Prices on Used Gear

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mbt64

mbt64

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I'm guessing this is an appropriate forum to post this. A general question, why do many sellers price items (with or without shipping) at or above new gear prices? I'm not talking about modded or vintage equipment, just "regular" amps, pedals, guitars, etc. For me, if it is close enough to the new price (often with free shipping), I'm inclined to buy the new stuff without having to worry about reliability issues with the gear or the sellers. Any thoughts?
 
Depends. If it's in a Forum. Most people aren't any good at selling stuff.
Reverb, who knows. 98% of everything on Reverb is priced to high to bother. Some of it is calling attention to their brick and mortar shop, but the rest is just throwing it up against the wall and see what sticks. Until there is a fee to list, you are going to have overpriced shit.
 
mbt64 said:
I'm guessing this is an appropriate forum to post this. A general question, why do many sellers price items (with or without shipping) at or above new gear prices? I'm not talking about modded or vintage equipment, just "regular" amps, pedals, guitars, etc. For me, if it is close enough to the new price (often with free shipping), I'm inclined to buy the new stuff without having to worry about reliability issues with the gear or the sellers. Any thoughts?
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One factor I think of is that it has become a bit of a thing to try lots of gear, and a lot of people who get sucked into into really can't afford to buy dozens of $3-5000 amps and take a significant loss on them. So they try to get as close to the new price as they can, hoping that someone is willing to take a small discount off a new price, and they can keep on playing the game.

To a lot of people, looking broke is worse than being broke.
 
I guess one possibility i can think of....Personally for me, I list something a little less then anywhere else available for the same item.

However these days I get mostly lowball offers so I can see someone jacking up the price expecting lowballs.
 
Many overvalue their gear, or may be trying to cover reverb fees, etc.

I started taking things to GC, by the time I factor in the shipping, packing, fees, risks, etc. GC isn't that far off. Now if it's something rare or expensive, that's different.
 
rsm said:
Many overvalue their gear, or may be trying to cover reverb fees, etc.

I started taking things to GC, by the time I factor in the shipping, packing, fees, risks, etc. GC isn't that far off. Now if it's something rare or expensive, that's different.
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I had my ESP at rock bottom prices, probably $400-$500 less then anywhere else for the same model, plus mine was a NAMM model.

After several months I brought it to GC and they gave me $100 more then my lowest price.

And yes, shipping is a nightmare these days.
 
I find that some people sell used gear for more than I buy it new. I guess they don't ask for a discount when they buy gear. Several years ago it seemed like you could get most gear at nearly a 50% discount used but now people think they are going to get 90% back.. I think that is crazy.
 
I tend to go new with brick and mortars that give discounts, and no sales tax.

Selling used is a crap shoot. I price stuff to move. It takes awhile to move anything these days, but they eventually sell.
 
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mbt64 said:
I'm guessing this is an appropriate forum to post this. A general question, why do many sellers price items (with or without shipping) at or above new gear prices? I'm not talking about modded or vintage equipment, just "regular" amps, pedals, guitars, etc. For me, if it is close enough to the new price (often with free shipping), I'm inclined to buy the new stuff without having to worry about reliability issues with the gear or the sellers. Any thoughts?
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Because companies like Guitar Center understand that (and learned hard during the pandemic) that having inventory on hand automatically puts you in the red. Almost every single piece of gear I’ve looked at over the last year is on back order, meaning that the only way a manufacturer is going to produce anything is if they have large order. That being said if you want something new you may have to wait a long time for it….or buy an “almost new” one on Reverb for close to new price.
 
Don’t want to take the $ loss. That’s it.

I just bought a new pedal ($240) for the first time in 20 years. Used prices on the pedal from 2010s to current were $180 - $220.
F you, I’ll just buy new.
 
Things do move, but they may take time.

According to reverb, I sold over $7K in gear there in 2024; I'm sure I purchased 2-3X that from everywhere last year...

can't wait to be taxed on selling old gear over $600 :mad:
 
rsm said:
Things do move, but they may take time.

According to reverb, I sold over $7K in gear there in 2024; I'm sure I purchased 2-3X that from everywhere last year...

can't wait to be taxed on selling old gear over $600 :mad:
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I think the threshold for 2024 is $5000 according to an accountant guy on YT.
 
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OldGtrGuy said:
I had my ESP at rock bottom prices, probably $400-$500 less then anywhere else for the same model, plus mine was a NAMM model.

After several months I brought it to GC and they gave me $100 more then my lowest price.

And yes, shipping is a nightmare these days.
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I had always encountered the rule of thumb GC and Music Go Round was HALF of whatever the used market was.......I rarely take stuff in. Sound like you have had better luck than I did.
 
harddriver said:
I had always encountered the rule of thumb GC and Music Go Round was HALF of whatever the used market was.......I rarely take stuff in. Sound like you have had better luck than I did.
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when you factor in all the risks and costs of selling on reverb or ebay, and if it's not a vintage or rare piece of gear, it's worth a shot...you can always counter or refuse GC offer.

I haven't sold anything on SW GearExchange, but their fees are lower I think? I purchased a few things there at good prices IMO
 
napalmdeath said:
I tend to go new with brick and mortars that give discounts, and no sales tax.

Selling used is a crap shoot. I price stuff to move. It takes awhile to move anything these days, but they eventually sell.
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Who doesn't charge sales tax?
 
harddriver said:
I had always encountered the rule of thumb GC and Music Go Round was HALF of whatever the used market was.......I rarely take stuff in. Sound like you have had better luck than I did.
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I think I just got lucky. I'm pretty sure Guitar Center gives you 60% of what they're going to sell it for. They gave me 62.5% of what they listed it for.

They check reverb and ebay listing's I believe and there happened to be none available other then their own website having the same guitar which was highly overpriced at that specific moment in time.
 
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