Buying (then selling on) for profit?

[Grangur]

Fair point. Most basses I buy to sell are on Gumtree or ebay.

If I've ever got reservations about a bass I'm selling being good value, I don't post it here. I wouldn't sell anything on here that I wouldn't sell for the same price to a close mate. I too like to think we're all good mates here.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1472018958' post='3117645']
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Is it common practice around here, to buy bargain basses, with the purpose of selling them on for profit?[/font][/color]
[/quote]

Who knows? We can't track everything that's bought on here.

[Fionn]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1472019717' post='3117650']
Who knows? We can't track everything that's bought on here.
[/quote]

No, but individuals can share their experiences

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1472019988' post='3117654']
No, but individuals can share their experiences
[/quote]

What for? To make sellers aware so the don't sell to these people? People who have done nothing wrong?

[Grangur]

Here's my experience.

I bought this on ebay:



And turned it into this:


Heres' the thread on the transformation.
http://basschat.co.uk/topic/290423-nbd-ibanez-sr740-2000-refurbishedproject/page__fromsearch__1

It's that good I might, just, keep it!

[MoonBassAlpha]

It would be nice to think that if someone got a good deal on here, then decided they were not going to keep it, that it would be offered up here again for a similar deal, like you would do for your mates.
Doesn't always happen.

[Kevin Dean]

I think it depends on their circumstances , a lot of people are hard up & with tax bills to pay etc ,

[Grangur]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1472021150' post='3117662']
It would be nice to think that if someone got a good deal on here, then decided they were not going to keep it, that it would be offered up here again for a similar deal, like you would do for your mates.
Doesn't always happen.
[/quote]

I think where a lot of folk go wrong is they advertise here and if it doesn't sell in a week or 2 they think "it's the price" and they drop the price. Then another week later, it goes down again, and again. Then they sell and are a bit disappointed they didn't get more for it.

In reality what can be happening is simply the buyer didn't notice the ad for the first 2-3 weeks. They might have paid the full price, but now you've dropped it £x00, then it's an even better buy. So, it can be just a matter of timing; not the price at all. On here Fenders get lots of attention. Warwick's don't. So if I'm wanting to sell a Warwick, (Thumb BO 5er anyone?) it's very tempting to drop the price stupidly fast and I'll get a bad deal on selling.

OK, back to our seller... so the deal happens. The buyer decides the sound isn't anything he needs, or he crashes the car and needs money, and the bass goes up for sale. Why can't he offer it at the same price as the original seller was originally asking, even if the price was stupidly low?

If that's the case, then we are simply opening up BC to our regulars to selling basses to incomers and our members losing money on basses that aren't popular among BC members. This is, after all, a PUBLIC web site.

The incoming bargain-hunters will then sell on, on Ebay etc. At least it's better if a regular BCer makes money, rather than a stranger, isn't it?

Edited August 24, 2016 by Grangur

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1472018958' post='3117645']
I never said I was pissed off.

I got the price that I asked for, and whoever buys the bass can do whatever they like with it (including burning the thing) once they've bought it. All that is correct.
[/quote]

Yep, you've nailed it.

[mcnach]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1472021150' post='3117662']
It would be nice to think that if someone got a good deal on here, then decided they were not going to keep it, that it would be offered up here again for a similar deal, like you would do for your mates.
Doesn't always happen.
[/quote]

There is a 'sense' of community, no doubt. If you look around the various sections in BC you'll see a lot of the same names. Some more prominent in some sections than others, but if you're around a little, yes, you get that sense. However, the marketplace is different. While many of those are 'regulars', there's quite a few users that seem to only contribute in that section. I just don't feel the same degree of 'community' with any of them. In other words... I would do a better deal for a 'mate' as you put it, or someone I have some sense of 'affinity' with... but I'm not that inclined to do a deal with someone whose presence in the world was only known to me from answering to my for-sale ad.

