Are the TB classifieds less active than they used to be?

I think it's about the same, although I wouldn't be surprised if more people were hopping to Reverb, since their fee is less than eBay and Paypal's.

 

It used to be that for Canadians, buying used from the US was a good value. That’s not so much the case now.

 

And brokerage fees from couriers in Canada are exorbitant.

 

IME TB classifieds run cold and hot. Some days you will find them brimming with choices and other days no so much. I’ve seen it go long periods with little or no Jazz bodies for sale, then the next time i check there’s several to choose from. I rarely look at amps or basses unless i’m hunting something in particular so i can’t really speak to those catagories, but the tinker parts section is all about ebb and flow. Some days it’s loaded down with stuff and other days; not so much.

 

I bought a set of new tuners here, they were $40, which is reasonable. Except $20 in shipping charges via USPS, and then currency conversion, they ended up being $81CAD to my door with no tracking and like two weeks to get here. None of that is the seller’s fault of course, it’s just not the place to go anymore if you’re Canadian, buying or selling. Shipping costs are through the roof on everything, the exchange rate is crap, and for anything large the customs brokers will want their pound of flesh too. It makes buying a used bass far less attractive than buying new in most cases. For the tuners - well, it was still cheaper than buying new Fender tuners, and better quality than buying Ping tuners from L&M, it’s just a bit of a travesty - $81CAD for tuners that are $40 USD shipped CONUS.

I was also looking at a P bass here on TB - $900 USD, plus shipping. The shipping to Canada was $130, so that’s $1030 USD, which works out to be about $1300 CAD, and then you’d get dinged with brokerage for $60-80 when they deliver it. Same bass here on Kijiji (assuming you’d be able to find something like it, which likely you wouldn’t) would just be $900 CAD, no tax, no shipping. What’s that work out to, $725 USD?

Our American friends should be cruising Kijiji for the real deals, and leveraging the CAD.

 

What’s the deal with Reverb, anyway? Stuff there is really expensive for the most part, compared to a brand new local buy or even off Amazon, and they also charge crazy shipping on top of it. Is there a trick?

I’ve had good luck selling there at reasonable prices, but the only things I’ve bought there were from other Canadian sellers and the pricing was just ok - the cheapest item of its kind on Reverb, and just average pricing. ($65 CAD shipped within Canada for a used Bassballs pedal). I was also trying to sell a Joyo pedal, and a US buyer just clicked add to cart and checked out without asking any questions. The shipping estimate made it more expensive than Amazon by quite a lot (and I pointed that out to him before shipping it), and he was ok with it just because it wasn’t Amazon. I actually canceled the order because if something doesn’t add up, there’s likely an unseen factor and my spider sense was alerting me.

 

I don't know for sure but I think the Market is saturated with great gear, and a lot of us don't have the disposable income to buy some of the great gear for sale. I have two nice Tecamp Cabs for sale and no bites. They sound great so I have no heartburn about keeping them but I would like to fund another purchase with their sale.

 

I think it's remained pretty steady over the years. Perhaps more people are just becoming more comfortable keeping and using what they have? I'd like to think many do have the tools and power to overcome the most basic pressures of GAS...but then again...

 

I wouldn't say they've ever been really active. Nothing like TGP.

 

I think that it's the same as always. But, it seems like there used to be cooler stuff in the Strings and Accessories section years back.

I just can not comprehend how many different Bass Guitars go up for sell and trade everyday!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!

 

I think the TB Classifieds are more active than ever. If you post a bass for sale, then go in to bump it the next day, it's already on page 6 or higher. So there are a LOT of items for sale at any given time.

I DO think that it's taking longer than in "the old days" for basses to sell. Not so much with Class D amps and smaller items, but basses - definitely. Of course I attribute that slowdown to the exorbitant shipping costs. Used to be I could ship a bass within the CONUS for $30.00. Now it's usually more than double that. So sellers have to ask a bit more now so they don't lose too much because of the shipping. Consequently, buyers frequently don't think the deal is as good as they might have 5 or 6 years ago. Just my opinion, of course...

 

We had a few massive waves hit the bass market over the past several years. I think those waves subsiding has a little to do with it.

1) The new lightweight gear. There was a huge sell-off and buying spree during that time. Many sold off heavier gear to go light. Many also bought and tried a lot of gear until they found the right fit in lightweight gear.... if they ever did. I think thayhas settled down.

2) Effects and preamps. The world kf effects and preamps for bass exploded several years ago. More and more people were buying and trying. I think a lot of people have become more informed as that market took hold. Now, instead of thinking all dirts are different, we now know that many are tube screamer clones, rat clones, etc. If the last one of those didn't do it for you the next one likely won't.

In short, other than the Mesa Subway line, the Genzler array stuff a couple years ago, and maybe Darkglass hitting it big, there haven't been many huge waves made in the last few years and people have kind of "settled in" to what they like.

Also, tax time is a weird time. You have two kinds of people mostly during tax time.... those who have a fire sale to raise so.e quick cash, and those who are getting/have gotten a refund and are safe until next year.

Then, of course there are things that are simply out of vogue. A friend of mine is selling a custom Jackson lead guitar that I know was well over two grand 15 years ago. It was top of the line. He has had it listed for $1,000 for months without so much as a nibble or a low-ball offer.

I'm seeing more and more gear sit for weeks and months both here and my local CL listings.

It just seems that most players are either good with what they have or are waiting for the next big wave... which will probably be the the new wave of amp simulators. Now THAT will throw a kink in both new and used markets for sure. 20 years from now amps on stage will be a thing of the past in my view.

It's the circle of life.

 

I've been on this board since 2005 and I had never heard of Reverb until about a year ago.

Is it possible that even if it's been around a lot longer than that, it just hit the tipping point for use around here lately? Or maybe just a blind spot in my line of sight, that certainly happens too.

 

Classifieds seem to be going as well as they ever have but there is more competition. Personally, I've been able to see gear quicker and at a higher price using Reverb and eBay than I have here in recent months. I prefer to stay away these two sites but netting an extra couple Benjamins for essentially the same fees and risk is hard to turn down.

I also noticed the amount of high dollar and unknown brands in the classifieds. These items will take longer to sell and give an appearance of slower sales in general.

It's good to have options and these days, there are plenty of options to choose from.

 

I stopped using eBay because they take their cut and if it’s through Paypal they take a cut so you get hit twice. I’ve been done with ebay for a long time now because of that.