Is the BassConomy tanking?

[StayLow]

60% of retail has historically been the going rate for desirable used gear in good+ condition.

80% of retail for of-the-moment stuff on a gear addicts forum such as TB, during a historic credit bubble.

A bit < 50% of retail for a seafoam lined 5-string fretless bass… seems to me the seller did well given such a niche item.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Years ago i bought a clean used Dean Edge 5er fretless for under $100 and i happened to have the right Dean gigbag for it (dumb luck).

It was i think around $599 list, the pawn had it for a long time so it got marked down to likely what they paid...but, its a very nice bass i likely will never sell; neck and bridge humbucker, 35 scale but i capoed it to make it a shorty.

It sounds great...but who would want it? Still i will likely never sell it as i dont think i could replace it for low dough and it is a LOT of fun!

 

[Hawk256]

I have a friend that owns a music store and his experience has shown quite a down turn in values that started a couple of years ago. Instruments that were selling for $1200 now do good to bring $1000. Shouldn't be the way things are going and it is just one store but it seems to match with my personal experiences as well.

 

[nonohmic]

Bireli is a sissy? LOL

Now this thread is onto something!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

On the Basses Classified you have to go to page 8 to find a "Sold". There are a lot of "For Sales", but it looks like a lot of people are holding onto the inflated prices when there were significant supply side issues. Prices will come down. Another factor in play is that the tax return has become smaller as taxes haven't changed but withholdings dropped to make it appear like you are paying less in taxes. End result, smaller or no return and no or less of a "found cash" phenomenon around April 15th.

 

[LandWaterSky]

I've done a couple of things recently that have really helped me sell my gear.

The first is building my own website to showcase a large collection of electric, acoustic, jazz and bass guitars I'm selling. I'm no SEO wiz, but the site seems to be working. I get enquiries from legit buyers every day, and I'm selling a very nice Gibson ES-175 Steve Howe Signature (2006) this weekend for my asking price. My prices are competitive, in part, because I don't have to pay extra fees for eBay or Reverb.

The second strategy is taking many of my instruments, including some fine ones, to the guitar shop of a friend of mine. He's also a great luthier, so he gives all my guitars a once over (and performs minor fixes) before he puts one up on his wall, and he carefully monitors anyone who wants to play an instrument. For these nice services, and for displaying my guitars in his well-trafficked shop, I pay him 20% on each of my sales. I've sold 10 instruments with him over the last couple of months and everything has gone smoothly.

In this second scenario, I'm still coming out ahead when compared to the auction fees, massive shipping charges, and the general headache of Joe Q public on the auction sites.

Just a couple of strategies to consider.