Even within the community... it depends on how much you need the cash. If I'm selling because you just don't want an item, I'm more likely to set a good price so that it goes fast, or open to trades where I may not be getting the best deal but I get something else I fancy. After all I've also been on the positive side of trades sometimes too. But if you are selling because you really need some cash injection... why would you not sell for the price something is worth?

I think we should see the 'good deals' within BC as something to be happy about, instead we seem to take it for granted so that we feel bad about standard trading practices. That's not quite right.
Just like it's not right, in my opinion, to worry so much about what others do with their stuff, like selling, and the prices they ask for. It has a bad whiff of jealousy however I look at it. The sense of community is not damaged if some people buy and sale for profit (and I'd buy from anyone who has what I want at a price I'm prepared to pay, and I don't care how much they paid - or do you just care when they made a profit? How about when they make a loss? Do you offer to pay them extra because hey, we're the BC community? ) - the sense of community is formed outside the trading, mostly, and I don't see that being affected. It is affected, however, if we start to mind too much other people's business. This is an internet forum, open to the public (with everything that this entails, good and bad), not a cult.

[discreet]

If you're looking for the 'Basschat community spirit', the marketplace is probably not the best place to look for it - as I'm sure there are quite a few members who have registered for the sole purpose of buying and selling basses. Which is fine.

Now, Off-Topic - that's where you're going to find your close-knit community of like-minded people.

Edited August 24, 2016 by discreet

[Geek99]

Fionn, I don't think bass direct have been too naughty here, their pricing is optimistic as they know a buyer will haggle and they have to service, restring, fund the bass until it sells as well as pay staff, rates, bills, vat

I have bought stuff cheaply all over and sold it on at market rates if I don't like it. People on here won't buy it if it's over priced and sometimes not even then; I have children to feed and so if a small profit is made then I give it to them in some form.

[FinnDave]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1472026463' post='3117712']
Now, Off-Topic - that's where you're going to find your close-knit community of like-minded people.
[/quote]
Surely you mean a closed-minded community of (k)nit-like people?

[HengistPod]

I sold a bass 3 or 4 months ago (bought new at the start of the year for around £250) for £220 ... it came up for sale a few weeks later for £300.

Someone must have bought it, because someone else is now selling it at £275. With the same strings it had on when I sold it, and an extra couple of scratches.

(R*****fakers ... seem like a good idea at the time, few people seem to actually get on with them though ... )

[KiOgon]

If anyone buys a bass at the seller's asking price - the buyer must be happy or he wouldn't of paid the price & the seller must be happy or he wouldn't have asked that price - nobody else's business!

The new owner may/may not find it's what they wanted, and/or spend time & money on new parts, strings, setup etc. or even just cleaning & polishing - resulting in a bass that to them is worth more than they paid. Nothing wrong with asking a higher price to sell it - back to the top ^^ see line one

[Musicman20]

Personally, I don't like to see anyone making a quick profit on here, especially if the seller sold it due to circumstances out of their control (e.g. sudden change of circs in life...whether good or bad).

It certainly makes me feel completely opposite to how great the recent 'giving a bass to charity' thread has been...that is the side of humans I like to see.

I can understand there are overheads for retailers, and no doubt someone bought it and it went straight to Bass Direct as they may not have liked it, but I also think the asking price of £1600 is very steep. If it sells, fair play.

I don't like to see instruments bought on ebay then flipped on here for a profit. I've seen one or two people do it a few times, but hey, if they want to do that, that is for them to decide.

The way I see it, I don't owe anyone an easy way to make money. I personally have a dislike for the typical aggressive businessman trying to make money at every opportunity. Of course I'm not saying anyone on here is like that, but that type of personality just does not sit well with me. Money isn't everything. A good trusted character is a rare find.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Musicman20

[Grangur]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1472029074' post='3117743']
Personally, I don't like to see anyone making a quick profit on here, especially if the seller sold it due to circumstances out of their control (e.g. sudden change of circs in life...whether good or bad).

It certainly makes me feel completely opposite to how great the recent 'giving a bass to charity' thread has been...that is the side of humans I like to see.

