Three weeks and some have passed since I put my lovely, Springsteen-inspired Telecaster up for sale and in all this time only one kind soul has come to try it out. Not one real expression of interest in the bargain-priced Line 6 Flextone amp. I’ve taken a textad on MetaFilter, how could I go wrong for $10, but though there’s been a decent (4.6% on 1100 ad views plus some clicks from the All Ads page) numbers, not one offer.
Yesterday I did receive an amusing email, though, and I reproduce it here without the author’s permission. Now, I could be wrong and this could be a language-based mixup since the sender claims to be from Indonesia but it does really sound like one of the scams I’ve read about recently on the Internet.
“Dear Sir,
I’m a customer from Indonesia
I was visited your site, I was interested to buy your pruduct :
– 1979 Fender Telecaster, serial number S829780
Qty:1
Tell me, how can I buy it from you?
Do you accept credit card for the payment?
How much is the best price for me (including VAT and packaging) if you ship it to Indonesia.
I really need these products for my clients in my country please reply me a.s.a.p
I hope we can be a great partner in business
Best Regards
Togu Catharina”
I googled the name given but there were no matches. So I sent off a reply (which didn’t bounce so the email address given might be real–the sender used a form on my site so it had to be done by hand) and said:
“No credit cards accepted. For international shipment I would require a certified check and product would not be shipped until the check clears (and I have the cash in my account). If this is of interest to you, let me know and I will investigate the shipping costs for sending approximately 50kg to Indonesia. I do not see how VAT would apply since I am a private individual; you would be responsible separately for any payments such as customs or tariffs due to our government.
Thanks for your interest.”
I’m interested to see if there’s a response at all and if so, would this person actually want to spend the money? At least the message was good for a laugh if nothing else. Meanwhile, the guitar and amp are still looking for a good home and a good price.
BillSaysThis 