Ok, this is a bit of a long one, but kind of a fun story imo. Also if this isn't in the right place, Mods, please feel free to move.
So, this all started about 4 years ago (late 2013). I bought a Washburn "Bantam" for $60CAD (from this point forward all $ will be CAD).
(sorry for crappy picture. I don't remember what crappy phone I had at this time)
I consider myself a handy guy. I've built a bass, and I do guitar/bass repairs on the side to make a couple bucks. I knew this Bantam would never be worth a whole lot but I knew I could get it worth more than I paid and I would have a fun project in the mean time. I started a thread for the project here ... but never actually finished it.
Here's what the final product looked like.
After I was done rebuiding this bass to be fretless, I played it for a while but then sold it in late 2015 for $200. A profit of $140 (I'm not counting my time because I do it because I enjoy the work)
A few months later I came across another deal on Kijiji (Canadian Craigslist). I bought this Squier 5 String P bass for $150 (NBD Post here) using the money from the Washburn sale.
This put me net -$10 but + a pretty cool bass. I played this for a couple years (along side my main bass <<<My profile pic) but was never a huge 5 string fan. So about a month ago, I decided to try my luck and see how much I could sell it for. I listed it on Kijiji for an offer to trade. I got an email almost right away asking how much I'd take cash. Well... I told him $280 thinking I'd settle at $250 if he haggled. Well he accepted at $280 and offered an additional $20 if I'd drop it off (at a location right along my daily commute). SOLD! And I'm now +$290 but without a decent backup bass.
So for my entire bass playing career (for lack of a better word) I've always had a fondness for the Godin Freeway basses. I was upset to hear that they had discontinued this line a number of years back. I was on the search, I had gone to look at a used one at a local Long & Mcquade (our Guitar Center) back in December but it was in very rough shape and I couldn't justify buying it in that condition. So, I continued my search, and even put up a wanted ad to try to find one. Then I found an ad for one about an hour drive from my place. The guy was asking $400. A little more than I wanted to spend so I offered $350 thinking this was fair. I could use the $300 I had and put in a few extra dollars. He accepted. The next week was spent trying to figure out a time for me to drive out to pick it up. During this time he sent me another email saying he had checked the bass out and noticed a couple issues.... uh oh. He said the output jack was sporadically not working and the tone pot was loose. Because of these issues he offered to drop the price to $280 if I was still interested. Ha... I can fix those in my sleep. Deal. We set a time, and just before I was about to leave he called me and said he was really sick and couldn't do the sale that day. I was upset and thought I lost the bass. But, he said he could meet me a week later to try again. And... he offered to drop the price to $250 for my inconvenience... Now's when I started thinking this is getting too good to be true. I went for the pickup a little nervous as to who would be showing up... but, to my relief he seemed like a really cool... super normal guy. And... I bought this bass for $250
(NBD Post here)
I'm ecstatic. I've wanted one of these for 10 years and got it. I know... it's not a holy grail of basses... but, it plays and sounds great. And seeing as I've built my own bass, which I love, I have no reason to buy a "Holy grail" bass... this suits me perfectly. And it's gorgeous.
So to recap.
-$60 for Washburn
Sold for $200
-$60+$200=$140
-$150 for Squire 5s
$140-$150=-$10
Sold for $300
-$10+$300=$290
-$250 for Godin
$290-$250=$40
So after 4 years I've come out with a sweet bass and made $40. Not too shabby.
Anyone else done anything similar?
So, this all started about 4 years ago (late 2013). I bought a Washburn "Bantam" for $60CAD (from this point forward all $ will be CAD).
(sorry for crappy picture. I don't remember what crappy phone I had at this time)
I consider myself a handy guy. I've built a bass, and I do guitar/bass repairs on the side to make a couple bucks. I knew this Bantam would never be worth a whole lot but I knew I could get it worth more than I paid and I would have a fun project in the mean time. I started a thread for the project here ... but never actually finished it.
Here's what the final product looked like.
After I was done rebuiding this bass to be fretless, I played it for a while but then sold it in late 2015 for $200. A profit of $140 (I'm not counting my time because I do it because I enjoy the work)
A few months later I came across another deal on Kijiji (Canadian Craigslist). I bought this Squier 5 String P bass for $150 (NBD Post here) using the money from the Washburn sale.
This put me net -$10 but + a pretty cool bass. I played this for a couple years (along side my main bass <<<My profile pic) but was never a huge 5 string fan. So about a month ago, I decided to try my luck and see how much I could sell it for. I listed it on Kijiji for an offer to trade. I got an email almost right away asking how much I'd take cash. Well... I told him $280 thinking I'd settle at $250 if he haggled. Well he accepted at $280 and offered an additional $20 if I'd drop it off (at a location right along my daily commute). SOLD! And I'm now +$290 but without a decent backup bass.
So for my entire bass playing career (for lack of a better word) I've always had a fondness for the Godin Freeway basses. I was upset to hear that they had discontinued this line a number of years back. I was on the search, I had gone to look at a used one at a local Long & Mcquade (our Guitar Center) back in December but it was in very rough shape and I couldn't justify buying it in that condition. So, I continued my search, and even put up a wanted ad to try to find one. Then I found an ad for one about an hour drive from my place. The guy was asking $400. A little more than I wanted to spend so I offered $350 thinking this was fair. I could use the $300 I had and put in a few extra dollars. He accepted. The next week was spent trying to figure out a time for me to drive out to pick it up. During this time he sent me another email saying he had checked the bass out and noticed a couple issues.... uh oh. He said the output jack was sporadically not working and the tone pot was loose. Because of these issues he offered to drop the price to $280 if I was still interested. Ha... I can fix those in my sleep. Deal. We set a time, and just before I was about to leave he called me and said he was really sick and couldn't do the sale that day. I was upset and thought I lost the bass. But, he said he could meet me a week later to try again. And... he offered to drop the price to $250 for my inconvenience... Now's when I started thinking this is getting too good to be true. I went for the pickup a little nervous as to who would be showing up... but, to my relief he seemed like a really cool... super normal guy. And... I bought this bass for $250
(NBD Post here)
I'm ecstatic. I've wanted one of these for 10 years and got it. I know... it's not a holy grail of basses... but, it plays and sounds great. And seeing as I've built my own bass, which I love, I have no reason to buy a "Holy grail" bass... this suits me perfectly. And it's gorgeous.
So to recap.
-$60 for Washburn
Sold for $200
-$60+$200=$140
-$150 for Squire 5s
$140-$150=-$10
Sold for $300
-$10+$300=$290
-$250 for Godin
$290-$250=$40
So after 4 years I've come out with a sweet bass and made $40. Not too shabby.
Anyone else done anything similar?
