I'm not under 40 anymore, but debt scares the heck out of me, so much so, that 4 weeks from tomorrow, I won't have any debt or a CC.
I just reported this post for being offensive.
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Looking at used basses is just so depressing lately...
- Thread starter FishDub
- Start date
Great thread!
the one I noticed first was that Warmoth parts basses were going for $1200 on Reverb when you'd be lucky to get $5-600 for a bass made by someone with specific tastes trying to get some of their money back. And now, looking at the used market here and on Reverb and thank my lucky stars I have all I need.
the one I noticed first was that Warmoth parts basses were going for $1200 on Reverb when you'd be lucky to get $5-600 for a bass made by someone with specific tastes trying to get some of their money back. And now, looking at the used market here and on Reverb and thank my lucky stars I have all I need.
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I have to Fender 5 strings Jazz basses, both are active in the classifieds right now for 800 and 900 shipped...I call that pretty fair.
I totally agree that prices have gotten ridiculous - it's made me stop jonesing for any more instruments and learn to make the best use of what I have. One good bit of advice I got: when you are struck with GAS, instead of succumbing to it, set up and restring an instrument you already own. That's worked for me.
One example of insanely inflated prices I've seen are Fender Custom Shop basses, both new and used. It seems not long ago that used non-Masterbuilt ones were in the $2K range, and now they are generally close to double that amount. I guess buyers in the tech millionaire or wealthy hobbyist demographics will pony up for them, but now they are completely out of reach for working musicians.
One example of insanely inflated prices I've seen are Fender Custom Shop basses, both new and used. It seems not long ago that used non-Masterbuilt ones were in the $2K range, and now they are generally close to double that amount. I guess buyers in the tech millionaire or wealthy hobbyist demographics will pony up for them, but now they are completely out of reach for working musicians.
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Life is cyclical. You can deal with it and profit (find happiness), or complain about it and suffer. The choice is yours.
I never mentioned any government creating the conditions whereby it would he harder to spend more money you don't have. I never mentioned FORCING any company to do anything. You added 2+2 and came up with 75.
Talkbass: where you can come to talk 'bass' AND get excellent financial advice at the same time.
I stopped buying gear when Covid happened and my income was knocked to the floor. Now we have record inflation and record gas prices. So I'll be saving what I can, for gas, groceries and retirement, and enjoying the gear I acquired in better financial times and lamenting on TB about what used to be ...
Yeah there's actually a reason for those to be overvalued, though
Now that my gigging/going back to school/starting up in life days are over after multiple career changes and my job is secure, I decided to get back into bass playing in the last few weeks after selling everything I had amassed over the years to pay for bills. I was just flabbergasted about the state of the used market : basses that were sub 1k in 2017-2018 when I stopped playing are now often listed for double that. Plus the new market from the big brands (Fender/MusicMan) is just hella confusing to me : websites seem to not list where stuff is made anymore and the budget minded options that started to appear in the late 90's/early 00's are not so budget minded anymore (looking at you MIM Fenders for 1k+).
But at the same time, I remember paying thousand of dollars in the 90's for underpowered/underperforming amps and now it seems you can have a serious gigging rig for WAY less money (that is also portable) and the used prices for those old cabs are even lower than what I remember in the early 00's. You also still seem to be able to buy new entry level basses for $200-300$, just like you did in 1999 and I have no doubt that the quality is comparable if not better than the hot rebranded garbage we had at brick and mortar shops back then.
I just think that the period from the early 00's to just before the pandemic might have been the golden age of used bass buying : you still had a lot of sellers, but those sellers didn't always price as high as they could (or should) by looking on reverb/ebay, and you could still find deals in brick and mortar stores or pawn shops.
But at the same time, I remember paying thousand of dollars in the 90's for underpowered/underperforming amps and now it seems you can have a serious gigging rig for WAY less money (that is also portable) and the used prices for those old cabs are even lower than what I remember in the early 00's. You also still seem to be able to buy new entry level basses for $200-300$, just like you did in 1999 and I have no doubt that the quality is comparable if not better than the hot rebranded garbage we had at brick and mortar shops back then.
