2nd hand market slowing??

[Twincam]

52 minutes ago, blisters on my fingers said:

Bought a few items on here with almost zero problems and a whole lot more on Ebay again with no problem at all.

Never sold a thing on Ebay however, so wondering what you would end up with if you sold a bass/ amp whatever for say £500 on Ebay.

I know Google exists  but I'd like to hear from the people on BC with actual experience of this. Thanks in advance

10% eBay fees and I think it's a 3.something% PayPal fee.

However many sell when there a £1 max fee on eBay which are fairly regular. 

As long as your willing to post, on eBay you will get a quicker sale and more money or at least enough to cover fees. This i feel is just because more people use eBay rather than anything wrong with the bc forum. Of course you make your chances of a sale better if advertising on both.

 

[yorks5stringer]

56 minutes ago, blisters on my fingers said:

Bought a few items on here with almost zero problems and a whole lot more on Ebay again with no problem at all.

Never sold a thing on Ebay however, so wondering what you would end up with if you sold a bass/ amp whatever for say £500 on Ebay.

I know Google exists  but I'd like to hear from the people on BC with actual experience of this. Thanks in advance

eBay are doing sell for a £1 deals but you only get 1 chance, you can't re-list at that fee. Presumably the PP commission is still taken too on any funds?

[BaggyMan]

i have bought and sold a bunch of basses on ebay, from plain janes to absolutely wacky.  (G.A.S is a terribly expensive hobby)

When the exchange rate was in our favour the US was a happy hunting ground.  (lakland skyline from a self confessed 'polka emporium music shop" for £350 anyone?).  I have a pretty good idea of prices i guess.  

Just thought the market seems very slow on here at the moment.  I have tried selling my Warwick corvette, Dingwall and Maruszczyk (concerned that some are perceiving them as having bad re-sale values....)  to little or no enquiries whatsoever...not even 'thats too much' slap downs or 'I had one of those' affirmations .  

Its all excellent kit yet stony silence except for the Warwick and the chap bailed out for personal reasons (obv not a market thing..).  Just bemused.  

As for pricing it it that unreasonable to want to sell an as new £1400 bass at 30 to 40% off??  The vintage market is something else and the rarity of JV Squier has almost created its own eco-system.  But the £500 to £1000 market seem sluggish for anything other than a boutique fender clones or a fender with the crap kicked out of them.   

One other observation... is the 5 string falling more out of favour now?....seems to be.

Oh yeah and my three are...5 stringers.

[Al Krow]

7 hours ago, BaggyMan said:

One other observation... is the 5 string falling more out of favour now?....seems to be.

No more so than 4 or 6 string basses. There are a ton of 5 string players, many of whom would only look at 5 string basses. 

I think it may simply be that BCers are generally at the more experienced end of the market and many will already have sorted their gear out, so the need for major items is much less frequent. And in some cases very specific (eg I'm on the look out for a Yamaha TRB5PII). 

Guys starting out either haven't heard of the fancy brands available in the FS or don't have the funds to buy them. 

 

[Reggaebass]

9 hours ago, blisters on my fingers said:

Bought a few items on here with almost zero problems and a whole lot more on Ebay again with no problem at all.

Never sold a thing on Ebay however, so wondering what you would end up with if you sold a bass/ amp whatever for say £500 on Ebay.

I know Google exists  but I'd like to hear from the people on BC with actual experience of this. Thanks in advance

I’ve sold a few things in the past and I know eBay take 10% of the final selling price. they normally send you a message at the end of the month and if you use PayPal they take about 3.4% 😀

[paul_c2]

8 hours ago, BaggyMan said:

 

As for pricing it it that unreasonable to want to sell an as new £1400 bass at 30 to 40% off??

This is meant more as a general thing, not specifically relating to the above (£1400 bass). A more accurate way to value something would be to look at a number of completed listings on eBay. Without further details, I don't know if that £1400 was because you paid over-the-odds new, and you can't expect to sell something for more than its achievable value. (I've seen new items for sale with wildly different pricing!!!!) And, yes, if the market has seen a downturn, then the value may well have dropped more than you like. "As-new" isn't new, you don't get the benefits of new such as (probably) free delivery these days, 14 days distance selling return, other retailer benefits etc.

Remember, if sellers are greedy and it doesn't sell, then you don't need to worry about how much eBay fees, Paypal fees etc are because you'll be getting precisely £0 for your efforts.

[LukeFRC]

When I sold my Thumb I was offered a nice bass in trade, the value given by the other fella was “30% off the new price” ... which was a bit odd as that valuation was about £1k more than he had bought it for on basschat six months previously. (Presuming he paid the advertised price) 

 

i honestly think the slowdown down is that folk just have that little bit less cash in their pockets than a few years ago, it doesn’t take much before dropping £1k on a nice bass you don’t really need isnt as appealing. 

In a normal market the prices would drop to match what people can afford, and in some cases they are, but I think a lot of people don’t have as much cash, but aren’t doing so badly that they want to drop their price to get a sale... so it feels more stagnant. 

