Pricedrop depression !

[rodacademy]

It still astounds me the fantastic range of basses at great prices dont sell!
Is money still tight therefore new basses have dropped in price, is it that money is tight in general or are sellers just being unrealistic on their guitars worth?
Shame!

[Evil Undead]

We all skint bro.

[uncle psychosis]

Let's face it, most of us already have all the gear that we "need". When times are tough it's hardly surprising that people are reluctant to buy expensive luxury items.

[discreet]

[quote name='rodacademy' timestamp='1401126950' post='2460360']
Shame!
[/quote]

Bear in mind that people have already taken advantage of the affordable basses on offer - then buyers' remorse set in - so they go back up for sale so that the seller can buy the bass they [i]really [/i]wanted. Repeat [i]ad infinitum[/i]...

[karlfer]

I think there are a lot of factors at work.
Huge amounts of basses for sale here.
Many of us have been spoilt for choice over the last few years.
FEEBay has seen sellers push up prices to cover the 13.4% you CAN be charged, some folk try for the same sort of price on here as is seen for an item on FEEBay.
Once upon a time you would see the numbers online indicator at the bottom of the home page showing 3000/5000 online, now it rarely shows more than about 500. That suggests a significant drop in people viewing, unless of course the method of counting them has changed.
Oh, and a lot of folk are skint.

Edited May 26, 2014 by karlfer

[gjones]

I haven't even looked at the basses for sale section for about a year. And that's coming from a guy who bought 9 basses in 3 years, between 2009 and 2012.
But now my priorities have changed and I no longer have an insatiable urge to try new basses. I've settled with a really nice P bass and a really nice Jazz and I no longer have GAS for basses any longer.

[BetaFunk]

I don't see anyone having a problem selling a WAL, Travis Bean, 60s-70s Fenders & early Japanese Squiers at a good price.

[rodacademy]

A lot of bumps, price drops and replies in there! Maybe those who can afford Wal's just have cash !

[Cat Burrito]

I think stuff sells, it just takes longer. The last couple of things I sold I was in absolutely no hurry, stuck to my guns and didn't bump very often and both went for the price I wanted. The crime for me was that Fender et al really hiked the prices as the recession kicked in which in turn impacted on the 2nd hand market. Thankfully this was at the end of my GAS phase so it didn't impact as much as it would have 2yrs earlier.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1401130697' post='2460431']
The crime for me was that Fender et al really hiked the prices as the recession kicked in which in turn impacted on the 2nd hand market.
[/quote]
I'm just curious but in what way did it impact on the 2nd hand market?

[karlfer]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1401130853' post='2460435']
I'm just curious but in what way did it impact on the 2nd hand market?
[/quote]

Well for example Marcus Miller jazzes. As they came to the end of the Japanese production, they were selling new at over £1000. So people put them up second hand at £750/£850.
A quick search on t'interweb showed that their 2004 (for example) MM had sold new for £449. So people looked at £850 second hand and thought privately, " ye hav te be jokin bonny lad".

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1401130853' post='2460435']
I'm just curious but in what way did it impact on the 2nd hand market?
[/quote]

It just pushed the prices up overnight to match the increase. A MIM Fender was going for almost £100 less 2nd hand and suddenly people were selling them for the retail price they'd paid 5yrs earlier. I guess it is just what happens, after all most old Fenders cost new a fraction of what they now go for.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1401131109' post='2460437']
Well for example Marcus Miller jazzes. As they came to the end of the Japanese production, they were selling new at over £1000. So people put them up second hand at £750/£850.
A quick search on t'interweb showed that their 2004 (for example) MM had sold new for £449. So people looked at £850 second hand and thought privately, " ye hav te be jokin bonny lad".
[/quote]
Ah right. Yes i understand. Thanks for explaining that as it all makes sense now! Cheers.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1401131257' post='2460439']
It just pushed the prices up overnight to match the increase. A MIM Fender was going for almost £100 less 2nd hand and suddenly people were selling them for the retail price they'd paid 5yrs earlier. I guess it is just what happens, after all most old Fenders cost new a fraction of what they now go for.
[/quote]
Yes i see. Thanks.

It still amazes me what old Fenders go for even in these times. I bought a 1974 Fender Jazz for £400 c1990 which was the going rate at the time. In fact it stood in the shop unsold for months before i bought it. in the same shop was a new Japanese made Tune Bass Maniac for £800. Now i'd probably get around 2k for the Jazz while i picked up a Tune Bass Maniac recently for £200!

[Prosebass]

I think the named stuff is still doing OK, as are good quality sub £200 'starter basses' ( I hate that phrase)
The problem seems to be with mid range quality basses that have bottomed out in value and are not seen as either an 'investment' or cheap enought to have a punt on.

I recently advertised a bass at £295 (current model in production at over £750 new) with no interest whatsover.
Thankfully I do not need to sell it and I won't be giving it away so it has gone under the bed.

[Cameronj279]

[quote name='Prosebass' timestamp='1401131709' post='2460449']
I think the named stuff is still doing OK, as are good quality sub £200 'starter basses' ( I hate that phrase)
The problem seems to be with mid range quality basses that have bottomed out in value and are not seen as either an 'investment' or cheap enought to have a punt on.

I recently advertised a bass at £295 (current model in production at over £750 new) with no interest whatsover.
Thankfully I do not need to sell it and I won't be giving it away so it has gone under the bed.
[/quote]

I agree with this. Warwick stuff is especially bad for this (or good if you're wanting a warwick I suppose). New value of them is huge (to the point where it's a bit ridiculous IMO) but sell second hand for a fraction of that. I mean I got my corvette for less than £400!

