Why is selling a fantastic guitar (cheap!) so difficult

Strangefan · November 2020

GavRichList said:

You know what’s really daft? - I reckon if you stick a white guard on this instead of black and it sells straight away. People are dim, generally speaking. I personally wouldn’t drop your price again.

This totally..... Unless you need the money, patience will get you a sale at the price you want, I have ever ever not been able to sell a guitar and I have f@#&*-g horrific taste in guitars

Shrews · November 2020

Could it be that it's too cheap and potential buyers don't think it's legit?

I'd go for 999.99 and then drop it to 950 if anyone wants to haggle.

I've made you 100, you owe me a pint, everyone's happy.

Whitecat · November 2020

In my experience if a guitar sells very quickly you've probably priced it too low.

duotone · November 2020

Unfortunately there’s just so many time wasters sitting around on their phones ‘passing their time’.

Yeah I don’t understand it either tbh.

BahHumbug · November 2020

It’s been a few years since I did much buying and selling on eBay, but the rot was starting to set in about 5 years ago. Transacting via the Internet seems to come with little commitment and courtesy for most people. This thread looks like so many others that appear on tFB on the same subject. You have my sympathy, but I think that we all need to approach online selling with a deep breath, a huge chill-pill, and an acceptance that this sort of behaviour is what we are going to experience. Or just don’t even go there.

Nice Tele BTW. GLWTS

TeleMaster · November 2020

Stuckfast said:

Well why not list it at a 99p start price with no reserve? That way you'll get what the market says it's worth, and pay less eBay fees into the bargain.

You'll pay the same fees relative to the price, 10% plus 3.5% PayPal fees. And the 'market' that week may just be someone who gets lucky because no one else wants one and the seller ends up selling an £800 guitar for £600. It's a risky way of selling something that has value.

Best thing to do is wait for Final Value Fee offers of £1, list it with Best Offer and be willing to take a bit less than you've put it up for.

sweepy · November 2020

Some high end Brands/Models are just harder to shift, took a fair while to move on my Musicman Majesty whereas my Tele and Jazzmaster sold nearly as soon as I listed them

Wazmeister · November 2020

It’s a real tough time to be selling.... for obvious reasons.

Still, its a lovely looking guitar, great photos too.

Sadly, the colour might hinder it, and it looks all the money at £750-800 personally.

It may even need a ‘6’ in the price, to really sell - maybe £699.

Good luck.

RandallFlagg · November 2020

In my experience, Ebay is full of people dreaming about owning guitars, many with no money or intention of buying. For some reason emailing in some questions legitimises them searching and adding nice guitars to their watch list.

I can spot the stupid questions from people with no intention of buying a mile off, I usually get them in the first 48 hours of listing then it goes quiet. I also turn off international selling, that reduces some of the silliness. Typically, the real buyers start asking questions near the end of the auction.

it's rubbish but has to be endured if you want to sell as nothing of high value seems to sell on here.I also add 13.5% to the price I want for Ebay sales to cover fees and turn offers off, which can make it hard to sell unless the item is very desirable.

jonnyburgo · November 2020

You get it all, years ago I was selling a Baja Tele, A guy offered me a load of roofing tiles as a swap, when I said no he offered a Sofa. I don't know what's wrong with folk.

Teetonetal · November 2020

Quick question, how many people have walked into a store, asked no questions, picked a guitar and walked out with it? conversely how many of you have been back and forth and agonised for weeks and weeks, perhaps even almost got to checkout, or even got home, then changed your mind and sent back etc?

Sure, there are lots of time wasters and people trying to drive a bargain, but 800 is a lot of money for lots of people, and whilst they might be interested, they might have other options, lack of resource, partners who won't let them buy it etc, etc.

Keep it listed, be patient, reply nicely to people, don't get annoyed or frustrated and it will sell - if the right buyer comes along.

riffpowers · November 2020

I think that selling anything on the internet is like that nowadays . The majority of people are awful. It’s been like that for years imho.
I do think the gigging thing has a lot to do with the market slowing down. For example, I need a 2x12 but I’d really only buy one right now if I saw it super cheap as I don’t really need one as gigs are ofF.
hang in there , the right buyer is out there

mudslide73 · November 2020

You're at the mercy of lockdown. You can't let people try it out beforehand which can put some off. I'm looking for a used road bike currently but can't travel out of area to pick one up - there's probably someone on here who'd have your Tele but can't right now.

bcjim · November 2020

Last month I listed a Dell computer server on eBay at a start price of 99p and multiple clear statements saying collection only / will not ship.

Auction finishes and I e-mail the winner. No reply. Over the next two weeks I try to contact him maybe half a dozen more times seeking to arrange collection. Still no reply. What to do?

Then I get a message from PayPal informing me that he’s paid me. So more attempts to contact him - all ignored. Now what do do? Guess he is now the owner of the server standing in my home office.

Eventually I ring eBay for advice and I am told that my only option is to refund him, cancel the sale and relist. Which I do. So I pay eBay fees, Paypal fees and waste a month.

Buying from eBay is fine, but selling is another matter.

jim.

Stuckfast · November 2020

Without wanting to sound like a broken record... I do understand why people don't want to list things as genuine auctions with a low start price. It is scary when your item is at £2.45 with an hour to go, and there is a risk of getting less than you think it's worth. But I've done it quite a few times and have never really run into any of these issues with tyre-kickers or time-wasters. I think it puts buyers into quite a different mindset compared with asking them to click BIN or make an offer on something that looks pricey.

Wazmeister · November 2020

jonnyburgo said:

You get it all, years ago I was selling a Baja Tele, A guy offered me a load of roofing tiles as a swap, when I said no he offered a Sofa. I don't know what's wrong with folk.

Just out of interest, what weight were the tiles ?

Whitecat · November 2020

Stuckfast said:

Without wanting to sound like a broken record... I do understand why people don't want to list things as genuine auctions with a low start price. It is scary when your item is at £2.45 with an hour to go, and there is a risk of getting less than you think it's worth. But I've done it quite a few times and have never really run into any of these issues with tyre-kickers or time-wasters. I think it puts buyers into quite a different mindset compared with asking them to click BIN or make an offer on something that looks pricey.

I think doing it this way with a Fender or a Gibson will generally always end well. It's the esoteric/ultra boutique stuff that this technique doesn't work on...

Zoolooter · November 2020

Lots of bored tire kickers at the moment, trawling the internet and dreaming of what they can't afford.

PonchoGreg · November 2020

As others have said, maybe not the best time to be selling, but there are also ways to "optimise" eBay sales, so to speak

- wait for £1 offers and open a listing for a month
- allow offers, but with a very tight range to limit time wasters. I think having the offer option open is really enticing for buyers (even if ultimately you filter out 80% of them). A number of times I've seen an item I want, but maybe at £10-20 cheaper and the option to suggest that is not there. Shame to miss out on a potentially beneficial compromise
- clearly define all the shipping options you do and don't offer, to cut on the will you ship to xxx? questions

Basically, I treat eBay as a "take it or leave it" way of dealing, as opposed to here where I'd welcome a conversation, some offline haggling, etc.

The advantage of eBay is that ultimately it's a put up or shut up game. You shouldn't have to discuss much in private messages. This is the price I want, make me an offer if you want (but through the offer button, meaning you are committed to buying if I accept), and that's it.

And definitely turn on the "immediate payment required" for BIN

mbe · November 2020

Try putting "No Time-Wasters" on your ad. That'll learn 'em.

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Why is selling a fantastic guitar (cheap!) so difficult

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