT condition. How should i buy it from this guy? What are some safe ways?

He is in a forum, but he only has 1 post.

Are there any safe ways to do this?? Besides ebay?

the only really safe way is arranging a meeting with the person for the sale


Originally Posted by shredaholicthe only really safe way is arranging a meeting with the person for the saleTrue. Another way is to pay with your credit card. Most seem to be pretty good about covering online fraud...at least many say they are.

Hey, the seller gave me his personal contact info... He gave me his phone #, and sounds like a real honest person.

Do you think I can trust him?
What can I do if he screws me over, and I have his phone number in hand?

Then you can just give him a call...assuming he picks up the phone. Insist on payment involving Paypal and a credit card.


Originally Posted by seanguynjHey, the seller gave me his personal contact info... He gave me his phone #, and sounds like a real honest person.

Do you think I can trust him?
What can I do if he screws me over, and I have his phone number in hand?

I would have him set it up on ebay, with the price you agree on, and have him send you the ebay URL immediately, and use the buy it now feature.

Perhaps a little overcomplicated, but at least it will be through a 3rd party like ebay, and then agree to use pay pal.

i think going over ebay is a bit OTT if you have paypal available..

as long as you're prepared to cover the paypal fees, no legit seller should have much problem with you using paypal.. they'll understand your fears

tom

I've bought and sold a crapload of stuff from internet guys without a problem. As long as he is easy to get in touch with and doesn't balk at using paypal, you're probably fine. If it makes you more comfortable, use an escrow service. They hold the money until you recieve the guitar and give them the okay, then they pay him. Works great...fees involved, of course...

Mike

Hmmm... he doesn't want to put the guitar up on ebay. He wants money order or cashiers check... I'll call him up to check.

I don't want to be jipped on this... (well no one does hahaha)

Can you tell me why Paypal is much safer than Money Order? I'm not familiar on how Paypal works... But, I can ask my friend to send him the money through it, if that's what he'd like. =)


Originally Posted by seanguynjHmmm... he doesn't want to put the guitar up on ebay. He wants money order or cashiers check... I'll call him up to check.

I don't want to be jipped on this... (well no one does hahaha)

I would not do it. If he decides to not send the piece, you have ZERO recourse.


Originally Posted by seanguynjCan you tell me why Paypal is much safer than Money Order? I'm not familiar on how Paypal works... But, I can ask my friend to send him the money through it, if that's what he'd like. =)

I am not sure what Paypal covers, but a credit card should cover this type of online fraud. Use both.

Sean, sorry i wasnt on the computer all day saturday. The neck is not
warped whatsoever. The guitar never left my house after i bought it/had
it set up. Its been in my closet for about 4 years. The frets are not
worn out at all either. No discoloration on the maple fretboard at all.
I can promise you will not be disapointed in this guitar. I was an Ibanez
freak and i always told myself that i wouldnt sell it. Not im 25 and
realize i will never have the time/talent to be a vai or satriani. Postal
money order for $550 gets it shipped. My ebay name and aim name's are
crawlinstang. You can check my sales but I am not planning on putting the
guitar up there.
John (LastName)- if you have any questions you can call me xxx-xxx-xxxx

Sounds legit?

Sean

1. The only unoriginal parts on the guitar are the evo humbuckers, I do
not have the original pickups.
2.Cosmetically I would definitely give it a 9.5. Only cosmetic flaws
would be there is a chip on the back of the lower horn, very small about
an 1/8th of a dime size. And one tiny paint divot about the size of a pin
head on the top of the guitar, no paint missing just a ding.
3. Guitar was professionally set up about 4 years ago. I played it for
about 3 months and then have pretty much put it away since i started a new
job back then and had a baby, well not me my girlfriend.
4.serial number is f132253. I am not sure of the year.
5. $550 with case thrown in.

This was his first message. =)

I'm not saying the guy is not trustworthy. If his Ebay feedabck is all good, that is certainly a plus...I'm just saying I would not send a check or money order with out having any recourse. I am hesitant to send money orders for Ebay auctions.

ooooo... you live in chicago? this guy lives there too!!!

so maybe if anything goes wrong, you can give him a visit. =)

he's 25. gt; you're 29. hahahahaha


Originally Posted by seanguynjooooo... you live in chicago? this guy lives there too!!!

so maybe if anything goes wrong, you can give him a visit. =)

he's 25. gt; you're 29. hahahahaha

I live just outside....and Chicago's a big city.

I'm worried...
I mean... if he has an e-bay account, he probably has a paypal account, right?

I don't know if i should go for it, if, say, he does have a paypal account...
And I don't know why he won't put it up on Ebay with a buy-it-now... Maybe that's just too much of a hassle?

I really really really want that guitar, and I'm willing to sell my damn Les Paul for it. hahahaha I'm going crazy

Sometimes, I think i just have too much trust in people

Is the escrow service complicated for the seller?

Or is it ridiculously simple...

I don't want to ask the seller to do something overly complicated... If that will make him lose interest in me as a buyer, since he's not too aggressive about selling the item.

If he has an Ebay account then he probably has a PayPal account, so why doesn't he want to accept a PayPal payment? I'd rather use PayPal then escrow and sending a money order or cashiers check...I dunno...that's too risky in this day amp; age for such a small transaction. If you need an escrow service I know a place in Boston that I'd highly recommend but they'll whack 'ya for $50-100. I can sort of understand why he might not want to put it on Ebay, extra fees amp; hassle plus if someone else snags it first you're out the guitar. But still, if he wants to sell it does it matter HOW he does it?

With PayPal you send him the dough via bank transfer or credit card and it's instantly in his account like a wire transfer. Plus it gives you some recourse if you get the axe and it's wonky or he decides to ship you a guitar shaped box of rocks. True, PayPal will deduct a certain percentage of the sale, I think 3% but that's not a big deal for the amount of security it offers.

If you have his name, address amp; phone number you can do a reverse lookup at or a similar site and see if it all checks out. If it does you're probably safe. OTOH, if it doesn't...buyer beware.

I've been buying, selling amp; trading on-line for about 10 years and I always trust my gut no matter HOW badly I may want or need something. So far (knock on wood) I haven't been taken for anything major, but if something isn't hitting you right...then walk away.