Used gear market

[Truckstop]

I would only ever buy basses from BC. I've had too many bad experiences with EBay and I'd never buy new because I can get good gear off of BC for less money.

I'd have snapped up that Ibanez Doug Wimbish that was up a while ago and I'd have had that Sandberg Electra that was up last week too if I'd had the money spare! Wasn't there a 90's TRB 4 up for around £400 recently? Bargain!

Some things are a little keen but it makes the bargains stand out more.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Truckstop

[Thunderbird]

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1446228393' post='2897989']
Just had a quick look at Basses For Sale, and as I type this there are FIVE Foderas on the front page, all from low-posting EU-based members, prices ranging between £4750 and £9900.

The marketplace as it stands is really of less and less use to the majority of contributing community members, and I feel somewhat alienated by this. I have a few basses I'd like to sell myself but can't help feeling my selection of £150 cheapos don't really belong alongside all this high-end exotica.

And I do feel ever-so-slightly uncomfortable that I'd be expected to pay the same fee as a dealer with a ten grand bass for sale.

J.
[/quote] This is a most excellent point must admit I have not renewed my selling fee as I prefer to sell elsewhere now as there are to many idiots on here now IMO but I do sell the odd small item on here and I do buy a few bits but only from forum members that I trust now or have good FB

[karlfer]

[quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1446228289' post='2897986']
900 quid for a brand new 2 band Stingray is mental! I'm currently looking for one which I guess is good news for me, but a bitter pill for anyone trying to sell one!
[/quote]

They only had 2, both standard colours and I got a feeling they were reduced to get them through, possibly by the UK distributor.

One thing is for sure, by Tuesday I'm going to regret a previous comment about what particular basses seem to sell for

[andy67]

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1446384448' post='2898915']
They only had 2, both standard colours and I got a feeling they were reduced to get them through, possibly by the UK distributor.

One thing is for sure, by Tuesday I'm going to regret a previous comment about what particular basses seem to sell for
[/quote]

Oh, Oh was it the Rick?

[karlfer]

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1446478627' post='2899654']
Oh, Oh was it the Rick?
[/quote]



No Andy, non of the Ricks.
I spouted that most MM US Sterlings go for around £650/£700, then promptly put mine up for £750

I actually did a bit more research and found historically they had gone from about £650 up to around £900 .

That's me, gob in gear, brain in neutral!

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1446228393' post='2897989']
And I do feel ever-so-slightly uncomfortable that I'd be expected to pay the same fee as a dealer with a ten grand bass for sale.

[/quote]

Depends on where you're starting from, I guess.

If you were considering signing up to the Market specifically to sell a £150 bass, then the flat fee for both you and Foderas Are Us seems out of kilter.

But if you're already signed up with that flat fee paid, it hardly makes a difference whether you list a £5k Fodera that probably won't sell anyway, or you list 10 cheap basses that people might actually buy.

Marginal cost, old boy, marginal cost.

[phil.c60]

Like many people on here, I have several bass guitars, and three different amps/combos (whoops, just realised it's four including my practice amp!). When I'm browsing through the for sale ads it's really only to see if GAS strikes, and part of that is price. If I was shopping for an upgrade to my regular gigging bass, I might look at stuff that's 15/20% cheaper than new, and be pleased if it happened (it's how I bought my Barefaced Compact, for instance) but if it's GAS it's got to be at a price that really makes me think "cor, at that money I'm in!". Most stuff seems priced at 20/25% less than new, and while that's a good discount it's not what I would call cheap. As others have said, the market is awash with gear, but mostly at prices that make you think really hard before sending a PM, which means usually you decide to just wait and see (forever).
As a leftie I'm always on the lookout as good stuff comes up rarely, but when it does it's usually more than I think it's really worth (there a semi acoustic Warwick up at the moment that's in that category - I fancy it, but have never played one so unless it's seriously cheap so I won't get too much buyers regret if I don't like it and think that if I don't I can pass it on without losing too much I'll pass).
I think a lot of people probably look at the for sale section this way, which is why stuff seems to hang around forever in some cases.
Just my two pennyworth, YMMV.

PS I don't like making silly offers well below the asking price - it seems rude somehow!

Edited November 3, 2015 by phil.c60

[cybertect]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1446551747' post='2900197']
Depends on where you're starting from, I guess.

If you were considering signing up to the Market specifically to sell a £150 bass, then the flat fee for both you and Foderas Are Us seems out of kilter.

