I offered $25,000 but it might be a total scam...4 Storage Lockers of Guitars...
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- Опубліковано 18 жов 2024
- #storagelockerfind #guitarcollection #jeremytheguitarhunter
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I had an investment consulting business for 23 years. I always told my clients if they didn’t completely understand an investment they should look elsewhere. You understand guitars but the deal didn’t make sense to you. In my book you were right to walk away. Guitars carry a lot of emotion with them, and for anyone who loves guitars this deal had all kinds of emotions. I always believed the biggest part of my job was to help my clients take the emotion out of making a financial decision, because those decisions are almost always wrong. You are in the business of buying and selling guitars. Whether it’s the joy that would come from owning some great vintage instruments or of making a lot of money in the deal, you let your business sense take the lead when making a financial decision. Good call. You should always be prepared to walk away from a deal if it does not feel right, which you did. Hard to walk from that, but you did the right thing. The money is still yours and you don’t have to explain to your wife how you lost $25,000.
Jeremy, OMG! - The fact that you actually entertained this purchase surprises me. It meets every scam milestone. Distressed person, death in family, only in town a few days, needs to be rushed, only accepts cash, caught lying about values, sketchy stories, sketchy family, person who owned was not musician, Nobody knew he had these?. Let this be a good lesson going forward. Peace brother.
Hahah, it was the closest to seeming legit...and hopefully an entertaining video.
the more you watch this channel the less surprised you are. seriously. Ive had my own questions about this entire channel.
Very true. Don't forget the dude that's an archeologist away on a dig or some guy who works on an oil rig.........
''SKAAAAAM;;; I am a roofing contractor and the same thing happened to me this year' i got a call about a house that was needing a roof and they would mail me a check for all the material and half the labor, and i almost got shot off the top of the house i was giving the EST. on lol.,. you dodged a bullet' 'lol, no pun..
Great story Jeremy. Hard to tell if it was a scam or nowt, but to add to your cliches, “always better to be wrong with money still in your pocket”
Whoa. I like that one!
That is super fishy, I would have run away too. If you can’t go and see them I would never pay for them, ridiculous scammers. You made a great decision man!!
You made the right call. The risk far outweighed the reward. She was in way too much of a rush... Their story sounds so suspicious. I'm guessing that the boy friend was really surprised when he found that all his stuff had be sold off by his ex... lol
Anyone who is looking to unload $40,000 worth of guitars, but can’t extend their stay to sort it all out is sketchy. Good call on backing out.
This is all true. Still, seems strange that a scammer would reject a deal because they think it's a lowball. There's obviously something dishonest going on but if it's true she's an outright scammer, I can only conclude she's not very experienced.
she shoulda called normans rare guitars
Wow, Jeremy, what a crazy story. Good looking out for the "crazy" in the situation and you were able to "get away" before you got sucked down that rabbit hole.
omg this story is crazy, i think you did the right thing, the fact that they wanted to sell everything as quick as possible seems like a red flag and cash only? Common i dont think even Norman would come up with stacks and make deals like that, thats just not how it works or should work...you learned something...but man how excited have you been from 1-10? 😅 like 100? bonkers ❤see you next year Jer, keep it up youre the man
Always go with your gut feeling on these matters. Your gut speaks the truth, Jeremy.
One thing I was thinking is-if they exist, are they stolen?
(Which is mentioned in the video as well)
It sounds fishy
100% a scam that I've personally seen....good for you for walking away.
Glad you caught it. Lots of scammers on Facebook Marketplace too. I caught a couple of them trying to pose as a grandma selling a D-35 for 500.00 lol. Grandma couldn't tell me how she got the guitar or how old it was. The response I got was plays good, cash please. I reported the ad to Book of Many Faces.
Since you asked......I can see the need to move quickly for her. And not wanting a cashier's check but cash could have been trying to circumvent any income tax. On the other hand, the owner may have been hospitalized and out of pocket while she swoops down and sells everything out from under him. Or better yet, to keep a sibling from getting any money from them.