I just think that the period from the early 00's to just before the pandemic might have been the golden age of used bass buying : you still had a lot of sellers, but those sellers didn't always price as high as they could (or should) by looking on reverb/ebay, and you could still find deals in brick and mortar stores or pawn shops.
I'm in the "this is crazy" camp. As an economics professional, I understand the economic reasoning that one would argue... but that doesn't mean it's rational or right. Someone in the chat mentioned "irrational exuberance" and they were exactly right... this is market peak hysteria at its finest. Coincidentally, I was involved in conversation just today that perfectly exemplifies what is happening here. Absolutely nothing against the seller in this situation. Seams like a very good guy actually, and nothing against his methods or pricing... it's just a great example (I'll leave location and bass brand out of it for privacy). It goes as such...
- Bass listed around 2-4 weeks ago local at an already inflated price of $2,400.
- In a conversation at the time, says he's getting other offers for $2,000, which is already around $600-$800 more than recent going rates (or at least those from 8-12 months ago) , and doesn't want to sell to me or those other offers. Want's no less than list price.
- I look today and the listing is still up (I'll assume he hadn't got any offers at his list of $2,400 yet), but the price on the bass is now $2,800.
- I follow up today and ask what's happening here. A different bass perhaps?
- He says that he got his bass appraised at 2 places and they both told him that it should be no less than $3,000 and on Reverb.com they're selling for $3,200.
- So naturally he raised his price - - Yes after 3 weeks on the market with no suitable offers, the price went up, not down. (the law of demand is that as price goes up, demand goes down, not the other way around).
From $2,400 two weeks ago to $2,800 (potential $3k or $3.2k), that's an increase of 17% in two weeks (47% annualized). Not rational.
The thing is, that this is a 8 year old bass and the same model brand new is selling for $400 less than his new list price.
All the power to this person, again, seems like a great guy just working within the market. But the rationality behind all of it (as a market, not the person) is absolutely absurd!
Just remember folks that markets don't always go up, and the faster they go up, the faster they fall! Be careful out there everyone!
- Bass listed around 2-4 weeks ago local at an already inflated price of $2,400.
- In a conversation at the time, says he's getting other offers for $2,000, which is already around $600-$800 more than recent going rates (or at least those from 8-12 months ago) , and doesn't want to sell to me or those other offers. Want's no less than list price.
- I look today and the listing is still up (I'll assume he hadn't got any offers at his list of $2,400 yet), but the price on the bass is now $2,800.
- I follow up today and ask what's happening here. A different bass perhaps?
- He says that he got his bass appraised at 2 places and they both told him that it should be no less than $3,000 and on Reverb.com they're selling for $3,200.
- So naturally he raised his price - - Yes after 3 weeks on the market with no suitable offers, the price went up, not down. (the law of demand is that as price goes up, demand goes down, not the other way around).
From $2,400 two weeks ago to $2,800 (potential $3k or $3.2k), that's an increase of 17% in two weeks (47% annualized). Not rational.
The thing is, that this is a 8 year old bass and the same model brand new is selling for $400 less than his new list price.
All the power to this person, again, seems like a great guy just working within the market. But the rationality behind all of it (as a market, not the person) is absolutely absurd!
Just remember folks that markets don't always go up, and the faster they go up, the faster they fall! Be careful out there everyone!
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Two years ago I practically gave away my Fender Jazz Bass Special, the medium scale one, for 500. There's one on Reverb right now for 1500. That was a cool bass for the price, but no way I'd pay 1500 for it in any economy. The G-Bass was a great bass at 500 too, as is the T-40, but those prices have doubled since the beginning of the decade. I wonder if the pandemic spike in interest in musical instruments and the opportunistic pricing that followed it just hasn't entirely subsided yet.
Yes, it's scary isn't it?
Some years back I worked out how my wife's sister and her husband, (who both worked full time) could consolidate their depts and have more disposable income, as they were really struggling and over their heads. They were so relieved to get out from under their weekly struggle.
We lived in different cities and didn't see them after that for a few months, when we next visited them they both had brand new cars. Within weeks of getting out of trouble they'd decided that with some spare money each week they could trade in their perfectly good 3-4 year old vehicles on new ones. Strait back to maximum dept again!
I don't know how people sleep at night living like that, but they do.
