Is Guitar Center Serious? $210 trade value for Ampeg SVT III Pro?

[tbasstreble11]

If you have nice mint condition gear by all means sell it directly to sombody who would appreciate it.


Now on the other hand if you have gear with some annoying but not obvious problem.... something that would be difficult to sell to another player... often you can use guitar centers ignorance/laziness against them and actually get a good deal

Haha yep. I took an old Cort 5 string in a couple years back (to Cash Converters: Oz equivalent) that had developed an atrocious buzz on the first three frets. I was clueless and tried filing the buzzing frets down, which didn't fix it, and spread the buzzing up to several more frets! I timed it perfectly and went in on the day the 'guy who usually does the guitars' had off, and the bloke I did deal with plugged it in, plucked the E-string ONCE, and said "yep, that's about the extent of my ability - it works" and he laughed at his joke and I laughed at his ignorance and he offered me $125 - I said come on mate, make it $135 with the case (which was rubbish and wayyy oversized), and he checked with the manager who was in a good mood and we had a deal I sincerely hope whoever bought it later either realised it and talked them down on it, or had some bad karma

 

[lokikallas]

Assuming it was in decent cosmetic condition and perfect working order I would expect 400$ on TB or CL. At 350$ it would sell faster, and at 325$ it would sell fairly quickly. 1000$ new?
Yeah, but you'd be a sucker to pay that, when so many perfectly good used ones can be found.

 

[Dave W]

^^^yup

 

[hdracer]

Assuming it was in decent cosmetic condition and perfect working order I would expect 400$ on TB or CL. At 350$ it would sell faster, and at 325$ it would sell fairly quickly. 1000$ new?
Yeah, but you'd be a sucker to pay that, when so many perfectly good used ones can be found.

If he sold it here at $325 for a fast sale he would have the PP fees and shipping. What's shipping on a 35-40 pound full size amp?
He would end up with $40-50 more then GC offered him on the spot with no listing and shipping hassles.

 

[will33]

Guess I'm outta the loop, or have been fine with my rigs. I didn't know the II-Pro was discontinued.
I always liked that amp, IMO a tone giant-Emphasis on "giant" considering what SMPS etc have done since the II PRO was intro'd.

IIRC, these were in the 2K range brand new. I couldn't find a NOS on E-Bay, so I don't know what current market may be.

Of course you have to consider that GC buys their new gear at a considerably lower price point than they sell if for.
If the II PRO still was in production, they would probably pay about $1200 for it new in box; maybe less.

Used, value of everything goes down except the rare and vintage, etc.

Of course they tried to low-ball you, they know you want/need to sell, and as great as it is, that amp is a niche item.
Not every player needs or wants it and it is bulky!

When I moved not too long back, I tendered several basses for them to buy. They sent me back a spreadsheet showing what they would sell the gear in-store for, and offered me that - 30%.

Fair enough- I would have only been able to hope to sell for more to a private party. This way-Done.
Good luck with selling or keeping the II-Pro. Sooner or late, someone may grab it up from you at a better price.

Amp in question here is the III-Pro ( 3-Pro ). Solid state power section with tube preamp. Probably Ampegs best seller during the '90's as far as bass amps go, or at least there certainly are a lot of them out there.

Here locally on craigslist I could get one for $300-$350 with a little patience. $400-$450 if I wanted it right now.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Yeah I think people only took them in because of the discount that they PREVIOUSLY offered all the time. Used to be you could get 10-15% off and do financing, but my local one in Houston told me that the trade-in discount is only applying on special weekends now, and even then you CANNOT do a financing offer while getting the price discounted on new gear. Long story short, this is actually going to be the last time I buy from Guitar Center if I have a place I can get things shipped to by Sweetwater or Musicians Friend. Sweetwater's financing deals now are smoking Guitar Center like a cheap cigarette.

 

[Kmonk]

I'm a little suprised that their offer was that low. Last year I bought a used Eden 410XLT cab from a private seller for $350 and sold it to GC for $425. They sold it for $550.

 

[will33]

Yeah I think people only took them in because of the discount that they PREVIOUSLY offered all the time. Used to be you could get 10-15% off and do financing, but my local one in Houston told me that the trade-in discount is only applying on special weekends now, and even then you CANNOT do a financing offer while getting the price discounted on new gear. Long story short, this is actually going to be the last time I buy from Guitar Center if I have a place I can get things shipped to by Sweetwater or Musicians Friend. Sweetwater's financing deals now are smoking Guitar Center like a cheap cigarette.

As I understand it, the "trade in" really isn't a trade in, but a straight cash sale, which you can then use to fund whatever you're wanting to purchase...or just leave with the cash I suppose.

I didn't know about the 10%-15% thing, but I haven't bought anything other than strings at GC in a long time. Probably at least 10 years by now, maybe a little more.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

As I understand it, the "trade in" really isn't a trade in, but a straight cash sale, which you can then use to fund whatever you're wanting to purchase...or just leave with the cash I suppose.

I didn't know about the 10%-15% thing, but I haven't bought anything other than strings at GC in a long time. Probably at least 10 years by now, maybe a little more.

Yeah even as recent as last year, the rule of thumb was you brought in an item, they gave you a price that you could get in check form OR you could have the money put on a gift card which you could use to get a 10-15% discount on new gear if bought that day. It was a really good deal if you had a big ticket item that you could finance with their card.

I do need to make an amendment to my original statement, they drop the financing offer down to 6-months, regardless of what other deals they have on financing when you trade in. At any rate, it's enough to make me reduce my business with them down to used stuff only. No incentive to buy new gear off them since I have to pay tax and other places are doing financing deals that are even better.

 

[fishdreams]

Another option migh be a consignment sale. Store handles advertising and the sale and gives you a percentage of the sale price.