It's good to have a network of fellow guitar players you trust throughout the nation to go check these kind of things out for you.
.... you did it very well ... it’s a real good job to warn al the honest people who still live on this planet ... be blessed in 2022 ...
The big rush she was in would be a big clue to me that something was rotten. Tens of thousands of cash $$ at stake and have to do it now? Nope. And like @Beverly Michael said, “Looked too clean” to have been in storage. Passing on the deal, (deal?) was the correct move. I’ll bet Norm gets those calls and knows in an instant if legit or not.
I agree. Your backing out was the right thing to do. I think the old ashes you were thinking of are correct. You did indeed dodge a bullet. It is possible, though, that she saw someone who said she probably had $40k of guitars there, but that assumes she was honest. I just doubt it. Best to you!
My suspicion is that this person had administrative control of these guitars and was very overwhelmed with the responsibility and initially wanted an easy way out. I’ve been through this myself. She then reached out to you and also friends, family members for advice. Then people come out of the woodwork and everyone wants a piece of the action. She began piecemealling the sales which in turn kept changing your tentative agreement to buy the lot. This of course is a theory but when someone passes things become messy most often.
I'd say it's either that or it was an insurance scam. They were reported stolen, collected insurance, then sold off. Or they were possibly being stores there by someone legitimately, then these people gained access to them and sold them illegally. Either way it's best to stay away.
Jeremy, Keep up your Professional Work on acquiring and selling used guitars. You are truly one of a kind in that regard......
Good call! The rush was definitely a tell, as was the "cash only".
Unless a seller can make a video or take some pics that I know was done FOR ME (I want to see or hear my name) I'd want to see a deal like that. I used to work for a 2nd hand store and we did liquidations and estates and that was back when it was Polaroids and VHS tapes.
I hoping you're incorporated, but even as a business you could take a trip on El Cheapo airlines on a redeye to stay on budget and deduct the cost on taxes if you ever run into an actual offer like that. I'd also start putting some $ in the coffee can for future deals so you're not scrambling for cash, or go talk with a bank for a line of credit. Make some rules for yourself about it and stick with them.
Temptation gets the better of all of us. It's knowing when to step back... Not everybody does and sometimes the crazier stories are true too. I was at the end of one story of temptation (greed) myself in which I recently lost out on over 200 pieces of guitars/amps/pedals which belonged to me dad. He was a collector since the 1970's and often traded. They got sold in auction just a few months ago but should be with me. I haven't been to the auction house website to see the results, can't face it, seeing some of the more emotional pieces with a sold price I think would just get me down. I know they'll be a silver cloud somewhere, there usually is
I would be asking for equipment serial numbers/model numbers to see if this stuff has been stolen up front. Then get the authorities involved. Scam all the way
I agree, but you'd really only have luck up till maybe any late 80s models I would think. Any older vintage models you bump into the manufacturer either not serializing them or it'd be like a cheap stamp that's super faded. But yeah definitely would get all the serials I could.
There was an instance of a mass theft of a guitar collection in recent years. Unusual models, the theft as to a home with owner away. I would be very curious to know if you had any camera recordings of the offer? I think some effort as to shady dealings might be at the bottom of things.
you did the right thing - the whole deal stinks to high heaven
I had a situation similar to this not quite the volume of guitars and equipment but quite a few when I told him I wanted to get some serial numbers so I could check authenticity That was the last time they ever contacted me
Definitely the right call smelled like stolen goods.
Always remember if it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.
Anyone rushing to make such a quick all cash deal is only a scammer brother.
I'm sure the next line would've been for you to wire her the money to hold the deal , and guess what. Youd never heard or seen her again.
You made the right call.
On another note check your emails, I have a couple guitars I want to send you and have you sell them.......
I think your instincts were right. You offered a dealer’s price and she wanted full retail on the spot in cash. If that’s what she thought she could get, why did she need a dealer in the middle. Good call on your part.
Scammers would have taken any price. I think they just wanted a lot more money.
You started with the right message; If you want to sell them fast, you are not gonna get a good price. That should have been enough explanation for your offer
Then I would have driven to the place and check them out first. See if the serial numbers are reported stolen.