But if you're already signed up with that flat fee paid, it hardly makes a difference whether you list a £5k Fodera that probably won't sell anyway, or you list 10 cheap basses that people might actually buy.

Marginal cost, old boy, marginal cost.
[/quote]

Maybe there are people who sell 10 cheap basses a year. I'm not one of them. I certainly don't buy that many just out of curiosity to see what they play like before selling them on, nor do I operate as a small business flipping cheap basses.

Quite recently I sold a VM Jazz for £180. At my current average turnover of selling one bass every 17 years and at that price point, it certainly wasn't worth my while paying a flat fee to advertise on the forum, so I put it on Gumtree.

TBH, from the standpoint of basic economics, a rise in higher value basses and a dearth of cheaper instruments is exactly what I'd expect after the sellers' fee was introduced.

[Happy Jack]

I remain unconvinced.

I wasn't actually recommending that someone should sell 10 cheap basses a year, certainly not you in particular.

As you say, you very rarely buy/sell basses. That puts you at one end of the curve, the end where signing up to the Market to sell a single affordable bass makes very little sense. I wouldn't try to argue it any other way.

Me, I'm at the other end of the curve. I'm forever buying & selling basses, amps, pedals, whatever. That's not some sort of 'value statement', merely an observation. For me, the Market fee is therefore negligible, maybe 50p per item.

Your final point just doesn't work for me. A small, almost nominal, fee will very probably cause a narrow range of affordable basses to become marginal propositions, or at least more marginal than they were before. It certainly will NOT cause the withdrawal of £300 basses in favour of £5000 instruments.

I think a lot of Basschatters are under the impression that Basschat is now a huge concern, with thousands of enthusiastic members who are potential buyers of their basses. The various statistics in the public domain do tend to give that impression.

BUT

Actually spending time on Basschat, seeing who is posting what and where, gives a very different flavour as far as I'm concerned. I suspect that there are no more than a few hundred truly [i][b]active [/b][/i]Members and a helluva lot of dormant user names.

If you think you're reaching a potential market of many thousands of active bass players with money in their pocket, then prepare to be disappointed.

[karlfer]

With me being a magpie gear whore who changes gear more than often than his under crackers, the fee is very reasonable, to get to a large, specific group of buyers.
I always post on here 1st.
2nd call is the varying FB groups, probably a day later.
The Bumtree and FEEBay usually a few days later.
If I need to sell something, I will advertise it in as many avenues as possible.

I do think the market here is generally very realistic, although I do get the impression bass gear goes for a bit more on the continent.

Mods, please feel free to edit, but, sometimes, when I see something come up from some of our continental friends, I think to myself, you ain't gonna get that price from somebody in the UK. Honestly Mods, not any kind of incitement, just a personal observation.

[Thunderbird]

I have not renewed my sellers fee this year it is not because I have a problem with the fee as it is fair nor do I have a problem with BC or any of the site rules my only reason for not selling basses on here is I get fed up with dealing with idiots via PM wanting something for nothing or just dreaming and pissing about now I only deal with members I trust but I would rather sell on ebay and take the hit on the fees maybe I have been lucky? but have never had a problem or had to deal with tyre kickers on ebay

[TheGreek]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1446722997' post='2901711']
I have not renewed my sellers fee this year it is not because I have a problem with the fee as it is fair nor do I have a problem with BC or any of the site rules, my only reason for not selling basses on here is I get fed up with dealing with idiots via PM wanting something for nothing or just dreaming and pissing about. Now I only deal with members I trust...
[/quote]

Here here...

[Ghost_Bass]

As an overseas buyer/seller i've had some pretty good deals here in BC, never had a problem. I must admit that the reason i've signed on BC a few years ago was to buy my dream bass (TRB5PII) at a good price, but i took a look on the forum and started participating on the discussions, obviously got hooked on BC. There's a lot to be learned here.

Back in the days the currency exchange rates were favouring EU buyers, and with no talk about recession gear was flying of the FS secction. Today i can't see myself paying a 1.41 exchange rate to buy from the UK (it would have to be a bargain or something i really want), especially having less of my salary available due to the constant rise of taxes. On the other way, the exchage rates are very attractive for anybody selling from EU in UK.

All of this combined (and other reasons) may be the cause of the huge amount of gear on the FS section.

