Public Service Announcement about selling basses.

[Axtman]

If you are planning to sell a bass please do the following:

1) Make sure the damn thing works.
2) Clean off all the sticky sticker residue and crap off the body, neck and fingerboard.
3) Put fresh strings on the bass.
4) Set the action to medium.
5) Clean the crackly pots.
6) Polish the pickguard.
7) Make sure to include a case or at least gig bag.

If you want to go that extra step on a non-vintage instrument.

8) Remove rust on hardware.
9) Replace broken or damaged hardware.
10) Replace rusted screws (pickguard, pickup, tuner, etc.) with new.
11) Level and polish the frets.

I bought a bass today and it was a mess! I talked the seller down in price because of all the issues.

 

[placedesjardins]

If you are planning to sell a bass please do the following:

1) Make sure the damn thing works.
2) Clean off all the sticky sticker residue and crap off the body, neck and fingerboard.
3) Put fresh strings on the bass.
4) Set the action to medium.
5) Clean the crackly pots.
6) Polish the pickguard.
7) Make sure to include a case or at least gig bag.

If you want to go that extra step on a non-vintage instrument.

8) Remove rust on hardware.
9) Replace broken or damaged hardware.
10) Replace rusted screws (pickguard, pickup, tuner, etc.) with new.
11) Level and polish the frets.

I bought a bass today and it was a mess! I talked the seller down in price because of all the issues.

I wouldn't care for new strings as I am a gauge snob of sorts, if you want to call it that. I'm just going to remove the existing strings anyway, regardless of condition, unless you install the same gauge strings I do.

 

[Axtman]

In my case, the strings were so dull that I could not tell if the treble control on the preamp on the bass worked!

Oh I forgot

12) Tune the bass!

 

[/\/\3phist0]

If you are planning to sell a bass please do the following:

1) Make sure the damn thing works.
2) Clean off all the sticky sticker residue and crap off the body, neck and fingerboard.
3) Put fresh strings on the bass.
4) Set the action to medium.
5) Clean the crackly pots.
6) Polish the pickguard.
7) Make sure to include a case or at least gig bag.

If you want to go that extra step on a non-vintage instrument.

8) Remove rust on hardware.
9) Replace broken or damaged hardware.
10) Replace rusted screws (pickguard, pickup, tuner, etc.) with new.
11) Level and polish the frets.

I bought a bass today and it was a mess! I talked the seller down in price because of all the issues.

I love lazy sellers. All the things listed is how I turn a profit flipping basses.
I have paid 300.00 for a filthy neglected bass....
Spent a few hours polishing and fixing one afternoon. Threw in a 15.00 gig bag and sold it for 950 the next day and that was a fair price for this bass (average resell on it is 12-1300)
So sellers please ignore the advice, continue to be lazy slobs who just want to dump their victims for cut rate prices because you can't be bothered to wipe off the dust and fingerprints..
Heck I see ads with basses with missing strings...
Strings wound backwards on tuning pegs..
Stickers... house paint!
A little elbow grease a good setup 30.00 of strings and 200.00 500.00 or more in profit...
Ignore the previous post please

 

[placedesjardins]

In my case, the strings were so dull that I could not tell if the treble control on the preamp on the bass worked!

Oh I forgot

12) Tune the bass!

That's not good. At least cleaning the strings would bring some zing back. Minimal effort to do that.

 

[SamJ]

If you are planning to sell a bass please do the following:

1) Make sure the damn thing works.
2) Clean off all the sticky sticker residue and crap off the body, neck and fingerboard.
3) Put fresh strings on the bass.
4) Set the action to medium.
5) Clean the crackly pots.
6) Polish the pickguard.
7) Make sure to include a case or at least gig bag.

If you want to go that extra step on a non-vintage instrument.

8) Remove rust on hardware.
9) Replace broken or damaged hardware.
10) Replace rusted screws (pickguard, pickup, tuner, etc.) with new.
11) Level and polish the frets.

I bought a bass today and it was a mess! I talked the seller down in price because of all the issues.

