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Best way to sell locally?

#41
I've used CL successfully in the past. Last time I sold a bass I arranged to meet at a local Guitar Center, in the amp room - a public place with amps to test the bass. Would do it again.

I also sold an amp to GC and saved myself all the hassle of selling and shipping (but lost some money on it; it was worth it to me).

for selling basses in public places without a way to plug in an amp, I'd consider bringing a headphone amp (or battery powered amp) so the buyer can do something to hear it amplified.
 
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#42
tb-player said:
Honestly, I'd suggest getting confident at shipping. It opens up the whole country to you. PirateShip.com makes it easy and cheap(er). Just pack tight so that nothing is moving in the box. You might surprise yourself and find out it's kind of fun.
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Agreed. I live in a major city with a ton of musicians. Despite that, I've had zero luck selling locally. The best I get is messages asking "is it still available," then nothing.

I sold a bass this week to someone who contacted me through the FB Marketplace ad, but they lived several states away. The bass had come up in their search, and they asked if I could ship. We negotiated a price, he paid through PayPal, and I fortunately had a shipping box on hand.
 
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#43
These days, when I have something to sell, I take it to my local shop and they put it on Reverb. Since you live in NYC, you might consider, for example, talking to the people at Rudy's Music. Or any of the other independent shops. They will handle inquiries, packing, and shipping, even help you set a price. They'll take a percentage, but it is worth it to me--it's the least stressful way to go.
 
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#45
What kind of gear are you looking to sell? You'll get better pricing if you're willing to ship and you'll get better shipping costs if you pack on your own. Pack and ship stores are expensive because they charge for their packing services on top of UPS, FedEx, USPS costs. If you want hassle free completely, take it to Guitar Center and be happy with the low price you get, telling yourself it's "hassle free".
 
#48
gln1955 said:
I would say use them all to get the broadest reach.



If you don't want anyone to come to your home, you just need to meet up at the nearest public spot, parking lot, whatever. It does limit trying our a bass fully and is inconvenient for you. Personally, I've had folks come to my house after I talk with them and establish that they are in fact bass players and have some knowledge of what I'm selling.
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^this^
My only add would be if you have doubts about a potential buyer, insist on meeting at a police station parking lot, or even better, until you get a better feel for the whole private seller situation, if you have doubts move on to the next prospect.
I've been doing this for a long time and if I'm not comfortable with someone coming to my home or me going to theirs, I'll only meet in a public place where I know there is video surveillance so if things go sideways LE has something to look at.
 
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#49
I craiglisted a lot a few years back, and it takes a bit of work to avoid annoying people.

FB marketplace has been a lot easier, I think because most people have their real identity attached to profiles. Besides that, I'd agree on meeting somewhere public: a parking lot, a busy park, whatever. Not that everybody is out to scam you (the vast majority aren't) but it's a small move to keep some peace of mind.
 
#50
MultiScaleMale said:
What kind of gear are you looking to sell? You'll get better pricing if you're willing to ship and you'll get better shipping costs if you pack on your own. Pack and ship stores are expensive because they charge for their packing services on top of UPS, FedEx, USPS costs. If you want hassle free completely, take it to Guitar Center and be happy with the low price you get, telling yourself it's "hassle free".
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+1 on selling to GC. I've unloaded gear that I made my money on ten fold & happy to leave there with cash.

I have a Panera Bread directly across the street from me & have used their lot as a sales point. My Ford Ecosport has an AC outlet. I have asked CL folks to send me a photo of their drivers license in advance though. Non criminals don't seem to care..
 
#52
sleddogn said:
Everyone has their own experiences selling..Having to perform ones own 2 or 3 point verification and get to "know" the buyer enough to trust a transaction just seems exhausting. Shipping an item removes most of the person to person issues and you just move on without 100 questions and meeting at a parking lot...
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Until the person opens a claim with PayPal. How often is there a thread here about a sale gone bad, or buyer damaging a bass and wanting to return it?

In person and cash is still the cleanest.
 
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#53
...or a thread about how to sell without shipping...just adding option that some refuse to attempt... I've never done an in person sell, but thats just me

Sure cash in person is great, but you have to be confident in the buyer, location to meet, will they honor the agreed price or try to haggle...in my experience, not having to do any of those are worth any other issue thru Reverb, ebay....and paypal.
I've been lucky, have sold over 60 instruments on reverb with zero issues with them or paypal, guess i'm lucky
I don't want 60 different friends that i must learn of to trust to buy in person or come to my house, no way....lol
 
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#54
winston said:
I've had good luck with Craigslist over the years. Most important is understanding that there's pricing to sell, then there's everything else. Do your research on pricing, check Reverb, TB, eBay and other Craigslist locales. I set a firm price below the lowest actual selling prices I've seen in the last 3-6 months.

