old amp buyers - mini rant

nero1701

eatapeach said:

Kurtis said:

Sporky said:

S56035 said:

Man asks for pictures to ensure it's what he's after (yes, what he's after is bonkers). Turns out it isn't. Politely says thanks but not thanks. Seems fine to me.

I'm not sure offering half the asking price is terribly polite. Especially as that's a standard dodgy dealer tactic. 

Not sure they were really offering anything, just basically saying they weren't interested but good luck anyway. 

Suppose they might have been hoping you just said OK here you can just have it at half price, but hard to tell for sure.

They maybe thought they were being helpful.

Some people do look for "barn find" cars, that are totally original. 

I looked at his profile - he's a bedroom dealer with an attitude 

Oh, do share so we can all block him

Supportact

eatapeach said:

Supportact said:

Just be grateful that you found out what he was like before he bought it. I imagine that it would have turned out much more hassle had he actually bought it. 

I sold an interface/control surface once on ebay.  The person asked a lot of odd questions before buying which should have alerted me and I should have blocked them.  Anyway after they received the items they started complaining and it became apparent they didn't actually know how to use it. I agreed to a return to avoid the hassle (they actually started to get a bit stalky/obsessive and kept sending me these mad long emails about how I had 'betrayed ' them). It as a total nightmare though, and I haven't used ebay since for selling.  

I avoid ebay at all costs since I had a similar experience.  I sold a 360 camera, the guy messaged me the next week saying it was faulty and didn't charge.  I told him to send it back, expecting the brick in the box trick.  But no, the camera arrived and was working and charging fine. 

I found him on facebook, and found the videos of a wedding he had taken with the camera prior to sending it back.  It was basically a free rental he got out of me.

Jesus there's some wallies out there eh. 

Dominic

I always say ......"Yes , too good for you !"..........................that just really annoys them
or,
"Oh just bore-off "
Anorak,clip-board " little-men " are just such a dreary bore in any walk of life

Jonathangus

Nah, he's a chancer who's hoping you're naïve enough to sell it for less than it's worth because it's not 'all original'.  Nothing wrong with asking for gutshots on a vintage amp - but really you're looking to check that caps have been changed.

ICBM

Interestingly my '73 Bassman hasn't had the caps changed, and to my great surprise it doesn't *seem* to need them done... yet. But it will, one day. At that point you have to decide if it's a working amplifier or a museum piece.

It didn't make any difference to the value, to me - if it had been properly recapped it would be worth exactly the same, maybe slightly more since it would save the cost of buying a set.

Kurtis

snowblind said:

Kurtis said:

Some people do look for "barn find" cars, that are totally original. 

Which in its own way is idiotic since the first thing they have to do is replace half the parts, probably a good chunk of the bodywork and the interior. Unless said barn find happens to be a Lamborghini Miura or a Ferrari 250 these things are door stops or museum curiosities. Even if you are having parts custom-made to order the thing will never be totally original. 
Is that original 1960s paint you are applying? 

It is one of those paradoxes. For a thing to be truly art it must serve no practical purpose and have no value other than aesthetic. As soon as the thing becomes functional it ceases to be true art. 

Devaluing a thing simply because one tiny, otherwise invisible component has been changed in order to keep it performing its proper function is ridiculous.

Sorry, your '63 Bassman is only worth £2.50 because you changed the mains cable. Cork sniffery at its worst.

I think it's often more to do with doing all the work yourself to your standards.
Would you rather restore a barn find or one someone has already been mucking about with? 

Kurtis

eatapeach said:

Kurtis said:

Sporky said:

S56035 said:

Man asks for pictures to ensure it's what he's after (yes, what he's after is bonkers). Turns out it isn't. Politely says thanks but not thanks. Seems fine to me.

I'm not sure offering half the asking price is terribly polite. Especially as that's a standard dodgy dealer tactic. 

Not sure they were really offering anything, just basically saying they weren't interested but good luck anyway. 

Suppose they might have been hoping you just said OK here you can just have it at half price, but hard to tell for sure.

They maybe thought they were being helpful.

Some people do look for "barn find" cars, that are totally original. 