[HengistPod]

On ‎21‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 19:50, skankdelvar said:

* If posting lots of close-up photos include at least one shot of the whole bass, preferably in landscape rather than portrait so we don't crick our necks looking at the screen sideways

Not quite getting this one. Surely a straight on full frontal could be either portrait *or* landscape and have similar scrutiny value?

I'd add "decent high-res photos taken by person lacking shaky hands". And if "blemishes" are a feature, decent pics of them so that the buyer knows what he's getting.

[skankdelvar]

9 hours ago, HengistPod said:

Surely a straight on full frontal could be either portrait *or* landscape and have similar scrutiny value?

Oooh Matron!

 

Portrait's OK but landscape just makes it easier to see what an instrument would look like in its playing position.

Just a preference, really. One's mileage may vary 

[Woodinblack]

5 minutes ago, skankdelvar said:

Portrait's OK but landscape just makes it easier to see what an instrument would look like in its playing position.

Playing?? You are supposed to play them as well? Oh...

[blisters on my fingers]

14 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

I’ve sold a few things in the past and I know eBay take 10% of the final selling price. they normally send you a message at the end of the month and if you use PayPal they take about 3.4% 😀

Thanks Mr Reggaebass  so if you sell for £500 and use Paypal you end up with about £432 or thereabouts, does that sound about right ?

A work colleague is about to sell some gear on behalf of the parents of a recently deceased family member.

And I couldn't answer the question cos I've only ever bought stuff and never sold 

Thanks for your help 

[Al Krow]

6 hours ago, blisters on my fingers said:

Thanks Mr Reggaebass  so if you sell for £500 and use Paypal you end up with about £432 or thereabouts, does that sound about right ?

A work colleague is about to sell some gear on behalf of the parents of a recently deceased family member.

And I couldn't answer the question cos I've only ever bought stuff and never sold 

Thanks for your help 

Or much better wait to list until eBay are doing their regular max £3 or max £1 fees offer and then you just have the PayPal costs on top which are about 3%. 

My tip: NEVER list a big item when you are paying the full 10% eBay commission. 

[anzoid]

On 05/12/2018 at 23:18, blisters on my fingers said:

Bought a few items on here with almost zero problems and a whole lot more on Ebay again with no problem at all.

Never sold a thing on Ebay however, so wondering what you would end up with if you sold a bass/ amp whatever for say £500 on Ebay.

I know Google exists  but I'd like to hear from the people on BC with actual experience of this. Thanks in advance

Frome £500, the answer is... it varies. If you go the full eBay route + PayPal payment then it's 10% on the final price, then PayPal fees are 20p + 3.4% - so you'll end up with 500 - 50 - 17 -0.2 = £432.80.

If you included shipping for free in that then you're also out the cost of shipping - another £20 or so (at least). If shipping is extra then you still get charged 10% + PayPal fees on that money too.

If you decide to go the cash on collection route then you just pay the eBay fees - so £450 in your pocket, but you have to deal with the prats who insist on paying by PayPal anyway (refunds, multiple emails, hassle ).

Sometimes, if you're lucky and eBay deems you worthy you'll get a "Sell anything for £1" offer - that's the moment to sell a high ticket item as you only pay - you guessed it - £1 (+ PayPal fees I think...). So you're down £18.20 on your £500.

I've more or less given up on eBay for selling because it's mostly been too much of a hassle, but that's been because of buyers more than "the system". Though probably will use it again... Had reasonable success moving stuff on here but haven't needed to sell anything of late anyway. I tend to buy secondhand through shops where I can find what I want as although you might pay a bit more, the experience (with the right retailer) is 100x better.

Edited December 7, 2018 by anzoid

[Burns-bass]

People seemingly buy and sell gear as a hobby. The item itself is less important than the thrill of purchase and the excitement of expectation.

Perhaps were realising that having more and more gear is a distraction, and that we should spend more time playing and lesss time browsing? I know I should!

I’d also echo the thoughts here that some of the gear is priced very highly. I always assume a typical retail markup is about 30% and take this off to give me a guide for private sales. It’s a crude metric, but it helps. When I see vintage Fenders on here priced the same as you’d pay in a London shop I’m always surprised. I personally know that a dealer like Andy Baxter spends a huge amount of time - and a reasonable amount of money too - documenting the history of his basses, and of course buying through a shop gives you significant amounts of consumer protection.

[Reggaebass]

8 hours ago, blisters on my fingers said:

Thanks Mr Reggaebass  so if you sell for £500 and use Paypal you end up with about £432 or thereabouts, does that sound about right ?

A work colleague is about to sell some gear on behalf of the parents of a recently deceased family member.

And I couldn't answer the question cos I've only ever bought stuff and never sold 

Thanks for your help 

If you are in no rush to sell I would take mr Al Krows advice, eBay quite frequently do weekend offers where you pay less fees , they normally email you their deals , ,good luck with your sale 👍

[Woodinblack]

I do ebay often. I try and do the £1 fee thing where I can but if not, you can get easily more than 10% extra there than here if it is just something general, plus it is a bigger market, so it works out ok.

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

I do ebay often. I try and do the £1 fee thing where I can but if not, you can get easily more than 10% extra there than here if it is just something general, plus it is a bigger market, so it works out ok.