[TheGreek]

I've bought lots of gear here in the past few years, and I've got to say thanks to nearly everybody I've done business with. With the exception of maybe 1 or 2 deals which didn't go as I'd liked, I think I've done not bad out of trading here. I've acquired some great gear and made some good friends while doing so.

Recently I've had to face up to the fact that I've [i]probably[/i] got too many basses, especially as many have sat in their cases for over a year untouched. I still see lots of gear at ridiculously low prices and often think "[i]I'll have that..[/i]" but now I have to do a double take and stop myself. I'm also realising that trading gear rather than buying makes more sense as I don't have limitless space in my 1 bed flat.

I have noticed that timing is a factor in buying/selling - you still see, for example, £1,000 MM Rays but recently there have been several for around £700 - ridiculously [s]cheap[/s] inexpensive/good value but some have been here for months where they would have been snapped up at those prices a couple of years ago. There are loads of bargains sitting in the "For sale" thread. It must be so frustrating for the sellers who need to part with the gear because they need the cash for something else.

I'm getting to the point where I'm seriously considering selling some of my gear but I'm anxious about putting it up for sale knowing that it will either takes ages to sell or that I'm going to have to take a serious hit on what I paid. I know I'm not alone in this but it does add some reluctance to selling at the moment.

The market will eventually pick up - it's got to - but in the meantime decisions have to be made, do you sit and wait for prices to go back up or do you sell knowing that a "fair price" today may be considered a bargain by somebody in a couple of years. We've all read stories of how people parted with Wals for silly money and regret it today.

I'm sticking to my guns for now, hoping that things will improve though I will be looking to downsize or trade in the future.

[Dingus]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1401129264' post='2460406']
I don't see anyone having a problem selling a WAL, Travis Bean, 60s-70s Fenders & early Japanese Squiers at a good price.
[/quote]
[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1401131626' post='2460446']
Yes i see. Thanks.

It still amazes me what old Fenders go for even in these times. I bought a 1974 Fender Jazz for £400 c1990 which was the going rate at the time. In fact it stood in the shop unsold for months before i bought it. in the same shop was a new Japanese made Tune Bass Maniac for £800. Now i'd probably get around 2k for the Jazz while i picked up a Tune Bass Maniac recently for £200!
[/quote]

Well, here, my friend, you have hit on the crux of the matter.

The reason basses either aren't selling at all or else are going for poor prices is that no one wants them enough . If a bass is desirable enough, like a Wal or a vintage Fender is at the moment , hard times or not, people will find the money to buy it for a decent price, often a high price if, as is often the case with such basses, supply is limited.

However, the harsh truth is that most of the basses on offer in the Basschat marketplace are much of a muchness, and there are a lot of them. People may well have a very fine and functional instrument to sell and are usually asking a perfectly reasonable price, but there are more people offering such basses than there are punters in the market for them. If there are more people looking to move basses on than there are people looking to buy them, and the law of supply and demand ( can I claim my prize for being the first person to mention that in this thread?) means that as a result, prices will only go one way , and that is down.

If your bass doesn't have a high desirability factor and capture people's imagination ( because that is where the compulsion to buy stems from) then you will struggle to sell it.

[karlfer]

JV's were going out at up to an astronomical £1500 a couple of years ago. Quite a few in the £1200 bracket.
Now bringing not a lot more than half that.
Dingus is right of course, but there are more complex reasons at work as well.

[Dingus]

What is for certain is that you can get some amazing bargains on this site, as well as peruse a very wide selection of basses, usually at realistic asking prices. Every day I see basses that are well worth the asking price and that someone could get great use out of, so Basschat is a fabulous resource in that respect.

But every time someone buys a brand new bass from a retailer or builder and sells their old bass on this site, that is one less punter looking to buy and one more looking to sell, if you see what I mean. The pool of basses is constantly growing as people buy new ones, but the amount of people looking to buy basses is probably fairly static , so the result is a glut of unsold basses in the marketplace.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Dingus

[Bassman Steve]

I have to say, rather like new cars, I don't really understand why you'd buy a new bass when there's such a great variety of second hand stuff around. At least if you don't get on with it you can sell for what you paid for it and lose nothing.

I accept there may be a new model out but are they so much different?

[Lozz196]

Generally you can gauge what to sell for by doing a quick search of said item, and getting a feel for the right price by condition etc. Yes some things - many in fact - seem to be falling a bit, and agree, this is probably due to cash is becoming tight as everything else in life seems to be getting more expensive. We`ve simply got less spare money to indulge in our GAS nowadays.

[BetaFunk]

I still love those 'collection only' bargains. In fact i picked up a bass last weekend which was about 2/3rds the price it would have been if the seller had offered to send it by courier.

I emailed a seller on ebay recently on whether they would consider sending a bass by courier only to be told that 'no, it's far too big to post!'. It went for about half of what i thought it would if they had offered to send it by courier. The good news is that 'collection only' basses are still some of the best bargains.

[mrtcat]

Most shops are offering interest free for 10 Months which doesn't help. Half the ads in the for sale section are for overseas which puts me off too.

[Lw.]

The market place here is a bit of a weird one I find; in other walks of life 2nd hand gear sells for between 50%-60% of retail (for none vintage) but here (or the bass world in general) some really nice stuff struggles to sell for 50% and other not particularly special stuff is listed nearer 80%.

I agree with a lot of the points people have said above; money is tight so people want a bargain but others also need the High prices as they need the money too.