Trad in or private sale?

[Combed20]

I'm really gassing for the new(ish) Duff McKagan sig bass. Can't justify spend the money and don't really have space for another bass. Considering off loading a few to raise the funds and create space. I have one Gibson Nikki Sixx Blackbird, and two LTD Pheonix II 1004.  If I trade them in (just saw a trade in advert on GAK) I'll obviously get less than private sale, but also saves the hassle and potential rippoff from an Ebay scammer.  Any thoughts/advice?

[Deedee]

In my experience, Trade-in prices from music stores are appalling. Like, ridiculously low. 

Of course others may have had different experiences.

My advice would be to sell them on here. There's a trusted community of members with pages of feedback that you can check against.

[Reggaebass]

It’s worth enquiring with the stores , I’ve done it quite a few times but personally the low offers I received were just insulting , I sold them privately and bought the basses I wanted elsewhere 

[mr4stringz]

Private sale for sure. In this particular case, as it’s long been discontinued, if the ‘right’ person catches sight of the Blackbird I’d have thought it would (pardon the pun) fly out. They don’t seem to come up all that often.

[franzbassist]

Basschat sales every time.  Shops will always go very low.

[ezbass]

Trade in values are always going to be low, the shop will want to turn some profit on it (despite making a profit on the bass you’re buying) and then they have to pay VAT. Private sales are always the best way forward, as the shops will tell you. BC is a great place to sell, as you’re hitting your key demographic and is populated by a great bunch of folk. However, a third way is a commission sale through a shop, this way the onus for delivery is on the shop and you should see your bass on their website. I’ve used The Gallery in Camden for 3 items (15% commission) and can recommend them if you’re anywhere near them.

[Bobthedog]

I am not a prolific seller and Basschat sales do work but, in my experience, be prepared to have whatever "fair" price you suggest negotiated down. I have also sold on the FB Bass Players Market UK group and sold for what I asked for (the same prices I advertised here).

Bass Direct may not sell what you want but I find their trade in prices to be pretty good compared to others. I have used them before too. Trading in is definitely easier.

I also suggest trying many different sites if you sell - do not limit yourself to one place and therefore a potentially limited set of buyers.

Edited March 21, 2021 by Bobthedog

[jezzaboy]

Guitarguitar would offer you half of what they would sell the bass for. I did it once a few years back and never again. I imagine most stores operate on the same terms.

Sell on here as it`s a trusted community or get Bass Direct, who will charge you 20% but are good on second hand sales or Bass Gallery who will charge you 15%. 

I recently had a bass on com sale with the Gallery and it took them 2.5 weeks to list it and only after me asking where the advert was. The photos weren`t very good and sod all description. I took it back and 4 weeks later it`s still showing for sale in their Reverb shop, which is strange as it`s sitting beside me right now. The whole process just seemed very laid back. But that`s not everyone`s experience, just mine. 

My mate sold a Ric through Bass Direct in a week, good photo`s and description. 

If you price the bass correct, some nice photo`s, a good description and offer postage, which in these times is almost a necessity, on here`s a great place to sell.

[Skybone]

Some shops will offer 'commission sales', where they will add on a percentage, but you have entrust your instrument to them to look after. Unless it's a trusted specialist, not sure that it's viable these days.

As has been said, part-ex prices are often insulting, in order for the shop to make it worth their while. Not viable.

Private sales, either here, the Bay of E, Gumtree, Reverb, or some other site would be the way to go, but needs a lot of trust, and careful packaging if you're going to post.

Thankfully, the marketplace on BC is great. 

[Lozz196]

Basschat For Sale, Gumtree or contact Bass Direct, Classic And Cool Guitars, The Bass Gallery to see if they’ll sell for you. Trade ins are dreadful in general for the value you get (though Coda Music in Stevenage used to be very good).

[dmccombe7]

Depends on the shop taking the trade. I've had deals that were good and others that were ridiculous and an insult.

Personally i'd sell privately either on here or try Facebook Marketplace but only do cash on collection to save any issues. Also Gumtree and finally i might try ebay as a last resort.

BC for sale page is the place to go as you'll get an honest interest from a fellow BC'er.

Dave

[binky_bass]

@Combed20 - My below comment from another similar thread might be of use:

"It also depends how long you're prepared to wait for the sale...

eBay generally sets a reasonable tone for market value as many people will see it and if you list it with no reserve and a £1 starting bid it will sell for what the market dictates is the price. With 12 good photos and a solid description you will get a fair return, especially if you wait until you get a £1 selling fee offer. I just sold an Ibanez ANB306 on eBay for £1266 under the above set of guidelines.

Basschat is a worthwhile place to list your bass, £7 for one item for as long as it takes to sell. Again, photos and description are key, as is a reasonable price. Obviously the better the price the quicker the sale. 

I don't really rate Gumtree, I've advertised a lot on there and rarely ever made a sale, however without fail I always get at least 3 messages from obvious scammers. 

On commission at The Bass Gallery or Bass Direct is an option, their commission is between 15% and 20%, you will need to physically hand over your bass though, and there is no guarantee it'll sell quickly so you may be without your bass for a while.

Selling it to a store, be it GuitarGuitar or Cash Converters, will get you a quick sale but it'll be a low ball price - depends what you want to get. 

Reverb is good, I've recently sold two USA PRS and a few pedals via Reverb, there is a selling fee (6% or 7% I think), cheaper than eBay and quite secure. It's free to advertise and you only pay the fee once you've sold. This might be a good option. 

That's my two cents! My advice, advertise on Basschat, Reverb and Gumtree at the same time, if you get no bites maybe talk to the guys at The Bass Gallery or Bass Direct. Or if you're happy to roll the dice and let the market decide the value, stick it on eBay with 12 good photos, a lengthy description AND OFFER POSTAGE!!! 

