Is anybody selling anything?

Dominic

I couldn't care less who covets it.............I am only influenced by my own perception of value and how much I want something

I would love a brand new Bentley /Aston etc but I don't have that kind of means and no matter how much I want one I am never going to be able to afford it therefore I am not within the demographic of their marketing team when they assess what the launch price will be.................the market price is set by the customer who is ready willing and ABLE to stomp up the ££££££££ for it not a dreamer like me no matter how much I write in to Autotrader or wherever to declare my love for the Marque

@wazmeister is totally right .........the market sets the price and a "market "is defined as an entity capable of purchasing -it is not a collection of dreamers and would-be fantasists .In actual fact it could be argued that whilst flattery seems good PR that it can also have the negative affect of causing " confidence curiosity " ie " If everybody has seen it and loves it but nobody has bought it then it must be overpriced ! " In any real life auction ( not ebay )people are slow to bid until they tangibly see somebody else in the room put their hand up and expose themselves to putting their money where their mouth is - Sheeple syndrome

 As for shops being a rip-off -they are not - of course some are greedier than others but as a general rule it is simply business economics -the amortised cost of rent,rates,staff ,admin,security,accountancy,tax,vat etc have to be factored into the equation - why would any sensible dealer tie up £500 trade capital in something that may net them £50 if they sell it for £800 after its been in stock for 9 months when they probably get 9 months credit terms from Gibson and buy in the guitar that they retail for £1500 for £800 plus vat ?? There has to be a fairly broad margin in the middle ........Sad but true

Deijavoo

armitaan said:

I picked up a EJ strat for £600 last week, so I'm quite happy at mo:)

Is it a sunburst maple neck one? If so I'll give you £100 profit on that and I'll collect.

FRockStar

streethawk;812511" said:

Dominic said:

I think there is a much higher sales rate on gumtree ( pedals better on here ) of both amps and guitarsThe activity appears quite strong on the classified section here at first glance but if you follow the threads its quite deceptive because most comment is well intentioned but not really worth a wank if you happen to be the seller ...................." Lovely guitar ,perfect for me,my favourite colour,my sounding pickups..etc ...etc .............but I havn't got a penny to scratch my arse with at the moment !! "  Can you imagine walking into John Lewis announcing loudly that it was your favourite t.v.,perfect for your lounge ,great picture etc and then saying ............" but I am skint " ...........all just a waste of breath.........and time !





You're wrong.

If a potential buyer sees a sale thread full of 'I covet that guitar', the potential of a sale is increased. 

I mean obviously.

Yeah!.. AND every comment is a free bump to the top so any positive comment can only be beneficial to the sale, surely?!

And, sure, the market sets the current value of the item, but the market value can fluctuate wildly according to how close people are to pay day/Xmas, holidays etc & how many similar items are up...so it may not be an accurate guide to the real value. As has been said, it's a question of how much it's worth to you and how quickly you want/need to sell it.. But, yes, generally things is shit and we are all fucked! Haha ;c)

Neil

Sold a guitar last week but you have to be realistic with pricing IMO.

People mostly expect it, but you can't always expect to get back what you paid, after all it has had another owner now hasn't it?

Selling something at 15% off the new dealer price where you get a warranty and can pick which one you want is not conducive to selling either.

Chalky

I think @Dominic hit the nail on the head with his idea " If everybody has seen it and loves it but nobody has bought it then it must be overpriced ! ", which is the downside of a community forum. After all, guitars are defined as fashion items, and a lot of people will be guided by that fashion.

I've got some guitars for sale on here and they may or may not sell for my asking price. No problem, I'm not in a hurry. The guitar market will pick up again when the fashion goes that way. Remember several years ago when car sales were doom and gloom because 'cars last so long now'? Within a year or two they were back on track and rising

Gadget

I can see the relatively simple principal of doing a decent discount for something which can still be bought new, or is pretty recent, but it becomes a bit more complicated for older / eclectic / unique stuff.

Then, 'realistic' pricing is a lot harder to establish.

Let's say I own a 1990 Gibson Les Paul once owned by 'Fred Bloggs' from the very famous 'Bloggs Band'. It's been well used, seen the world, been used on countless albums and appeared in numerous iconic photos. To me, it's unique and priceless... but yours for £3,000 since you're asking.

But to you, whilst you like the colour and are interested in buying it, it's just a slightly-more-battered-than-normal 90s Les Paul, which even with the 'star' connection is only worth £1200 to you.

Any discount off the new price is irrelevant, as is what I originally paid for it and, as I'm not going to 'give it away' as I see it, I don't care what 'the going rate' might be.

I want to sell, you want to buy, but who's right on price?

impmann

Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay AND what the seller is willing to accept.

Without agreement on both sides, the sale can't progress.

Yes I've seen some overpriced stuff but equally I've received some frankly insulting offers when selling stuff (basically chancer offers where the buyer is just trying it on to pick it up for a song to make some money out of it).

And that's where it all gets sticky. There are some - including some on here - who routinely crow about their latest bargain that they've got for less than market value.

