Anyone here think instruments are about to get real cheap?

[Sid the Kid]

Hearing news that the restaurant I own and operate will have to close from tomorrow until the end of the month has me looking awfully hard at my expensive Basses. I know the bill collectors do not give a fart in the breeze about my lack of income, they just want their money. Kids have to eat. I’m too unsure to do anything at the moment, but needless to say I am a bit panicked.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

Hearing news that the restaurant I own and operate will have to close from tomorrow until the end of the month has me looking awfully hard at my expensive Basses. I know the bill collectors do not give a fart in the breeze about my lack of income, they just want their money. Kids have to eat. I’m too unsure to do anything at the moment, but needless to say I am a bit panicked.

Sell

 

[Spidey2112]

I'm thinking this thread says you have a buyer.

 

[lowplaces]

Hearing news that the restaurant I own and operate will have to close from tomorrow until the end of the month has me looking awfully hard at my expensive Basses. I know the bill collectors do not give a fart in the breeze about my lack of income, they just want their money. Kids have to eat. I’m too unsure to do anything at the moment, but needless to say I am a bit panicked.

I feel for you man.

The CDC is bumping up the plans to 8 weeks now.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

China is into their 3rd month and it's still not over. Population density may have a lot to do with that but my non expert guess is it will be late June before we see daylight.

Covid-19 ain't going away until we get a vaccine.

I'd list gear right now if I saw the need. Jmo

 

[nostatic]

Priorities and perspective. Loosely paraphrasing Churchill:

But if we fail, then the whole world, including the music industry, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if Talkbass would last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."

Be kind to your neighbor and pay it forward.

 

[jamro217]

For a virus that supposedly is able to survive on surfaces for days, is easily spread, and stays hidden for weeks before it is symptomatic, it seems to be dragging its feet. Surely, if the number of cases that went undetected at the outset (now diagnosed), along with all those who were exposed to them unaware, and new cases from various areas of contagion are all combined, shouldn't we all be suffering with it by now? The numbers don't add credence to this being an emergency worthy of the panic it has caused. It isn't exactly Ebola. If we were in danger of that, this reaction would be justified. Corona viruses have been known to exist since at least as early as the 1890s. Any new strain is a concern because there are no antibodies in your immune system to combat the disease. Many antidotes and vaccines are based on introducing a small amount of the toxin into the body in order to build up an immunity to it. Until the body first encounters a disease there is no antibody to fight it off. The Spanish flu of 1918 was a terrible tragedy that killed many, but medicine back then was no where near what it is today. We should be concerned for the people's safety, but if we're going to do that, let's concentrate on measures that will prevent these sorts of things occurring in the first place.

 

[Spidey2112]

We should be concerned for the people's safety, but if we're going to do that, let's concentrate on measures that will prevent these sorts of things occurring in the first place.

I'm not giving up my Reese's peanut butter cups.

 

[jamro217]

I'm not giving up my Reese's peanut butter cups.

Exactly. This week there will undoubtedly be an overabundance of zeppoles which will go on sale. That means by next month I'll have gained another ten pounds or so. Obesity is an epidemic.

 

[Spidey2112]

Obesity is an epidemic.

It doesn't help I bought all three seasons of 'Gilligan's Island'... it's my own fault for watching it 24/7, but if I hear another crazy sound come out of the Skipper's mouth, there's no telling what I might do.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

For a virus that supposedly is able to survive on surfaces for days, is easily spread, and stays hidden for weeks before it is symptomatic, it seems to be dragging its feet. Surely, if the number of cases that went undetected at the outset (now diagnosed), along with all those who were exposed to them unaware, and new cases from various areas of contagion are all combined, shouldn't we all be suffering with it by now? The numbers don't add credence to this being an emergency worthy of the panic it has caused. It isn't exactly Ebola. If we were in danger of that, this reaction would be justified. Corona viruses have been known to exist since at least as early as the 1890s. Any new strain is a concern because there are no antibodies in your immune system to combat the disease. Many antidotes and vaccines are based on introducing a small amount of the toxin into the body in order to build up an immunity to it. Until the body first encounters a disease there is no antibody to fight it off. The Spanish flu of 1918 was a terrible tragedy that killed many, but medicine back then was no where near what it is today. We should be concerned for the people's safety, but if we're going to do that, let's concentrate on measures that will prevent these sorts of things occurring in the first place.