I would say it's sad that you have to state the obvious, but I've found that you are right, 50% or more of the people on here don't take anywhere near the OCD level of care for their instruments that I do.

I just sold 3 different basses in a period of 1 week, all in better condition than 95% of the instruments you'll ever see hanging up as new at a music store.

 

[bass10bfb]

I love lazy sellers. All the things listed is how I turn a profit flipping basses.
I have paid 300.00 for a filthy neglected bass....
Spent a few hours polishing and fixing one afternoon. Threw in a 15.00 gig bag and sold it for 950 the next day and that was a fair price for this bass (average resell on it is 12-1300)
So sellers please ignore the advice, continue to be lazy slobs who just want to dump their victims for cut rate prices because you can't be bothered to wipe off the dust and fingerprints..
Heck I see ads with basses with missing strings...
Strings wound backwards on tuning pegs..
Stickers... house paint!
A little elbow grease a good setup 30.00 of strings and 200.00 500.00 or more in profit...
Ignore the previous post please

I TOTALLY AGREE with this. I spent $675 on a bass and hardshell case. I put a little love into it after it had been neglected for probably 15 years or so. Cleaned it up and only extra money spent was a new set of strings. I sold it for $1,400. I will take a bass like that all day long if it has potential. Don't get me wrong; if the bass is only worth 150 bucks new, I would not do that. But if I see something I really want or one I can sell then I jump on it. I really wanted that one for myself but had to sell it at the time. Great deal though for sure.[/QUOTE]

 

[Bass master Burt man]

I agree with placedesjardins about the new strings. I am very picky on gauge brand and type of strings I use so unless you have exactly what I want I'm gonna take them off right after buying it. I hate how people advertise they put new strings on like they did me a favor. Cuz it's clearly hard work. And sometimes expect a little extra $$$ for their inevitable investment. As 3phist0 stated though you can really get a good deal off of lazy sellers. I always look for good deals like that.

 

[Baird6869]

I am not a germaphobe at all but I always change the strings that came with a used bass. Just kinda gross IMO not to.

As for the other items the OP mentioned, I don't care about many of them if they were disclosed and the price reflects it. On a bass called "mint" or in perfect working order, I would be p!$$ed.

 

[Maxdusty]

I love lazy sellers. All the things listed is how I turn a profit flipping basses.
I have paid 300.00 for a filthy neglected bass....
Spent a few hours polishing and fixing one afternoon. Threw in a 15.00 gig bag and sold it for 950 the next day and that was a fair price for this bass (average resell on it is 12-1300)
So sellers please ignore the advice, continue to be lazy slobs who just want to dump their victims for cut rate prices because you can't be bothered to wipe off the dust and fingerprints..
Heck I see ads with basses with missing strings...
Strings wound backwards on tuning pegs..
Stickers... house paint!
A little elbow grease a good setup 30.00 of strings and 200.00 500.00 or more in profit...
Ignore the previous post please

I agree.... I traded a $100 bass for that Schecter Elite in my user pic. It was dirty and supposedly, the neck pickup didn't work. Fair trade, but it turns out the pickup didn't work because it was unplugged! Somehow, the connector wasn't plugged into the pickup -noticed it when I was in the process of removing it. The owner was playing the bass for several years like this !
It took all of 3 seconds to fix and with cleaning and polishing, I got much more bass than for what I traded for it. Got to love these trades and sales.

 

[smperry]

Some of these tips could also be considered "Tips to not giving up on a great bass." I'm pretty sure I flipped some good basses that just needed new strings (or better strings for my tastes) and a better setup back in the day. Now I don't sell anything.

 

[deepestend]

I have an old 80's L2000 that I'd like to sell, but it has some minor issues that I just don't want to pass off on anyone else! Good list.

 

[bholder]

If you are planning to sell a bass please do the following:

1) Make sure the damn thing works.
2) Clean off all the sticky sticker residue and crap off the body, neck and fingerboard.
3) Put fresh strings on the bass.
4) Set the action to medium.
5) Clean the crackly pots.
6) Polish the pickguard.
7) Make sure to include a case or at least gig bag.