There was one last weekend (and they seem to appear regularly). I don't know whether they're blanket offers, or ones for selected sellers, but I sold an NS design bass and paid just £1, which I was well happy with.

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

There was one last weekend (and they seem to appear regularly). I don't know whether they're blanket offers, or ones for selected sellers, but I sold an NS design bass and paid just £1, which I was well happy with.

Yeh, I sold my GVR36 to france for £1 fees

[Shambo]

5 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Perhaps were realising that having more and more gear is a distraction, and that we should spend more time playing and lesss time browsing?

Sorry, you've lost me.

[blisters on my fingers]

13 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

If you are in no rush to sell I would take mr Al Krows advice, eBay quite frequently do weekend offers where you pay less fees , they normally email you their deals , ,good luck with your sale 👍

Thanks for your replies everybody, it will help the relatives of my workmate not get ripped off.

The Auctioneers valued a 90's Gibson Explorer at around £200. Luckily they didn't proceed with this.

Sorry for the thread derail !! 

[josie]

I'm trying to sell two basses (a Warwick Thumb 6 and a 1992 Fender Jazz+V - both high-spec fairly specialised beasts). I've given them to a good little local independent music shop (Grove Music in Hazel Grove) to sell on 20% commission. The owner is a bass player, and more likely to sell them through personal contacts than by advertising. Very unlikely anyone living there is going to walk in off the street on spec and buy either! 

I don't have to worry about dodgy buyers, payment mechanisms, or packing and shipping. They'll be sold to musicians who will play them, not to a chancer hoping to turn some quick £ by re-selling. And I'd much rather he had 20% than that Fleabay and PayPal had 13.4% between them. 

[ricksterphil]

I think its a mixture of poor advertising on here, as in, vague descriptions, shoddy photo's etc, plus competition from Facebook, eBay and a quiet market

I advertised a mint Gibson Thunderbird on here - no takers, not even an enquiry. Listed it on eBay at a higher price and sold it within 3 days. Just lucky that a guy who wanted the exact model I had (a 2015 model with the Babicz bridge) was looking at the time I posted it. He pressed the BIN button and off we went. Out of interest after the sale I asked him if he was on BC and he said he'd never heard of it!

So in summary

Not all bass players use this forum (shock horror!)

eBay, Facebook and thefretboard - a guitar forum which also sells basses and where I bought my T-Bird from - are competing places to buy/sell (and that's without mentioning Gumtree)

Many of the owners of collections who advertise on here are 'thinning the herd' which naturally reduces the pool of buyers

Selling on commission through specialist shops - Bass Direct sold a Sandberg of mine for a very good price to me, which then appeared on eBay for about 6 months and is now back on Bass Direct's books. It's this one btw http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Sandberg_Classic_4.html   It's a cracking bass btw!

Having said all of the above I'll still use this forum to advertise my gear. I'm a big fan of BC but like most things, it ain't perfect!

 

 

[Dan Dare]

I've found with my very infrequent sales (I hardly buy and sell - I try to find what I like and stick with it) that the BC sales forum is a reliable place. The only thing I don't like is that you have to set a price when selling. Sometimes, you can get a pleasant surprise when selling on eBay, especially if several get into a bidding war for what you're selling. I do notice that a few selling on BC have an optimistic view of what their stuff is worth. Typically, average used values (excluding vintage, rare or unusual items) tend to work out at around half new retail.

[paul_c2]

I have bought ~£500 of new gear recently. A slight frustration with BC classified (I suppose it can happen everywhere though) is that there are a proportion of sellers who will overvalue their equipment, possibly because they are not actually that desperate to sell (so might hang onto it for longer, in the hope of realising a higher value or its value will go up in due course). However eBay soon relieves that frustration! eBay is such a big marketplace that, despite its negatives, its still the place to go to for the exposure and if its properly priced (or a low starting auction), it WILL sell. I regularly check Reverb.com too, this is good for musical gear.

[LukeFRC]

It’s really interesting meta question of what basschat “is” - is it a forum with a marketplace, or is it a marketplace with a forum attached. 

When I first found basschat the only reason I joined was to sell a pedal that was too specialist for me to have confidence selling on eBay - I stuck around for the chat and forum side- when I realised as a new bassist it gave me a way to sell my first bass and get a bass I really wanted at a good price I got more involved. The forum side is great and I’ve met some fantastic folk, but honestly my primary driver for a lot of the continued involvement is having the opportunity to buy and sell stuff and try out pretty much my entire GAS list. It’s really so much better to buy a bass from someone who you know looks after your gear. Basschat is great. 

I get the funding model, I have no complaints, I pay my dues if I want to sell something and it’s not unreasonable - but it very much thinks of the site as a forum with a marketplace attached, where my experience has been the opposite... and I wonder the effect on young bassists getting on here, as the fees will be act as a barrier- longer term what will the effect be? Less young folk selling lower value stuff, and less of the same folk buying slightly higher value stuff ... market slow down a bit and focus more on the high end specialist stuff where the fees are a neglible amount of the value ...