To those who sell your gear

[BassNeo]

I have spent the last couple of hours trolling for gear on Kijiji. The pickins are pretty good out there right now but I have one little rant to vent.

CLEAN YOUR GEAR BEFORE YOU LIST IT.

I saw a Fender Bassman that has rust on the transformers. Dude wants $400, I'm lowballing him at $200 because it looks like it's been stored in the titanic for the last 20 years.

A very nice Spector that has - no lie - enough dust on it the bass looks like it has been left in a hay barn for a year. This dude is likely going to reply with a price just under new and I'm going to lowball him too just out of spite for what he's done to the bass.

If you want people to (a) take you seriously and (b) consider paying you the asking price for your bass, at least take the strings off and wipe it down. For an extra 10 minutes you could take an old toothbrush and clean the crud out from the pickup cavities and the bridge. For the bonus you could take a compressed air can and blow out the pots so when someone like me tries it out they don't lose their hearing from the crackling..

Okay, rant over.

 

[CrashCarlisle]

I was trading in my car for a new one and the salesmen at the dealership told me that I would have gotten another $100 for my trade-in if it wasn't messy.

Without saying a word, I got up, drove to a car wash and cleaned it, then came back and handed him the keys. I also told him to add $100 to the trade in. He did.

 

[Stumbo]

I have spent the last couple of hours trolling for gear on Kijiji. The pickins are pretty good out there right now but I have one little rant to vent.

CLEAN YOUR GEAR BEFORE YOU LIST IT.

I saw a Fender Bassman that has rust on the transformers. Dude wants $400, I'm lowballing him at $200 because it looks like it's been stored in the titanic for the last 20 years.

A very nice Spector that has - no lie - enough dust on it the bass looks like it has been left in a hay barn for a year. This dude is likely going to reply with a price just under new and I'm going to lowball him too just out of spite for what he's done to the bass.

If you want people to (a) take you seriously and (b) consider paying you the asking price for your bass, at least take the strings off and wipe it down. For an extra 10 minutes you could take an old toothbrush and clean the crud out from the pickup cavities and the bridge. For the bonus you could take a compressed air can and blow out the pots so when someone like me tries it out they don't lose their hearing from the crackling..

Okay, rant over.

For the Tolex covered cabs, some dish soap and a wet towel will get most of the dirt off. After it dries, hit with some non-shiny dashboard spray. Any wood showing, hit it up with a marker. You can also take hit it up with chrome polish where needed.

 

[XtheDeadPawn]

If you want it too look nice how about buying it new?

 

[electracoyote]

When I see a piece of gear all goobered up and in need of a good cleaning, I use that fact as a negotiating tool. "Okay, you don't want to clean it up, that's cool, how about knocking X amount off the price and I'll save you the trouble."

 

[Chainsaw Willie]

If you want it too look nice how about buying it new?

I think the issue is not about looking new or perfect.

The issue is about not looking like it belongs in a cat box.


I have seen the same stuff, people selling stuff with multiple layers of filth on it. I have no problem with "well used" gear, I just don't want to wonder what year that Cheeze Whiz was spilled on the knobs, or why the grill cloth smells like cat piss.

Normal wear and tear and nomal dirt is OK, but some people seem to have used the gear to grow bacterial cultures on and it makes me think "what other basic maintanance did they not do?"

 

[BassNeo]

If you want it too look nice how about buying it new?

This is part of my point. Why do people expect me to pay near-new prices on something that has obviously been neglected.

I don't expect it to look pristine, but how hard is it to spend a few minutes to make your bass look like you actually care about it.

I heard back from the Spector guy. As anticipated, he wants $1800 for it. I can buy them new for that.

 

[XtheDeadPawn]

I bought my ATK305 used and it had it's control layout plastic thing still on it.

I'm all about stuff looking good but, used gear shouldn't have too.
I'd be pretty weired out if a non GC used for sale instrument doesn't look used.
I'd not trust it all the scratches and dents and a little dust shows it's reliable because the thing was beaten to death and is still working. You can always give it new bells and whistles afterwards.

However asking near new for a clearly used instrument is highway robbery like buying popcorn at a movie.

 

[MegaSwing]

If you want it too look nice how about buying it new?

It's all about the presentation. A salesman who doesn't make the product look as good as it possibly can without rebuilding it isn't worth a snit. I'm with the OP. If you bring me something that could easily be nice but looks like it fell off of a garbage scow, prepare to give it away.