I can understand there are overheads for retailers, and no doubt someone bought it and it went straight to Bass Direct as they may not have liked it, but I also think the asking price of £1600 is very steep. If it sells, fair play.

I don't like to see instruments bought on ebay then flipped on here for a profit. I've seen one or two people do it a few times, but hey, if they want to do that, that is for them to decide.

The way I see it, I don't owe anyone an easy way to make money. I personally have a dislike for the typical aggressive businessman trying to make money at every opportunity. Of course I'm not saying anyone on here is like that, but that type of personality just does not sit well with me. Money isn't everything. A good trusted character is a rare find.
[/quote]
How do you draw the line?

When is it respectable to make a profit on something in life, and when is it wrong?

If you do a gig in your town do you charge less than if you're driving 20 miles?
If you get a lift to a gig from a mate, do you waive some of the money you'd be paid, because it's not right you should make anything out of it above what you'd normally get?
If you were doing a gig in the pub across from your house, would you do it for free, as it cost you nothing?

I'm not saying you dislike any profit being made in anything, but provided all parties in any deal are happy, what's wrong with profit?


Some folk on here split down their basses and sell the parts separately as that way will get more money. Is that wrong?

[karlfer]

I got some aggro on a sales thread (not pm!) a week or so back.

I bought a cab at £550. I sold it on straight away at £650.
The price was negotiable, especially somebody making it easy, coming to collect.

In between buying and selling it, I drove 240 miles to collect it.
I drove 260 miles to deliver it.

I spent over 12 hours (mainly looking at exhausts on the M6) between buying and selling. I spent pushing £90 on fuel.
So for my 12 hours of efforts, I profited by just over £10.

The guy who publicly gave me a hard time wasn't so keen on it when it was originally up at £700, from the original seller.

OH, and I sold it straight away because I'd misjudged how big it was. So, stupidity on my behalf.

Edited August 24, 2016 by karlfer

[CamdenRob]

This has never bothered me... I often see stuff I've sold going up on here for more a few months later.

I tend to sell cheap to get rid of stuff quick so if someone else wants to wait it out for the right buyer to come along and pay a higher price good luck to them

[DaytonaRik]

Isn't VAT only payable on the margin for used goods - i.e. on the difference between the trade in price/value and the eventual selling price...and the rate is 16.67%

[Grangur]

[quote name='DaytonaRik' timestamp='1472031888' post='3117773']
Isn't VAT only payable on the margin for used goods - i.e. on the difference between the trade in price/value and the eventual selling price...and the rate is 16.67%
[/quote]

Correction: It's changed [url="https://www.gov.uk/vat-margin-schemes/overview"]https://www.gov.uk/v...chemes/overview[/url]

You're right

Edited August 24, 2016 by Grangur

[4stringslow]

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1471993609' post='3117603']
That's 20% the most unfair Tax
[/quote]

More unfair than council tax? How would you feel about having to pay tax on a bass, regardless of your current financial circumstances, and after having already bought it out of taxed income?

[discreet]

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1472028017' post='3117735']
If anyone buys a bass at the seller's asking price - the buyer must be happy or he wouldn't of paid the price & the seller must be happy or he wouldn't have asked that price - [b]nobody else's business![/b]
[/quote]

Nail and head there, John.

[Grangur]

Dare I say this....

Some folk on here make things and openly sell their wares to many folk, AND they get really good feedback!

And I sincerely HOPE they make a profit!

[4stringslow]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1472032775' post='3117786']
No. I used to own a shop. I paid VAT at the going rate on things I bought from any source, provided they're registered for VAT. I then had to charge VAT at the going rate on the whole of the selling price.

If this wasn't the case, doing accounts would be a nightmare. You would never be able to do a VAT without doing the full checking of margins on everything.
[/quote]

Correct.

However, while VAT is indeed currently 20%, it is effectively more than that because most people will already have paid income tax and NI on their gross income. Thus in order to pay, say, £50 in VAT you have to earn significantly more than that in the first place. It's quite sobering to calculate all the taxes and duties we end up paying!