Paying in cash wouldn't bother me. I'm not the taxman. And it's still legal tender, as far as I know.
Of course, all that with a little help from my second amendment. Just in case
Good for you. 20-30 % margin for you is way too low, considering the amount of work it'd take to resell, the risks and the expenses you would have.
Did you ask for photos of the serial numbers? That’s what I would have done. Doesn’t mean they can’t con the serial numbers, but it would have given you a clue of some sort about whether they might have been stolen or tampered with, as well as a way of tracking what ended up happening with the guitars after she sold them to whomever.
You didn’t make a mistake if it didn’t feel right. That’s my take.
It’s too bad there’s non official way to alert people of suspicious people trying to sell guitars. It’s possible it was legit, but a notification/tracking app for guitar buying and selling would give buyers a way to keep their antennas up during the sale process. Reverb does this is a degree, but I’m talking about all guitar sales - think CarFax for guitars. Who doesn’t buy a car today without asking to see the CarFax?!
Too good to be true. You made the right call.
Caveat Emptor, good job following that little voice. You dodged a major headache.
I think you were wise all the way through this. The urgency and the fact that the story shifted are huge red flags. The final straw would be the fact they only want cash. Sounds like a good way to get knocked in the head in Texas. Thanks for posting.
Anytime you deal with a complete stranger, you're going to be on guard. We all have many thoughts in these tense situations. But make no mistake......it all fell through when she wanted too much MONEY. She was apparently fishing you in, but that doesn't mean the guitars were stolen. I do agree that the risks involved and her inconsistencies we're alarming and coupled with her wanting top dollar was probably a deal breaker.
No doubt a scam, but the photos came from somewhere. So where is this hoard of guitars? I am sure the authorities would like to know. And a few guitar lovers who lost their gear to theft.
Definitely made the right call brother !!
intriguing for sure.. but you totally did the right thing to walk away.
You were wise in this situation. One thing you mentioned that I don’t think was a red flag was the refusal of a cashiers check, official check, etc. I have worked in the financial industry and I can tell you that cashiers checks are not what they once were, due to counterfeiting. I would caution you and your viewers against trusting the validity of them. Always call the bank (using numbers YOU find) to authenticate.
Too many possible bad scenarios. They kept their foot on the gas as you said. I’d of backed out as well. Very sketchy Jeremy. Good call.
Yep took a minute but you made the right call, if it was/is real God bless her, BUT pretty sure it wasn't real, I may have entertained it but as you did keep asking questions and review their lack of consistency in the lie, when they have an elaborate con going it becomes hard for them to keep story strait themselves.
Probably do the same as you. I work in insurance, and sometime's peoples expectations exceed reality, especially once third parties start getting involved. Some things just aren't meant to be.
When you are proposed a very good deal only if closed very quickly, it's almost always illegal.
And if the story is vague or changes over time, you can be sure it's illegal.
As for me, the instruments exist but your contact was not the legal owner of them.
What I think is she was likely just someone paid to be the face, and probably knew the people trying to sell them. They're almost certainly stolen, or possibly came from a shop or someone's house who had reported them stolen, then collected insurance on them.
Another thing is she said they had to be sold quickly so she could go back to Hawaii, but called you after a while to look at more? Was she leaving or not? You made the right decision.
Smart move. Good to listen to your intuition.
You hit what my momma used to say: if it's too good to be true, it probably is. If it was meant to be...
If it seems too good to be true it usually is.. goes for women and guitars
I love how everything in her family is a shock like step dad dies then mysteriois guitar then more mysterious guitars and knows nothing about anything
This is where Jeremy forgot to use his most powerful resource he had: the vast wide numbers of guitar friends, dealers, luthiers, private sellers he trusted and meet through his Guitar Finder video business. In short, as a guitar finder he got greedy. Greed popped its ugly head up and he did not want to share this deal with anyone else to get their feedback and opinion about this amazing deal he might score for fear that other people might get wind of it too.
