pedal prices through the roof but who’s buying?

[DDR]

5 years ago (or something) i bought an expensive-enough new pedal from a company that now shut down. Yesterday, for fun, i went to see what it would fetch on Reverb and to my surprise they are pricing them there at 10x the original price! I don’t want to sell mine but it does make it a bit harder to relax carrying it around with me… maybe i should get a safe? but the question arises, if you can get a newer model that does the same thing , that is more compact size with the same features… why and who would spend so much money on one? Is there such a thing as pedal collectors of non vintage pedals? 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Is the 10x original price what they are listed for, or what sold items went for?

[prowla]

Yep - that vintage pedal which didn't sound the greatest back in the day is now a treasured collector's piece.

[Rosie C]

Is it perhaps an analogue pedal, and the new versions are digital? I sold some old Boss pedals and some went for more than I expected as they were (apparently) analogue, and considered better than more recent digital models. 

 

[ped]

When I was searching for Musitronics and Lovetone gear, I got a good sense of the pricing and noticed some units lingering on Reverb and similar sites for years. I made a fair offer on one of them, but the seller responded quite aggressively, insisting he knew the 'market value.' That pedal is still up for sale—and in the meantime, I've owned three others.

[LukeFRC]

covid supply problems meaning new things got more expensive added to extra cash spent on stuff (esp in US) pushed prices up a chunk - then I think there's this thing that happens where there's more people flipping gear, and then the way reverb works means there's a self supporting bubble - it's less like eBay telling you the actual market value in completed sales... if you owned a unobtainium ubermojofx super tubescreamer then you and other ubermojofx owners have zero impetus to drop your price... 

and then it becomes relative -  if a 3leaf Proton becomes worth £500, why wouldn't a Musitronics pedal asking price go from £300 to £450? 

it's all crazy. Mind you I am interested in what has gone up in price ten times! 

[LukeFRC]

oh and caveat - It's not unusual to find silly priced things on reverb - sometimes on things available new but advertised for way more - if they ever sell I don't know.

I should list one of my rare expensive basses on there at 5x the value and see what happens... 

Edited March 14 by LukeFRC

[SumOne]

Well, people pay a lot of money to collect all sorts of useless stuff, scarcity being valued more than practicality. I suppose at least pedals have some use compared to things like old stamps.

[dudewheresmybass]

It's places like reverb that cause this

One person (like our German friend with guitar bodies) lists an item at x, lots of people see that it's listed at that price and assume that's the value- despite it not selling in some case for months or years.

Things seem to appear like busses. One comes up for sale, and then all of a sudden there's now 5 - all at similar prices.

Capitalism I 'spose 

Fundamentally - as had been said many times over - it's only worth what someone will pay for it

[prowla]

1 hour ago, ped said:

When I was searching for Musitronics and Lovetone gear, I got a good sense of the pricing and noticed some units lingering on Reverb and similar sites for years. I made a fair offer on one of them, but the seller responded quite aggressively, insisting he knew the 'market value.' That pedal is still up for sale—and in the meantime, I've owned three others.

Was it the guy with the Shafty Ric copy fo sale too?

[ped]

4 minutes ago, prowla said:

Was it the guy with the Shafty Ric copy fo sale too?

 

No I don't think so

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

With the way things are at the moment ,maybe  it's time to put your foot down ..

 

[Clarky]

I thought this theead was about the long awaited new Megadeth album

 

 

[Happy Jack]

I stomped so hard that my pedal went through the floor.

 

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

1 minute ago, Clarky said:

I thought this theead was about the long awaited new Megadeth album

 

 

The pizza album ? 🍕

[SteveXFR]

I've been looking for a preamp pedal. A used Sansamp bass driver is barely any cheaper than a new one

[Lozz196]

42 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

I've been looking for a preamp pedal. A used Sansamp bass driver is barely any cheaper than a new one

The Behringer BDI21 may well be your friend then Steve, it’s pretty much 90/95% the same only a tenth of the price.

[Harps]

3 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

The Behringer BDI21 may well be your friend then Steve, it’s pretty much 90/95% the same only a tenth of the price.

I’ve been looking out for a reasonably priced Sansamp for a while now. Thanks for the tip! Just bought the behringer for £24 which seems ridiculous!

Edited March 14 by Harps

[SteveXFR]

On 14/03/2025 at 15:27, Lozz196 said:

The Behringer BDI21 may well be your friend then Steve, it’s pretty much 90/95% the same only a tenth of the price.

 

I've just bought one based on your recommendation. £25 for a used one, can't go wrong for that.

I bought my daughter a couple Behringer pedals and they really sound great. The tube screamer clone sounds identical to an Ibanez tube screamer.

[Lozz196]

26 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

I've just bought one based on your recommendation. £25 for a used one, can't go wrong for that.

I bought my daughter a couple Behringer pedals and they really sound great. The tube screamer clone sounds identical to an Ibanez tube screamer.

Hopefully you’ll like it Steve, I kept mine & moved on my Tech21 BDDI v2. Both got me the sound I want so made sense to keep the Behringer.

[SteveXFR]

3 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Hopefully you’ll like it Steve, I kept mine & moved on my Tech21 BDDI v2. Both got me the sound I want so made sense to keep the Behringer.

 

I'll see how it goes, if it doesn't do what I want, I'll splash out on a Two Notes Revolt.