Without postage on any platform, you are EXTREMELY limited to who can buy your bass. 

Good luck!"

[uk_lefty]

Guitarguitar offered me £200 trade in for a bass I just sold privately on Reverb for £350. I could have negotiated up or held out for more, or even sold for more if I was prepared to ship overseas. Being left handed its harder to find your target market quickly, I like Reverb but always try BC first because you can trust the other members. 

[Downunderwonder]

7 hours ago, ezbass said:

the shop will want to turn some profit on it (despite making a profit on the bass you’re buying)

Not at all. They want to turn some profit on it. The end. If they weren't going to make a profit on each and every bass on the wall they wouldn't have a wall to hang them on.

[CookPassBabtridge]

Depends on what your priorities are and what weight you give to them - if you want a quick and guaranteed sale but for less money, go trade in. If you want a fair price but aren’t in a rush, use the Marketplace here or EBay (only the latter on a £1 fee weekend though). I’ve never liked Gumtree,  my experience is it encourages time wasters, scammers and suspect sellers (e.g. live animals by unscrupulous breeders). Back to basses though - I enquired for a trade in at Andertons and their offer wasn’t terrible. I guess it varies from place to place. 

[uk_lefty]

My latest Gumtree adventure... 

He blocked my number before the last message got sent. Obvious scam. 

 

[CookPassBabtridge]

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

My latest Gumtree adventure... 

He blocked my number before the last message got sent. Obvious scam. 

 

I like how they have clearly just copied and pasted the exact text from the title of the ad when mentioning the item. Also asking ‘how much do you want for it’ twice despite you directing them to the advert detail. Sadly I bet they get a lot of people with that scam though. 

[TJ1]

On 21/03/2021 at 10:17, Combed20 said:

 but also saves the hassle and potential rippoff from an Ebay scammer.  Any thoughts/advice?

Maybe Ebay can be a bit of jungle, but I have a several good experiences with it, I have always tried to be careful about researching the detail of a buyers history - looking for a pattern of  him her buying differing items at a similar value - and then researching those sellers details to make sure they are not related to the buyer and thus not giving false feedback.

The downside is they charge 10%.

Basschat charges a flat fee of £7 to list an item, so it might be a better bet, particularly for a specialist bass. Although ebay's % only kicks in if you actually sell the item.

[Dan Dare]

It's a good time to buy and a bad time to sell at present. If you can hang onto the ones you're thinking of off-loading, you'll get more for them once the world has returned to something resembling normality. It's a particularly bad time to trade in right now. Shops aren't shifting much and won't want to take things into stock unless they can buy them for next to nothing. You can't blame them. They have a living to make, wages and bills to pay, etc, etc. If you must sell now, do it privately.

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

My latest Gumtree adventure... 

He blocked my number before the last message got sent. Obvious scam. 

 

I'm a bit naive when it comes to these things and always ask for cash on collection unless thru BC but how does the scam work with this. ? 

If he pays you on Paypal then his courier picks it up after payment whats the scam part ? 

Serious question as i dont want to be caught by it.

Dave

[Lozz196]

That’s a very good point Dan, I’ve stacks of gear I need to move on, not for the money, I’ve just established what gear I’m keeping moving forwards, but given travel restrictions along with lack of money out there I’m not putting any instruments up for a while yet.

[uk_lefty]

2 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Serious question as i dont want to be caught by it.

The "courier" either isn't a real courier or there's some jiggery pokery at that end and then the "buyer" claims item not received to PayPal who immediately claw back the money. Leaving the seller without their property or the proceeds of the sale. I'll never accept someone sending their own courier unless its someone I know. By someone I know I include people I've never met but they're on BC a lot and have a good feedback thread. I bought a bass on here by trust, bank transfer to the sellers account and I arranged the courier, but he is on BC a lot and had good feedback here so I knew I could trust that the address was his and there would be a well packed bass waiting for my courier. 

[dmccombe7]

5 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

The "courier" either isn't a real courier or there's some jiggery pokery at that end and then the "buyer" claims item not received to PayPal who immediately claw back the money. Leaving the seller without their property or the proceeds of the sale. I'll never accept someone sending their own courier unless its someone I know. By someone I know I include people I've never met but they're on BC a lot and have a good feedback thread. I bought a bass on here by trust, bank transfer to the sellers account and I arranged the courier, but he is on BC a lot and had good feedback here so I knew I could trust that the address was his and there would be a well packed bass waiting for my courier. 

Ok i see what you mean. I'll stick to my cash on collection.😀

[Dan Dare]

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

The "courier" either isn't a real courier or there's some jiggery pokery at that end and then the "buyer" claims item not received to PayPal who immediately claw back the money. Leaving the seller without their property or the proceeds of the sale. I'll never accept someone sending their own courier unless its someone I know

This is it in a nutshell. I've had a few instances of people on eBay offering to pay me via PP and then "sending a courier". I simply tell them to give the "courier" the cash and he can give it to me directly in exchange for the item. Oddly enough, they never agree to the idea. Wonder why? 

[adamg67]

I've mainly bought and sold on Basschat over the last few years, but there are few smaller more specialist dealers where trading in can be a good option. 

Just recently I traded in a bass with Classic and Cool. In this case I didn't want to miss the bass they had as it was exactly what I wanted, and the one I was trading in was their kind of thing, and although very nice not everyone's cup of tea. I probably could have got more on here but could have been waiting weeks or months. As it was I got 85% of what I paid for it and ended up with a bass I like much more.

I maybe could have found one a bit cheaper here but would have been waiting a while.

So in this case I'm very happy with the deal, but I doubt that would have been the case with one of the big chains.