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Does this make me look heavy?

What's the maximum weight you'll consider when buying a bass in the classifieds?

  • 11 pounds or more

    Votes: 82 19.8%
  • 10 pounds

    Votes: 71 17.1%
  • 9.75 pounds

    Votes: 19 4.6%
  • 9.5 pounds

    Votes: 45 10.9%
  • 9.0 pounds

    Votes: 62 15.0%
  • 8.5 pounds

    Votes: 33 8.0%
  • Equal to a bunch of carrots

    Votes: 102 24.6%

  • Total voters
    414
I don't mock tire kickers, but I've never had anyone that asked the question in the thread actually buy a bass. Just my experience, not speaking for anyone else.

I had a member ask twice, in a for sale post, what the weight was. When I finally answered, I got a "like". To me, this is not something that needs to be asked in a for sale post. If somebody is serious, and needs to know, contact the seller via PM.
 
Balance is a bigger issue for me, since some of the basses I like tend to be a little on the hefty side. My Turner Electroline 5-strings for instance, tip the scales at 11.5 lbs, but they balance perfectly. By contrast, my Alembic Persuader weighs in at just slightly over 10 lbs, but is neck heavy... nothing that can't be corrected with a strap adjustment, but the heavier Turner basses *feel* lighter, regardless of what the scales say.

All that being said, if I'm trying to sell a bass, you can ask me anything not included in the ad by a PM, but I don't enjoy having my for-sale threads turned into a discussion forum, which is what tends to happen when you post too much information. In an effort to avoid that, I always put in the thread "please PM any questions", right next to the asking price.

FWIW, I find @Chef 's sale threads to be hilarious, yet plenty informative. This one SOLD - Uber-rare, Uber-cool Reverend Brad House 5 in Lava Swirl!!!! a while back... pure Socratic genius. :laugh:
 
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I totally understand the want/need for a lighter bass, especially for people with back problems or something like that. On the flip-side, some people go way overboard with this.

FWIW, I've never listed the weight of a bass in an ad on Talkbass or Craigslist, and frankly it's only been asked by tire kickers.

If you "won't give it a second look" just cause I don't list the weight, that's fine. Go buy another bass.
 
I generated my original post based on my experience buying and selling basses on TB over the years.

I wanted to get a pulse on a trend that I've been noticing more lately, that it's fundamentally harder to sell a 10 pound or heavier bass than it is to sell one less than 10 pounds.

Folks will say weight doesn't matter, but from what I see watching gorgeous basses with hundreds and hundreds of views not moving, I think it does. There was good analogy made here of the bicycle weight weenies stressing over every gram when they themselves could shed way more than a than by stepping away from the dinner table a little sooner.

My point is a not whether a heavy bass is better or worse than a light one, it's only how weight affects re-sale on the TB classifieds.

If at the end of this poll, most folks settle on X weight, that's the weight I'm going to take into consideration when I look at buying a "used" bass. Why? Because I'm a flipper. I love trying new things.

If you want to sell your bass, disclose everything. Its condition, its issues and its weight. If you don't want to do that fine, but you are closing yourself off to a lot of potential buyers.
 
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I had a member ask twice, in a for sale post, what the weight was. When I finally answered, I got a "like". To me, this is not something that needs to be asked in a for sale post. If somebody is serious, and needs to know, contact the seller via PM.


Please please please, always PM!


Never post ...


Weight?


...in a listing. It's not polite.
 
I had a member ask twice, in a for sale post, what the weight was. When I finally answered, I got a "like". To me, this is not something that needs to be asked in a for sale post. If somebody is serious, and needs to know, contact the seller via PM.

I know that feeling. I had a member asking me a bunch of questions like that and it got to the point where I PM'ed him asking if he was actually interested, to which he replied that he wasn't able to get it at that point in time.
 
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