Bass Central and trades...

BassikLee · #1 05-25-2005, 10:05 PM

Dunno if this should be here, I am sure it'll be moved if needed. I have a hankerin' for a dingwall. Something about all those non parallel frets just calls to me. I have a pile of decent medium/low end basses. It'd be MUCH easier for me to take them all in there and walk out with an Afterburner then to do the whole "ebay, wait, get paid, ship, etc" thing. Do they trade fairly?? I know they have to make $$ on the trades too, I just don't want to lose my a$$ on the deal....

Lee

**cheezewiz** · #2 05-25-2005, 10:19 PM

BC is better than most dealers on trades, but you'll still come out WAY ahead by selling privately.

AaronS · #3 05-25-2005, 11:40 PM

"Trade fairly"? You are half of the trade. If you don't like the deal, don't take it. The only time someone can legitimately claim they were taken advantage of in a business transaction is if the other party hid a defect in the product. You need to decide what your gear is worth in general before you start negotiating a trade. I say "in general" because an excellent condition MIM Fender Jazz Bass might be worth $100 in trade to one store and $150 in trade to another. When you are confident about the value of your "goods" and the other party's goods you are in a position to start negotiations. Do your research.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you have a lot of low to middle priced gear, then it is very common and the store can find lots of such gear for a dime on the dollar. OTOH, what you want is a Dingwall and those are not common at all. So you are not in a good negotiating position. Bass Central has something you really want and you have something that they couldn't care less about. Now if you were coming into the shop with a Sadowsky or a Fodera and wanted to trade for a Dingwall, it would be another story entirely.

A typical retail markup for guitars and basses is 50%, some items are more and some are less and not all dealers pay the same price for the same item. For example Fender's dealer prices vary with the dealer's volume. But let's use 50% markup for this example. If I have a $1500 bass for sale, I could offer to sell it to you for $1300 and offer you $225 in trade for your MIM Jazz. I will make $325 or 25%. If my cost of doing business is low enough and I don't make these kinds of deals all the time, then I can probably live with that. But I just paid you $225 for a bass that I can probably sell for $250, so I won't make much money on that deal, most of the profit was eaten up in what I paid for the trade. Remember that standard markup? I would have to price your MIM Jazz Bass at $450 to make it. That's not going to happen, and I might have to sell it for $225 or less in which case I have wasted my time and money.

Don't be impressed with being offered a steep discount or a high dollar for a trade, look at the actual price and the trade price differential instead. Recently I was in a shop looking at a NOS 3 year old American Fender Jazz V. The owner told me he would give me a 30% discount off retail and that I wouldn't find that kind of deal anywhere else. First off he was talking 30% off current retail and Fender has had substantial price increases in the 3 years since he bought that bass. Secondly, I can go on the internet and meet or beat his 30% discount in a half an hour. Thirdly, I had decided that I didn't like the bass much (it was at the lower end of Fender's quality range and the B string is not as tight as the new ones) and he never inquired whether that was really the bass for me. Basically, he informed me that he had no interest in me as a customer, only in my money, and he thought I was stupid. Needless to say, he is not on my list of stores to frequent in the future.

If you do your research then you will be well informed and nobody can take advantage of you unless you let them.

Keep in mind that all prices are negotible and 30% is what most dealers need to make most of the time to stay in business. So he will need to make 30% on the new product he sells to you and 30% on your trade also. In order to make that 30% he will have to sell some things for 40% or 50% to make up for those things he will make less than 30% on or even take a loss on. The retail business can be very demanding and stressful.

One other point. Buy inexpensive or middle of the road equipment used. It is only there to meet your functional needs and cannot be considered an investment. If you are going to buy new, get top quality equipment. If you had bought a Yamaha guitar in 1965 for $175 you would be lucky if it were worth $75 today. But if you had bought a D'Aquisto for $1,000, it could be worth $50,000 or more today. What is a wiser use of money?

BTW, I think those Dingwalls on Bass Central's website are extremely tempting, especially the blue ones with the figured maple tops.

BurningSkies · #4 05-25-2005, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Schiff

BTW, I think those Dingwalls on Bass Central's website are extremely tempting, especially the blue ones with the figured maple tops.

