Logistics of having an instrument checked out before sale
September 17, 2013 8:49 AM Subscribe
In the last 10 years, I've moved my french horn about twice as many times as I've played it, so I finally put it on craigslist. I have a few buyers interested, and they have asked to have it checked out by someone before purchasing. That seems entirely wise and I'm happy to comply, but I'm unsure of the logistics of how to do this. Obviously, I'm not going to just hand the instrument to some stranger who comes to my door and promises they'll bring a bunch of money back to me if they like what they see. On the other hand, the buyer probably wants to have actual contact with the person who does the checking, and not just take my word that everything is fine. What is the standard way to make this happen? I imagine it would be something like what happens when you get a prospective used car checked by your mechanic, but I don't know how that really works either. Bonus question: I assume somebody has to pay the guy to look at the horn... buyer, right?
I would also like to spend as little time as possible dealing with this.
For private sale of used cars (where the owner doesn't typically bother with the hassle of attending every single mechanical inspection), the typical procedure is to take a photocopy of the buyer's driver's license and a rather substantial deposit. The deposit is both protection in case they run away with the car, and to discourage people who aren't really serious about buying from wasting your time.
If they buyer meets you at your house to hand over the deposit, they have some assurance that you won't run away with their money, since they know where to find you.
posted by muddgirl at 9:21 AM on September 17, 2013
If they buyer meets you at your house to hand over the deposit, they have some assurance that you won't run away with their money, since they know where to find you.
posted by muddgirl at 9:21 AM on September 17, 2013
Just as a prospective buyer arranges & pays for the pre-purchase inspection of a used car, your prospective horn buyer should arrange & pay for this inspection.
The buyer should find a place that'll do that inspection, but with your approval: as trivia genius says, you should be there in the shop during the whole inspection, so the buyer should find an inspector that is mutually convienent to both of you. And if you can agree on a price (contingent on the inspection) before you meet there, then all the buyer needs to do is bring the money and he can take the horn from there.
I would suggest you accept only cash, a money order or a cashier's check --- no personal checks. A money order or cashier's check has to be prepaid, so you would be guarenteed to get your money, whereas for various reasons a personal check can be bad (low funds in the account, the buyer has a hold placed on the check, the account is frozen or even closed....).
posted by easily confused at 9:22 AM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
The buyer should find a place that'll do that inspection, but with your approval: as trivia genius says, you should be there in the shop during the whole inspection, so the buyer should find an inspector that is mutually convienent to both of you. And if you can agree on a price (contingent on the inspection) before you meet there, then all the buyer needs to do is bring the money and he can take the horn from there.
I would suggest you accept only cash, a money order or a cashier's check --- no personal checks. A money order or cashier's check has to be prepaid, so you would be guarenteed to get your money, whereas for various reasons a personal check can be bad (low funds in the account, the buyer has a hold placed on the check, the account is frozen or even closed....).
posted by easily confused at 9:22 AM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
You'll probably need to meet the guy at a repair place with your horn. The buyer should pay for any fee (the repair shop I worked at would not charge for this, as a gesture of goodwill, but I would imagine that most would not), and you should clarify this ahead of time. Sometimes people will just bring someone (usually their horn or band teacher) with them and it won't be at a shop.
I just did this last week as a favor for a friend of a friend of a friend who lives a zillion miles away; the seller brought the horn to me, I played it through and then talked to the seller about what I would tell the buyer, then e-mailed the buyer. He had to bring it twice because it had been sitting so long that the rotors were frozen, so if you haven't taken it out of its case in years oil, lube and play it through yourself first and it might save you and your buyer some hassle.
In general selling-an-instrument-on-Craigslist advice, go ahead and include any known issues, dings, solder issues, leaks etc. in the Craigslist description, with closeup pictures of any damage if you know of it. This can convince me, as a music teacher helping my students sort through ads, that you know what you are talking about and that this is not going to be a waste of anyone's time. Also include brand, model number and serial #.
posted by charmedimsure at 9:31 AM on September 17, 2013
I just did this last week as a favor for a friend of a friend of a friend who lives a zillion miles away; the seller brought the horn to me, I played it through and then talked to the seller about what I would tell the buyer, then e-mailed the buyer. He had to bring it twice because it had been sitting so long that the rotors were frozen, so if you haven't taken it out of its case in years oil, lube and play it through yourself first and it might save you and your buyer some hassle.
In general selling-an-instrument-on-Craigslist advice, go ahead and include any known issues, dings, solder issues, leaks etc. in the Craigslist description, with closeup pictures of any damage if you know of it. This can convince me, as a music teacher helping my students sort through ads, that you know what you are talking about and that this is not going to be a waste of anyone's time. Also include brand, model number and serial #.
posted by charmedimsure at 9:31 AM on September 17, 2013
I would also like to spend as little time as possible dealing with this.
Depending on the value, consider selling it on consignment. I've had great luck with that, and netted equal or better cash than I'd have likely gotten from eBay or Craigslist. I've used USA Horn to good result. I have never sold a French horn, though.
In my experience with musical instruments and online trades (eBay, Craigslist, etc), it's not typical for the instruments to be checked out by a third party. You'd think it would be, but it isn't. That doesn't mean you can't do it. The benefit to using Craigslist is that you're local. Find a music store convenient to both of you, and meet there. (You should be meeting in public anyway. Come to your door? No.) The buyer can examine the horn himself, and if he wants, he can ask the staff whether it needs any setup, and if so, how much. Decide whether you're willing to deduct the possible answer from your price.
