Any tips on buying internationally?

[Addison]

Some of you guys might know that I've been looking for a 6-string of some kind, well... something just sort of landed in my lap, but the problem is that this person lives in Europe.

All I have is this person's word that everything is in great condition, etc... I have current pictures as well and they look great, but as we all know, it's easy to hide stuff in pictures.

Does anyone have any tips/hints/tricks as to how I could protect myself on a sale like this?

It's not like I would be out a ton of money... but we are talking about $2000 here, so it isn't exactly pocket change either.

I'm just really worried about making a purchase this big without being able to hold it in my hands first.

Thanks guys!

[andrew]

Whatever other details you can provide would be good. There's a chance someone here may know/have dealt with the seller, or can offer advice specific to the country the bass is selling from.

[Addison]

Yeah, good point... I guess I didn't want to bring up names or whatever, since I didn't want to make it seem like I was singling someone out because there was a specific reason I had to think that I might get ripped off.

It's not like that at all... I don't have any reason to think that. I just wanted to keep my bases covered. Pun intended.

I was just wondering if there was like a third-party brokerage house or something else that people might use... some place that would hold your money and then inspect the instrument to make sure it's up to your satidfaction before money/merchandise exchanged hands.

But, I'm sure that type of thing is really expensive and only used in cases where the purchase is in the $10K+ range.

Anyway, thanks for the reply... If this deal goes through, I'm sure I'll be fine.

[andrew]

You worried about getting sniped?

[Addison]

LOL!

It sure looks that way...

No, I was actually afraid that the seller would peer in on this forum and think I was talking smack about him and pee on the bass before he ships it or sometihng.

No, just kidding...

It's actually the SKB3006 up on Arni's site. I was finally able to get a dialog going with the seller and we're trying to work out the details. He seems like a pretty nice guy, and Arni vouched for him, but I'm just trying to be a smart shopper and protect myself.

Purchasing a fairly high-end bass overseas and sight-unseen is not easy on the nerves.

[andrew]

I havn't looked at the bass on Arni's site, but if you know on here that's from the seller's area I'm sure they could fill you in on any tips for shipping from Europe.

That's good that Arni vouched for him. Nothing wrong with checking up on a seller (especially on a big purchase). If I were the seller I'd be glad to see you doing that, it shows you're more serious about making the deal happen.

[pjmuck]

I used escrow.com when I acquired my Ibanez Musician bass from an unknown seller in the Netherlands. The fee wasn't terrible, and you can always negotiate splitting the fee with the seller if they're serious about selling it. It worked out fine for me (and the seller).

[Addison]

I used escrow.com when I acquired my Ibanez Musician bass from an unknown seller in the Netherlands. The fee wasn't terrible, and you can always negotiate splitting the fee with the seller if they're serious about selling it. It worked out fine for me (and the seller).

That's actually very good advice, and exactly what I was looking for.

The seller offered PayPal as a payment option... rather than dealing with their fees, I'll see if he'd be interested in doing this instead.

Thanks!