You touched on a really good point there: that the 'bottomfeeder' that comes in with the low-ball offer is the same guy that's going to complain about something and ask for money back after the deal's done. If you can spot these people and just not deal with them, so much the better.
Yes. i gave a guy a great deal on a 1700$ american professional on reverb for 1100. He haggles with me over 50, evenly forking it over. when the guitar arrives. there's a chip.. that cost exactly $50 to repair....
Another thing that I think makes you stand out when selling is creating a great description. Especially when selling vintage gear, I like to go in great detail about the neck, the awesome weather checking and the feel the guitar may have. I find that if you’re selling a newer used guitar at around the same price as other people, great pictures and a great detailed description make you stand out and will attract more people to your listing.
This information is SO spot on! Lots of great advice, especially including the shipping cost rolled into the cost of the gear. Free shipping looks a lot better that apparently being clipped for the price of the guitar and then another substantial fee to ship. Also, DON’T lay your unprotected guitar on a concrete driveway or sidewalk for photos, which is an instant “nope” to me.
Great video; you've provided a lot of very good information here. I'd like to add when selling a guitar on Reverb or eBay, also take one or two sexy shots of the guitar and make that the first image. I've bought and sold a lot of guitars online that first got my interest from the unique angle or quality lighting used in the photography. It also helps your listing stand out from the other similar listings. Regarding getting free shipping boxes from guitar stores, at least here in L.A., that doesn't happen anymore and hasn't for a few years. They hold on to those boxes and re-use them. This includes mom and pop and GC stores.
I found something interesting last year. I built 4 folk art electrics between April and July. I took a couple to two independent shops to see if they would try to sell them on consignment. Both shops liked what I was doing but wouldn't take them in because they had more standard looking guitars by local luthiers that weren't selling. They explained that since a famous player wasn't associated with the guitar other players would be hesitant to give it a try. I also tried to sell them on Etsy and Ebay without luck. I play them now. It actually works out for my band because I can rotate them when we gig and people come over and talk to me about them after our sets.
I’ve had a blast buying and selling gear on reverb, and have built cool relationships in which I’d hit them up if I was in their area to play. Then ALWAYS do free shipping. People will trust you and consider you professional. The guitar will sell quick.
I dunno about in the US of A, but in Europe most couriers will not insure shipment of musical instruments, at least not for private individuals. UPS may be an exception, but they are crazy expensive,:like three times the price of the others.
Just sold a wealth of gear recently (all locally, thankfully) and all of this checks out, just comes down to being kind and professional. Very sad I'm not within travel distance to Casino...it would be my main hangout no question.
Solid video guys. C-19 pricing has everyone asking unreasonable prices, and hiking up the shipping cost to make a little extra. Gotta love that “firm” price. Ha ha.
Unless it’s like a limited edition or something real rare or special, I usually donate my old guitars to local music schools or to a kid who wants to learn. You are never gonna get what you “think it’s worth “, just let it go man.
Excellent packing advice and yes, always get insurance. I've had people try to rip me up from some big sales on eBay and it's more than once saved me from needless loss. PS, I busted my gut with the snickers story😹
The shipping boxes thing, thats awesome you give them away. My local guitar center will sell them to me for $5 , which is very reasonable. You can buy empty guitar shipping boxes from amazon. pack of 3 for like $20-30 . or do like me, and buy a new guitar before you sell the old one so you always have a box to use!
My local GC has given me boxes for shipping, but they know me by name and I’ve spent a ton there. If your a regular they should give you the used shipping materials because otherwise it goes into their dumpster.
If you're selling a lower-end instrument, as I recently did, it would be tough to use Reverb or eBay because the cost of shipping would be high relative to the price of the guitar. So I used Craigslist. Two people contacted me, the first a terrible buyer, the second the perfect buyer. The first guy offered me about half of what I was asking, saying that was all the money he had. I turned him down. Then he asked for the lowest price I could live with. The second guy came to my house with the asking price in cash, tried the instrument, gave me the cash, and took it. He was a very busy person who knew what he wanted. He wanted an acoustic bass for his jam friend group, and I had a well-made instrument at a reasonable (but not giveaway) price. All the best to you at Casino. Any chance of a video on basses?
Great share there and thrilled it was a happy ending! And we agree with the reverb in that price range. It looks like you did just great on the marketplace! Thanks again for taking the time to share this experience :)!
