BassBros

[roger]

Don’t know if any of you guys check the site out very often but prices seem to be creeping up, do you think BassBros have an effect on market prices? I know every business needs to turn a profit but wow…… I’m looking for a Natural/Maple stingray and I see there was a nice Stingray Classic on here at 1650 now advertised on the Bassbros site at £2k! I guess if they’re paying a decent price and you need to shift something why not! I’m not knocking these guys in anyway and wow they get some great stock (most of which I haven’t seen advertised anywhere else).

What do you all think???

[asingardenof]

Supply and demand, innit.

[Owen]

Any shop has to put their percentage on. Otherwise, there is no point in running the shop. I have dealt with BB a couple of times. Once, something went wrong which was neither their fault nor mine and Wil's customer service was outstanding - absolutely above and beyond.

[Burns-bass]

13 minutes ago, roger said:

Don’t know if any of you guys check the site out very often but prices seem to be creeping up, do you think BassBros have an effect on market prices? I know every business needs to turn a profit but wow…… I’m looking for a Natural/Maple stingray and I see there was a nice Stingray Classic on here at 1650 now advertised on the Bassbros site at £2k! I guess if they’re paying a decent price and you need to shift something why not! I’m not knocking these guys in anyway and wow they get some great stock (most of which I haven’t seen advertised anywhere else).

What do you all think???

I wanted to buy an Xotic 5 string on here for £1100 which turned up a few days later on the BassBros site at £1650.

 

Their prices will reflect the costs of running a business, a 2.5% charge for credit cards, new strings and a setup. It’s not going to make anyone rich and they seem like good guys. 

 

My advice would be to hold onto your cash and wait. Inevitably the item you want will come up at some point. I recently purchased two basses I’d wanted for ages (original Grabber bass and a Czech Ease bass) at reasonable prices from genuinely lovely sellers who I met and chatted with.

 

 

 

 

[roger]

5 minutes ago, Owen said:

Any shop has to put their percentage on. Otherwise, there is no point in running the shop. I have dealt with BB a couple of times. Once, something went wrong which was neither their fault nor mine and Wil's customer service was outstanding - absolutely above and beyond.

I get that and their service is not in question at all and I’ve chatted to Will also…. ‘bloody lovely bloke’  as the OP says I’m curious on the effect on prices🤷‍♂️

[Burns-bass]

3 minutes ago, roger said:

I get that and their service is not in question at all and I’ve chatted to Will also…. ‘bloody lovely bloke’  as the OP says I’m curious on the effect on prices🤷‍♂️

I think prices for second hand instruments are pretty crazy. People are trying to sell used items for 80% of the new price. Private sellers also use the shop prices as benchmarks for their items (especially vintage items) which makes the whole market seem mad.

[wateroftyne]

IMO BassBros help keep prices down. They’re one of the more down-to-earth retailers, I think.

 

FWIW in the decades I’ve been on Basschat, I can’t remember a time when anyone ever said ‘Hey - have you noticed vintage bass prices are really reasonable at the moment?’

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, wateroftyne said:

FWIW in the decades I’ve been on Basschat, I can’t remember a time when anyone ever said ‘Hey - have you noticed vintage bass prices are really reasonable at the moment?’

 

Thats because until a decade or so back, they were just older basses and had reasonable prices. The 'vintage bass' market with its high prices is a relatively new thing. 

[Machines]

I have had several basses I could not sell on here or Facebook that I took to BassBros/BassDirect that then sold immediately at a 20% higher price (which covered commission).

 

People like the assurance and support of proper business, and will clearly pay more than for a private seller interaction.

[Owen]

8 minutes ago, Machines said:

I have had several basses I could not sell on here or Facebook that I took to BassBros/BassDirect that then sold immediately at a 20% higher price (which covered commission).

 

People like the assurance and support of proper business, and will clearly pay more than for a private seller interaction.

This is all well and good as long as it was not that D-Roc which you will have to offer to ME before putting it on public sale.

[Burns-bass]

12 minutes ago, Machines said:

I have had several basses I could not sell on here or Facebook that I took to BassBros/BassDirect that then sold immediately at a 20% higher price (which covered commission).

 

People like the assurance and support of proper business, and will clearly pay more than for a private seller interaction.

Here endeth the thread. 

[Machines]

5 minutes ago, Owen said:

This is all well and good as long as it was not that D-Roc which you will have to offer to ME before putting it on public sale.

 

I'm looking at it 😉

[wateroftyne]

30 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Thats because until a decade or so back, they were just older basses and had reasonable prices. The 'vintage bass' market with its high prices is a relatively new thing. 

I’m not sure that’s the case, other than the basses were ten years newer back then, which would be reflected in the price.

[Woodinblack]

5 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

I’m not sure that’s the case, other than the basses were ten years newer back then, which would be reflected in the price.

 

I was very tempted to buy a 1965 gibson ES355 from wunjo in the mid 2000s for £750, this was considerably lower than the price of a new one at the time (and although newer than now, it would still be over 40). Anything fender from the 70s/80s up until 10/15 years ago would have been a lot lower than the price of a new one. Maybe an early 60s / late 50s fender might have been more expensive, but not hugely so.

This is very much a new phenomenon

 

[three]

The nature of markets.  That said, I've largely stopped selling basses on BC.  Irritating to see them flipped (and sold) a few months later at seriously inflated prices

[Woodinblack]

7 minutes ago, three said:

The nature of markets.  That said, I've largely stopped selling basses on BC.  Irritating to see them flipped (and sold) a few months later at seriously inflated prices

 

If you sell something at a price you are happy to sell at, why does it matter if the next owner sells it higher? obviously if you can sell it higher, then that is good, but once you have sold a thing it is someone elses to do what they want with, including selling.