I don't know what you're talking about.

AaronS · #5 05-26-2005, 09:19 AM

Damn Bill! You make it hard to get back to work. That is sure a pretty Dingwall. BTW, I logged onto your band website. Looks like a band I'd like to hear. Too bad I'm 2,000 miles away. Can your vocalist sing, or is she just with you guys to make men drool and spend their money foolishly?

Dr. PhunkyPants · #6 05-26-2005, 09:41 AM

I don't presume to speak for Beaver, Gard, and the gang. But...don't trade your bass in to them. Sell it on Ebay--you'll come out waaaaaay ahead in the bargain.

When I bought my trans green sterling from Beaver and had a Modulus Genesis to offload, Beaver agreed to take a downpayment from me on the bass and hold it until my Ebay auction ended. I saved hundreds.

jive1 · #7 05-26-2005, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Schiff

If you had bought a Yamaha guitar in 1965 for $175 you would be lucky if it were worth $75 today. But if you had bought a D'Aquisto for $1,000, it could be worth $50,000 or more today. What is a wiser use of money?

Not to be an arse, but some vintage Yamaha acoustics like the FG300 or the SBG electrics are worth more now than back then.

Eric Moesle · #8 05-26-2005, 10:23 AM

Mmmmmmm. Fanned frets. No better way to keep drunken bass players from asking to sit in during your set . . . me likes.

Gard · #9 05-26-2005, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. PhunkyPants

I don't presume to speak for Beaver, Gard, and the gang.....

...well...as I don't work there any longer, you are safe with me!

...however you are right, you will find it much more financially beneficial to sell it outright than to trade it.

Always remember this rule: The store can sell it for what you can sell it for, they certainly can't afford to BUY it for that much!

When you think of it that way, trade values make a lot more sense.

For BassikLee, depending on what you've got, you will most likely either be better off just selling it yourself, or you may find that Bass Central is not interested in some or all of the pieces you have. Remember, they primarily deal in high-end equipment, and if you (by your own description) have medium/low end basses, they may not be interested in all of them.

MJ5150 · #10 05-26-2005, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassikLee

I have a pile of decent medium/low end basses.

Drop the $20 on a supporting membership, and offer them up to the TB family. You might be able to unload a few here, and bassgear.com.

-Mike

Dr. PhunkyPants · #11 05-26-2005, 05:17 PM

Gard--definitely plan to attend to DC/MD/VA G2G if you can.

And let me add my concurrence that TB is a great place to sell medium-level gear.

Gard · #12 05-26-2005, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. PhunkyPants

Gard--definitely plan to attend to DC/MD/VA G2G if you can.

Will do! Date set yet??

BurningSkies · #13 05-26-2005, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Schiff

Damn Bill! You make it hard to get back to work. That is sure a pretty Dingwall. BTW, I logged onto your band website. Looks like a band I'd like to hear. Too bad I'm 2,000 miles away. Can your vocalist sing, or is she just with you guys to make men drool and spend their money foolishly?

Heh. I'm using that picture as my desktop at work right now...do you know how hard it is to work, knowing that bass is sitting at my house?!?!?

Miss Tawanna CAN sing. She grew up singin' down south in the church, and her dad is the music director/bass player for one of the big gospel bands in town. She's so good that we could be any ol' bunch of schmoes on stage and it probably wouldn't matter. We are just VERY VERY thankful that we get to play with her (we can forgive things like her regularly showing up well past stage time).

Not to derail this fine thread about Dingwalls...I'll PM you with some band stuff.

Bass Viking · #14 05-26-2005, 08:32 PM

Hey Bassiklee,

First of all, the Dingwall is an excellent choice. You won't find very many dissatisfied Dingwall owners. Secondly, I know from personal experience that music stores offer you squat. A local one offered to buy my Godin SD5 for the princely sum of $275 Can$ (it cost me over $700 new!).

Here's a pic of my Dingwall:

[IMG]

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My Dingwall, my Dingwall,
I want you to play with my Dingwall
(famous Chuck Berry tune)