Weird amp enquiry experience

[greentext]

I recently had a very strange exchange with a gentlemen on Facebook marketplace regarding an amp I was considering buying, I wont go into to any specifics here but just know it was an all tube amplifier.

 

My enquiry was how many tube hours (roughly) the amp had been used for since the last retube, he said it is hasn't been retubed since his ownership and was the 3rd owner and couldn't account for the other owners, understandably. I said fair enough, knowing the tube age/hours is important as it could be the difference between the price of the amp plus a potential retube once I own it. So a £600 amp becomes an upwards of £1000 depending on tube number and variety to get it all rocking, to which he said, if you are concerned then don't buy it and buy new they are selling for £1300 new if you want to buy one. Valid comment and couldn't argue with that if not a bit shirty on his part. I saw passed it. So I thought worst case scenario, tubes are as old as the amp if no one has ever changed them, so I asked for the serial number of the amp so I could roughly age it and work out if it was worth the risk, which to then he replied his words 'Absolutely no way'...... very strange.

 

Now what I want to understand is, was I being unreasonable with these questions? Is asking for the serial number of an amp you are thinking of buying not okay? Personally I don't see how having the serial number is strange at all but happy to be corrected on that. 

[Reggaebass]

I can’t see any problem in giving out the serial number, I’d give mine if I was selling them, most of the time it’s in the picture Of the back of the amp, depending what amp it is 

[greentext]

Just now, Reggaebass said:

I can’t see any problem in giving out the serial number, I’d give mine if I was selling them, most of the time it’s in the picture Of the back of the amp, depending what amp it is 

Agreed, there was only actually one photo of the amp on the post which was the front so was unable to get it from the photo uploaded.

 

Personally, if I was already considering selling the amp, the more helpful information I can provide to secure that sale the better, very strange indeed, thanks for the 2 cents 

[BassmanPaul]

The other side of the coin is that he may have had to deal with many similar calls from other potential buyers and was fed up with the whole sale.

 

That said, he should have been willing to supply the serial number of the unit he is selling.

 

 

[greentext]

3 minutes ago, BassmanPaul said:

The other side of the coin is that he may have had to deal with many similar calls from other potential buyers and was fed up with the whole sale.

 

That said, he should have been willing to supply the serial number of the unit he is selling.

 

 

I agree to a point, but if you are wanting to sell something and everyone is asking the same question, thats on you, not the buyer and should be making the effort to make it happen. 

[BassmanPaul]

No argument here!!  Just move on. There's an old saying: 'None so queer as folk'.

[greentext]

Oh totally, ive since purchased another amp and am stoked i did, the only reason I posted is it being so odd, just wanted some 2 cents from other community members 

[Killerfridge]

I've never understood people's hang ups around serial numbers, trying to obfuscate them like it will somehow provide access to their bank details

[pete.young]

If you were hoping to fraudulently sell a non-existent amp, it could be very useful to have a legitimate serial number to help convince your mark. Maybe he was trying to prevent this kind of fraud.

 

[greentext]

11 hours ago, pete.young said:

If you were hoping to fraudulently sell a non-existent amp, it could be very useful to have a legitimate serial number to help convince your mark. Maybe he was trying to prevent this kind of fraud.

 

Good point, much easier to just google an image of the backplate of an amp, then ask someone, I just did it and got 4 serial numbers in one google search for the same model. 

[Downunderwonder]

2 hours ago, greentext said:

Good point, much easier to just google an image of the backplate of an amp, then ask someone, I just did it and got 4 serial numbers in one google search for the same model. 

A criminal knowing this might assume a potential mark could discover his serial was thusly obtained. Better to get a fresh unpublished one from the OP.

[Killerfridge]

This hypothetical criminal seems very well planned in selling a fake bit of kit, especially when noone wants to reveal the serial numbers of their gear anyway, so "no sorry" is just as believable an answer...

[greentext]

Word to that my dude 

[crazycloud]

On 14/01/2024 at 07:59, greentext said:

Is asking for the serial number of an amp you are thinking of buying not okay?

I never publish the full SN of any gear I sell as it could then lead to someone claiming it was theirs and stolen. However, I have good records of my gear and would have found out a year from the manufacturer if I could to help, and passed that on, as well as when I bought it and a reasonable guess of hours of use, though this is really a poor indicator of how it might sound and will give no idea of when the tubes will likely need replacing. For tube amps I generally assume they'll need replacing unless the seller can prove a replacement time. I'm an EE and have repaired a lot of tube amps.

[greentext]

4 hours ago, crazycloud said:

I never publish the full SN of any gear I sell as it could then lead to someone claiming it was theirs and stolen. However, I have good records of my gear and would have found out a year from the manufacturer if I could to help, and passed that on, as well as when I bought it and a reasonable guess of hours of use, though this is really a poor indicator of how it might sound and will give no idea of when the tubes will likely need replacing. For tube amps I generally assume they'll need replacing unless the seller can prove a replacement time. I'm an EE and have repaired a lot of tube amps.

Totally understandable, yh I only needed to roughly date the amp so I could work out the worse case if they have never been changed