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Lowest Priced New Basses Ever??
- Thread starter FlaCharlie
- Start date
I’ve only used the eBay case system for eBay purchases. First thing is contact the seller, they usually want to avoid a case and remedy quickly.
I have only had to open a few cases in twenty years of buying from eBay. All were resolved.
I got 2 bases from Robhe
Even after 100s of people said it would never arrive, over and over and over again.......
Not available anymore!These may be the lowest priced basses ever. Totally insane!
$14.99 Exquisite Burning Fire Style Electric Bass Guitar Blue | eBay
$19.99 Exquisite Burning Fire Style Electric Bass Guitar Golden | eBay
With free shipping.
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
It’s like a guitar, but with thicker strings and larger string tension.
What the heck kind of international money laundering/basswood subsidy operation is this?
What the heck kind of international money laundering/basswood subsidy operation is this?
I've wondered about that. My guess is, it's made from a wood which can't be imported into the US.
Musical Instruments To Be Exempt From Restrictions On Heavily Trafficked Rosewood
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
I have shipping info for my package. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not expecting it to show up but I have no risk on my end. I can afford to sit on $60 for a month or two and I will get my money back if it doesn't arrive.
Might be the price they sell these basses to stores or importers. If it actually arrives i'll post pictures
You might be right on about that.
I remember rapping with the Fender rep about the $99 Chinese Squire guitars and he said something to the effect that Fender only paid $10-15 for them and they were in no way a 'loss leader'
Dang. I've bought a couple basses in the last few weeks (60s Kay short scale, 60s National, Peavey Milestone III, and an Ibanez SR590) and I don't think I want to tempt my luck. I'd hate for my wife to be arrested when she calls the paramedics and tries to convince them that I have a cracked skull because of coronavirus from my new Chinese bass which, um, was broken and bloody when I opened it. Sure do want one though. If I weren't completely out of physical room and wifely tolerance, I'd jump on one for these prices. Although almost all of them are gone now now anyway.
I'm dying to understand the story behind the economics of $17.99. Of course I ordered one (due next week). Then I got thinking though, this has to be below cost. Made we wonder, are these stolen or something? If what you're saying is true that would make me feel better. Does anyone else maybe who's worked in the industry have insight into this? Is the dude actually making a few pennies on every sale?
Based on my experience in manufacturing, if sales are down for any reason, eg COVID-19, then the manufacturer would rather take a loss on the stockpiled items so the throughput at the factory can be maintained.Anecdotally from people I know, many are reluctant to get anything from China because of the virus risk. This is my theory, but I doubt we'll ever know that actual truth.
For less than $20, I'm willing to roll the dice. I ordered a blue one on Monday. Inspired by @vid1900's original post, I contacted the seller and asked if I could have the baby blue instead of the cobalt blue in the listing. He replied, "Of course!" We'll see what happens.
Oh, I received a notice that it should arrive by March 14. The listing says it ships from NJ, but it's regular USPS without a tracking number. Since Vid actually received his from the same seller, I'm not concerned. As said elsewhere, it's $18 - who cares? That's less than a single dinner and a beer around here.
Oh, I received a notice that it should arrive by March 14. The listing says it ships from NJ, but it's regular USPS without a tracking number. Since Vid actually received his from the same seller, I'm not concerned. As said elsewhere, it's $18 - who cares? That's less than a single dinner and a beer around here.
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Nail = head. I think a lot of folks either forget or don't realise the incredible mark-up that often gets added to guitars between leaving the production line and arriving on your porch.
Usually many have added their 'bit' in between, often at 100% or even more. So it's not surprising really that an instrument that costs say $30 to manufacture in China can retail in the US or Europe for $300. We get used to paying those kind of prices for that 'level' of instrument, and when someone cuts a whole chunk of the 'handling' cost out of the process and the same '$30' bass can now be had for $75 we all cry 'foul', but in reality folks are still making money. Just not so much, and not so many of them.
I wonder if some 'manufacturer' may have ordered a large-ish run of of instruments from one of the Chinese factories, paid an up-front payment/deposit (which would have pretty much covered the production costs), then cancelled the order (because of market conditions?) therefore losing the deposit and leaving the factory with a heap of instruments that are pretty much already paid for in terms of costs, and the factory has unloaded the instruments to an exporter really cheaply just to get rid of them? Does that sound feasible? Or have I been on the drink again?
Nail = head. I think a lot of folks either forget or don't realise the incredible mark-up that often gets added to guitars between leaving the production line and arriving on your porch.
Usually many have added their 'bit' in between, often at 100% or even more. So it's not surprising really that an instrument that costs say $30 to manufacture in China can retail in the US or Europe for $300. We get used to paying those kind of prices for that 'level' of instrument, and when someone cuts a whole chunk of the 'handling' cost out of the process and the same '$30' bass can now be had for $75 we all cry 'foul', but in reality folks are still making money. Just not so much, and not so many of them.
I wonder if some 'manufacturer' may have ordered a large-ish run of of instruments from one of the Chinese factories, paid an up-front payment/deposit (which would have pretty much covered the production costs), then cancelled the order (because of market conditions?) therefore losing the deposit and leaving the factory with a heap of instruments that are pretty much already paid for in terms of costs, and the factory has unloaded the instruments to an exporter really cheaply just to get rid of them? Does that sound feasible? Or have I been on the drink again?
I could prob repost this several times a day in this thread.
From the seller, this is what he wrote:
View attachment 3731908
Thanks for putting up with us too lazy to have read your prior posts!
Attracting more buyers, i guess to up his seller profile. So when he sells stuff with more of a margin, people see his history. I guess its plausible.
It might be(I'm no expert) that China wants to get as much foreign currency as they can quickly before their production slows down on everything.
Basses are not the only Mondo too cheap to be believed items on eBay now.
Basses are not the only Mondo too cheap to be believed items on eBay now.
I suspect that this is all analogous to Japan in the sixties and early seventies, with a ton of new musical instrument factories springing up because the existing ones are running at capacity, expanding like crazy and making huge profits. Or outside of the high wage provinces, it could also be excess capacity from large, low end manufacturers. If your factory can turn out 10,000 guitars a month and you have contracts for 9,500, are you going to cut your workers' hours or make an extra five hundred to sell at lower margins? It's not like they have any particular name to devalue. With CNC equipment it's very cheap to crank out slightly different body designs for limited runs, and their huge scale means that components are extremely cheap to produce for a particular level of quality. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone involved is making a small profit, with the Chinese government picking up shipping and perhaps even subsidizing costs to drive other nations out of guitar manufacturing. China is very, very good at playing the long game. And while I'm trying not to purchase so much from China, I confess to a certain attraction to Chinese sellers, at least compared to American mega-corps who take advantage of that same cheap manufacturing base to drive huge profits and bloated bureaucracies. If I were sure of the quality, I'd prefer paying a hundred bucks directly to the Chinese for that $15 bass to paying a hundred bucks to an American company importing and rebadging it. If I'm going to reward Chinese workers, I'd prefer to do so directly without supporting the American suits who put their own workers out of jobs.
I'd like to be in on that.
