Basses better investment than banks!

[machinehead]

I always tell my wife that it's an investment every time a new bass arrives.   

 

I agree with other posters that the banks are effectively stealing money from our savings with the interest rates of the last few years.

Frank.

[GuyR]

9 minutes ago, Velarian said:

The problem with owning a fine vintage bass as an investment is that to realise the benefit of any gain in value you have to sell the thing. Who would be happy to do that? 🙁

 

What a ludicrous notion. 

That’s for your children to do once you are dead, surely?

 

Nobody actually buys a vintage bass as an investment, it’s a convenient delusional justification.

[Velarian]

4 minutes ago, GuyR said:

 

What a ludicrous notion. 

That’s for your children to do once you are dead, surely?

 

Nobody actually buys a vintage bass as an investment, it’s a convenient delusional justification.

Exactly 

[Pow_22]

20 hours ago, SumOne said:

Is £14,500 the going rate for a decent early 60's  P Bass? It makes the £6,500 J Bass at Bass Gallery look cheap! Is there usually that much difference in cost between a P and a J a couple of years apart? 

I always find that Bass Direct get quite giddy whenever they get anything vintage Fender in and often their prices are produced on the back of that giddyness.  Generally find Bass Gallery are much more realistic on their vintage Fender pricing.

[alyctes]

Surely the original calculation should take account of the changes in interest rates over the time since it was bought?

 

(I know, I'm not entertaining.  Story of my life.)

[Dan Dare]

22 hours ago, SumOne said:

Is £14,500 the going rate for a decent early 60's  P Bass? It makes the £6,500 J Bass at Bass Gallery look cheap! Is there usually that much difference in cost between a P and a J a couple of years apart? 

 

There's a big difference between market value (what a willing buyer would pay) and the price a retailer charges or attempts to charge. I only ever buy things privately or at auction. It's less convenient than just walking into a shop and saying "I'll take that one", but if you want to see a return, it's the best way to go. A retailer is in business and has to make a profit. Fair enough. He has a living to make, but if you are looking to purchase as an investment, you really need to eliminate his profit from the calculation.

 

It's better, in my experience, to buy several nice, but not outrageous instruments than something like a '52 P bass. Everyone knows a '52 is highly desirable and your chances of picking it up at a price that enables you to see a profit are reduced as a result. True, you may not get the pride of ownership/bragging rights that come with the '52, but your bank balance will see the benefit. Often, the biggest gains - in poercentage terms - are to be had with more modest instruments.

Edited November 4, 2021 by Dan Dare

[SumOne]

21 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

There's a big difference between market value (what a willing buyer would pay) and the price a retailer charges or attempts to charge. I only ever buy things privately or at auction. It's less convenient than just walking into a shop and saying "I'll take that one", but if you want to see a return, it's the best way to go. A retailer is in business and has to make a profit. Fair enough. He has a living to make, but if you are looking to purchase as an investment, you really need to eliminate his profit from the calculation.

 

It's better, in my experience, to buy several nice, but not outrageous instruments than something like a '52 P bass. Everyone knows a '52 is highly desirable and your chances of picking it up at a price that enables you to see a profit are reduced as a result. True, you may not get the pride of ownership/bragging rights that come with the '52, but your bank balance will see the benefit. Often, the biggest gains - in poercentage terms - are to be had with more modest instruments.

 

Yeah, I think if I were to go down the investment Bass route I'd probably go for something good to play that's high-end but not yet considered vintage....like a 90's Sadowsky, Spector, Fodera, MTD, Mike Lull etc. Keep hold of it for 10 years and once it's 40+ years old so it starts to go into 'vintage' collectable territory (especially to anyone younger than that!), it'd be a nice playable Bass for 10 years of use and would probably also make some money - win win! I'm talking myself into this!

[SumOne]

Not to be a downer on it as I'd like to talk myself into 'investing' in an expensive Bass but I think inflation and wage/spending power increases are a big thing that people don't often consider. 

 

I seem to remember seeing somewhere that a J Bass in the mid 60's cost about £150, average UK wages were roughly £1,000 per year (£83 per month) so it cost nearly 2 months of wages. Average wages are now  £29,600 per year  (£2,466 per month) so that's getting towards £5k for 2 months of wages.  Bass Gallery have a 64 J Bass for £6,500 .....if that asking price gets knocked down a bit and Bass Gallery take their cut you basically sell it for roughly 2 months of average wages - which is exactly the same 'value' as you bought for 58 years ago.  There's also 58 years of risk of losing/breaking it/insurance costs/maintainance etc. so it's probably not such a great investment if it's just down to money. 

