Resale....why such a hassle??

[dbsfgyd1]

Anyone else find selling used gear to be a total pain in the patoot? Lots of insane low balls and ridiculous trade offers. It's not 2002 anymore. Or 1987 for that matter. Prices have gone up. Maybe it's just where I live, maybe there's just not much of a market. But boy is it a hassle.

Same old story. Nobody wants to pay for anything anymore. Everything from free music over the internet, BOGOs at the grocery, to healthcare. You’re just seeing it hit home?

I have a pet theory about this, but this isn’t the site for it. Besides, to discuss it would likely get me banned.

 

[Blaze Barlow]

Anyone else find selling used gear to be a total pain in the patoot? Lots of insane low balls and ridiculous trade offers. It's not 2002 anymore. Or 1987 for that matter. Prices have gone up. Maybe it's just where I live, maybe there's just not much of a market. But boy is it a hassle.

I think it has more to do with new gear being offered at stores with 15 to 20% off coupons..with 0 interest..and a return policy if you dont like what you buy..and you can trade in your unwanted stuff..plus..there is lots of used stuff for sale everywhere..its essentially a buyers market..so you need to take care if you buy something..if you pay too much..or not..you better like what you buy..

 

[Snakeman1066]

I have had 4 basses listed on various sites for months that are at least $100.00 less than the majority of listings for the same item...no takers...either the market is flooded or it's a true buyers market

 

[jeff62]

I disagree that value is ultimately set by the buyer. While it's true that anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay, the value is ultimately set by the seller. If the seller doesn't like the offer, they do not have to accept it. If they accept a low ball offer, they are dictating the market, not the buyer.

I have found it more difficult to sell gear in the last couple of years than I did 5 or 10 years ago. I think the main reason is that fewer people are playing instruments and the market is flooded with used gear.

Well, you’re wrong. *Asking price* is set by the seller. The value of what you’re selling is set by what someone is actually willing to pay for the item. And there’s the crux of this thread... too many sellers ask too much (then complain when it doesn’t sell or they get lower offers, lowball excluded). Value is influenced by many factors, but ultimately is just what a buyer is willing to pay.

 

[pcake]

i see this with cameras a lot, too. there are guys all over craigslist - i'm in los angeles, btw - who are asking brand new prices for used cameras, some of them several years old. some of those listings have been up for months, and no wonder! and i'm currently trying to sell an older DSLR with lens and stuff, and when i listed it at $350, i heard from 2 guys offering $100, which is stupid low. my guess is sometimes they want to resell the items.

btw, i've sold a few things to guys who originally hit me with insanely low offers. i replied courteously thanks but that's lower than i'm willing to go, and we ended up at a price i was happy with because my listing prices always leave room for negotiation. i have friends who are grossly insulted by lowball offers who fire off angry emails to the offerer, but i don't take it personally - everyone wants a deal if it's possible. it only takes 30 seconds to email them back thanks for your offer but no thanks.

 

[jwr]

It all depends on what you're selling. If you have something run of the mill produced a billion times, and it's cheap, it'll probably sell fast (or not depending on how many other people are selling at the same time). If it's expensive as all get out, it can sit for months sometimes.

I've listed things, kind of gave up and forgot about them then get hit up 6 months later with an offer. It just depends. People don't always have money to spend unfortunately.

 

[Son of Wobble]

i see this with cameras a lot, too. there are guys all over craigslist - i'm in los angeles, btw - who are asking brand new prices for used cameras, some of them several years old. some of those listings have been up for months, and no wonder! and i'm currently trying to sell an older DSLR with lens and stuff, and when i listed it at $350, i heard from 2 guys offering $100, which is stupid low. my guess is sometimes they want to resell the items.

btw, i've sold a few things to guys who originally hit me with insanely low offers. i replied courteously thanks but that's lower than i'm willing to go, and we ended up at a price i was happy with because my listing prices always leave room for negotiation. i have friends who are grossly insulted by lowball offers who fire off angry emails to the offerer, but i don't take it personally - everyone wants a deal if it's possible. it only takes 30 seconds to email them back thanks for your offer but no thanks.

There are indeed a lot of gear-flippers on Craigslist here in LA. "Two hundred dollars less" offers are common even on reasonably-priced items, as these flippers try to leverage to get something with more meat on the bone.

Your point about devaluation of electronics is a good one, and should make guitar-heads feel slightly better by comparison. For that matter, a techie maven of mine has had every version of the Mac from the beginning, literally tens of thousands in gear he ended up putting in the recycling bin. I'm already on my fifth computer of this century myself!

 

[Clef_de_fa]

here you have to sell at 25% or less.

One friend called me today to brag that I got a 4k guitar for less than 1k

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I started playing in the early 90's and imo, used gear (and gear in general) was more expensive back then. Now we got better options as well.

 

[Jscriv]

View attachment 3090141




by the time i'm selling something (mostly audio) i don't want/need it. so it's usually a case of what can i get for someone to take it off my hands? while instruments can be different: how much do you really want it gone (albeit for money)?

I'm not the guy who paid 550 for a bass and expects to get 500 back a year later. But I would expect 300-350 if it's dead mint and already set up. A squier bullet or 100 cash seems absurd, no? That's the kinda stuff I m talking about.

 

[Hambone70]

I use this in my favor. I buy new, and try not to buy anything that I intend to sell. Depreciation is a fact of life, especially in the electronics/technology world.

And it has never been easier to thoroughly research any potential new purchase beforehand.

