I thought it was a lot of wear too...but its not 7 years old if its a 95-96 strat...i'm assuming you meant 17 year old-but still, alot of wear for even that i agree.

You sure?...on the gum itself it says made in Springfield Illinois, and was told its American made at purchase

OP...Iv'e edited your 1st post and left the points that I find troubling in this exchange...

(1) You met the guy thru Craig's List....
(2) His suggestion to trade the Strat for your firearm...
(3) He wants you to pay to register it legally to him....

I would not go within ten miles of this transaction for very pragmatic reasons.

(1) since you met on Craig's list you have no reassurance of who he really is and more importantly background.

(2) selling or trading a firearm to someone you do not know legally or not and as a private transaction may open you up for all sorts of responsibility down the line.

(3) The request of you having to pay to register the firearm is a large Red Flag.

There are more cautious ways to acquire a nice strat, you really need to go and check with legal authorities especially law enforcement and see where you stand on a precariously risky ( to you ) transaction....

I wouldn't do it even if I had a Go ahead from law enforcement, mainly because I don't know the guy from Craig's list......

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