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Divulging full serial number?


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I'm selling another guitar, and have sent the prospective buyer plenty of photos. He also wants the FULL serial number to "ensure it's real," even though I already sent it to him, except for the last 3 digits. 

Can any fraud happen if I send the full serial number, or am I being paranoid? 

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You're not being paranoid, but the last three digits won't tell him anything he needs to know in regards to the guitar being "real" or not.  

The potential buyer is the one who sounds paranoid, and who needs that headache?  He's guaranteed to be a pain in the ass, regardless of the outcome of the sale.   

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                                  These days  anything is possible and things can be faked but unless its a "BURST"........................ and then any of that foolishness is quickly outed as those guitars are so highly scrutinized about everything on it due to the high $$$$. Both my serial numbers for my 79 Sunbursts are up in clear view here on the HFC...........and elsewhere. It DOES seem like a silly sticking point as you have given him pics of the guitar and it does seem paranoid[On his part] to haggle over such a thing. Serial numbers generally give the year of production and how the guitar sits in how many where produced before it. Like Kiz said he isn't going to procure  any further info from the last 3 numbers to make a difference as to if it "REAL" or not.

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Imports are the ones I'd want to see a picture of the full serial number of...because there's a LOT of 'seconds' and 'factory refurbished' imported guitars out there, that have either part of the serial number obliterated and/or covered by a sticker; and stickers can be removed.  Obliterated serial numbers, not so much.  If you're selling a USA-made guitar, that shouldn't be an issue at all, as I've not heard of any US guitar makers doing that.  Gibson used to use a stamped (impressed) '2' or 'SECOND' on the back of the headstock, but IIRC that hasn't been done since the early '80's...but Murkat would know for sure about that.

If the 'prospective buyer' is just being a PITA tire-kicker, you can always tell him to pound sand.

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The blurring out of serial numbers seems like an overly paranoid Gear Pager thing to me.

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I have been annoyed when someone would not give the first couple of digits of a Hamer.  All I wanted was a way to date the instrument, but the seller would not provide it. 

I have sold instruments with a photograph of the serial number in my eBay and Reverb listing.  Nothing went wrong.

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If somebody was going to report a guitar as stolen, wouldn't they need to provide proof of ownership anyway?  And I'm not aware of any 'stolen guitar database' out there, beyond a Google search.  Not unless it involves imbedding a microchip or something like that.

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Of course I would never, ever, reveal the serial number of my ‘81 Standard Bass.

🤐😏😋

 

Mr Matthes, I see you got the joke 👍🏻

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Not worth the hassle.  I just cancel bids for Zero feedback bidders. 

It's too big of an ocean out there.

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Another thing to look out for are those who send checks for more than what you asked for.

They then ask you to send them back the balance.

This has always been a scam.

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Around Christmas there are a lot of instruments up for sale from sellers with no feedback.  We are entering scam season.  If a buyer or seller makes you suspicious now, he probably really is a scammer in search of a victim.  Look for the high feedback and long history with high dollar items to feel a little safer. 

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3 hours ago, Thundersteel said:

I just noticed the prospective buyer has 0 feedback, and has no selling or purchase history. Red flags?

 

3 hours ago, gtrdaddy said:

Zero feedback = Official Bank Cashiers Check or US Postal Money Order ONLY, no shipping until 3 weeks after deposit to ensure the check is not a forgery and clears.

Yeah, if the buyer needs assurances that the guitar is 'for real', then I'd ask him flat out what assurances does he have that HE'S 'for real'.  <_<

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3 hours ago, gtrdaddy said:

Zero feedback = Official Bank Cashiers Check or US Postal Money Order ONLY, no shipping until 3 weeks after deposit to ensure the check is not a forgery and clears.

                                                  Now  part of that seems  unreasonable.................I Have asked for Postal  Money Order before and got that request done w/o any backlash from buyers, but really most transactions these days are done with Pay Pal "No shipping until 3 weeks after deposit to ensure the check is not a forgery and clears" WHAT?.:lol: He may also have been burned BIG time in the past with a transaction............I know of a guy that sells quite  a lot of gear and he will ONLY take a Postal Money Order as payment because of issues with buyers ripping him off in passed transactions.. Everyone has 0 Feedback on Ebay when they start out buying or selling................... does not mean your a bad guy just a new guy.This guy does seem to have gone off the reservation so who know for sure, good or bad. My brother is also a Sergeant on the police force near where I live and I have used him for "Backup" on high $$$$ sales. That either gets the transaction cancelled........... like I never hear from them again :D or its hey that is cool lets do the deal .

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3 hours ago, Thundersteel said:

I just noticed the prospective buyer has 0 feedback, and has no selling or purchase history. Red flags?

GET OUT NOW!

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12 minutes ago, Thundersteel said:

I'm selling it via Reverb, and the prospective buyer just joined. He asked me to text him, which I did, but received no response.

Sounds like it wasn't meant to be.

                            And sometimes......................it isn't.

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47 minutes ago, gtrdaddy said:

Not unreasonable at all. I’ve been shaken down by a bad buyer over a made up issue on eBay with their 100% Buyer Satisfaction Guarantee, and once via PayPal buyer protection where I sold a guy a high end tape deck and he apparently had a broken one of same model and needed parts. Told PayPal I sent a broken deck, I told him to return it, he sent me my deck STILL DISASSEMBLED IN A BOX WITH HIS BROKEN TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY WITH WORN OUT HEADS! They sided with the buyer.

Sellers have little to NO protection from scammers with EBay and PayPal. 

A friend of mine sold some camera gear and took a bank CASHIERS’ CHECK. a little over two weeks later, he was notified that the bank debited his account for the amount of the sale because the check was counterfeit.

Not unreasonable at all from where I sit. Let someone else take the chance with a “new” buyer with zero feedback or references you cannot confirm. 

                              I agree with the Ebay and PayPal thing 100%.....................the reason I don't sell on there anymore,they always side with the buyer................ The best thing is know your buyer and know your seller and have him provide references that can be confirmed,I have done that to make the deal work,[I have even met several buyers at the police station for a transaction].............but even so in some cases things can go south when your dealing with someone and something you can't deal with in person. Back in the day I got some great items off Ebay,never left a neg.............never had a reason to and never had one left for me. Postal Money Orders always worked well for me.............no fees just buy the MO and send it registered when its a out of towner. I have never been burned and never burned anyone..............maybe I'm just lucky. This forum is a small close knit knowledgeable community............... we are really fortunate. Sorry to hear of your bad experiences..............and I hope you have no more.:)

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8 hours ago, crunchee said:

If somebody was going to report a guitar as stolen, wouldn't they need to provide proof of ownership anyway?  And I'm not aware of any 'stolen guitar database' out there, beyond a Google search.  Not unless it involves imbedding a microchip or something like that.

What font would you like me to use on your receipt? 

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