What’s the best way to sell an amp?

[BigGuitars]

I’m trying to make a quick sale. I’ve got a head and matching cab I’m trying to get rid of. I’ve tried posting to local CL but no hits. I’m from Nashville so there’s not many people looking for high gain amps here. I want to expand my range by posting to reverb or ebay but I don’t know if I can ship this thing easily. I’m just trying to sell the damn thing, and don’t really want to wait around for months before I find a buyer. What’s the best way to get rid of it without giving it away to guitar center for pennies on the dollar?

 

[Purpleibby]

This is the place IMO....but you'd have to be a regular on the forum for a while. Even selling here can take a while...There's no easy solution. Take heed.....they will fuck you up here if you do a shady deal and/or don't package the gear right, and rightfully so. The flip side is there's some great folks here who love great gear. Until then, ebay is shit for sellers....and reverb isn't perfect but I've had good luck with it.....plenty of bad stories too out there. Selling gear ain't what it used to be.

Whatever you decide to do pack the head way over what you think was necessary. Double box, no peanuts....foam suspension on all 8 corners with a couple inches of crush space and layers of bubble wrap(NOT the thin stuff). Cover the amp in plastic too just to keep any possibility of dust/moisture out. Double corrugated box double boxed. Original packaging will work too as the original was made for the gear you're shipping(as long as it's not shit). Always pack more than necessary. Cabs always are hard to get rid of no matter what, specifically 4x12s. You may be waiting a while on that one. The head, do what I described above.

If you want faster IMO you're gonna have to take a chance on one of the bigger auction sites... You can list the cab on one of the auction sites as local pickup only if you don't want to ship it if it's a 4x12(I'd never want to ship one) A 2x12 is manageable for shipping, pretty easy IMO.

 

[BigGuitars]

It’s a 212 cab. I’m not putting up for local pickup. Nobody in Nashville wants this amp. It’s high gain. I need to expand my reach in order to sell it.

 

[MrDowntown]

I was going to recommend CL, and be sure, if you haven't...post it on neighboring CL towns; somewhere within A couple hours. Being willing to drive an hour/2 or so to meet halfway helps.

If you do FB...put it on your local marketplace and set your range for 100-200 miles, and again be flexible on meeting someone halfway.

Recently I've sold more gear on the FB...sold an amp, some speakers, and a guitar that wouldn't move on CL.

Another consideration is, it may be overpriced if you're getting no bites or interest at all.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

What amp/cab are you selling?

Be prepared to take a hit, regardless of condition. I see so much gear listed on Reverb for absurd prices. One thing you have to understand, not saying you don't but just in case your new to selling gear, is that market dictates price not what you think it's worth. Check around here, other forums, Reverb, etc, to get an idea what your particular gear is going for in the used market place.

As stated above, this is a good place to sell, as are some of the other gear forums. I've had great success on Reverb, but it's kind of a crapshoot no matter where you sell. And like Purpleibby stated, PACK WELL!

Good luck!

 

[napalmdeath]

Be prepared to give it away, if you want a quick sale. I'm finding, (these days), buyers tend to be more likely to buy when it's a good deal, rather than you having exactly what they want.

Quick sales don't happen very often these days. I listed an empty 4x12 cabinet on CL for FREE at one time, and STILL only got tire-kickers. Go figure.

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

I would highly recommend reverb… I have had excellent success lately and have sold a few high ticket items - guitars and amplifiers, within days of posting…

 

[BigGuitars]

It’s a like brand new 50w evh 5150 el34 model I’m pricing at $850. Matching cab is $300. I think that’s about as low as I can go. I bought them both new from the store a couple months ago. Barely played them.

 

[EXPcustom]

Ouch, I mean no offense but 2x12 cabs and 50 watt heads are probably the hardest gear there is to sell. Most people buying used are looking for deals and deals are out there. Most are looking for 100 Watters and 4x12s at least I know I am. Sure some 50 Watters are desirable but I would hate to have to move a 2x12 and a 50 watt version of an otherwise well know 100 watt amp in this gear economic climate.

Best of luck.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

It’s a like brand new 50w evh 5150 el34 model I’m pricing at $850. Matching cab is $300. I think that’s about as low as I can go. I bought them both new from the store a couple months ago. Barely played them.

Looks like they sell new from SW for $1100, so that sounds like a good price on the head to me. Like I said earlier though, doesn't matter what you think it's worth unfortunately or that it's barely played on, but what people are currently willing to pay. You always loose when buying new and selling relatively soon.

I've only ever bought 2 amps new, and I'd never do it again. One was $1400 new and it was MINT when I sold it. I got $700 and it took 4 months to finally sell . The second one was $1900 new and only 8 months old and LIKE NEW DEAD MINT when I sold it, and I only go,t $900. If you really need to sell, your gonna probably have to be prepared to take a hit; just the way it works man.

 

[nevusofota]

CL may take weeks or months but it will eventually sell. Lower the price a bit if you need it gone quick. May want to also try Facebook Marketplace.

 

[RedB4Black]

Price is good on the cab.

