Is anybody selling anything?

capo4th

Optimistic sellers holding out for price hoping that "the" buyer comes along who must have that specific guitar. Sellers who need the cash price the guitar to sell at sensible money and guess what it sells!

FreddieVanHalen

For the most part it's unrealistic prices that put me off. I'm quite happy to travel to pick up items and have frequently lugged tube amp heads on the train - not yet the bus

When I've been selling stuff it's very rarely gone for more than 2/3rds of the new price. Some stuff I still have but I guess that means I didn't really want to sell it.

I've overpaid for a couple of things in the past and the memories still burn...amps especially are probably more like 50% to 60% of the new price unless it's rare and desirable...and god help you if the item you're trying to sell is not Fender/Gibson/Boogie/Marshall

Gadget

1/2 to 2/3rds of new price might work fine for current or recent gear, but not for older and rarer.

Do any of us think an original 1957 Fender Stratocaster should be ours for $183? (New price was $274.50).

littlethoughts

I recently sold a Japanese fender strat on Facebook for about £100 less than the going rate on eBay (delivered), but the buyer had cash and came to pick it up, avoiding fees, postage and general distance selling bullshit. Similarly I bought a PRS SE on here last week for...about £100 less than the going rate on eBay. Prices are low but it goes both ways. I guess if you actually want to sell things you've got to be pragmatic about it, but certainly used prices are lower than ever. It's okay if you want to buy more gear, less so if you need it for something else...

FreddieVanHalen

Gadget said:

1/2 to 2/3rds of new price might work fine for current or recent gear, but not for older and rarer.

Do any of us think an original 1957 Fender Stratocaster should be ours for $183? (New price was $274.50).

Those are obviously a specialist market with a clear reason for their value, and probably quite a few shops and traders making a market and offering prices.

But of course, I do think that * I * should be able to buy a '57 strat for $183, you lot can go pay 10k or something ;-)

JezWynd

eBay are (quite rightly imo) taking a lot of stick for their pricing policy which seems tailored to suck a large percentage of any deal their way.

But it's also true that eBay almost singlehandedly created the market in the first place. Before eBay arrived if you wished to sell something you either sold it to a store, usually for a pittance of its true worth or put an ad in your local paper or Exchange & Mart.

eBay's impact on the secondhand market has been huge and has even extended to small companies and individuals who can now have a global reach. I feel pretty certain that the effects pedal industry wouldn't exist in its present form if not for eBay - new designs are being released in a constant stream, so much so that it's becoming confusing for the novice.

Forums like the Fretboard who offer a classifieds section at no fee are to be applauded for giving sellers an alternative and may even force eBay to reassess its pricing policy.

But many sellers taking their sales to no fee boards don't adjust their prices and instead expect that what was eBay's cut now comes to them. I feel that this is a mistake as a buyer might as well return to eBay where they at least have the benefit of buyer protection. Sellers would do better to reflect the fact that they are paying no fees by reducing their asking price - not the whole 10+3% of the eBay/PayPal model but perhaps meet it halfway. This way the free ads will remain popular, buyer and seller get a good deal and eBay may, just may, be forced to reassess its pricing.

Gru

Have sold a couple of things most second hand items I have purchased sold for around the same.

New stuff has sold for around 2/3rds of new value, but it depends what it is.

An out of fashion item might only recoupe 1/3 of original price. A tough hit, but it depends on how much you want to sell.

minimoog

I'm wondering how much geography comes into it. There's a lot of stuff bought and sold on my local Facebook music gear selling page, as far as I can tell. A fair bit of it is piled around me right now And being local it is of course almost all face-to-face deals. I know most of the stuff I see here, and might ooh and ah at on the sales threads, is stuff I wouldn't buy without trying first (that Axis Super Sport that went yesterday being a great example - I'd have gone for a look with cash in my pocket if it had been local). So while there's a lot of desirable and well-priced stuff here, maybe it's the fact that it's a national forum that spreads the pool of buyers a lot thinner than is at first apparent, resulting in fewer bites and sales.

Just a thought.

musicman100

I always sell what I advertise, coz I always price to sell or sell at auction on eBay.

A5D5E5

A few people on here are confusing "market price" and "value".   

Market price is a fairly well understood concept - the point at which a willing seller and a willing buyer are prepared to trade.  The "willing" part is important as it removes forced sellers (and less frequently forced buyers).  Putting this another way market price is the equilibrium price when supply equals demand.