So he was a "terrible" buyer because he was doing what ALL PEOPLE DO when trying to buy a USED item and that's trying to negotiate a price??? If u don't like someone's price just say no I'm good and move on. Guitars r already over priced for no reason as it is. Glad u sold ur item for what u were asking for but the other guy did nothing wrong so don't see how he was terrible. That's just me tho I guess.
I have a 1983 Peavey Razer guitar (red) I had this since 86, it is like new never abused and always stored in its case, very nice condition no dings dents or scratches to nit pick. how much could this be worth. I`m in northeast Florida. If I cant sell this I will be interested in finding all of the other colors (black, white, and blue) of this guitar for my collection.
I’m trying to trade in a 2019 PRS custom 2408 10 top in aquamarine. I can’t seem to find the average sale price so I could then take 70% of that as a trade-in price. It really is in excellent condition. Is it because it’s too new? Any help or numbers you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated. BTW Looking to purchase a new Gibson ES 335 with a figure top, ice tea or maybe natural, just not cherry. Sorry if that was too much information.
Here in Japan we use Yahoo Auctions. Great way to sell without dealing with the buyer directly. BUyer pays Yahoo before you ship it, seller gets the money from Yahoo only after it arrives.
A Baby Ruth would work better. Ebay or Reverb, what is best? Is it bad form to dumpster dive for boxes behind a GC? My local UPS store receives packages for $5.00. I do this for Porch Pirates and my wife.
Hi there, my mom has a hawk 6 string guitar.. She bought it on the 70s.. It's hardly used, unfortunately she wasn't every good.. How do I go about selling it and what could it be worth today?
This must happen all over the world, we get all the mentioned points here in Scotland & rest of the UK. Another favourite from the “bottom feeders” is when you sell a guitar such as a Gibson Les Paul Standard and they offer you a trade or swap for Squire strat that’s been modded and has upgraded pickups that plays as good as or like a Fender Custom Shop Strat. Even more irritating when you mention in the ad clearly you’re not interested in swaps or trades. I used to politely decline these offers but now I don’t even reply! 😂
There are a few things to watch out for on Reverb sales. 1) Condition. If a guitar is in "good" condition and listed at a fair price, changing its condition to "very good" will earn a badge on your posting that says "great price for this condition", and the bot that shows the "average price range" is showing you prices for "very good condition". This can even result in a badge that claims "below market price for this condition". The "fair market values" are based on recent sales, and can't account for items that are listed "above" their condition, nor does it tell you if the shipping was free, low cost, or over-priced. The numbers are based on the last six months, so it doesn't tell you anything about what the guitar is actually worth, but what they've sold for, and only recently. 2) Including the shipping free skews these numbers further. You shop for XYZ guitar and see some offered for hundreds less than others, so you click on them. One will be $500 and free shipping and another will be $350 with $150 shipping. Same money, but one shows up as $350, the other $500. 3)These prices also will not tell you if the guitar is in an original hard shell case, a replacement case, a chipboard case, a gig bag, or no wrapping at all. (Like the gorgeous EKO I bought in Poland which arrived wrapped in little more than a trash bag, with a HUGE gash right on the face of the headstock, and cracks around the neck joint from being dropped on its head.) 4) Don't ever buy anything from a Guitar Center store unless you realize you are gambling on who is working that day. Your instrument may be well-packed by a semi-adult with some care, or it may be thrown in a box by a 17-year-old after-school kid that sees the task as work to get done before he can leave for the beach (not a beautiful, $700 Hagstrom Alvar, now with a gash on its headstock similar to the EKO) This is not a rant or knock on Reverb. I've bought many guitars (and sold a few) through Reverb, and overall I'm still pleased with the platform. As a seller, I have an interface that allows the buyer to use their credit card, PayPal, or even Affirm financing. It calculates sales taxes and forwards them to my state. It offers a hefty discount on UPS shipping, (printing your own label). I could do none of these things on my own without a business tax number (EIN), a commercial UPS account, a Merchant Account at my bank to accept credit card clearinghouses, all the accounting required for a business and quarterly sales tax deposits to a Federal Reserve Bank. Seller fees and income tax are a fraction of what it would cost me to do this otherwise, and I don't have strangers meeting me in the parking lot of the Burger Queen to make a cash sale (like Craig's List or Facebook Marketplace).
about cleaning your guitars, what's a good way to kill smoke and booze smells from an instrument that's lived in bars since the 80s? It's been a dealbreaker for a few people I've dealt with.