I’ve had guys who would buy my guitar sight unseen, want to pay by Venmo and have a third party to pick up. Happened twice. I put the brakes on immediately.
Scammers for sure
Because in certain States if you sell anything over a certain price she would have had to pay taxes on it that would explain why she wanted to only deal with cash and people driving by probably seeing her unloading and started asking questions..... But this could be the Marine in me speculating all of this
great story man blss you and your family
Kind of presuming there was no second opinion from another dealer/s? Specifically if she actually had a timeline for some other estate closing costs. My wife has been advised to look everything up. She's realistic on price, but 100% margin is a pawn number. 20-30% for your effort is realistic. The collection looks littered with a few good items, but 30% hard to move stuff. I guess that's what prompted your number. I would hope my wife would get $28k+ given your 40k retail number.
what did you find out about these guitars?
I would say you made the rite call The sad thing is some one will probably fall for it.
You did what you had to do. The pressure put upon and all the red flags screamed SCAM! Whether it was or not is inconsequential. To put that intensity through you and your family, it's not justifiable. You were TOTALLY in the right to walk away.
It might have been a good tactic to bid on the ones you really wanted and then smelled the rest of the deal. In any event you came out whole regardless. Good work.
I'm guessing they bought the rights to the abandoned storage unit and was fishing for a free consultant, and was trying to off load as quick as possible. They are doing a lot of storage units sales in Texas I'm not sure about the rest of the country.
Crazy man! Good wisdom that you shared with us though!
This whole scenario stinks to the Heavens IMO.
Think of ot this way. Folks walk into pawn shops to sell a guitar. The store owner can't even sell it until it clears the hot list. If it comes back hot, PD confiscates it. Multiply that by the 40 items you invested in. If you can't afford to lose that investment, you aren't in a position to reap the profit if it turns out to be legitimate. You were right to set boundaries, and you were right to stick to them, regardless of any potential windfall.
You can never be overly cautious when it comes to you spending 25 grand plus expenses to get to the place and back lol
With that scenario, it's always a SCAM. - professional Cyber-Investigator.
Anyone know about santacilla acoustic guitars? Or know how to identify the 4 digit serial number?
This was exhausting to listen to, I'm gonna take a nap.
It was exhausting to live through. Haha. Tried to keep it moving.
If it's to good to be true, it probably is just that, "to good to be true".
After thought would have been to ask to Facetime or see Sarah in the video... most scammers never want their picture captured. Some people are truly camera shy but the reaction would be informative.
I think that if it was me I would have flown out there went through what she had for sale because she didn't know exactly what kind of connections that you actually had and possibly could have unfolded a huge black market smuggling ring because you could have called anybody while you was down there whether it be the cops attorney general or the bank to get some money but I would not have traveled by myself and always make them think the decision maker isn't there and you have to constantly contact them on the phone
Smart move ! Sure it was a con . Like you said too many red flags . To change the subject do you think a 2mm pickguard will affect the volume and tone on Martin d13e Dreadnought acoustic guitar . Reason I am asking is I know you know lot about acoustic guitars. It came with a black one . The one I bought is from Amazon a Vencetmat Elegant coffee $19.99. Check it out and tell me what you think / that is when you have time . Thanks man! Enjoy watching your videos. Jeff Clark from Rockdale Texas
Pickguards inherently affect the volume of acoustic guitars
This often happens when someone is trying to cheat the estate.
It's kinda worrying you got this close to paying out. Had you been a mark for a more experienced scammer (kept their story consistent and focused on closing), you'd have almost certainly become a victim.
I smell a scam. Stolen equipment they are moving? Or there really is nothing there. If they had been in a storage locker all the time. They should have been a lot of dust on them. Looked too clean.
That's a great point.
was that a blue Blues Jr in the video? that would be a red flag to me. did they make one in blue?
Best I could figure was that it was a mojotone 5e3 clone in custom cab
@@JeremySheppard ok ok, that makes sense
Or Norm swiped them 🤷♂️😂
“Sara” also probably wants you to write her son a birthday song…
Definitely a scam, smart to walk away…
I'm confused by you saying you thought it was worth 40k retail, then you told her it was worth 25K Retail, then you got mad that she thought it was worth 40-50k.
