Question on a Tuba Deal

[TubaGuy1982]

Hi guys I haven't posted on here in a few years and thought I would as I'm currently stuck in a situation and I need some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing....to make a long story short I have a gentleman interested in cash/trade for my Sanders 3/4 etude tuba for his Schiller American heritage horn ....I'm sure it's a nice horn but this gentleman has been very slow with responses and said we were gonna do the deal the end of November and a month later I hear nothing he said he sent me a contract in the mail but my concern is if I sign it and get it witnessed that he won't send me his horn and I'll be screwed....my gut telling me this isn't a good deal.....I realize the holidays got in the way but the rest of the time I'd either get a message or thumbs up on Facebook.....thoughts???.....thanks everyone

[anotherjtm2]

“American Heritage”?

[tbonesullivan]

Contract??? That alone seems mega sketchy.

[MaryAnn]

Yeah, CONTRACT? Yikes. I dunno what he's up to but can predict it is no good. When someone refuses to trust you even a little, it is saying a lot about them.

[Three Valves]

Perhaps instead of “contract” you meant “bill of sale??”

I’d insist on a receipt/bill of sale in any transaction of substance.

[Tim Jackson]

Hey, Contracts are good! ...but the deal: if it doesn't feel good in the beginning it will most likely go bad in the end. Maybe it's just someone with poor communication skills. But I have come to a conclusion,... I can't control all outcomes but I can control who I choose to deal with. - just deal with folks you feel good about. P.S. not sure what you're trying to achieve with such a deal, but maybe you should shoot for a better horn.

[Donn]

So having never heard of such a thing, I'm curious about the purpose of a contract. The only thing I could think of that you could commit to, is to send the money when you get the tuba, but the way this reads -

he said he sent me a contract in the mail but my concern is if I sign it and get it witnessed that he won't send me his horn and I'll be screwed.

... it sounds more like "I hereby as witnessed by the undersigned on this day, promise to sit tight and wait for the tuba I paid for to arrive in the mail."

The "promise to send money" version makes some sense if it's enforceable enough that a seller can rely on it, but that's the rub, I think - you'd still be in small claims court in a far away jurisdiction, etc. It isn't like you can just send a note to the authorities and get them to collect for you.