My Father passed on and gave me his Martin acoustic guitar I'm not a fan of acoustic and would like to purchase an electric guitar with the money I get from the acoustic is that logical / prudent
Yeah, that’s nickel and diming. But if it’s like a few dollars or less that’s not bad. Five dollars or more, especially for any generic guitar box that was gonna be trashed is just profiteering.
Don't shave Baxter! You are well on your way sir. The whole Snicker bar thing is hilarious. Wouldn't it work a bit better using a Baby Ruth, and maybe get some fake blood and add a little to the mix. And possibly go to a pet store and get one of the frozen pinky mice and add the tail, a leg and an ear.
When selling online using Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace it's important to have trash or dirty clothes in the background. And, it's essential to show your bare feet in the photo.
@@BunkMasterFlex77 True! I saw this in a high end Les Paul sale on Ebay. In the closeup pic of the shiny chrome grover tuners you could very clearly see the guy totally nude, crouched down with his um "self" hanging between his legs. It did highlight the mirror finish of the chrome but still! lol! uuugghh. I cannot unsee that!
They show asked price and actual price in "Transaction History" If there has been enough transactions. So for rare items it will not show up, but for everything else there even are dates of transactions.
I bought a brand new Fender Strat from Guitarcenter last week. It arrived yesterday (11/5/2020). IT was a USED guitar. came in a gibson box and was missing the original factory packing. I called them and while they did send me a refund , thats borderline illegal they are trying to scam people.
Dont sell your guitars to local music stores like this one. They will try to convince you that they are experts (they arent, just watch a few videos and youll see) and offer a pawn price to only mark it up 300% . It has happened to several of my friends. This comment will be deleted like all my other ones. Truth is dangerous to the facade of this business.
@@jtaylor1949 they say in the video that stores have to make a profit and wont give you what you can get if you sell for yourself. The only reason i see it being deleted it is that you are replying to my comment which has NOTHING to do with what you said.
My friend who helps me on the market place always puts the price 100 bucks higher than i ask for. It kinda doesn't matter if its a good price or not they always try to talk us down or ask me to drive 80 miles to drop it off. When I was younger so 30 years ago I would take cash and hold out the amount I was willing to pay n if the salesman reached for the cash i had a deal. That doesn't work these days
I have accumulated enough gear since the 70s to open a store and decided to sell of many. I would rather have a 2 root canals and my nails yanked off than sell but here goes. NEVER say MINT. Since you cannot take a microscope and examine inch, simply say it looks incredible and you have described it best you can and offer more pictures if wanted. This happened 2x on the Bay. The buyer finds "enter issue here" and wants a "deduction". A pick mark and he wanted $300 off. I told him to send it back 3 day air "our deal" and he pushed every time limit Ebay/PP had just to piss me off. 2- ALWAYS ship 2-3 day air/sig req. Fewer hands touch it and the package is more closely tracked. 1/2 it with the buyer. If they complain and it is a expensive guitar, I don't want to deal with them anyways. Lastly.... No matter what the profit or how hard up I may be NEVER sell outside the US or to a recent or low feedback buyer.
Yes I pack EXTREMELY well before shipping. People have really noticed and it gets mentioned in most of my sales. That and lots of pictures And being straight.
There is a right and wrong try selling a guitar, you have covered most of the important area's, when i am looking to buy, the guitars has to have clear photo's of all area's of a guitar that are prone to damage, yet often you often see only the front. An honest description is vital, yet you see guitars described as "Opened, Never Played" when there are obvious signs of use.
Dont sell your guitars to local music stores like this one. They will try to convince you that they are experts (they arent, just watch a few videos and youll see) and offer a pawn price to only mark it up 300% . It has happened to several of my friends. This comment will be deleted like all my other ones. Truth is dangerous to the facade of this business.
I work (worked?) at GC part time, and someone brought in a guitar that had live spiders in a spider web inside!! You'd think this was a bargain basement piece of crap, but it was actually a Martin!!. Anyway, I have a particular aversion to spiders and if I took it in, I would have to prep it, so I showed our tech (who was standing next to me) hoping he'd say, "No don't take that in." He said, "Yeah, we can take that." I gave the guy rock bottom price, and he was happy to have it. I was hoping that would be a deterrent too. Cleaned it up, took a pic, hung it on the wall and sold it within an hour. Whoda thunkit?
Man great story...albeit a horrifying one!!!! What a trip and awesome how it turned out! Thank you for sharing and bringing an “eeck” to all of us here!
