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Used bases aren't selling well.

#161
A-Step-Towards said:
I honestly have better luck selling my stuff over craigslist then Talkbass , example is I sold a 1978 P bass for $1500 cash on craiglist, on TB I got zero offers and it was up nearly a month and I was asking $1600 shipped well after paypal fees and shipping I would have netted like $1450, less money and more time spent boxing it up and driving to the post office. That said I am in LA so I have a bigger audience on craigslist then most and additionally I have had a American standard jazz bass, all original with original case on craigslist a few months at $700 and its still there which I think is basically a bargain price. Its tough to move stuff, even tougher here.
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With the stuff you sell you should look into getting a Square card reader for your phone. The fees are less than PP. I have great luck selling on CL and swap meets when I can take a CC. It is hard to sell $1000+ stuff for cash. On weekends people can't pull that much out of the bank even if they have it and want to.
I always put in my ads I can take CC's but prefer cash.
I never haggle when taking a CC ether.
When I sell on CL I figure the best price I could get moving it here, then subtract the PP fees and shipping and list it for that.
 
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#162
Other than a few exceptions, I see the opposite problem frequently: listings for used gear that are listed higher than what the market will pay.

But hey, I'm interested in bargains, so I just peeked at Seattle-area Craigslist to see this "glut" of bargains everyone is talking about. I don't see it.

For example, there are 6 Fender Precisions for sale in Seattle CL right now. That's hardly a glut, IMO. (I picked Fender Precisions because they're as close to a commodity as you can get in the bass world.) Here they are:
  • 2011 MIM Precision: $300. (This is by far the best deal in the area at the moment, about 40% below its new price.)
  • 2004 MIA "1962 American Vintage". $1300.
  • 1989 MIA "Precision Plus": $800. (1 hour drive from Seattle)
  • 2002 MIM Precision: $400.
  • 1983 MIA "Precision Elite": $950. (1 hour drive from Seattle)
  • 2012 MIA "Deluxe Precision": $1450
With perhaps one exception, I don't see a bunch of devalued bargains there, and certainly not a "glut"...
 
#163
  • 2011 MIM Precision: $300. (This is by far the best deal in the area at the moment, about 40% below its new price.) Buy If player
  • 2004 MIA "1962 American Vintage". $1300. Great guitar, overpriced by L.A. standards where it would be $1100.
  • 1989 MIA "Precision Plus": $800. (1 hour drive from Seattle) PASS
  • 2002 MIM Precision: $400. BUYER AT $200
  • 1983 MIA "Precision Elite": $950. (1 hour drive from Seattle) DRIVE 2 HOURS 4 P?!
  • 2012 MIA "Deluxe Precision": $1450 PASS
With perhaps one exception, I don't see a bunch of devalued bargains there, and certainly not a "glut"...[/QUOTE]
 
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#164
Keep in mind, unless you are the actual buyer/seller, all we see are the asking prices. Our comments are based on black and white ads. Rarely if ever do the rest of us know the final deal that was worked out between the two parties. Even the word "Firm" carries little weight anymore. So deals are being made on the stuff that is selling.

I have been shocked and ended up with some basses recently that I really didn't need when, on a whim, I sent a note to a few sellers saying I will pay you $xxx if you are really stuck. In every case, the seller accepted my offer. Yikes! I was the one that opened my mouth so I didn't bail on the seller. Certainly beat myself up afterwards trying to figure out why I do this! I don't do that anymore!
 
#165
A couple of additional thoughts - particularly thinking about the higher-end ($1500+) instruments.

I would generally assume that most people don't have that kind of money just lying around to spend casually, unless they have really nice day jobs. Most people would consider $2000 a very major purchase and would need to save up for it (assuming, as with a used instrument, that they can't get it on credit).

If you CAN afford to go and spend that kind of money on a bass, how much do any "savings" matter to you when buying an instrument? I mean, if a bass that sells new for $5000 comes up on TB for $3500, do you jump at the savings? Or, if you play in those leagues, are you the kind of person who doesn't care about saving the money and would just as soon get a new one for $5k?

Similarly, when it comes to unique/boutique/custom instruments, I think you get the same problem in the high-end basses that Carvin gets in the mid-priced ones. Why would I spend $1000 on YOUR custom bass that you spent $1500 on when, at this point, I may as well cough up the extra few hundred and get MY ideal custom bass? Why would I spend $2500 on your custom boutique luthier bass when I might spend $3200 and get the luthier to make one just for me?

For people without deep pockets, what's the pattern of saving/spending behavior? I mean, imagining a bar band bassist with a modest day job, who can only buy music gear with gig money and he's getting $100 a gig 3-4 times a month. How much of that gig money actually gets set aside each month? Half? Does he have a target figure he's trying to save up, a specific piece of gear he's GASsing for? So, after a year, he's got, say, $1800 set aside. Does he then immediately go and buy the bass he's been dreaming of? Or does he sit on the money and wait for the perfect deal to come up? If he's got a specific instrument in mind, is he going to wait for one to show up on TB at the right price? Or is he going to go to the much more extensive eBay listings for it, or just get a new one in the store or from an online retailer? Or is he prowling the TB classifieds, saying, "My savings are up to $1800, what bass do I want to get with it... or do I want to wait another month, save another $150 and see what's available then for $1950?"

Anyway, I think some of this might help explain why one bass gets scooped up practically the instant it gets listed while another, that seems like it ought to be a great deal, will sit unsold for weeks or months.
 