Just wait.

 

[nostatic]

For a virus that supposedly is able to survive on surfaces for days, is easily spread, and stays hidden for weeks before it is symptomatic, it seems to be dragging its feet. Surely, if the number of cases that went undetected at the outset (now diagnosed), along with all those who were exposed to them unaware, and new cases from various areas of contagion are all combined, shouldn't we all be suffering with it by now? The numbers don't add credence to this being an emergency worthy of the panic it has caused. It isn't exactly Ebola. If we were in danger of that, this reaction would be justified. Corona viruses have been known to exist since at least as early as the 1890s. Any new strain is a concern because there are no antibodies in your immune system to combat the disease. Many antidotes and vaccines are based on introducing a small amount of the toxin into the body in order to build up an immunity to it. Until the body first encounters a disease there is no antibody to fight it off. The Spanish flu of 1918 was a terrible tragedy that killed many, but medicine back then was no where near what it is today. We should be concerned for the people's safety, but if we're going to do that, let's concentrate on measures that will prevent these sorts of things occurring in the first place.

my PhD work was structure/function studies on one of the enzymes responsible for penicillin resistance. My post doc was working to characterize HIV Integrase, one of the key factors for infection. While I did a career change after 5 years as a chemistry prof, I still retain a fair understanding of biochemistry and a bit of virology. There is one person who knows his stuff on the govt team - and that is Anthony Fauci. Listen to him. The rest are rather clueless. Even though Redfield is an MD, he had some questionable ideas about controlling HIV infections.

It is about load on the healthcare system and trying to flatten the curve so those that need hospitalization actually have a bed to occupy.

over-reaction will have negative effects, under-reaction will be far more grave. I always thought this type of event would be driven by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We still are at huge risk for that (eg MRSA or TB). But viruses are sneaky. And actually viruses proliferate when they’re not as nasty as Ebola. When you kill 50% of your hosts, you don’t propagate as far/wide. 1% combined with people not taking precautions seriously are a recipient for disaster.

 

[Dynacord]

Hearing news that the restaurant I own and operate will have to close from tomorrow until the end of the month has me looking awfully hard at my expensive Basses. I know the bill collectors do not give a fart in the breeze about my lack of income, they just want their money. Kids have to eat. I’m too unsure to do anything at the moment, but needless to say I am a bit panicked.

Sympathies. A very hard situation.

Relative to the topic, it's easy to imagine many people with shifted priorities and needs. The often cited figure that many can't afford an unanticipated $400 expense and looking at self isolation (for who really knows how long - listening to UK news and talk of possibility of not peaking for 14 weeks and still being an open question if reinfection as with a common cold is possible), lost income and continuing expenses. One could see many asking "do I really need 17 basses?" - or 3 cars - or whatever.

Anyway, basses can take a long time to sell in the best of circumstances so I can easily see someone pricing it to move NOW. I don't have an issue meeting what one has volunteered as being an acceptable, if unusually low, price. That's not exploitative or predatory. Really poor form to low ball and try to grind down from there though.

There are $3,600 Ibanez basses? Out of the loop on those...

And thank you @nostatic for the clarity of your last post.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

I got most of my gear 2005-2010, and while the market slowed in ‘08, prices did not drop. Back in the day I would see tons of great basses for USD250-350. Most of TB seems to be in the $1k plus range, with lots of 6,7,800 basses. The great cheap stuff is gone, but maybe that’s more about an educated buyer and seller...