I looked at his profile - he's a bedroom dealer with an attitude 

There you have it then. 

robgilmo

Some people will look for originality though, imagine funding one that has had nothing done to it, If I had one like that I would be hasitant to change anything, there can't be that many of them left. 

mo6020

No one who’s buying vintage amps is looking for one with the original tubes and caps, surely. 

ICBM

mo6020 said:

No one who’s buying vintage amps is looking for one with the original tubes and caps, surely. 

I did refit some original 70s Fender-labelled preamp valves into my Bassman, and I have a pair of matching 6L6s too, but haven’t put them in, as I’m not sure about their reliability, although they did test OK. It seems nice to have them even though I know they’re aren’t actually the originals. Probably daft but I could see why someone would want them.

Getting snarky when the amp has been serviced and demanding a much lower price is a different thing.

mo6020

I think we’re in agreement tbh - NOS vintage valves, etc, is different. 

Actual, untouched “these came with the amp and have been in there for 60 years, and I’ve never replaced any leaky caps during service” is just dumb imo. 

robgilmo

It depends, are you after an original because you are a collector or are you actually going to use it? Not that you couldnt use a 60 year old untouched amp, you may well still be able to, I had a 60's revox g36 that hadent been touched and it worked ok, still on its original valves, I know in the car world people quite often mistake a restoration for a rebuild, they arnt the same things.

One could argue that if it has a leaky cap or a resistor out of spec then replace them, keep as much of it original as you can, replacing everything like a complete recap and you remove its originality.

Fishboy7

Classic douchebag amateur dealer tactics by the sound of it

CavemanGrogg

snowblind said:

Kurtis said:

Some people do look for "barn find" cars, that are totally original. 

Which in its own way is idiotic since the first thing they have to do is replace half the parts, probably a good chunk of the bodywork and the interior. Unless said barn find happens to be a Lamborghini Miura or a Ferrari 250 these things are door stops or museum curiosities. Even if you are having parts custom-made to order the thing will never be totally original. 
Is that original 1960s paint you are applying? 

It is one of those paradoxes. For a thing to be truly art it must serve no practical purpose and have no value other than aesthetic. As soon as the thing becomes functional it ceases to be true art. 

Devaluing a thing simply because one tiny, otherwise invisible component has been changed in order to keep it performing its proper function is ridiculous.

Sorry, your '63 Bassman is only worth £2.50 because you changed the mains cable. Cork sniffery at its worst.

Know somebody who turned a barn find into an EV, 0% of the vehicle is original or was even found in the barn, 80% of it was custom one off fabricated for him, that doesn't stop him referring to his car as a rare original barn find though.

dano

eatapeach said:

Supportact said:

Just be grateful that you found out what he was like before he bought it. I imagine that it would have turned out much more hassle had he actually bought it. 

I sold an interface/control surface once on ebay.  The person asked a lot of odd questions before buying which should have alerted me and I should have blocked them.  Anyway after they received the items they started complaining and it became apparent they didn't actually know how to use it. I agreed to a return to avoid the hassle (they actually started to get a bit stalky/obsessive and kept sending me these mad long emails about how I had 'betrayed ' them). It as a total nightmare though, and I haven't used ebay since for selling.  

I avoid ebay at all costs since I had a similar experience.  I sold a 360 camera, the guy messaged me the next week saying it was faulty and didn't charge.  I told him to send it back, expecting the brick in the box trick.  But no, the camera arrived and was working and charging fine. 

I found him on facebook, and found the videos of a wedding he had taken with the camera prior to sending it back.  It was basically a free rental he got out of me.

Maybe you got lucky, he could have been filming a load of 'specialist' porn and left it on the memory card for you

Cols

I hope you didn’t replace any of the potentiometers.

https://www.guitar-auctions.co.uk/sale/217/1463/Set-of-three-1964-week-44-CTS-guitar-potentiometers

eatapeach

Cols said:

I hope you didn’t replace any of the potentiometers.

https://www.guitar-auctions.co.uk/sale/217/1463/Set-of-three-1964-week-44-CTS-guitar-potentiometers

I didn't but it's good to know I can sell it for spares as the bedroom dealer said