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Looking at used basses is just so depressing lately...

#21
Nah, don't over analyze it. What is even more common in the used gear world is sellers sitting on gear for months even years. No one is getting what they are asking for on (Reverb, Ebay, CL etc) Even here on TB there are several in the classifieds that have been listed for 1-3 years.

I have gotten killer deals the past few years as sellers need buyers.
Someone just posted yesterday about how 'nobody' is buying.

Outside of a rare gems, it's not a sellers market, it's a sellers smoke screen that all companies and uneducated sellers are desperate to to try to maintain.
 
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#23
There's a green burst totally fake Ric that was in my feed today that I want and it's cheap-ish so there are exceptions. But legit basses are high now. Old Arias are nuts too. And suddenly there are hundred brands of fake Fender clones that are listed same as real ones.

I wonder if we'll reach the point where we are with pedals, used costs more than new even when new ones are still available.
 
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#26
Fortunately new mass produced instruments are high enough quality that buying used at inflated prices (and my god the shipping!) is no longer the safest and best route.

I have begun to wake up every day, count my blessings, wander around the house and play all my Basses and amps at least once, then mindlessly look at classifieds. I find that I waste a lot less time and mental energy, and my chops are improving! Being broke ain't all bad.
 
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#27
FishDub said:
Before I speak, no offense to my TB people. Its just so sad whats happening with USED pricing nowadays. I dont want this to get political please but I am just so discouraged with what the used pricing has turned into. So many examples to cite but:
A year ago--
800-900 for a US Fender P or J, now 1200-1800.
200-300 for a Squier CV p or J, now 500-600.
1800-2500 for an Alembic Spoiler, now...no comment.
2200-2800 for an XL/L2, now 3800-5k
1200-1400 for a Spector Euro 4, now 2k+
500-700 for a USA MMSub, now 1100-1200
I get these are asking prices and there are some good deals to be had, and I can go on and on but man this is getting ridiculous..
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Yeah... same thing for Warwick Rockbass Starbasses... i got one for 400€ second hand. Had to sell it for the same price 4 years ago cuz i needed the money. Have been looking for another one ever since then... but clearly can't afford one anymore...
 
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#28
The 3 basses I've bought recently are proving very good buys but yep, a few I've got my eye on are drifting into new price territory and therefore harder to justify. Fortunately, I dont need, just want..
 
#29
As much as we can say, "That's the state of the world. It's like that with everything. Cars, houses, you name it" it doesn't make it any less frustrating.

We're all tired of ALL the messy circumstances causing our dollar/peso/drachma/preferred-unit-of-currency to get us less than it did 5 years ago.

We get it. We know what's happening and why. Still doesn't make it any less frustrating. And sometimes, we just gotta vent about it. I feel like that might be what the OP is feeling, and if so I think all of us are feeling that on some level... unless we're making Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos level money.
 
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#31
FishDub said:
Before I speak, no offense to my TB people. Its just so sad whats happening with USED pricing nowadays. I dont want this to get political please but I am just so discouraged with what the used pricing has turned into. So many examples to cite but:
Click to expand...

I stopped by the local GC store last night with my wife. She thought about buying me an used instrument for practice, my birthday is in 2 weeks. $800 for a Fender Jazz MIM in good condition, when I point at the salesman about the Jazz Bass Plus Top new for $650 he completely forgot the used bass and focused in selling me that one. BTW, he was probably 19.
 
#32
Riff Ranger said:
I would add U.S. Peavey basses to your list. They strike me as a particularly egregious example since nearly all asking prices have doubled or even tripled, and an essential part of the attraction was that somehow they were made in the USA, good to very good (if not usually fancy), and affordable—that last bit really setting them apart from just about everything. For a while there, a T-40 seemed like a good candidate for a birth year bass (1980), but not at the prices sellers suddenly seem to expect.

I'd really like a 1980 Ric (having been born days before Ace of Spades) but I think that particular pricing ship set adrift from reality sometime ago.

This is almost purely a feeling, but it seems like asking prices on much of the bass gear I regularly check have calmed down a bit in recent weeks. I hope I'm not just getting used to ridiculous prices!
Click to expand...
Yes! G Basses have almost tripled!
 
#35
I bought a Landing bass I've lusted after since 2015 right here for 5 bucks more than what it cost in 2015. Jimmy has made basses in every conceivable configuration using only high end parts and they cost less than a new MIM Fender. The trick is to look for basses that have slipped under the hipness radar. Westone is another crazy good deal!
 
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#36
It's stupid. It's crazy. But people are paying these prices. I listed two pedals for sale on here and reverb (and got some…less than positive feedback on here about the price) but I saw the prices were up and said "these are not worth it to me if they sell they sell". Had them listed higher on reverb for few reasons. Took the listing down on here cuz I started using them but forgot about the reverb listing. Last week sold for asking price. IMO stupid but someone clearly thinks it's worth it
 

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