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How to Sell your Bass FAST
- Thread starter THORRR
- Start date
Actually the ads that get me are the "have to sell to raise funds for xxx..."
And then towards the end, "will consider trade for yyy...."
+1
Ha! That's always good for laughs. "This bass is the best bass I've ever owned. Plays like it was built by Jesus, and sounds like the voice of angels. It's the finest bass guitar on the planet. $xxxx cash price, or will consider trading for a Rickenbacker 4003"
Someone PM'd me asking where I got my ideas about
making a sale. I thought I'd share:
For over 40 years I've made my living (and a very good one)
in the field of sales and have sold more things than I can remember
but here's a partial list, and in no particular order:
Fuller Brush
Fire Alarms
Cemetary Plots (pre-need)
Food & Freezer Plans
Life Insurance
Health Insurance
Aflac
Automobiles (both new & used dealerships - Mercedes, Cadillac, Saab, Oldsmobile)
Furniture
Fine Jewelry
Auto Body Repair
Businesses (Business Broker)
Mortgages (Mortgage Broker)
Real Estate
Well Drilling
Mattresses
Suffice to say, I have sales experience and it is from that
which I draw the conclusions listed in my OP.
I see that most TBers GET what I'm talking about, especially
if they read my OP carefully. Of course I was writing about
general sales principles and there will always be exceptions to
any "rule" however as a tried and true guideline the information
stands on its own and is true.
Some things are true whether you believe them or not.
I really appreciate everyones comments and the enthusiasm being
shown for the topic. It's one that's close to my heart (and wallet!)
Yes, I'm always on the prowl for "a good deal".
I bought a Squier Affinity P-Bass on CL for $30 and I don't
even like P-Basses! I'm a Jazz bass lover. But I couldn't pass
up the "deal". I cleaned it up, leveled the frets, tightened
the tuners, replaced the jack, installed a set of D'Addario
Chromes and the darned thing sounds great. I still prefer the
Jazz but I think I've got a little "keeper" here in that P. What
a deal! Fun!
Happy selling and Happy buying to all.
making a sale. I thought I'd share:
For over 40 years I've made my living (and a very good one)
in the field of sales and have sold more things than I can remember
but here's a partial list, and in no particular order:
Fuller Brush
Fire Alarms
Cemetary Plots (pre-need)
Food & Freezer Plans
Life Insurance
Health Insurance
Aflac
Automobiles (both new & used dealerships - Mercedes, Cadillac, Saab, Oldsmobile)
Furniture
Fine Jewelry
Auto Body Repair
Businesses (Business Broker)
Mortgages (Mortgage Broker)
Real Estate
Well Drilling
Mattresses
Suffice to say, I have sales experience and it is from that
which I draw the conclusions listed in my OP.
I see that most TBers GET what I'm talking about, especially
if they read my OP carefully. Of course I was writing about
general sales principles and there will always be exceptions to
any "rule" however as a tried and true guideline the information
stands on its own and is true.
Some things are true whether you believe them or not.
I really appreciate everyones comments and the enthusiasm being
shown for the topic. It's one that's close to my heart (and wallet!)
Yes, I'm always on the prowl for "a good deal".
I bought a Squier Affinity P-Bass on CL for $30 and I don't
even like P-Basses! I'm a Jazz bass lover. But I couldn't pass
up the "deal". I cleaned it up, leveled the frets, tightened
the tuners, replaced the jack, installed a set of D'Addario
Chromes and the darned thing sounds great. I still prefer the
Jazz but I think I've got a little "keeper" here in that P. What
a deal! Fun!
Happy selling and Happy buying to all.
For some on TB, the "deal" is more important than the instrument. And that's...ok. But there is a danger in valuing price over all other considerations. The old saying "penny wise, pound foolish" exists for a reason. There is more to a purchase than price alone. Sadly some (many?) have either forgotten or don't understand that. Or they simply don't value other people's time/effort/etc.