That's been my experience. Sure, when the market sucks you're more likely to find someone who needs to sell something they'd rather not sell and RIGHT NOW, but generally speaking things don't get cheaper just because no one has any disposable income. I mean, if that were the case, there wouldn't BE financial crises, right?

 

[BigBigGuy44]

Adding emotion into buying/selling is a marketer's dream come true. On a side note, has Guitar Center filed for bankruptcy yet? All of these years of waiting has made me antsy.

 

[KJMO]

Adding emotion into buying/selling is a marketer's dream come true. On a side note, has Guitar Center filed for bankruptcy yet? All of these years of waiting has made me antsy.

I'm not sure it has that much to do with emotion, at least for me. It seems like some people consider ethics when buying/selling, but I don't know if that is a marketer's dream or not. Plus, it would really bum me out to have to suspend my ethics just because buying and selling is occurring.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

I'm not sure it has that much to do with emotion, at least for me. It seems like some people consider ethics when buying/selling, but I don't know if that is a marketer's dream or not. Plus, it would really bum me out to have to suspend my ethics just because buying and selling is occurring.

Ethical Thinking Should be Rational AND Emotional

 

[KJMO]

Ethical Thinking Should be Rational AND Emotional

That's like just his opinion, man. So let's just say his "should" actually is an "is", how is rational and emotional ethical thinking a marketer's dream? I realized I don't really know what that means. Although I had assumed you meant being ethical leaves you vulnerable to exploitation.

 

[Mike Whitfield]

While I understand the sentiment, the seller still needs to feed their kids and compassion with no sale doesn't help.

Quite true. My buddy paid an old lady $500 more than asking because it was such a good deal he felt bad. I’ve bought cheap things I really didn’t want because the sellers were obviously desperate, and in theory I might pay above asking price if I know the seller is desperate and isn’t an asshat. (Although I’ve bought a Hofner Beatle Bass for two-thirds asking price because the seller needed money to fix his truck without any heartburn; that’s what it worth to me and to the buddy I bought it for.) But I reject the idea that I have some moral responsibility to somehow set my offer according to the seller’s need. If you feel guilty at a certain price, offer more; you’ll both probably feel better about the deal. But walking away just leaves the seller even more desperate and the next guy gets an even lower price.

 

[Standalone]

Quite true. My buddy paid an old lady $500 more than asking because it was such a good deal he felt bad. I’ve bought cheap things I really didn’t want because the sellers were obviously desperate, and in theory I might pay above asking price if I know the seller is desperate and isn’t an asshat. (Although I’ve bought a Hofner Beatle Bass for two-thirds asking price because the seller needed money to fix his truck without any heartburn; that’s what it worth to me and to the buddy I bought it for.) But I reject the idea that I have some moral responsibility to somehow set my offer according to the seller’s need. If you feel guilty at a certain price, offer more; you’ll both probably feel better about the deal. But walking away just leaves the seller even more desperate and the next guy gets an even lower price.

Yes, this is the ethics I’m talking about. It can get complicated. And buyers are not obligated to be charitable heroes with every purchase. This is a new market and things have changed — nobody’s paying 2019 prices for stocks right now, and things may be depressed for a long time. That has some bearing on how we buy and sell.

My main point is that ethics (and I agree that reason and emotion should both be a part of how we think about everything. Just try to understand your own emotions and how they work, first.) — that ethics matter in commerce.

I just made an offer on a bass guitar with some disclosed damage 20% under asking — its a long drive and seller is employed outside of music business and it’s not a desperate situation. Listing is pre-virus. I always bargain hunt and still will.

But if a local full time musician were selling some stuff off to keep her or his apartment or something like that — I’d try to be the right, ethical kind of buyer. What’s my responsibility in knowing that and researching or whatever? Who can really say, but that’s part of being ethical — thinking about these things and just trying to be a decent person

My first, somehow controversial, comment was that IF you could pay 2019 prices to someone in need, you’d have some good karma.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I think prices will drop, but sellers mostly won't want to sell at those prices. Expect a lot of trades rather than sales.