"Provenance we care about"...I traded a MIJ Jaguar ( signed by Los Straightjackets)..to a local Rocker Music store..the first thing they did ( after saying Who?... was wipe the signatures off
i like buy guitar that look beatup or dirty you can ask for less ,, the thing i hate is when people are saling a guitar that is new at 200 and try to sale it for 200 when the guitar can be 10year old and left in a humid basement for all this time
I bought my vintage junior off reverb and I had to pay $100 in shipping but the guy stated he ships his guitars good enough to withstand a cat 5 hurricane. My guitar was in a hardshell case inclosed in a cardboard box full of packing peanuts 🤣 It arrived safe but I don't think thats hurricane proof lol
Q about low offers - Let’s say you know a certain unusual cult-ish model by a very popular brand sells between $600-$1100 and Reverb sales reflect that, but every damn listing is asking $1200-$1700. Is someone going to see me as trolling if I offer $650-$800 on something they listed for $1250-$1400?
I think there's a way to do it using tact. Explain with facts to the seller about why you think that particular piece is worth what you are offering. I listed a 2018 Gibson Les Paul Studio for $900 with hard case, and someone tried to offer me $600. I explained that my price was already a deal based on Reverb sales. He simply said he doesn't think they are worth that much. That was the end of that interaction.
My question is “expect 70% to 60% or less than current selling price” that is realistic.... but a “50% offer is a crazy” and “a troll” huh? One of my favorite GC stores offered me $375 for my 2016 offset Telecaster. $375 was a very low offer for a $1600 guitar, but I don’t think they are crazy or trolls, I just sold it myself on reverb for $1200.
#1- microwave that Snickers bar for about 15 seconds on a plate. #2- gingerly slide the Snickers bar on to the seat. Try to get it kinda hangin' off of the edge of the seat and down the side of the bowl. #3- wait. You'll know.
Funny you should mention that. Just yesterday I received a new hard shell case for a guitar I recently bought. I came home to find my case, in full view of the road, out by the gate. All my packages are supposed to be "adult signature required". When I went to the UPS site to investigate, it said it was left "on the porch". Well, I live back in the woods and the house is 900 feet or more from the house and the house is not visible from the gate. These drivers are just signing for you and lying about where they leave things. The only reason I even used UPS is that it was the seller's perogative. Oddly enough, I get better service from USPS than anybody else.
my friend bought a PRS on reverb, the seller shipped him the guitar...in the hard shell case lol. case was damaged but the guitar survived so he asked the seller to get some money for a new case (and to grow a brain). i also got a box from a local guitar shop, ironically - from the same woman who i gave my unused gs mini gig bag too. karma!
Man that is funny Z! I don’t know if I have ever seen that yet. Well, I did see someone actually just shop the guitar once with no box or case...just a postage sticker on the guitar:) Yikes!
If a seller replaces a Korean Floyd with a German or puts $1,000 Gibson pickups in a guitar, yes it should raise the price. You aren't going to get full retail for the parts but it will raise the value.
@@carvinblack Agree, if you put on quality parts (and keep originals incase purchaser wants to put them back on at some point) it can increase the value. Just have to make sure you don't put on upgrades that don't do anything for the guitar, don't improve the guitar overall. Example changing pickups of equal value but may have a different tone. Nobody wants to pay for that, it's a change not an upgrade.
I recently sold my D'angelico Bedford Deluxe (chameleon finish) so a $1300 guitar new. I went to GC and they offered me $400 and 10% off an item if I was buying something else. In this case I wanted to trade in the guitar for an amp.... I said no way, that was crazy. Even the worker was like "dude I really hope you don't take this and I don't want to disrespect your guitar but 400." … I was going to list on reverb or take the trip down to my favorite guitar shop Casino Guitars,.. but I ended up going across the street to Sam Ash. They offered me $680 and $100 off the amp I wanted. I accepted that and now I am the proud owner of a Dr.Z Jetta and a G&L Bluesboy "Custom" (you can custom spec any G&L guitar). Moral of the story is that even though selling a guitar can be a pain and you'll feel like you're getting the short end of the stick - it can be totally worth all the trouble. Be realistic, don't feel pressured to sell, explore options. Could not be happier with my new gear and it was all made possible by selling my guitar to a big box store.
@@charlesbolton8471 bro..long story haha, but I ended up getting a fender reverb deluxe reissue at the time of trade in. It had tube rattle issues and they dont do amp repair at SA so I returned it and luckily was able to return it for full price. I think I lost a few bucks in taxes or whatever but overall I'd say I ended up with at least 750 from that trade in to then buy the Dr.Z (from sweetwater). But thank you! They are both absolutely incredible... like its crazy lol.