She thought they were worth close to $60k retail and that $40k was bare bones, wholesale price.
Yeah, this just didn’t pass the smell test.
You should get the police connected to her. They were very likely stolen.
I wouldn't
I’d just have flown out and looked in person.. if they are hot then you would be getting a great deal and make bank..
If they are hot then someone is going to be looking for them.
buddy, if it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true.
These people could be dangerous. Call the police in the area the storage unit was. Somebody is missing their collection.
You have to be so careful these days. Scamming has become a highly sophisticated industry designed to beat even the smartest, most guarded person or company. I have a friend, who is a widow, who was scammed out of nearly $140k. A fair chunk of her life savings. Caveat Emptor!
You make the right decision to stop and pray about it. Did you consider getting the police involved in this matter?
I didn't at the time. It really feels 50/50 plausible to con. I also didn't have exact specifics like owners name or location of the storage units.
Great call Jeremy if you feel its not right just walk. A very good decision. Have a prosperous and healthy New year .
In every business there is risk but like you have done well was calculate the risk and realize the deal had to many loop holes To put out 25000 for a 7500 profit over a year is not good business I would have offered a price for the good stuff and would offer to take the other trash for a nominal price that way I could afford to get stuck with it without loosing my shirt
good info. i d say it was a scam. she would have had an auction and stayed longer.
Hello Jeremy, I think you PROBABLY dodged a bullet, however it would interesting if you knew of or could find a trusted friend/colleague who lived near where "SARAH" discovered these "GUITARS" and have another person check it out. If "SARAH" is cool with that then it may an option for you to finally resolve this issue for your own sake. Which brings to mind that perhaps you ought to have other people/friends/colleagues that can act as "go-betweens"for you in other states. Greg
Hell no, one red flag is enough for me to say no!
Why do I have to work right now??? 😂
You're not. You're commenting on youtube. LOL
You can do it! Play it with subtitles... haha
I agree with the other comments that this smells like a scam. 🐟 🐠 🎣.
Jeremy
Now that you walked away from that deal,
I have a bridge, on water front property in Florida I can sell you for $21,000.
could have been a scam, but it also might have been legit. i've heard plenty of crazy true stories. i would have immediately flown over there to see everything. made an offer if i liked it. you also started by telling her that everything was so valuable and she shouldn't be in a rush to sell it. because you told them that, they started to get greedy thinking it was worth millions
Have police with you at purchase to run serial# on all of it.
They've started offering spots at police stations for these transactions but they're usually right by the dept of revenue so they make sure they get sales tax.
@@JeremySheppard Have you called your police department to verify they charge for this service? It’s free in Tennessee. Any police station. We have areas they want us to go to also, but if you explain to the detective that it’s in storage buildings they will come to you..Just like a music stores do when it calls police.
@@JeremySheppard Also, get a some good photo’s of her, every vehicle she shows up in, and each license plate. If she gets scared or asked why, tell her because you’re not dealing with chump change and your covering your ass.
If you can’t extend your stay when talking about 40k in cash… something ain’t right.
If your gut says it’s not right, then it probably isn’t. Too sensational.
Did you alert authorities?
Dude, thats not real. They were probably stolen if it wasnt a complete scam.
you won . total bs those axes were hotter than a 2 dollar pistol. i live in the lone star state and i have seen plenty of hot axes. i was a painter for over 50 years. working on a huge apt complex in dallas. van pulls up loaded with les pauls and fenders. they only wanter $250 each buddy lives in austin told me the night before smash and grab thru front window one of the biggest misic store in austin i knew the deals were to good to be true. that my story and i am sticking to ha ha
Does not sound legit at all. Certainly people may not know going in what the value of item (name any item) may be worth but there is something called an internet search where you can generally find an approximate price for almost anything, especially instruments. Unless you are an older non internet savvy person, to feign complete ignorance is suspect. Glad you walked away.