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#166
ggunn said:
But haven't you heard? The Recession is over and the economy has recovered from it. :greedy:
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picgifs-mind-blown-1995183.gif
 
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#167
I recently got what I thought was a good bargain off TB Classified. I bought an excellent condition Sunburst MIJ 51 P Reissue from a TB member that was $400 or more under what they are going for on Evil Bay. I already had a MIJ Butterscotch 51 P but could never find a sunburst one till I found one in TB classified.
 
#168
Troph said:
Other than a few exceptions, I see the opposite problem frequently: listings for used gear that are listed higher than what the market will pay.

But hey, I'm interested in bargains, so I just peeked at Seattle-area Craigslist to see this "glut" of bargains everyone is talking about. I don't see it.

For example, there are 6 Fender Precisions for sale in Seattle CL right now. That's hardly a glut, IMO. (I picked Fender Precisions because they're as close to a commodity as you can get in the bass world.) Here they are:
  • 2011 MIM Precision: $300. (This is by far the best deal in the area at the moment, about 40% below its new price.)
  • 2004 MIA "1962 American Vintage". $1300.
  • 1989 MIA "Precision Plus": $800. (1 hour drive from Seattle)
  • 2002 MIM Precision: $400.
  • 1983 MIA "Precision Elite": $950. (1 hour drive from Seattle)
  • 2012 MIA "Deluxe Precision": $1450
With perhaps one exception, I don't see a bunch of devalued bargains there, and certainly not a "glut"...
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The thing is, the over priced stuff stays there forever.
You have to be a CL junkie to get the good deals. The good deals are gone in one day, sometimes a couple hours.
Most of the stuff I sell is gone in a couple days. Heck, I listed a Maytag washer & dryer yesterday afternoon and have a guy and his wife on their way over to pick it up right now. The ones just like it have been on there for months.
I got a Epiphone Sheraton II with hard case that was mint for $275. I called him 15 min after he listed it and the ad was pulled 1 1/2 hour after it was listed.
 
#169
I've sold a couple of quality basses lately. One, I got slightly less than I hoped for, the other, I took a bath on. But, I wanted to move it, so I sold it.
There wasn't the interest in either that I hoped would be there.

I think a lot of people are getting rid of musical instruments. I know I am definitely reducing my collection, and I am not in the market for any more basses, new or used.

I'm getting older, paying gigs are dwindling. I don't need nine basses when most are getting case time instead of stage time. I can use the money to buy other things that I either want or need. Beautiful instruments stashed away in a closet are a waste to me, and a somewhat depressing reminder of the state of the current local music scene.......
 
#170
Price it to sell and it will sell. I mostly see unrealistic expectations (and whining). My latest favorite is a mid 70's P bass that might be the most expensive one on TB but is lacking original pickups, bridge... Pass.
 
#171
My 2 cents,

People are just making due with less. At its highest number my stable had 7 basses. Now, I've got three, one of which is my main, one that gets moderate use and one five string I play only when a song requires it, which I find is almost never. I have no intention to sell or acquire at this point in time. I'm actually very content with what I have.

I also believe the improvement in amplifiers and sound technology has been putting a damper on people searching for perfect tone through a new bass alone. I've played really cheap basses through quality professional amplifiers and had very positive results.

There are a slew of custom parts manufactures, allowing people to tweak existing basses to their desired specs. But most of all I think musicians in today's day and age are just more educated about what sounds good to their ear. Player A knows he likes mahogany body basses with Jazz pups while Player B is an alder guy with X pickup etc. I think people are finding instruments that work for them and they stop "chasing the white unicorn" so to speak. No more looking for the next best sound. One guy tweaks an existing instrument to find his tone, maybe another has played enough stock basses to know what he wants and makes that last custom purchase. Point to all that is educated buyers + better amp technology + customizing and custom builds and cash being tight these days has people achieving the sound they are looking for with less gear.
 
#172
Not really related, but I hate selling cheap basses on TB. The unspoken rule is that have have to pay for shipping in CONUS. It costs as much to ship a $3k bass as a $300 bass. And of course, it will be someone in Cali that wants to buy it (I'm east coast) so if you see cheap basses that are priced too high, it's likely because they're including shipping in the price.
 
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#174
MultiScaleMale said:
Not really related, but I hate selling cheap basses on TB. The unspoken rule is that have have to pay for shipping in CONUS. It costs as much to ship a $3k bass as a $300 bass. And of course, it will be someone in Cali that wants to buy it (I'm east coast) so if you see cheap basses that are priced too high, it's likely because they're including shipping in the price.
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+1
Even a $500-600 bass isn't worth selling here. After PP & shipping you don't end up with anything.
 
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#176
I haven't been able to beat TB as far as the best prices for buying and selling boutique level basses and amps/ pedals for over 10 years now. The mid 2000's were sickening for gear here- there seems to be a lot more standard level gear as of late though, bit of a glut and it takes up to 3x as long to sell quality pieces as it did 3 years ago. Valuable pieces can, and still do move pretty fast though. Just shipped a Berg NV across the country...
 
#178
ive noticed it slowing down for the last 2 years as well, unless you get something for an absolute steal,flipping and making a profit is not worth it imho. Im sure it will pick up again, until then i suggest hanging on to gear. Most stuff will keep their value,like a stingray will more or less be worth around 800,same for U.S Fenders.


Someone noted how the changing health care plans mandated in the states is chipping away at disposable income, i would factor this in for sure.
 
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