Tough Sledding These Days In The World Of Sell

[Midnight Toker]

I think sales may be slow due to increased inventory in the used market. Remember during covid's first year, guitar sales spiked. Some 250% compared to the previous years. My hunch is, all the people working from home, saving loads of money from not having to commute, buying starbucks every morning, lunch, plus all the covid checks....bought nice shiney expensive guitars w/ the best intentions of learning a new skill w/ all the downtime. Instead, they binged TV series like everyone else, and their still "new" guitars are now flooding the used markets. Personally, I can't remember ever seeing so many 2-3 year old guitars in "barely touched" condition on the used market. It sure did me a favor, as the 60's Standard Les Paul I'd wanted was suddenly $1k less than retail price in brand new condition. Not a ding, scratch or even a finish swirl on the back to be found. If anything, I'd say it's a buyers market as the longer items sit, the lower prices will drop.

 

[Iceman]

I recently sold a nice guitar, but I had to take less than what I paid.
I was not playing it and I sold it to a working musician.
Hard to turn down $100 bills...
I hope he enjoys it a lot!!
It is definitely a buyers market, but not many buyers!!!!
Charlie

 

[bobouz]

I can find a million more reasons to dislike a guitar than to like one. Since I know this, I would never put a reasonable person through the ordeal of selling me a guitar. And conversely, I know there are people worse than me out there, which is why I hardly ever sell a guitar. All I can say is thank god for Guitar Center, where so many of my best deals have come from since they started selling used gear online in the mid 2000s - and where we mutually don’t care one whit about how the deal goes down!

 

[GAD]

Do you find the pickiness goes up as the price goes up? " For this much money it better be perfect! "

I find quite the opposite, actually. The absolute worst experiences I've had buying AND selling have been with pedals. I've had very few problems with high-end instruments.

 

[GAD]

Sales always get slow as Christmas approaches.

 

[twocorgis]

I find quite the opposite, actually. The absolute worst experiences I've had buying AND selling have been with pedals. I've had very few problems with high-end instruments.

That pretty much mirrors my experience. I've sold a lot of high end guitars, and also have had very few problems. I find having an actual phone conversation prior helps immeasurably, too.

 

[HeyMikey]

That pretty much mirrors my experience. I've sold a lot of high end guitars, and also have had very few problems. I find having an actual phone conversation prior helps immeasurably, too.

Wholeheartedly agree. This can make all the difference in the world. Questions get asked and answered, a rappor is established, a sense of trust is built and typically the transaction is smoother.

 

[twocorgis]

One of the finest OMs made.

Great guitar, and the heart and soul of Dana Bourgeois too, but not as great as my Orpheum. The Orf is really 0000/M size, though.

 

[walrus]

I can find a million more reasons to dislike a guitar than to like one. Since I know this, I would never put a reasonable person through the ordeal of selling me a guitar. And conversely, I know there are people worse than me out there, which is why I hardly ever sell a guitar. All I can say is thank god for Guitar Center, where so many of my best deals have come from since they started selling used gear online in the mid 2000s - and where we mutually don’t care one whit about how the deal goes down!

And GC's return policy is very buyer freindly, too...

walrus

 

[Neal]

I may go the consignment route in the future.

Pickers Supply is fairly close by, and they are a reputable shop. They give you 70% of the sale price, with no hassles. And they tend to get a better price than a private sale would bring.

 

[bobouz]

And GC's return policy is very buyer freindly, too...

walrus

Yes, that’s really the key for me. I’ve almost always ordered online & had the instrument shipped to my home, which is 80 miles from the nearest GC. If one of my million reasons to not like a guitar rears its ugly head, the option to drive to the big city for a return is thankfully there. That said, I typically will try to contact GC for a guitar-in-hand question session before proceeding, and more often than not, the guitar has turned out to be a winner.