$850 is too high on the head IMO. Just being realistic. It doesn’t really matter when you bought it or what you paid. You can buy a new one at 15% off from MF for $935 shipped and get 8% in Backstage Pass credit on top of that....so your basically looking at $860 shipped for a brand new one. I wouldn’t pay more than $700 for a used one. And it’d have to be in mint shape. Even that discount from new isn’t really worth buying used to me. That’s me though, I’m sure someone else might.

 

[nevusofota]

Ouch, I mean no offense but 2x12 cabs and 50 watt heads are probably the hardest gear there is to sell. Most people buying used are looking for deals and deals are out there. Most are looking for 100 Watters and 4x12s at least I know I am. Sure some 50 Watters are desirable but I would hate to have to move a 2x12 and a 50 watt version of an otherwise well know 100 watt amp in this gear economic climate.

Best of luck.

The 100 watter craze ended years ago. Not saying there isn’t a demand still but the current market is hot for lower wattage and lunchbox style tube amps.

I owned both 50 and 100w EVH amps at the same time, wound up selling the 100w due to physical size and I actually preferred the sound and features of the 50w. I thought I heard EVH sells more 50’s than 100’s now.

 

[Bad.Seed]

Ouch, I mean no offense but 2x12 cabs and 50 watt heads are probably the hardest gear there is to sell. Most people buying used are looking for deals and deals are out there. Most are looking for 100 Watters and 4x12s at least I know I am. Sure some 50 Watters are desirable but I would hate to have to move a 2x12 and a 50 watt version of an otherwise well know 100 watt amp in this gear economic climate.

Best of luck.

The 100 watter craze ended years ago. Not saying there isn’t a demand still but the current market is hot for lower wattage and lunchbox style tube amps.

I owned both 50 and 100w EVH amps at the same time, wound up selling the 100w due to physical size and I actually preferred the sound and features of the 50w. I thought I heard EVH sells more 50’s than 100’s now.

You're definitely right on this one. The amp market is trending small form size and lower wattage these days . Most places don't allow you to play loud enough to touch 100+ watts, even when talking about headroom, so people are realizing they can shrink down the head and wattage and still comfortably accomplish the same goals.

As far as the the op's post, if it's that matching 212, $300 isn't a bad price on that, but you'll have to come down closer to $700-750 in order to sell that. A guy in Cleveland has had one for sale for 2 months at $700 and it's still sitting there. Reverb or eBay may be your best bet.

 

[nevusofota]

Yes, $850 is waaaaaay too high. Just looked on GC used site and found 30 for sale!! Most for significantly less. There was one for $550, even with tax and shipping you’ll likely get that out the door for $600 (plus you get a 30 day warranty). Not to be a downer but if you really want that to sell quickly you’ll have to lower the price at least $200. It’s always a bad sign when GC has “price dropped” the item. It means it’s been sitting for a while. 8 have been price dropped.

 

[thrashinbatman]

Yes, $850 is waaaaaay too high. Just looked on GC used site and found 30 for sale!! Most for significantly less. There was one for $550, even with tax and shipping you’ll likely get that out the door for $600 (plus you get a 30 day warranty). Not to be a downer but if you really want that to sell quickly you’ll have to lower the price at least $200. It’s always a bad sign when GC has “price dropped” the item. It means it’s been sitting for a while. 8 have been price dropped.

5150s suck to sell. There's so goddamn many of them out there that they don't have a very high value.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

If you were wanting to sell fast, probably $500 - $600 on the head max, or $900 for the whole thing.

 

[maddnotez]

Best way to sell = Have the lowest price available without question and as others have stated, pack it right.

Best places to sell= Rig Talk and Reverb.

I admit I have a specific genre (metal) but I always sell on Rig Talk. I can have the same gear posted on other sites like UG or SS.org and they just sit. Honestly I do not think I have ever gotten a single sale on any other forum besides Rig Talk.

I have sold a couple of small things on Facebook market which is cool. You get to see the people's profiles and if they seem shady just don't mess with them. Craigslist sucks, nothing but lowballers and you never know who's going to show up. (lowballers are everywhere though)

I do think it seems that forum wise The Gear Page may be the very best classifieds but I refuse to pay them money to sell so there is that. (I would do a commission though if they had that option)

As a last thought, set your price and wait it out. With such a common amp in MY opinion you are absolutely going to have to lower the price by a lot or possibly consider trades and resale. Also consider shipping. I think it only cost me like $50 to ship a 60 pound amp recently. Even if you pay Fedex to pack it should not be too much extra.

 

[Beandust]

Considering it's a production amp that makes it a broader sale period. When one can be had and returned if someone doesnt like it or just wants to keep it for 29 days like lots of folks do just because they can it kills the used market and slims down the available buyers. If its 850 used its considered high. Look at it from a 60% of what you paid for it and hope to sell it for that and take the loss. Or patiently wait for the perfect buyer. If not it's a crap shoot and then there is always the PayPal geek that returns it because he can for some lame complaint. If it were 650 would it be gone? Probably on rigtalk because its gas central and it's a pretty smoking head! Shipping cabs is to risky and to expensive. If the average used price is say 8 to sell it quickly you've got to make that price seem high compared to your listing. Reverb is good but competitive. If you paid 1150 new for the head you'd think any retailer would gladly pay you 850 for it. Unfortunately its marked up around 50% and that's why. Greeeeeeeeed!!!!