Is anybody selling anything?

Skodadad

I have around 11 guitars most of which I paid too much for and all cheapies really. I can't sell any of them lol. Four months ago I knew nothing and went on a spending spree so mugs like me are out there. I think in many cases trading is the best bet. That way £ losses are equal on both sides meaning neither party takes the hit.

Blueingreen

Chalky said:

Well that means I will just have to enjoy playing my collection of diminishing-value assets for longer then!

As I say, if that's your motive it's all good.  It's people hanging on to stuff in the belief the market is going to "recover" that are probably deluded.  The assumption that there was a "normal" market 10 years ago which we will return to in due course seems like wishful thinking.  

We're not likely to go back to a fun-fair economy based on unsustainable borrowing any time soon.  Meantime hundreds of thousands of new guitars have been made, countries like China are upping their game with cheap instruments and the generation whose musical taste was dominated by guitar based rock'n'roll is getting old.  

There are lots of interests where enthusiasts buy the necessary equipment without thinking it's ever going to have much resale value.  Guitarists have been privileged, in that when it comes to replacing their gear they can often sell off their old stuff at a decent percentage of what they paid for it.  Maybe that era is coming to an end.  Resale prices on many high-end guitars would seem to suggest that.

FRockStar

Dominic;814433" said:

Its really very simple...........If you really want/need to sell then you need to make the price attractive and there will be plenty of activityOther than a very select few Vintage instruments which may or not be investments these are simply secondhand items no different to lawnmowers,ironing boards ,watches,golf clubs etc .....

I have to disagree with you there: I tried playing Sweet Child of Mine on my lawnmower and lost both my arms.
Serves me right, I suppose.
Thank God for touchscreens: I'm typing this with my nose.

Fatfingers

Having heard mention of Reverb.com on here yesterday I decided to give it a go, and stuck my '73 Les Paul on there (two grand to you).

I've had one offer of 1500 quid and one of 1400.

Brilliant. Annoying though it is, eBay is probably the way forward.

blueskunk

Few bites at 240 - 220 on my cv tele. Put it at 200 and it went straight away on tumgree

Gadget

Hmm, think I might try both Reverb and Gumtree then.

Chalky

Good grief @Blueingreen, do you walk around saying "We're all doomed!" and wearing a sandwich board with THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH written on it? )

Blueingreen

Well, to give a more serious answer than you probably expected, I think I tend somewhat to be less optimistic than the average.  But academic research shows that, outside of a tiny minority of people who are clinically depressed etc, almost all human beings are unrealistically optimistic.  (It's fairly easy to measure, you ask people to estimate their the probability of good/bad outcomes to scenarios where the actual probability is known to the researchers.  Almost every one overestimates the probability of good outcomes and understimates the likelihood of bad ones).

People viewed by others as "pessimistic" are therefore really optimists whose optimism is  less unrealistically fanciful than "optimists".  So on the whole I'm pretty comfortable being one of them.

Cabicular

When you think of how many guitars are made a year and how long they last I'm amazed there still is a second hand market at all for strats and gibbos

Heartfeltdawn

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 !

@wazmeister Same here. The big difference for me over the last 18 months is that my buying on here has reduced because there's been an increase in people with daft prices (not you, I hasten to add). I've commented before on people who list an item here and on eBay at the same time and who ask for a higher price here than they do on eBay despite all the fees.  

The pedal market is still fairly fluid because people can afford those. Guitars and amps have dropped massively over the last five years. Dropping a couple of hundred on a swanky delay pedal every now and then can still be done by most people: dropping four figures on an amp or guitar is a lot harder. 

Chalky

"Guitars and amps have dropped massively over the last five years" - do you mean their price or their sales totals?

Wazmeister

Heartfeltdawn said:

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 !

@wazmeister Same here. The big difference for me over the last 18 months is that my buying on here has reduced because there's been an increase in people with daft prices (not you, I hasten to add). I've commented before on people who list an item here and on eBay at the same time and who ask for a higher price here than they do on eBay despite all the fees.  

The pedal market is still fairly fluid because people can afford those. Guitars and amps have dropped massively over the last five years. Dropping a couple of hundred on a swanky delay pedal every now and then can still be done by most people: dropping four figures on an amp or guitar is a lot harder. 

Brilliant post mate, and I agree wholeheartedly. I gently questioned some sellers motives recently, and got my head ripped off... So i let em jog on now and see em not sell

I went through the first 10 pedal sales in sequence last night; 6 had no photos, one no prices, one said no offers etc etc. And none of em have sold strangely...

Blueingreen

Of course there's a knock on effect from selling to buying.  Folk are much more likely to take a punt on something if they are confident they can sell it on quickly at not too much of a loss if it doesn't work out.

Deijavoo

Sorry state of affairs, but yes I sold something and got the cash tonight.

 http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/52981/coincidence#latest

Heartfeltdawn

Chalky said:

"Guitars and amps have dropped massively over the last five years" - do you mean their price or their sales totals?

For guitars it's sales total. Some of the individual prices have gone up (for example, compare MIJ offset prices on eBay with the prices 7 years ago. Huge difference upwards) but the volume of sales is down. Amps have certainly dropped in price outright. Some of the eBay prices for boutique amps are truly amazing. 

Blueingreen said:

Of course there's a knock on effect from selling to buying.  Folk are much more likely to take a punt on something if they are confident they can sell it on quickly at not too much of a loss if it doesn't work out.

Which is why pedals remain so fluid and guitars and amps aren't so fluid. 

Chalky

Agreed about amp prices, and again that shows its not a real market - lower ebay boutique amp prices should see them selling more quickly. Instead many of them linger unsold.

So that shows its not high prices that are the problem, its lack of demand. Another reason, if you are a seller, to hold your price and wait (i.e. basic business practice in a low demand market).

Heartfeltdawn

My impression is that the boutique amp market still has some fluidity to it. There are more unsold amps on eBay than there were six years ago, no argument there. But I would say this is down to a) a reduced demand (not the biggest factor though) and b) sellers increasing their initial selling price on eBay since the fees went up to 10%, fees were charged on postage costs, and the push to free delivery came in. eBay has become an advertising service with sellers anticipating the off-site transaction via Gumtree, forums, Facebook groups, Rguitars forum, Guitarmart or smuggling email addresses past the automated eBay defences. 

I also get the impression that there may well be a rise in part exchanging goods with places like Coda who never seem to be lacking for nice boutique amps in the s/h section. Some sellers prefer to go to Coda simply to avoid jumping through the eBay seller hoops. 

AndyJP

I tried selling an axefx 2 on here recently.  Got exactly zero interest from thefretboard. It sold via gumtree in the end!

Thought it would have gone sharpish tbh.

Gru

Cookiemonster;813973" said:

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.

Wasn't there a sonic blue one on here recently?

Kevin

Kevin from Reverb here. Reverb created a price guide to help with some of these types of questions. It shows recent actual sales for most variations of guitars, amps, effects, etc. You can check it and see 1) what your guitar is "worth" in the market, and 2) decide whether or not it's worth enough for you to want to sell it. 

For example, here's the entry for 2010 Gibson SG Standards (cherry finish). They tend to sell for around £550. A new 2015 is around £1200. Recent Gibson price fiasco aside, you can decide if that's the right price for you. 

https://reverb.com/price-guide/guide/6493-gibson-sg-standard-2010-cherry

It's fairly obvious but second-hand pricing just follows demand and availability. SG Standards are very common and there are lots for sale. On the other hand, used Strymon Effects tend to sell for pretty close to the new price as people want them and there are not many used ones available.