I've never heard of anybody paying to have an instrument inspected before sale. If I were spending five figures I might, but I sure as hell wouldn't be trading that kind of money across Craigslist anyway. If you trust your gut and stick to safe practices (meet in public, accept only cash, etc) then mostly everybody's kept honest by remembering that Craigslist is local: that means police, small claims court, running into each other next week, etc. The buyer may bail, but I wouldn't sink any money into reassurances unless there's something major you have omitted.
posted by cribcage at 10:16 AM on September 17, 2013
Depending on the value, consider selling it on consignment. I've had great luck with that, and netted equal or better cash than I'd have likely gotten from eBay or Craigslist. I've used USA Horn to good result. I have never sold a French horn, though.
In my experience with musical instruments and online trades (eBay, Craigslist, etc), it's not typical for the instruments to be checked out by a third party. You'd think it would be, but it isn't. That doesn't mean you can't do it. The benefit to using Craigslist is that you're local. Find a music store convenient to both of you, and meet there. (You should be meeting in public anyway. Come to your door? No.) The buyer can examine the horn himself, and if he wants, he can ask the staff whether it needs any setup, and if so, how much. Decide whether you're willing to deduct the possible answer from your price.
I've never heard of anybody paying to have an instrument inspected before sale. If I were spending five figures I might, but I sure as hell wouldn't be trading that kind of money across Craigslist anyway. If you trust your gut and stick to safe practices (meet in public, accept only cash, etc) then mostly everybody's kept honest by remembering that Craigslist is local: that means police, small claims court, running into each other next week, etc. The buyer may bail, but I wouldn't sink any money into reassurances unless there's something major you have omitted.
posted by cribcage at 10:16 AM on September 17, 2013
Just tell them "AS IS" and let them come and play test. If you're uncomfortable, meet at a park or some place neutral.
I've bought multiple tubas over the internet. Usually, the seller either says "Just serviced. New felts and chem cleaned." or they say "As is. Last serviced 3 years ago" or whenever. It's worked out well for me each time. I would imagine, especially if it's a decent horn and/or a decent price that you'll have no problem selling it as is. The buyer may want you to knock off $200 because they feel they will have to get two slides unstuck and get it chem cleaned. Then you can decide whether that is worth it to you or not.
posted by cmm at 10:38 AM on September 17, 2013
I've bought multiple tubas over the internet. Usually, the seller either says "Just serviced. New felts and chem cleaned." or they say "As is. Last serviced 3 years ago" or whenever. It's worked out well for me each time. I would imagine, especially if it's a decent horn and/or a decent price that you'll have no problem selling it as is. The buyer may want you to knock off $200 because they feel they will have to get two slides unstuck and get it chem cleaned. Then you can decide whether that is worth it to you or not.
posted by cmm at 10:38 AM on September 17, 2013
Just sell it on consignment. Easier, but maybe less money. I sold my bass to a musical instrument store, and I didn't get a ton of money for it, but the whole process took less than thirty minutes. I knew that I wasn't going to get a lot of money for it, so I opted for the easier route.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 12:16 PM on September 17, 2013
posted by ablazingsaddle at 12:16 PM on September 17, 2013
I would suggest you accept only cash, a money order or a cashier's check
FYI, cash is the only one of these that can't be forged. If you must take something other than cash, go to their bank with them to get a cashier's check.
posted by rhizome at 1:10 PM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
FYI, cash is the only one of these that can't be forged. If you must take something other than cash, go to their bank with them to get a cashier's check.
posted by rhizome at 1:10 PM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
For serious music students (someone on track to study music in college, for example) it's most frequently their teacher that helps evaluate instruments. It's not just condition they're evaluating, but also appropriateness for their level and style. As the level of instrument goes up, the likelihood of the seller knowing the teacher is high. A teacher would thus vouch for the student (if appropriate) and no collateral would be necessary for a short evaluation.
You'd know if you ran in those circles (and had that kind of instrument), but your buyer might be stumbling into this world. An appropriate line of conversation might be, "are you a student? Going to use it in college? Who's your teacher? How about I meet you at your next lesson with your teacher (or you and your teacher come here)?"
posted by GPF at 1:49 PM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
You'd know if you ran in those circles (and had that kind of instrument), but your buyer might be stumbling into this world. An appropriate line of conversation might be, "are you a student? Going to use it in college? Who's your teacher? How about I meet you at your next lesson with your teacher (or you and your teacher come here)?"
posted by GPF at 1:49 PM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
If the buyer chose a shop and if that shop did that type of evaluation/written report work, I wouldn't insist on being present for that entire service. It might go on a shelf and you could pick it up on Tuesday. If you could figure out the logistics of having the buyer pay for the service but you do the dropoff/pickup, then that could work, too.
posted by CathyG at 6:36 PM on September 17, 2013
posted by CathyG at 6:36 PM on September 17, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Typically the buyer would pay for inspection, but they may try to haggle you down at the last minute and ask you to take the inspection fee off the final price. Unless they've already lowballed you on the offer, or you just plain can't part with it for the final price they want, you'll have to decide if it's really worth cutting it off and going through the process again with another buyer.
posted by trivia genius at 9:05 AM on September 17, 2013 [5 favorites]