Edited November 4, 2021 by SumOne

[tegs07]

1 hour ago, SumOne said:

Not to be a downer on it as I'd like to talk myself into 'investing' in an expensive Bass but I think inflation and wage/spending power increases are a big thing that people don't often consider. 

 

I seem to remember seeing somewhere that a J Bass in the mid 60's cost about £150, average UK wages were roughly £1,000 per year (£83 per month) so it cost nearly 2 months of wages. Average wages are now  £29,600 per year  (£2,466 per month) so that's getting towards £5k for 2 months of wages.  Bass Gallery have a 64 J Bass for £6,500 .....if that asking price gets knocked down a bit and Bass Gallery take their cut you basically sell it for roughly 2 months of average wages - which is exactly the same 'value' as you bought for 58 years ago.  There's also 58 years of risk of losing/breaking it/insurance costs/maintainance etc. so it's probably not such a great investment if it's just down to money. 

But how much would that cash be worth now if it was kept in a bank all those years rather than spent on a bass? £150 would probably pay for a decent hard case.

The increase in the money supply (broad definition of inflation) and devaluation of money  (reduction in purchasing power) is exactly what “investing” in assets is about. It’s not a get rich scheme just trying to get back ( hopefully with a modest increase) the value that you put in.

 

Edit: There would have been some interest payment on the £150 but it would decline in proportion to the value of the money. By the mid 1980’s it would already be negligible.

Edited November 4, 2021 by tegs07

[Burns-bass]

It’s a purely speculative investment as older instruments have no intrinsic value. I recently bought a 1971 Martin DR35. It’s a beautiful guitar that’s opened up wonderfully, and still about £300 cheaper than buying a new one.
 

Will it increase in value? Possibly. 
 

Will I play it and love it for the next 40 years… I hope so. 

 

 

[tegs07]

33 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

It’s a purely speculative investment as older instruments have no intrinsic value. I recently bought a 1971 Martin DR35. It’s a beautiful guitar that’s opened up wonderfully, and still about £300 cheaper than buying a new one.
 

Will it increase in value? Possibly. 
 

Will I play it and love it for the next 40 years… I hope so. 

 

 

Absolutely. It’s no guaranteed money spinner. Instruments are lovely things to have around though.

[Burns-bass]

32 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

Absolutely. It’s no guaranteed money spinner. Instruments are lovely things to have around though.

they are u til you’re kids start whacking them. My wife said “it’s already covered in scratches and dents…” (it’s a 1966 candy apple red jazz). 
 

If I died tomorrow she’d accept £200 for it I reckon.

[GuyR]

8 hours ago, SumOne said:

Not to be a downer on it as I'd like to talk myself into 'investing' in an expensive Bass but I think inflation and wage/spending power increases are a big thing that people don't often consider. 

 

I seem to remember seeing somewhere that a J Bass in the mid 60's cost about £150, average UK wages were roughly £1,000 per year (£83 per month) so it cost nearly 2 months of wages. Average wages are now  £29,600 per year  (£2,466 per month) so that's getting towards £5k for 2 months of wages.  Bass Gallery have a 64 J Bass for £6,500 .....if that asking price gets knocked down a bit and Bass Gallery take their cut you basically sell it for roughly 2 months of average wages - which is exactly the same 'value' as you bought for 58 years ago.  There's also 58 years of risk of losing/breaking it/insurance costs/maintainance etc. so it's probably not such a great investment if it's just down to money. 

The 64 you are referring to is a refin. An original finish one would be worth significantly more, although your overall point is an interesting one.

 

[bassman7755]

On 03/11/2021 at 14:05, gjones said:

I then realised that all the basses I'd bought secondhand, never went for less than I paid for them when I eventually sold them on.

 

So I spent the money on preloved basses. I don't expect them to shoot up in value but at least they'll hold their value over the years.

 

I used to have one bass, now I've got 10.

 

I tell myself, it's not self indulgence......... it's an investment

 

Yes this is the accounting viewpoint - a used bass does not "cost" you anything its a capital asset purchase so your personal balance sheet remains unchanged no matter how many bases you buy 😁