There will always be some local and temporal variation - particularly with heterogeneous items like second hand guitars but essentially that is market price.

Value is a totally different concept and it is personal.  I value my strat beyond reason for example because my wife bought it for me as an engagement present.  I would never sell it for its market price but that doesn't change its market price at all.

Trades happen when value (to both parties) and market price are aligned.  At the moment, with a few exceptions, that alignment doesn't seem to be happening.  Personally I think there are just too many guitars available.  Supply is exceeding demand in economic terms and when that happens, equilibrium is generally only restored by a reduction in price.

Demand could of course increase if we all won the lottery or some such.  Personally, I think this is far less likely than there being a general reduction in asking prices.

Moe_Zambeek

One other point - looking back we've had around 18 months+ of near constant sales from retailers. From summer sales, Black Friday through pre Christmas and January sales, via a sterling crash and Thomann capitalising, Fender flash sales, Gibson's 2015 disaster and endless downwards price march. Not long to wait now until the next lot of Black Friday deals...

Add in 8 years of forced downgrading through recession and upwards quality trajectory of far eastern guitars...

On the other hand, maybe everyone is skint after summer...

Gadget

Low new retail prices certainly haven't helped the secondhand market.

I've very politely pointed-out to a few people that their advertised secondhand price is more than an item is new.

Cabicular

I'm a buyer rather than a seller here I must admit I'm spoiled for choice on quality instruments but I've had some great deals because of the current market On the other side I try to be reasonable and quick to pay I've been messed about a couple of times by some of the more beliggerint members but on the whole people here are realistic and good to deal with. I do need to sell some stuff but not in the current climate

Jack_

JezWynd said:

But it's also true that eBay almost singlehandedly created the market in the first place. Before eBay arrived if you wished to sell something you either sold it to a store, usually for a pittance of its true worth or put an ad in your local paper or Exchange & Mart.

The romantic in me kind of misses those days too though, when you might be the lucky one to find the garage/boot sale Gibson LP for £100 being sold by a blokes ex wife who had no idea of its value.

Also, before the internet and eBay, valuing was much more difficult, so there were bargains to be had.

I guess it's the same as the old buying records nostalgia, we've moved forward for sure, but a few little romantic bits have been lost, pretty much always happens when things become more efficient.

Even places like Cash Converters and all those types of shop want 80% of the new value of the guitar, despite the fact they probably got it 20% from someone who nicked it.

Chalky

If every seller in the Classifieds dropped their prices by 10-20% today, the majority still wouldn't sell. As someone mentioned earlier there simply aren't that many real buyers on here - I mean real decision makers with real cash. There are a lot of talkers though

minimoog

Chalky said:

 There are a lot of talkers though

Probably because this is primarily a talk board, with classifieds bolted on the side. Everyone here is an enthusiast with one or more likely several guitars already, so that bit less likely to be actively shopping with cash burning a hole than say your typical eBay or Gumtree buyer. Maybe. I dunno

HollowAxis

As some others have said I think this all comes down to value.
Value is completely personal, and illogical.

Look up the sunk costs fallacy as one thing that sort of applies.
If you sink money and time into something you will value it more.

You build some IKEA furniture you're going to be attached to that thing in some way.
You pay top dollar for a guitar and try to sell it later, you're attached to the idea of that thing.

Absolutely literally, things are worth what people will pay. It has been said in this thread.
If you are selling something a collector needs to complete their collection, they'll pay whatever, they are attached to the idea.

We are selling bits of wood and metal to each other at the end of the day, we are paying for function and perceived value and utility.
We're all basically agreeing to agree ...

Cookiemonster

I really want a fender sonic blue strat, there are some for sale around ebay etc, but people have either modded them (in once case it has had a tone control removed) or they dont want to post. if the adds were up at the same sort of price richtone had them for used, I would have bought by now. I dont mind paying for delivery.

SRich

I thank the market for the 'depressed / reasonable' pricing that's been happening for quite some time now. It's also fortunate (for my finances) that I won't buy what I can't collect - there's such a variability in guitars in which some talk to you / some leave you cold.

I've only ever bought new once (335 Block Re-Issue) and despite me wanting to like it, it's still a bit 'meh' for me. I'm sure Fender et al follow the same variability - although Gibson seemed to have refined the technique..... 

cosmiccarrot

I think the line that gets me is "I just want to get back what I paid for it"  I've seen this a few times, it would be great to apply this to everything you buy


I suppose it's a good way to try out gear for free!