The key is to make your ad an intelligence test and vigorously ignore all people who fail it. Aside from good pix and a comprehensive description, something like "Local cash only sale, will not ship. Price is firm, please don't contact me if you don't understand what that means, thanks. No emails or texts, please call and leave a message with your location and 2 or 3 times that work for you to meet up this week. I have researched similar pieces on (Reverb, TB, eBay) and this is x dollars below actual sale prices in the last y months." Has worked on many occasions for me in the last 20+ years for both inexpensive garden variety and pricey booteek gear. Almost inevitably people show up excited that this piece is still available for literally the lowest price they will find.

I hear some people say "only meet people for CL transactions in a public place like a police station parking lot." That's up to you, but it's a red flag to me that seller may be hiding something. On several occasions when I've bought gear in such environs it's had undisclosed issues that would have been evident in a more conducive location.
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I use craigslist for stuff I don't want to ship (Reverb for everything else). But I always include the following:

Cash local pickup only. NO TRADES. Please include your phone number in your response.​

Most serious buyers will follow instructions. Scammers and bots, not so much.

I do meet in public places to do the actual deal. The main reason is that I live with my partner who has a special needs adult daughter. It's not conducive to having folks over to make noise. I sold about half my gear last year (including my entire demo studio). It wasn't a problem. I'll often give out my business card in case there's an issue.
 
#55
When I lived in Seattle (up until recently), my first choice for selling locally was to consign at The Seattle Bass Shop. Sure, they took 20-25%, but they always got a higher price than I could have, they handled everything, they always managed to find buyers (particularly due to their online sales), and they appreciated the opportunity to earn a bit of revenue (and I liked being able to support a small local business). Here in Austin there are similarly locally-owned shops that I would consider consigning through if I wanted to sell locally (though I've been pretty happy using Reverb and selling across the U.S.). I would assume that in NYC there are some locally-owned music stores who do consignments effectively and are worthy of your business?
 
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#56
Bunk McNulty said:
These days, when I have something to sell, I take it to my local shop and they put it on Reverb. Since you live in NYC, you might consider, for example, talking to the people at Rudy's Music. Or any of the other independent shops. They will handle inquiries, packing, and shipping, even help you set a price. They'll take a percentage, but it is worth it to me--it's the least stressful way to go.
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Man would I like something like that out here. CL is okay for music stuff, our local FB Marketplace is 100% timewasters, and OfferUp is extremely hit or miss. But hey, they're free to list on so may as well cast a wide net.

I've only ever purchased instruments in the seller's home, or sold it in mine. I wouldn't buy an instrument I can't sit down and play around with for a few minutes at least, and I try to extend that same courtesy to buyers. If someone suggested meeting somewhere public (barring GC, that was a smart idea sikamikanico) I'd just pass. That's how you end up with a great looking guitar that doesn't actually work.

That being said, I do have a camera at the front door (as everyone should now that they're dirt cheap) and you can't see anything of value really in our living room. I just wheel an amp on out to the living room, chat on the couch, make the sale.
 
#58
AteThePrincess said:
Man would I like something like that out here. CL is okay for music stuff, our local FB Marketplace is 100% timewasters, and OfferUp is extremely hit or miss. But hey, they're free to list on so may as well cast a wide net.

I've only ever purchased instruments in the seller's home, or sold it in mine. I wouldn't buy an instrument I can't sit down and play around with for a few minutes at least, and I try to extend that same courtesy to buyers. If someone suggested meeting somewhere public (barring GC, that was a smart idea sikamikanico) I'd just pass. That's how you end up with a great looking guitar that doesn't actually work.

That being said, I do have a camera at the front door (as everyone should now that they're dirt cheap) and you can't see anything of value really in our living room. I just wheel an amp on out to the living room, chat on the couch, make the sale.
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Not all music gear are "instruments." You make a fair point. But when selling other stuff (amps, pedals, etc.) I expect people to know what they want before contacting me.
 
#60
ToneMonkey said:
Not all music gear are "instruments." That's a fair point. But when selling other stuff (amps, pedals, etc.) I expect people to know what they want before contacting me.
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Poor choice of wording on my part. My point is that if it needs to be plugged in, there's no way I would meet someone in a place where I can't plug it in and noodle with it. Same goes for anything else that plugs in too (I deal a large bit in vintage electronics). If I can't test it, I wouldn't dare buy it.
 

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