[wateroftyne]

23 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I was very tempted to buy a 1965 gibson ES355 from wunjo in the mid 2000s for £750, this was considerably lower than the price of a new one at the time (and although newer than now, it would still be over 40). Anything fender from the 70s/80s up until 10/15 years ago would have been a lot lower than the price of a new one. Maybe an early 60s / late 50s fender might have been more expensive, but not hugely so.

This is very much a new phenomenon

 

But 10-15 years ago, they weren’t really seen as desirable. Just like 60s basses in the 80s.

[Burns-bass]

Just now, wateroftyne said:

But 10-15 years ago, they weren’t really seen as desirable. Just like 60s basses in the 80s.

Yep. I nearly bought a Grabber at £250 in 2002. They’re now 10 times that in London shops. 

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, wateroftyne said:

But 10-15 years ago, they weren’t really seen as desirable. Just like 60s basses in the 80s.

 10-15 years ago, 70s basses weren't even seen as sellable!

 

[wateroftyne]

Quite. It’s amazing what a decade or so can do.

[ead]

With one honourable exception I always put basses on here first at lower price.  Equally most of them then sell elsewhere for a good chunk more.  Whether that relates to reach or customer service / security I'm not sure, but that is certainly my experience.

[tayste_2000]

1 hour ago, Machines said:

I have had several basses I could not sell on here or Facebook that I took to BassBros/BassDirect that then sold immediately at a 20% higher price (which covered commission).

 

People like the assurance and support of proper business, and will clearly pay more than for a private seller interaction.

 

It’s where I’m going to take my Serek or Pawn Shop Mustang (as soon as I decide which I’m keeping) next month.

 

 

Also you have a wider selection of trades, there is a Walnut Ric I know was on here that I can likely trade either of my basses towards because Bass Bros’s will be interested whereas the BC’er might not.

 

[asingardenof]

24 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 10-15 years ago, 70s basses weren't even seen as sellable!

 

Indeed, I regret being a poor student when I found a 70s Jazz bass in a secondhand shop in 1998/99 which was £750, which would be about £1400 in today's money. Because of the whole "vintage" thing you'd probably be looking at double that to buy the same bass now.

[three]

32 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

If you sell something at a price you are happy to sell at, why does it matter if the next owner sells it higher? obviously if you can sell it higher, then that is good, but once you have sold a thing it is someone elses to do what they want with, including selling.

This is all true and I understand the nature of markets and selling/pricing/value (I've worked in business schools for much of the past 30 years).  However, I've found BC to be (largely) a lovely and helpful community wherein most share a passion for basses and bass-playing.  I'd usually want to sell basses for around the price that I bought them (if purchased on here), with maybe a bit of a reduction for depreciation.  I'll admit that twice, I made a hundred or two when selling - this sort of went towards compensating a little for previous major losses.  I sold in this way in the hope that the basses would go to another player, at a reasonable price, and that they would be enjoyed.  To me, this is particularly important if it's a younger or less-affluent player making a first relatively expensive purchase.  I've become a little tired more recently of selling basses that I know I could have sold for more (sometimes considerably more) just to see them flipped very rapidly, and often with specialist dealers.  My basses go via a similar route these days, and it just seems a bit disappointing that other players aren't benefitting as they might have done previously.  Entirely up to sellers how they wish to proceed, of course - just a personal view. 

Edited May 24 by three

[Burns-bass]

8 minutes ago, three said:

This is all true and I understand the nature of markets and selling/pricing/value (I've worked in business schools for much of the past 30 years).  However, I've found BC to be (largely) a lovely and helpful community wherein most share a passion for basses and bass-playing.  I'd usually want to sell basses for around the price that I bought them (if purchased on here), with maybe a bit of a reduction for depreciation.  I'll admit that twice, I made a hundred or two when selling - this sort of went towards compensating a little for previous major losses.  I sold in this way in the hope that the basses would go to another player, at a reasonable price, and that they would be enjoyed.  To me, this is particularly important if it's a younger or less-affluent player making a first relatively expensive purchase.  I've become a little tired more recently of selling basses that I know I could have sold for more (sometimes considerably more) just to see them flipped very rapidly, and often with specialist dealers.  My basses go via a similar route these days, and it just seems a bit disappointing that other players aren't benefitting as they might have done previously.  Entirely up to sellers how they wish to proceed, of course - just a personal view. 

 

It's because flipping breaks the social bond we have here as members and transgresses a moral code. 

 

As members here, we have a relationship to one another. While we may not physically be close, we consider forum members to be friends and as such we enter transactions with this perspective. Businesses buy cheap and sell high. Friends will (by and large) offer you a fair price and not seek to profit from your relationship.

 

People who buy and sell for a profit are acting against this moral code. It's even more egregious when it happens on a forum (someone buys cheap on BC and advertisers for a higher price). 

 

As an example of how this relationship can impact you, I bought a bass here for £1300. I held it for a year and then called a London shop for a trade in price. The cash offer I received was £2300. The seller here (trusted member, good guy) had sold to me cheaply. (this was during COVID when prices for all US imports and bespoke basses went through the roof).

 

I could have just pocketed the money. Instead we had a chat and agreed to split the difference. In the end, we both got £500 more than we had expected and all felt good about the world.