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What a fair price?
- Thread starter bdplaid
- Start date
Prepare to take a loss if you want to sell. Use seller and buyer protection, even if it means paying more. Welcome to the age of convenience.
I sold basses for around 60%-70% of what the market value of a new instrument was. All of them sold after being up for sale online for about a month.
I basically asked myself "If I was buying it, would I think this price was a good deal?".
It worked even if that was less than I wanted for it as a seller
I sold basses for around 60%-70% of what the market value of a new instrument was. All of them sold after being up for sale online for about a month.
I basically asked myself "If I was buying it, would I think this price was a good deal?".
It worked even if that was less than I wanted for it as a seller
I'm just a dude, no business at all. Can't you tell?
I've had guys in the past request pp f and f, so I thought it was a thing. I'm happy to delete it.
I really want to NOT list these on reverb or eBay. I have an objection to the high level of cost.
I'm probably going to have to bite the bullet and make them available for shipping.
I understand that shipping is a hassle, but how many bassists do you think that live nearby and post on TB want your specific bass? Why post on TB at all if you aren’t willing to ship at least to the lower 48? Craigslist or FB marketplace are where you should look to make local deals. I can’t say your prices aren’t “fair”, but no shipping limits your potential buyers drastically.
If you do decide to ship, I can tell you I wouldn’t do F&F with someone I didn’t know and especially $1600+ for bass I’d never seen, held, etc. You could literally send me cat poop in a box and I’d have no recourse to get my money back or any buyer protection. All I could do is give you a bad feedback rating on the TB and I’d be out $1600.
There are just too many unsavory characters out there (guys get scammed daily on eBay and Reverb and they have buyer protection) to trust people with that much money on the line. I’m not saying anything about you or against you personally so don’t take it that way.
Also, if you do decide to ship, pick up the shipping costs. It sucks because prices are stupid high right now, but it’s much more enticing to see, “$1600 shipped” then it is, “$1600, buyer pays shipping”. These have become the breaks of doing business online. First you get gouged by PayPal or Venmo for a percentage, then you get gouged by UPS or FedEx.
My general rule of thumb:
Price at 75-80% and hope for the best.
60-65% is when I personally consider buying, (what I’d consider “fair,”) and where I expect to price it if I don’t get lucky in the first weeks.
50% is about as low as I’ll go, any lower I’ll just keep it.
But seems like a bad time to sell, as mentioned, peeps got little cash. I posted a bunch of gear locally. Got one offer for “the other kind of green” but other than that… crickets.
Price at 75-80% and hope for the best.
60-65% is when I personally consider buying, (what I’d consider “fair,”) and where I expect to price it if I don’t get lucky in the first weeks.
50% is about as low as I’ll go, any lower I’ll just keep it.
But seems like a bad time to sell, as mentioned, peeps got little cash. I posted a bunch of gear locally. Got one offer for “the other kind of green” but other than that… crickets.
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The flip side is that many sellers want top dollar, thinking their used instrument is so valuable that they won't budge on price. But they don't factor in the time it takes to sell (if at all) and time is money. I've seen the same Kijiji ad for a 12 string bass reappear several times over the past couple of years. The seller wants 6 grand. Who's going to buy it?
When you factor in how much use you've gotten out of your bass over the years that "big loss" doesn't seem so big. I bought an Ibanez Musician bass for $700 in 1982 and sold it for $350 20 years later. It cost me $17.50 a year to own that bass. Maybe an extreme example but you get the point.
The donation tax write-off sounds like a good idea. Avoiding the hassle of selling is very appealing to me!
All true.
Basses have been on cl and FB for awhile. Crickets.
And PPF&F is now gone. I actually didn't understand what it is.
The G&L for sale has a very noticeable ding. You want a local only cash sale, for 70-80% of new price. Why wouldn’t someone in the market buy new and get buyer protection and a mint (not dinged bass). I’d come sniffing around if it was $1200 but I live in California so I’m not even in your demographic audience. And I’m cheap so there’s that.GLWTS.
Your listings on TB list it as local only. You've cut out 98% of the US market on TB. The price on the Music Man is maybe a little high and G&L's, as you're now learning, do not hold value as well as other basses. For the Fender, listing it for $600 when it goes for $850 - would you just pay a little more and buy new or take a gamble on a used item with no warranty? What's a fair price? It's largely going to depend on the shape of the economy in your area if you are going to limit sales to local pickups only.
You can ask for whatever want for your basses, but the buyer always sets the selling price. Economics 101.
if you are getting no interest, it could be your basses have more value to you than what the market will bear. Of course you don’t want give things away, that is normal.
I would suggest going online and see what other sellers are asking for similar gear. Have them appraised by a reputable dealer. Finally, determine the absolute amount at which you would agree sell. Bump it up say 20% then repost and see what happens.
Paypal friends & family is a catch 22. On one hand like mentioned, a lot of people balk when they see it because there is no buyer protection.
On the other hand, if you take regular Paypal, the IRS will hit you with a 1099 next year which Paypal friends & family does not trigger. Potential buyers are probably not taking that into consideration when they are balking at a friends & family payment.
On the other hand, if you take regular Paypal, the IRS will hit you with a 1099 next year which Paypal friends & family does not trigger. Potential buyers are probably not taking that into consideration when they are balking at a friends & family payment.
I'm not a tax professional, but you should be aware that donating them and taking a deduction is nowhere close to the equivalent of selling them.
If you take the standard deduction you might see your tax liability reduced by a whopping $0 for donating several thousand dollars in instruments.
At best, you'll reduce your tax liability by 37% of the instruments' fair market value if you're a high earner. The less money you make, the less reduction in tax liability you'll get.
If you donate them, do it because the kids can use them, not because you're frustrated at not selling them.
Dang here's a similar HH Stingray for $1400 shipped and it's been there for 3 months.
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It’s pretty much always price.
But also if you’re not willing to ship you’re probably eliminating most buyers here.
Lastly, and maybe this is just me, I’m not dropping thousands on a F&F transaction with a stranger. Not in a million years. Buyer protections make this whole internet thing possible…
If it’s me I’m creating one consolidated new ad, keep the prices where they are but include free shipping and drop PayPal F&F. Yes that’s effectively a price drop but the terms are way better and your market has increased exponentially.
If they still hang around start dropping your price.
But also if you’re not willing to ship you’re probably eliminating most buyers here.
Lastly, and maybe this is just me, I’m not dropping thousands on a F&F transaction with a stranger. Not in a million years. Buyer protections make this whole internet thing possible…
If it’s me I’m creating one consolidated new ad, keep the prices where they are but include free shipping and drop PayPal F&F. Yes that’s effectively a price drop but the terms are way better and your market has increased exponentially.
If they still hang around start dropping your price.
My strategy has always been to buy used basses for a price that I can easily sell them for if I decide not to keep them. I very rarely take a loss on a bass. If you pay 800-900 for an American Fender, its easy to recoup your money.
Also I never ship basses, just list them locally for a good price and they always sell, cash only. And if it says Fender on the headstock they sell very quickly. I can imagine that a G&L would be pretty hard to sell.
Also I never ship basses, just list them locally for a good price and they always sell, cash only. And if it says Fender on the headstock they sell very quickly. I can imagine that a G&L would be pretty hard to sell.