I've brought in guitars that were damned near mint with a case - it does not mean a hill of jack sh*** to shops. They do that stupid numbers thing - not even throw in about 20 bucks for a case or cover that did not come with the guitar when it was purchased. The only reason I clean it etc is because it was once mine. That's it- but don't expect for someone to say - "wow, you kept this nice so..... " Don't expect much people, and be willing to walk if it is unbearable.
You obviously don't sell on Ebay. They charge 10% of what you sell the item for. 10% of what you charge for shipping. And a fee on sales tax. And now 2.9% if you are under managed payments program.
@@seanbrooks2583 The 3.5% is limited. If you sell vintage(20 years or older) you pay 10%. Sneaky on Ebay part. But all they do is think of ways to charge you fees.
Free shipping? Have you seen how expensive couriers are these days plus insurance? Pull the other one lads 🤣🤣🤣 Get a quote of the price to ship and list it as proof within the description of listing
We would just suggest padding the shipping into your price. Now if shipping international, shipping should be paid by the customer:) thanks for sharing your thoughts and watching!
@@cjaquilino yea man. This store I haven’t shopped at in well over 15 years. I was in a pinch and selling some gear. I waited for like 45 minutes before they even acknowledged me and this guy , Dana, told me that paying customers are first. Then I just dipped. Fuck them
When you say you get your hair done once a year, it seems to coincide with running the gasoline out of the lawnmower for the season. I guess my question is, does he use a lawn mower or a weed whacker? Just kidding, you do you.
Thanks a ton and we live the good humor! I even tried coming this mop before but it just has a mind of it’s own. It’s as if beetle juice ended up in my dna somehow:)
About 10 years ago I had my beard grown out, comparable to where Jonathan's beard is at now. I shaved it off and bagged it up and sent it as a care package to a friend across the country. Just because.
The best are the sellers that get mad when your correct their listing. Such as the year of the guitar, etc. They will say..."Thank you so much" and then they never correct the mistakes.
@@carvinblack : I agree, some prick got mad with me on eBay, because I caught him trying to sell a guitar, that was a lot lower spec than he was advertising. He told me to get a life! I told him I was trying to stop him ripping some poor kid off 👎😎
@@bobbillnolan7644 And also we could be helping. We all know how a vintage guitar one year is worth so much and another year later could be worth ten times more. Or at the very least having the right title will bring better search results.
Looks like one person does not want to hear how his ‘2002 vintage, heavy relic’ Squier Bullet Strat once awkwardly held by a Bud Light girl at a bar’s grand opening for an Instagram shot is NOT worth $2,500.
My thing with the people that only ask you half of what's asked is that my brain immediately goes "this dude is a scalper. I asked 12 houndred, he offered 6, and will sell it for 18-20." Scalpers attack every hobby in the world, I'd like to do my part in making sure that doesn't happen with guitarists. Because i picture some poor kid (poor meaning ignorant, not knowing how scalping works yet, or guitar prices etc) buying a guitar worth like, 180 bucks at best, for 450 and feeling ripped off down the road. Wanna make someone hate a hobby, and possibly anyone that's linked to it? Because that's what could easily happen..
Craigslist "If the ad is up, it's still for sale. Please do not ask if it's still available." 1hr later: "Hey man, is this guitar still for sale?" "$@#&@!"
Ya haircut cool now comb it lol ...I respect people that can laugh at themselves.....but seriously this is great information....I cant sell or buy guitars online tho....I need to play what I'm buying... and I dont trust online banking. Lol ya I'm old and perhaps ignorant....but nobody steals my money...not that I have much ...haha
I just called Guitar Center and I have a white zombie Kirk Hammett ESP ltd they wanted to give me $500 for it brand new I never even played it that's a joke the guitars worth at least $1,500 I'm trying to sell it never been played
Don't take it to Guitar Center!!! They'll rip you off and make you think you're getting a good deal. I took a Taylor electric acoustic Koa wood in to a Guitar Center and they would only give me $800. A week later I went to see what they were selling it for and they had $1,750.00 on the tag! Outrageous!
Most shops usually offer you half the amount of cash that they're going to sell it for. You can get a little more by taking store credit. But I wouldn't expect a 75%-80% retail value cash offer.
GC and Ash will only give you 30-35% of the actual value.They in turn will sell it for what you should have gotten for the guitar. Last places I would ever sell a guitar.