[gareth]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1446733681' post='2901852']


Today i can't see myself paying a 1.41 exchange rate to buy from the UK (it would have to be a bargain or something i really want), especially having less of my salary available due to the constant rise of taxes. On the other way, the exchage rates are very attractive for anybody selling from EU in UK.


[/quote]

Exactly!

This is why there are so many sellers from other European countries selling stuff on baschat - they now get 141 euros for every 100 pounds - compared with parity some years ago

[bassballs27]

A lot of what the OP mentioned is happening over on talkbass.com too.

I think a lot of it has to do with the world economy in general.

The American dollar has strengthened so much in a short period of time. The Euro has remained fairly constant, but wasn't in that great of shape the past year.

My Canadian Dollar has taken an absolute beating! Hard to believe just last year we were merely 10 or 15% under par with only a year before being at par.
We're trading back at 35% under par.........that's where things were back 20 years ago.

I'm hoping we don't see the exchange rates we saw back in the early 2000's which was 45%......with a record day of 55%.

I think, for the most part, there isn't much money to be had these days. Real estate keeps going up and some people seem to be buying here in Canada because money is cheap (as interest rates are cheap). But eventually, young people won't be able to afford to buy a new home and that's when the market will fall apart.

Basses and gear are for the most part not considered a necessity......so when people start backing off buying.....and the used value keeps going up.....sales will become more and more scarce.

Trades are a good thing........it keeps people honest for the most part.......but you have to make sure you know what you're doing!

[Machines]

I've got a Warwick up for sale at the moment, and am amazed I haven't even had a sniff. Not even a PM with a lowball offer ! (Anyone who wishes to please go ahead, it will make me feel popular). It seems people are either skint, or don't care any more and are happy with what they have.

The trend for very expensive instruments in the sale forum is also certainly increasing. I'd love to know some metrics around success rates of sales based on price brackets.

[karlfer]

It really is very strange tbh honest.
I've been lucky and most of mine have sold within a couple of days.
Yet strangely, my as new Mendel, a superbly eqipped P bass, at 32% reduction against new, no real interest after day one.

I think, for what it's worth, you get lucky in that somebody is looking for one. Or you don't, and have to wait patiently.

Still maintain that with a few exceptions, this is the most realistically priced market.

[PaulWarning]

I think the prevalence of high end basses on here may be due to the pricing structure, i.e. not a percentage of the selling price just a flat fee

[Machines]

A fair point, but where are people selling them instead ? There isn't much on Gumtree either.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1448015016' post='2912242']
A fair point, but where are people selling them instead ? There isn't much on Gumtree either.
[/quote]ebay?

[Machines]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1448015484' post='2912247']
ebay?
[/quote]

Not free.

[Happy Jack]

May I refer you to Post #84?

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1446572259' post='2900473']
I think a lot of Basschatters are under the impression that Basschat is now a huge concern, with thousands of enthusiastic members who are potential buyers of their basses. The various statistics in the public domain do tend to give that impression.

BUT

Actually spending time on Basschat, seeing who is posting what and where, gives a very different flavour as far as I'm concerned. I suspect that there are no more than a few hundred truly [i][b]active [/b][/i]Members and a helluva lot of dormant user names.

If you think you're reaching a potential market of many thousands of active bass players with money in their pocket, then prepare to be disappointed.
[/quote]

[karlfer]

Quite a few popular Facebook selling pages now.

[Lw.]

Used markets do generally slow down towards christmas - most people buy instruments for themselves (though some people do seem to have very generous partners!) but as they need to use their disposable income treating others next month it means many can't treat themselves now.

As we're talking about specifics; I wouldn't necessarily say 32% off retail is a particularly great deduction for used gear, though it is moderately surprising someone hasn't low-balled you. Though saying that; considering how many people try to pass things on at zero discount at all (or compare their used price to current retail, not retail at the time), maybe the market has moved on from where my mind would traditionally value things.

In terms of other places to sell; facebook groups seem to be popular at the moment (though I've never used one so don't know what else they offer).

[karlfer]

Have to disagree with you.
Currently Nate Mendels, new, selling for around £770.
Mine is 1 year old, new strings, properly set up, all the extras you would get with a new one. It's out at £525.

I think a 32% saving on one that is frankly indistinguisable from new is a very good saving.

If people are looking for more of a saving than that, no wonder the market is slow.

Oh, I did have some EXCELLENT trade offers but they all involved rosewood fretboards, which I'm trying to get away from.

Edited November 20, 2015 by karlfer