 

[Jscriv]

I'd like to thank the people with snippy/condescending comments.......betcha I know your negotiation tactics! No matter what you say...offering 25% of fair market asking price is plain out disrespectful. Sorry

 

[soulman969]

Nothing I like better than a good glut.

LOL Yeah, good time to be a buyer but not so much to be a seller.

 

[Acoustic356]

I tend to do the research on what the market price is at the moment. This can be done by looking at what has sold, where people have made offers, the average price. While nothing that I have listed has ever sold on Talkbass, things usually sell within 1 week on Reverb.

Although people make offers, I usually get what I need to even after the fees are taken out. I listed 4 basses earlier this month, sold 3... chose to keep for Fodera until there is an uptick in the selling prices of Fodera's... maybe closer to Christmas time.

 

[wyleeboxer]

Lately I won’t buy any bass unless I get it for an extremely low price AND only if I’m thinking that I may end up keeping it! If I don’t get the money on it that I’m looking for when I go to flip it then it’s just a good excuse for me to keep a bass that I really wanted in the first place
Happened recently with USA Schecter Jazz I got on eBay because the listing was sorta inaccurate.. so no one really knew what it was worth, got it dirt cheap. I really want to keep it but I listed in the classifieds to see what happens? But either way it’s a win win for me and that’s how I have to purchase these days..

 

[Jscriv]

Lately I won’t buy any bass unless I get it for an extremely low price AND only if I’m thinking that I may end up keeping it! If I don’t get the money on it that I’m looking for when I go to flip it then it’s just a good excuse for me to keep a bass that I really wanted in the first place
Happened recently with USA Schecter Jazz I got on eBay because the listing was sorta inaccurate.. so no one really knew what it was worth, got it dirt cheap. I really want to keep it but I listed in the classifieds to see what happens? But either way it’s a win win for me and that’s how I have to purchase these days..

I acquired an EBMM sterling like that. But on CL. Seller was asking 500 and was about 2 hours away. So drove on out there as fast as I could

 

[Son of Wobble]

Lately I won’t buy any bass unless I get it for an extremely low price AND only if I’m thinking that I may end up keeping it! If I don’t get the money on it that I’m looking for when I go to flip it then it’s just a good excus for me to keep a bass that I really wanted in the first place
Happened recently with USA Schecter Jazz I got on eBay because the listing was sorta inaccurate.. so no one really knew what it was worth, got it dirt cheap. I really want to keep it but I listed in the classifieds to see what happens? But either way it’s a win win for me and that’s how I have to purchase these days..

+1

We ourselves are the "lowball buyer" because that's where the market is at.

I got a FSR Precision in natural Ash off L.A. Craigslist a couple years ago. I told the seller, "I need another Fender like I need a hole in the head.... But I WANT a natural finish. Your listed price of $325 is not low enough to twist my arm. What's the lowest price you'll take? If you can do better, I'll take it." The guy came back at $265 and I drove right over.
Turns out he had just gotten a BEAUTIFUL Fullerton Precision, an had no need for a backup.

But more to my point, I could NOT have rationalized buying it without it being a value price that would assure me future flip if need be. And that's where a lot of guitar and bass owners are at -- you and me and other guys here, too.

 

[B-Lo]

My problem is very few understand the concept of haggling anymore. Sellers should always expect a haggle and set the starting price higher than what they'd expect to sell, with the expectation being it'll get haggled down to a price they're happy with. The first offer is a throw away to gauge how much the seller is willing to move. If a guy asks $500 for a bass, I'll offer $250. If he counters with $490 then I'll know he's not willing to move much. If he responds $400, then I'll know there's some wiggle room. I've gotten many great deals this way in the past, especially on eBay. More recently I've noticed more and more sellers walk away after one offer, not even willing to haggle. It's strange to me because the whole point of the Make An Offer feature is to make offers and counter offers. If you're not willing to haggle, don't let people make offers.

I totally get what you're saying, but if someone offers half of my asking price for any item, I immediately throw them in the "I can't take them seriously" category and I ignore them from there.

I consider half my asking price as being a low ball and I'll shut down any further negotiations.

The stuff I sell on CL, Ebay, LetGo, etc. is always priced competitively, so if the buyer really wants it, they'll come back with a realistic offer after I've I've ignored them. We can then haggle from there.

 

[wyleeboxer]

+1

We ourselves are the "lowball buyer" because that's where the market is at.

I got a FSR Precision in natural Ash off L.A. Craigslist a couple years ago. I told the seller, "I need another Fender like I need a hole in the head.... But I WANT a natural finish. Your listed price of $325 is not low enough to twist my arm. What's the lowest price you'll take? If you can do better, I'll take it." The guy came back at $265 and I drove right over.
Turns out he had just gotten a BEAUTIFUL Fullerton Precision, an had no need for a backup.

But more to my point, I could NOT have rationalized buying it without it being a value price that would assure me future flip if need be. And that's where a lot of guitar and bass owners are at -- you and me and other guys here, too.

There’s no guarantee when you buy off CL or online especially. You may end up with a lot of gear you bought just to try out to see if it works for you but may end up with way too much stuff that doesn’t work cuz you can’t get close to what you paid for it.. where’s the fun in that, gotta be a bit shrewd to keep doing it

 

[Bassbubble11]

I have a few things up for sale locally. I am moving into smaller house and priced the stuff really low to just get rid of it. Not one bite on anything. I am at a point where I might just give it to charity.