Actually the ads that get me are the "have to sell to raise funds for xxx..."
And then towards the end, "will consider trade for yyy...."
Yeah, that's a good one.
What always cracks me up is the ad's "set up intro". The seller starts off with one of the classic (and predictable
) phrases such as:"I really hate to sell this, but..." (which is complete bullshite because if he didn't want to sell it, he wouldn't be placing an ad)
or
"It's just not getting the playtime it deserves..." (which is another way of saying "I just don't like this bass as much as my other basses")
or
"Gotta thin the herd..." (which means the same as above)
And then there's the all-time classic "FEELER" (which basically means "hey everyone, I just wanna see if I can find some schmuck that's dumb enough to pay me more than my item is worth, otherwise forget it").
It would be a breath of fresh air to just see the seller say "here is what is for sale:" and describe the item. Spare us the sob stories.
So where's the profit?
Where's the overhead?
Where's the extra money come from when something is not perfect to the buyer and there's returns? what about material that are sub par and go in the garbage?
Electric? utilities? health insurance? unemployment insurance? workers comp??
Question is though, why sell it for $2600, when people are lining up to pay $5200?
I generally try to price things to sell and so I price them from fair to aggressive (locally, I haven't tried TB yet). It's true, everybody wants a deal. Without fail, people will even lowball low pricing; it's just in their nature. I once had a new gig bag listed at $20. The guy wanted to bargain me down $5 and deliver it too!
Actually the ads that get me are the "have to sell to raise funds for xxx..."
And then towards the end, "will consider trade for yyy...."
Boom , thats the annoying one.
people just dont seem to get FIRM, i posted a pink jazz bass special on craigslist for 400$ and i got someone offering me 380$ , 350$ and then 300$ , i just delete the emails , i wont even reply nowadays.
The bottom line is whether or not it hits somebody's "hot button". If it does, they they'll have a hard time getting that item out of their head. Then they might be willing to pay a FAIR market value because it's something they've been lusting for.
Of COURSE you shouldn't overprice an item that you want to sell. But on the other hand, there's nothing wrong with pricing it fairly. If an item is priced fairly, I have no problem buying it if it hits my hot button.
Of COURSE you shouldn't overprice an item that you want to sell. But on the other hand, there's nothing wrong with pricing it fairly. If an item is priced fairly, I have no problem buying it if it hits my hot button.
I've got a house for sale now and the market does suck. Half the houses in the neighborhood have had "for sale" signs on them for God knows how long. But the "key" was "sell it FAST".
Sure, it's easy. Go to one of those "cash in flash" places and they'll give you exactly HALF what it's worth. Right now. Count it out! Is that best for you? Well that depends on your situation doesn't it?
Buying and selling just has a lot of factors on both sides. It basically comes down to what is the bass worth to the buyer and what is it worth to the seller? If I picked the bass out of the trash and scrubbed it up maybe ANY price is good enough for me. On the other hand if you have some used Ibanez that Joe Blow signed and you are asking double new value, well, it's going to take until a die hard Joe Blow fan sees your ad.
Again FAST is the key here. If you want to sell the bass right now, then you've got to drop the price until ANYBODY who sees the ad is ready to buy. If you can wait for the guy who REALLY wants what you got to come along, well then that isn't so fast. (though it COULD be if you got lucky!)
Since as a GASaholic I do more buying than selling, I do it the other way. I peruse the TB and other ads looking for things that get my GAS going. Often the sellers are asking true value. But unless I really HAVE to have it, which I usually don't since I have just about any bass I "need", I can do the opposite of the seller waiting for the "right" buyer and sit and wait for the seller to "need" the money more and more. Eventually either he finds a person who really wants it or the price drops. When it drops that brings me into the picture.
Nothing personal here. It's business. I'm sorry about your mother, but you aren't responsible for my life and I'm not responsible for yours. All we need to discuss is what you are asking and what I'll pay. Sorry I'll ask for a lower price just for drill if I think you'll go it. It's not a personal insult. It's also not an insult to me if you simply say "nope it'll take the asking price". In any case this sort of thing can adjust the price up or down a bit, but usually not enough to bother with if the price was right to start with.
As for shipping, as a buyer or seller I always take that into account. Sometimes the folks here on TB have said, this price shipped, this other price you pick it up. If I say, I'll only buy it with free shipping, what I'm really saying is my max price is less than you are asking. You then have to decide if your min price can fall to my max price. If so we have a deal. If not, I and you look elsewhere.
It's business. I don't know why so many folks take things personally. There are FAR too many reasons why a person will only pay so much or another person needs to have XYZ for an item they are selling to worry about WHY they have set these values.
You may be right, but that supporting membership gives them the right to ask whatever they want. It's the same deal with lowballers. Your item is listed for 50.00, you will surely get someone that sends a PM saying"I'll give you 35.00 shipped, and you put a $20.00 bill in the package along with it."
I weigh my desire to sell an item against the price I ask. I also put a little on top of the price so people can negotiate it down if they want to. I'm not going to put my lowest price in the ad, because people are going to want to negotiate it down from there, even if I say, "firm." Right now I have $1,000 item in the ads for $300. I also have a $300 item for $300 (it's part of a package right now, but ...). The first one I want to sell. The second one is rare, and I'm not as motivated to move it.
Yeah, that's a good one.
What always cracks me up is the ad's "set up intro". The seller starts off with one of the classic (and predictable
"I really hate to sell this, but..." (which is complete bullshite because if he didn't want to sell it, he wouldn't be placing an ad)
or
"It's just not getting the playtime it deserves..." (which is another way of saying "I just don't like this bass as much as my other basses")
or
"Gotta thin the herd..." (which means the same as above)
And then there's the all-time classic "FEELER" (which basically means "hey everyone, I just wanna see if I can find some schmuck that's dumb enough to pay me more than my item is worth, otherwise forget it").
It would be a breath of fresh air to just see the seller say "here is what is for sale:" and describe the item. Spare us the sob stories.
Not always. I hated to sell my Modulus and Precision but I needed the money for a 5'er.
Likewise with thinning the herd, when I had 15 basses sitting around I NEEDED to thin the herd even though every bass was a keeper. I just couldn't justify keeping everything when I could only play one at a time. It wasn't that I didn't like them; it was that I seriously couldn't play more than one at a time, and I didn't have the space just to keep them around.
And feelers for me are a way to actually feel out if I really want to sell something or not. Sometimes (like the case with my SS1) I didn't know if I wanted to keep a bass that I didn't like the sound of (which could be changed) even though I loved how it felt. I ended up getting rid of it for a price that I could live with and not have to worry about the hassle of upgrading the pups.
Sometimes those are legit things to say. Not always, but they can be.
Click the link in my signature an tell me if I broke any rules.
Seriously, I'm not sure I want to sell it. I mean I don't *have* to sell it... But I'm not in a position to buy a couple other basses I've been wanting to try out and still keep the one for sale. Wish I could. So something has to go.
So aren't some of the disclaimers OK at some times?
Seriously, I'm not sure I want to sell it. I mean I don't *have* to sell it... But I'm not in a position to buy a couple other basses I've been wanting to try out and still keep the one for sale. Wish I could. So something has to go.
So aren't some of the disclaimers OK at some times?
Click the link in my signature an tell me if I broke any rules.
Just for sake of discussion, I'd say that you dropped your price too early. If I see a price drop on day one or two, I'd hold out for some more price drops. Just an opinion.
The best deals are win-win deals. Both parties are happy. If one part is not happy, it's not a good deal.
cybersnyder said:
Awww shoot... Bummer. Well I'm not lowering again any time soon.
learned my lesson.
Awww shoot... Bummer. Well I'm not lowering again any time soon.
I don't know if anyone else thinks like that, but that's my train of thought. Just edit your post to reflect the new price instead of listing it as a lower price.