If you want to go that extra step on a non-vintage instrument.

8) Remove rust on hardware.
9) Replace broken or damaged hardware.
10) Replace rusted screws (pickguard, pickup, tuner, etc.) with new.
11) Level and polish the frets.

I bought a bass today and it was a mess! I talked the seller down in price because of all the issues.

But hey, look at another way - for the trouble of some chatting, the seller saved a bunch of work, basically offloading it on you for the price of the discount. Seems like a fair trade-off to me, depending on the $ and work involved. If half an hour's work can save me a few bucks, depends on how few...

 

[bholder]

I have an old 80's L2000 that I'd like to sell, but it has some minor issues that I just don't want to pass off on anyone else! Good list.

Easy - "here's the list, here's the corresponding discount, take or leave" all in how you word it.

 

[deepestend]

Easy - "here's the list, here's the corresponding discount, take or leave" all in how you word it.

I feel two ways about it. 1), just do exactly what you said but 2) a part of me hates passing my problems along to other people.

Then again... I shouldn't hold onto things I'm not gonna use either.

 

[Gorn]

I'll clean a bass and disclose any issues or minor things that need repair, but you're suggesting restoring a bass to new condition before daring to sell it. Leveling frets? Replacing hardware? Only shipping with a case or gigbag? Sure these are things you can do and you can charge accordingly for it, but I wouldn't say they're a requirement for each and every bass being sold. I honestly disclose any issues and sell the bass at a price that reflects it's condition and value. The buyer will know if pots need to be cleaned, hardware replaced, frets leveled and it would be up to him to do that.

 

[mmbongo]

I noticed you didn't mention 'put on clothes before taking pictures of your reflective bass' so I'm good!

 

[G On Bass]

If you are planning to sell a bass please do the following:
3) Put fresh strings on the bass.
4) Set the action to medium.

I always put old strings on every bass I have ever sold, usually the ones that come on a new or new-to-me bass, and I don't expect any seller to put new strings on. The first thing I do is swap strings so, IMHO, there is no point in spending money on something the new buyer is going to change anyway. Setting action is relative to whatever strings the user uses so....

If you are planning to sell a bass please do the following:

11) Level and polish the frets.

Not everyone is a tech and fret leveling can run $100 or more. Expecting a seller to pony up for level frets on budget basses is unrealistic. Top quality basses, where the cost could potentially be absorbed, shouldn't need it.

IMHO, just being up-front, honest and truthful about whatever issues a buyer can expect should be enough. I don't think too many people specifically seek out basses with old sticker gunk on it so it should at least be cleaned some...

 

[DWBass]

If you are planning to sell a bass please do the following:

1) Make sure the damn thing works.
2) Clean off all the sticky sticker residue and crap off the body, neck and fingerboard.
3) Put fresh strings on the bass.
4) Set the action to medium.
5) Clean the crackly pots.
6) Polish the pickguard.
7) Make sure to include a case or at least gig bag.

If you want to go that extra step on a non-vintage instrument.

8) Remove rust on hardware.
9) Replace broken or damaged hardware.
10) Replace rusted screws (pickguard, pickup, tuner, etc.) with new.
11) Level and polish the frets.

I bought a bass today and it was a mess! I talked the seller down in price because of all the issues.

Hmmm.....that's asking a whole lot. For a high end bass, I can see asking for the above. If you're asking for new strings and a case/gig bag....that's gonna cost extra unless otherwise specified by the seller. If I'm doing all the rest...then the price goes up! I agree, it should work! If the bass you got was a mess, that's the seller's fault for not divulging any issues regarding the bass. Some sellers don't get it. Some sellers are very vague in describing what they're selling. Some sellers intentionally withhold info. It's a gamble for sure.

 

[Awesome Sauce]

a part of me hates passing my problems along to other people.

It's not really *your* problem, it's the bass's. As long as you're upfront about it, it's not really an issue. Do you still own every car you've ever bought? :wink: