Whenever I want something I can't get my hands on before buying, I make it a point to talk to the seller on the phone. I then get a whiff of who I'm dealing with, and vice versa. If it smells bad, I let it go. I bought guitars and amps, with no PayPal or credit card insurance, sending money transfer directly and have never been screwed.
Regardless of where a guitar is listed for sale, I don't see why it would be a problem asking for more information or additional photos if serious about the purchase. Doesn't seem normal to me for folks to get upset about it. I wasn't trying to imply that you were being too picky about scratches in my earlier post. For myself, I don't get too concerned about minor scratches and dings since I purchase second hand guitars. The main thing that I fear when ordering a guitar online and having it shipped to me is that it arrives in one piece. I just want to be able to play it.
Just my personal thoughts, but I can understand the sentiments of the OP and Seller. I live in the UK and would never have an item like a guitar delivered by courier unless that was the only option to get an absolute bargain (and I've done just that). I've seen how undelivered items can be off-loaded from delivery vans..... In terms of buying from an international seller, there is also the worry of an item being 'inspected' by HM Customs, so no matter how carefully the seller packages an item there is no saying how careful a potential HM Customs inspection would be, or indeed how well the package would be resealed.
When I buy a guitar online I film myself unboxing it and going doing initial inspections, just in case there is an issue and the buyer tries to claim I did it. Forunately I've never had to resort to that but it surely can't hurt if it ever came to it. If there are no issues, just delete the footage and play on!
I don't have this policy as a buyer but sometimes when I'm selling the buyer has asked to talk on the phone first and I've always agreed. I would say that without exception (so far) I've thoroughly enjoyed those conversations. I've told the story of the guitar as I know it, told them about every tiny nick and dent (I never want a buyer to feel I was anything less than totally candid), and they've often told me their own stories of playing and why they are excited about the guitar and how it reminds them of this or that. Just nice conversations with good guitar people. Probably not a surprise that a guy who hangs out on guitar forums likes having conversations with guitar players!
Going slightly OT here, but when I wanted to sell a guitar in the UK in 2014 I couldn't find a courier who'd pick up and insure a musical instrument for anywhere near the value of the guitar I was selling. So I just limited sales to people who would collect, (luckily I'm in a city of 8 million, so still a big market). Since then I've sold ten other guitars the same way. Maybe I've been lucky, but they all sold to the first person who came to see them, and all were really friendly and interesting people to chat to. And I'm much happier to know the person is delighted with the guitar, and not have to wonder if I'm going to end up with complaints from idiots, returns, insurance claims, etc.
There some good insight and comments peppered through this thread. The one thing I would ad is, as I a buyer if a seller is turned off by questions or unenthused about shipping to (insert location here), then I am not that interested anymore. Most of the deals I have massaged to work after the seller was hesitant, turn out to have some bumps in the journey. Sellers always worry about bad buyers, scams, fraudulent transfers etc. all real concerns. But buyers need to watch out for signs too, and not just fake guitars. A deceptive seller, poor communicator, or overall difficult seller can be just as problematic
You need extra headstock padding when shipping an SG. Maybe seller didn't know that. I hope this infuriates you Angel. If not let us know, as a group, I'm sure we can do better.
That reminds me, I've got to get the soldering iron and remove the covers from my 57 classics. love you and your wacky guitars, Angel.
Yeah, he could have been hiding something. I've spooked off from buying things because the seller at least had a squirrely set of behaviors. I've used questions to suss out issues I thought they might be trying to cover for, but it's not a lot of them. But I can empathize with sellers on this one too. I'm the guy that figures out what stuff has been selling for then drops bidding below that with a Buy it Now price at the top of the range on eBay. On Reverb I'm the one who puts up the low price stuff that sells fast. I also overstate how scratched and dinged things are with a lot of well-lit pictures. I'm skeptical of buyers who start asking a lot of questions, because they almost always end with some kind of negative result. What I usually get with a lot of questions is a lot of back and for then an insane low-ball attempt, which never works because everything always sells fast. I haven't gotten the buyer's remorse I want to return it person yet, and I have a feeling there's overlap between that and the excessive questions. My stuff has almost always sold to people who never asked me anythin and the feedback is generally that the thing they bought is way better than they expected. If one person isn't comfortable don't buy it or sell it. I'm not going to hold it against any one.
That's kind of the attitude you have to take. A few years ago I sold a black Les Paul standard to a guy who called me up the next day and told me he had played it for a couple of hours and just couldn't handle the weight. We met and I gave him his money back, then he bought lunch at Hooters and we had a talk about what he might like. I ended up elling the guy a Strat and then later an SG. I could have been a hardnose and kept the money but lost a customer. As long as everyone is honest, I'm cool.
I don’t know how “normal” this is, but I’d just chalk it up to an individual attitude rather than something cultural. I really don’t think there is more to it than that. Some people are helpful; others aren’t. I’ve encountered some very understanding sellers who were willing to answer questions and others who just didn’t want to be bothered. Don’t take it personally. You did nothing wrong.
