Not true. You can get an American Precision for around $1100 from most places and a Jazz for $1200.
They sell used here from $8-900 all day and night.
If you find a used one for $600 nab it and flip it.
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The "What Bass Keeps It's Value Best?" thread
- Thread starter EAdanikDG
- Start date
Not true. You can get an American Precision for around $1100 from most places and a Jazz for $1200.
They sell used here from $8-900 all day and night.
If you find a used one for $600 nab it and flip it.
Thinking about it I would say the worst for immediate resale is Music Man. They sell used for around to $850 but are $1500 and up new. It is almost a 50% hit.
That also means that Music Man is a really smart buy on the used market.
That also means that Music Man is a really smart buy on the used market.
the only basses that keep their values are rare ones. its supply and demand. you want to keep the value, buy one that is rare and not in production anymore. then the second part of this, is hope that some hotshot young guy comes along playing one and everyone will want one. see muse and the deep impact pedal. $500! obviously, you dont need one to have the other, but if you have a rare one that some young hotshot has, thats a double bonus! YOU could also be the young hotshot, that would help!
yeah rics in 03 and going out currently and buying a ric is about a $500 net difference in price but the used market pricing hasnt changed that much at all.
Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. Basses that people are so desperate to get their hands on that the price doesn't matter. The only two makers I can think of that fit into that catergory would be Wal, and also Carl Thompson. I think with either of those, you'd stand a chance of fllipping a brand new instrument straightaway for a profit, simply because there's so few of them around, and the waiting list for a new one is so long.
In terms of holding as opposed to increasing RIc definelty pops into my head first. I am certain I could get what I paid for mine new if I sold it now. Not more, but certainly not less. Boutiques IME don't really ohld them well at all. They probably wil over time, but not many people are talking about the "vintage" boutique market, they are talking about the used boutique market. Boutiques are like watches, certain names will command money as "vintage" and others don't have the draw. No one would pay for a 12 year old pentabuzz what they cost new., even factoring in inflation.
I know Ricks do keep their value very well.
My vintage ones are all worth considerably more than what I paid, and my new one is approximately worth the same.
Perhaps Sadowsky holds value well?
Not sure, there are usually few for sale used.
US made Laklands, too maybe?
I don't understand why a MM would be worth less used in mint condition than a similar new bass while others are percieved as worth more.
Perception only, no concrete reason as far as I can see.
My vintage ones are all worth considerably more than what I paid, and my new one is approximately worth the same.
Perhaps Sadowsky holds value well?
Not sure, there are usually few for sale used.
US made Laklands, too maybe?
I don't understand why a MM would be worth less used in mint condition than a similar new bass while others are percieved as worth more.
Perception only, no concrete reason as far as I can see.
Here I go with the financial analysis again.
The problem with any of these threads is that its really impossible to truly know what anything in the forums goes for. Usually there is a behind the scenes negotiation going on, so its hard to know what the actual outcome is unless you print the actual deal terms. Shipping, cases, etc are all terms. You can probably guess what the best case is for the seller (asking price), but not the worst case. So any ideas you have about valuation are probably skewed upwards. this becomes more of a problem in periods of recession, where sellers are more likely to negotiate.
If the difference in a 2008 Fender (for example) is $200 once you include terms, then it goes from a semi decent 'investment' to a bad one very quickly. I never think of any gear as an investment. The best you can hope for is to 'rent' it for a while if you plan on selling it later.
Right now, we are in a period of such manufacturing efficiency that its impossible to truly predict what large scale produced items will become valuable later. Many of the boutique builders will find their stuff valuable later on, but the catch 22 is that the more they make, the more people know them, the more demand, but also the more they produce (supply) meeting demand and keeping prices low.
tl;dr forums unreliable for bass valuation.
The problem with any of these threads is that its really impossible to truly know what anything in the forums goes for. Usually there is a behind the scenes negotiation going on, so its hard to know what the actual outcome is unless you print the actual deal terms. Shipping, cases, etc are all terms. You can probably guess what the best case is for the seller (asking price), but not the worst case. So any ideas you have about valuation are probably skewed upwards. this becomes more of a problem in periods of recession, where sellers are more likely to negotiate.
If the difference in a 2008 Fender (for example) is $200 once you include terms, then it goes from a semi decent 'investment' to a bad one very quickly. I never think of any gear as an investment. The best you can hope for is to 'rent' it for a while if you plan on selling it later.
Right now, we are in a period of such manufacturing efficiency that its impossible to truly predict what large scale produced items will become valuable later. Many of the boutique builders will find their stuff valuable later on, but the catch 22 is that the more they make, the more people know them, the more demand, but also the more they produce (supply) meeting demand and keeping prices low.
tl;dr forums unreliable for bass valuation.
You need to do a little bit of research.
A new American Standard P or J sells for only $200-250 more than used. a HWY1 may sell for $600 used, but it was only $800-900 new.
Buy a new $1199 Fender American Standard and a new $4499 Warwick Thumb NT... sell them in a year and tell me
P.S. Nothing against Warwick but very few basses beyond MIA Fenders, RICs, Gibson TBirds and a few of the boutiques (Sad Metros are a great example) have good resale.
+1. Plus, it's very difficult to remotely predict the future. Peavey notoriously has bad resale for their US models, but what happens if the factory closes?? Perhaps add that a few famous and popular people begin to use them, etc. Under this scenario, they could potentially jump in value.
Still, if you need to worry about resale, perhaps you can't afford the purchase you are planning to make and/or aren't 100% sure of what you want.
If you can't afford it, wait. If you're not sure what bass fits your style best, wait and play anything you can. Once both of these happen, just play what YOU love and forget the rest.
Lakland Skyline's. They sell new for between $1100 and $1400. They sell used between $850 to $1100. Most good condition ones seem to go for about $900.