That's not on, IMHO... but what can you do.

JezWynd

Wazmeister said:

I sell EVERYTHING on here, no problem at all

I do post everything by Special Delivery; I offer photos of what im selling; im not greedy with prices, and i dont expect "what i paid for it"...

If yours aint selling, try it !

That's a key factor imo. Many sellers expect to get back what they paid for an item. Why? It's now 2nd/3rd hand.

Brize

JezWynd said:

That's a key factor imo. Many sellers expect to get back what they paid for an item. Why? It's now 2nd/3rd hand.

Yep, a lot of second-hand gear is way over-priced. The typical 'list price is £3,000 so I'll let it go for £2,600' is desperately unrealistic.

As a rule of thumb, no one will pay more than two-thirds of the new price for a second-hand guitar or amp.

ThorpyFX

Brize said:

JezWynd said:

That's a key factor imo. Many sellers expect to get back what they paid for an item. Why? It's now 2nd/3rd hand.

Yep, a lot of second-hand gear is way over-priced. The typical 'list price is £3,000 so I'll let it go for £2,600' is desperately unrealistic.

As a rule of thumb, no one will pay more than two-thirds of the new price for a second-hand guitar or amp.

agreed, unless it's rare/ very desirable

bodhi

Yep, a lot of second-hand gear is way over-priced. The typical 'list price is £3,000 so I'll let it go for £2,600' is desperately unrealistic.

As a rule of thumb, no one will pay more than two-thirds of the new price for a second-hand guitar or amp.

A few months ago, I would agree.  But I say that Ebay's current fee structure changed perceptions all round, not to mention the price ping-pong game Gibson (which is where my interests lie) in particular has been playing.

I think people are more wary, and the above have created a sense of confusion in some ways, and a hardening of attitudes, which doesn't help anyone.  I see some great deals sitting there forever, and sometimes I'm surprised by what some stuff sell for.

You never can tell, but obviously the greater the hit you're willing to take, the better your chances of selling - if you're desperate to make a sale.

I also believe that this is a really bad time of the year to sell.  Too soon after the summer holidays.  Usually it picks up in November.  My personal experience.

First World problems, in any case.

Iamnobody

Ah this old chestnut.

Items tend to sell for less on here. The plus side of that is you don't pay any fees. In addition if you are looking to trade or buy another from here it evens itself out somewhat.

If you are desperate for maximum cash eBay is your friend.

Wazmeister

I think it's great that we have these frequent debates... And people stand by the prices they perceive an item is worth - it all helps my sales !

Some wisdom here too and ive just awarded a few

Chalky

Don't forget the guitar market is not a real market. Unlike say a market stall where fruit and veg has too be sold otherwise it would go off and become worthless. Or a stock market where there are people who provide a buy and sell price with a narrow margin between them, whether they want to or not - its their job. And there are fund managers who have to take in each month's pension contributions and spend it on stock to remain within their tracker policy. Real markets are driven by the force of necessity.

By contrast we could all just keep the guitars we have and not buy, sell or trade. The only force is fashion, not necessity.

Fretwired

I've sold a couple of guitars via the forum the last one being a Les Paul Studio - I think the key is getting the price right - eBay can help there followed by decent pictures and an honest description. I have found a number of guitars on here frankly overpriced. I wonder whether the sellers are really keen.

Gadget

Chalky said:

...The only force is fashion, not necessity.

That rather depends on your financial situation.

I can honestly say I've never sold any of my gear because of 'fashion' (which is why I still have mostly OTT 80s guitars). I would keep it all if I had a) the money and b) the space.

Fashion doesn't come in to it, but alas something has to be sold if either a) some other area of my life needs cash, or b) I want to buy a new piece of gear (in that endless quest to get my setup right, not pander to image).

musicman100

The stuff that isn't selling must be over priced simple.

Blueingreen

I think in the current market, certainly with some brands, even 2/3 is pretty ambitious.

One of the questions I ask myself when considering buying something used in a private deal is "if I had to re-sell quickly for any reason, am I confident I could sell for a similar price. If I can't it's overpriced".  By that criteria I think most of what I see advertised on Ebay for example is overpriced, and quite a high proportion of it is ludicrously overpriced.

(On Ebay it used to be that a typical seller had a reserve price somewhat below market price, tried to excite a competitive auction, and accepted the verdict of the market on what their guitar was worth.  Nowadays what I seem to see instead is a ludicrously optimistic buy it now, followed by no sale and re-listing at the same price ad nauseam. It's hardly surprising stuff isn't selling).

Nunogilberto

It's a good debate, this - and one worth having.

In terms of the forum, I think it's a case of the same 40/50 users looking at the classifieds regularly - after a while, barely anything is going to shift...

Skipped

I've got an idea for a seperate Classifieds.
It will be called the Yeller Classifieds.
All gear will be 60% of the new price if as new.
All sales will be local only and you have to turn up on the Bus.
All items will only have one buyer and will only need one buyer.
Cash only.
Asking about trades will be forbidden. Asking about part/ex will be tolerated.