With instruments I think consignment is OK, but with amps and cabs, your gear gets too easily "borrowed for the weekend" by a friend of the store employee and so on.

 

[will33]

Yeah even as recent as last year, the rule of thumb was you brought in an item, they gave you a price that you could get in check form OR you could have the money put on a gift card which you could use to get a 10-15% discount on new gear if bought that day. It was a really good deal if you had a big ticket item that you could finance with their card.

I do need to make an amendment to my original statement, they drop the financing offer down to 6-months, regardless of what other deals they have on financing when you trade in. At any rate, it's enough to make me reduce my business with them down to used stuff only. No incentive to buy new gear off them since I have to pay tax and other places are doing financing deals that are even better.

The gift card discount thing seems like a nice deal. I'd think that'd be a good incentive for people to bring in their old stuff and buy new from them.

 

[Rusty G String]

I tried trading in a very clean Ampeg B2RE that I bought there about 2 years before. The first guy liked it, said it looked good, but then said his manager told him they aren't accepting any rack mountable bass amps. There used prices are all over the place. I bought a GK 400rb 2 years ago for $99. I use it every week cranked and it still rocks. They'll also sell that amp for $350. They also offered me $150 for my immaculate Ibby SR500. I walked it over to sam ash and they gave me $275. I window shop at GC and try to buy elsewhere.

 

[Mugre]

Does GC offer consignment? We tried it for a while. By time we cleaned it up, showed it, called back and forth with the negotiating, sent it back to a tech to be checked (losing out on $100 per hour repairs) and dealing with the people who thought that I should warranty it even though I made $35 dollars for selling it, it just wasn't worth the bother. We make more money using the space to store old gear to pull hard to find parts from.

To the OP, no, you shouldn't be insulted. You want $450 for it, find someone who wants to use it not flip it.

 

[Uncle Psychosis]

Don't know how it works in the US, but here in the UK shops have to pay the VAT when they sell second hand gear, so that knocks off 20% off what they can pay you straight away. By the time you factor in their profit and any other costs is easy to see why trade ins never get you a "good deal" in terms of the street price.

 

[JimmyM]

Makes me laugh to think that there are some folks who believe businesses shouldn't be in the business of making money.

 

[johnpbass]

With instruments I think consignment is OK, but with amps and cabs, your gear gets too easily "borrowed for the weekend" by a friend of the store employee and so on.

I'd be leary of that too in most situations theretheyare. I mentioned this in an earlier post but the store I do consignment with gives you a receipt with their proposed selling price and what your proceeds will be. They also post a pic and the selling price on their website.

 

[mpdd]

i go to the little hip gear store, they hook me up by selling the gear for the high ebay price and they take 20% consignment fee, ime gc is a bad scene unless you have a us fender that you got a really good deal on then you might only take a 25% hit

 

[Classic69]

Amp in question here is the III-Pro ( 3-Pro ). Solid state power section with tube preamp. Probably Ampegs best seller during the '90's as far as bass amps go, or at least there certainly are a lot of them out there.

Here locally on craigslist I could get one for $300-$350 with a little patience. $400-$450 if I wanted it right now.

Yeah, I caught my error myself, but forgave me!

Same set of "values" apply, I think 3-Pros go for about $1K new, so GC probably buys them for say $600 in the box.
So what they would offer is just that- what they offer!

 

[will33]

Yeah, I caught my error myself, but forgave me!

Same set of "values" apply, I think 3-Pros go for about $1K new, so GC probably buys them for say $600 in the box.
So what they would offer is just that- what they offer!

True. Typical wholesale-to-retail markup on pretty much any sort of musical stuff is typically 100%. Ampegs real tube stuff tends to retain higher value, here anyway, and deservedly so. I happen to like the 3-pro, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a typical 2-space rackmount leadsled like everybody has and they are plentiful, and thus can't command such a high price.

The SVT-2 is interesting. Perhaps one of Ampegs greatest amps, but doesn't retain the value an SVT does (outside of bass nerd crowds). Perhaps just because it's rackmount and has a graphic eq.

Perception is reality, as they say.

 

[Classic69]

True. Typical wholesale-to-retail markup on pretty much any sort of musical stuff is typically 100%. Ampegs real tube stuff tends to retain higher value, here anyway, and deservedly so. I happen to like the 3-pro, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a typical 2-space rackmount leadsled like everybody has and they are plentiful, and thus can't command such a high price.

The SVT-2 is interesting. Perhaps one of Ampegs greatest amps, but doesn't retain the value an SVT does (outside of bass nerd crowds). Perhaps just because it's rackmount and has a graphic eq.

Perception is reality, as they say.

Well. I can certainly include myself in the bass nerd crowd!

I had an SLM 3-Pro and for many years it was my working rig. Lots of slag against it here on TB-"not loud, heavy," etc. But I dug it! It had a very good DI that addressed volume concerns and I thought the tones-Including the Ultra-Low! were great. Same 5 (?) pre-amp tube front-end as the mighty SVT.
And I thought that the II-PRO was one of the killer rigs, like a Mesa 400 or Aguilar DB; a cleaner design of an SVT if you will.
But- the II & 3PRO series are both old news to the consumer that GC seeks- they being MarkBass exclusive dealers and all, and the direction of amps today is different.
Ampeg themselves is into the PF series, even giving it the Holy Grail PortaFlex name, saving the "real-deals" for the uber-high $$ Heritage crowd.

The trouble with any piece of used gear is that for one thing it's a Buyer's market, I wouldn't expect GC to pay fair market value.
The Store-sale price -30% that they gave me for my nice basses was OK with me; I posted some to CL with little results, except for the Rickenbackers. And even those- Potential buyers wanted to low-ball the price around too!