Anyone here think instruments are about to get real cheap?

[Boogiepop]

See my thread "He got me" elsewhere in this section. I think that's what happened.

B.

 

[Rabidhamster]

No such thing around here. Next...

You don’t have a good side of town?

 

[ajkula66]

You don’t have a good side of town?

No, we don't have pawn shops for the most part.

There's one about 30 miles from here in a pretty spotty neighbourhood. I'd presume that there's a couple of them within an 60-90 minute drive.

 

[Texsunburst59]

Pawnshops have been a "GOLDMINE" in my neck of the woods for last 15+ years.

I get at 4-5 AMAZING scores on guitars, basses, amps, etc.... every year.

I can't even imagine what kind of SUPER AMAZING deals I'm going to find in 6 months to a year when this is all over.

These are some of my pawnshops scores over the last 12 months.

Crazy thing is I could be seeing some good used USA guitars and basses for $50 all day long.

$150 - '96 MIJ Fender Jagstang
$260 - '98 ESP Horizon
$258 - '09 Taylor 210 E
$286 - '05 Gibson LP Studio
$100 - '09 Fender Highway 1 Tele

 

[Rabidhamster]

No, we don't have pawn shops for the most part.

There's one about 30 miles from here in a pretty spotty neighbourhood. I'd presume that there's a couple of them within an 60-90 minute drive.

Weird! I can’t even fathom it. You must be in a small town?
Around here, the Rich areas don’t really have pawn shops, the good areas that used to be rich areas have a few, the middle class areas have a lot and the ghetto has a ton, the really dangerous areas back down to just a few. Heck even small towns have one or two minimum, but they’ll give you a solid screwing especially if you’re not local.

 

[ajkula66]

Weird! I can’t even fathom it. You must be in a small town?

I refer to it as a "one-horse-town", lovely English phrase from the days gone by...

Heck even small towns have one or two minimum, but they’ll give you a solid screwing especially if you’re not local.

Yeah the one that I walked in a couple of years ago just to see what they had instruments-wise left me with the impression that they would offer you $250 for an American Fender and then list it at a grand...

 

[TrevorG]

Nobody's making any money. When things return to normal(not the right word, I know) they'll be catching up on everything they owe and praying the government keeps its promise to compensate people (I'm not betting on that happening either). What the price is is meaningless if no one can afford any price.

 

[Standalone]

I just got a free zoom multieffects pay it forward deal. Who was here posting that karma isn’t real....? I say it seems to be

 

[lowplaces]

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

That is my thinking. Trades.

I've listed some good gear locally on Facebook and Craigslist at no brainer prices and haven't had any interest shown at all. I bet I would if I took "no trades" out of the ads.

It has never been like that before. Probably going to try selling it here in the classifieds.

 

[Black_In_Mind]

I'm not going to bet on it. Best case scenario we get some steals here and there but the majority will hold out until either this whole situation passes or the worst case scenario happens.

There is some gear I would love owning thats usually out of my budget but I'm not going to count on the virus changing that. Best I got during all this was a non-functioning Morley ECV for $100 + shipping that could possibly end up requiring an inexpensive fix...I just won't know for sure until repair shops in my area are allowed to reopen.

 

[SXema]

Prices will drop because sadly A LOT of people who play bass or guitar as a hobby lost their job and will need some money. Unemployed parents with Squiers abandoned under one of their kids bed.
And store owners will have to pay A LOT of money for 2 or 3 months with the doors closed.

 

[Brad Johnson]

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.

Yep.

Years ago I bought a Japanese boutique bass from a friend who was strapped for cash. I gave him his asking price even though it was probably worth less. Should I have done it? I don't know... many years later I have a bass that I don't use that I'd have to take a serious hit to sell.

So of course I love it when folks try to twist this into an ethical dilemma.

 

[Upstate SC Bass]

I sold 4 basses in the last month.
That had all been listed for a while.
One was a $2000.00 6 string.
seems like folks got their economic impact payments to me.
I couldn't hardly believe it.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Prices will drop because sadly A LOT of people who play bass or guitar as a hobby lost their job and will need some money. Unemployed parents with Squiers abandoned under one of their kids bed.
And store owners will have to pay A LOT of money for 2 or 3 months with the doors closed.

Exactly. Uncharted economic waters tend to force the issue, and the luxury of waiting to get your price most often fades away.

 

[Ian Lewis]

The reason I ask is that I have GAS. I think the economy is about to TANK. Anyone holding out on buying a bass?

If you are referring to new basses, my answer (from Australia) is a definite no. During the current pandemic, import freight costs have increased as much as 600%. This will add significantly to the wholesaler's costs and if anything, increase pricing.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I'm not going to bet on it. Best case scenario we get some steals here and there but the majority will hold out until either this whole situation passes or the worst case scenario happens.

There is some gear I would love owning thats usually out of my budget but I'm not going to count on the virus changing that. Best I got during all this was a non-functioning Morley ECV for $100 + shipping that could possibly end up requiring an inexpensive fix...I just won't know for sure until repair shops in my area are allowed to reopen.

The problem is for gigging musicians, particular those counting on decent size venues for their gigs, there's no end in sight. At this point even if people go back to gathering in large numbers, I'm not going to put my life at risk. I know lots of musicians, engineers, etc, who feel the same. As each week passes holding out is less and less of an option.

On the flip side I just had someone contact me out of the blue and I sold them an obscure and pretty nice bass for my asking price. I wasn't actively selling it. I had four more people contact me about the same bass in the next few days. So people seem to be looking.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

well it’s 2 months later. people seem to be buying guitars and basses because they are stuck at home. also factories are shut down so prices seem pretty much the same for new instruments.

 

[Cut the middle]

As someone who bought new entry level gibsons, ibanez, and used fender p bass in the late 70s and early 80s, I already think instruments are really inexpensive now. I paid:
1978 Grabber w/case 400$
1986 ibanez rb885 w/case385$
70's fender p bass w/case 350$
So yes quality up, price down.

 

[Ace Of Bass]

I was in the market for a Jazz Bass recently.....I developed a watch lists of maybe 8 Basses that had the specs I was looking forever maybe the span of three or four weeks...all were mid to late ‘70s Jazz Basses and the asking price for all were between $2200-$4000....by the time I was ready to pull the trigger last week, I was left with two options because there was sudden run on buying old Jazz...luckily one seemingly fell out of the sky and I needed up getting my favorite specs of all in the bass I bought but I was definitely surprised that Basses that had been sitting for a year or more (some of them) were getting snatched up fairly quickly...I guess some people are indeed putting that stimulus money to use on Reverb purchases...

 

[Nephilymbass]

The reason I ask is that I have GAS. I think the economy is about to TANK. Anyone holding out on buying a bass?

I don’t know. I think the economy will be fine. I know everywhere is different. I don’t live in NYC or LA and here other than bars everything is open. That’s really the main concern for musicians here, having places to play gigs so when this is all over. There are a lot of people, myself included who have worked this entire time and still got a stimulus check. So financially I’m actually better off than normal.