Dan Dare

Well, let's not compare apples with oranges. The discussion is about how much commission shops charge. And again, one is not forced to use auction rooms. In fact, I wouldn't to sell something like a bass guitar. Most people in a typical auction room will not be interested in basses and the chances of one making a good price are slim, unless it's very rare/desirable. Even then, there are unlikely to be several bidders who want it or know what it is to compete and push the sale price up. The vast majority of average auction room bidders are more likely to be after paintings, antiques and similar. A specialist shop is the best option for a commission sale (imho, of course).

I'd advise against rosin. It's intended to make things sticky. That's why we use it on our violin bows.

Could be the fact that they are in Camden in the heart of the mighty metropolis, where everything is expensive. They must know their market. It's also a fact that sticker prices are usually open to haggling. If I was selling, I'd have no problem with their asking more for my instrument id it meant I got more when it sold.

I'm not a shop owner or member of staff of one, but I have to disagree. I don't think 15-20% is unreasonable if a shop takes all the grief out of selling an instrument. You don't have to deal with chancers and tyre kickers or dodgy types who come round to case your place to see what you have and whether it's worth coming back another time and breaking in. You don't have to worry about shipping an instrument. A shop will normally clean, set it up and prepare it for sale and advertise it. Many more people will see your instrument when it's hanging on a shop wall than will if it's in a case under your bed. You sit back and do nowt and wait for the money to materialise. What's so disgusting about that? You can always sell an instrument yourself if you prefer. Nobody is forced to do it through a shop.

Interesting and reinforces the point that type of material a body is made from really doesn't matter.

Did I say it was? £10m worth of public liability insurance included with the price of your sub's isn't to be sneezed at.

This. Tubes also tend to overdrive gracefully, whereas transistors do not. You can listen to a tube amp working hard and not be made aware that it is being overdriven. Push a transistor amp past its limits and it's rarely pleasant to hear.

MU membership gets you public liability insurance up to £10m at no extra cost. You can insure your gear through them, too.

Danelectro guitars are made of hardboard (Masonite in the US). I owned a Danelectro bass and it worked very well. Needs to be painted, which rules out a clear finish over a nice looking grain, but does the job more than adequately, being rigid, inert and easily worked. Humans seem to find wood grain beautiful. I don't think it's due to the fact that we are conservative, necessarily. It probably appeals to some instinct within us. It may not make for a better instrument, but if it pleases us and gives us pride of ownership, there's nowt wrong with that.

You could extend this argument to virtually anything we buy or use. For example, I'm an angler. Do I really need a Hardy fly rod when I can buy a perfectly functional rod from China for a fraction of the price that will catch me just as many fish? No, but I can afford a Hardy or two and the pleasure of ownership is worth it. I admit I'm also a bit of a tart and like the cachet of owning nice things. I can't take my money with me when I go.

They have their own payment system for sellers, but if you buy, you are directed to use PP (I buy and sell on there). The buyer's payment goes from PP to eBay, who deduct extra commission (additional to the fee they charge for the sale) from what they pay the seller. That's why they don't like people paying sellers direct

They can expect all they want, but they don't get it from me if I've arranged to collect an item. Just ignore the payment reminders from eBay. They try to push you into using PayPal because they make a bit more commission if you do. eBay has no power to force you to use PayPal. Once you have paid the seller direct, just mark the item as received and payment sent. It's worth asking the seller to mark it payment received, too.

Wiping them down also gets rid of the gunk that manufacturers coat strings with to prevent them from rusting in the packet. Stops them feeling sticky. I use a little isopropyl or meths on the cloth to get them properly clean.

Correct. Binky told us earlier that our hero lived at home with his mum and dad. That's where he went to pick up the guitar. One thing this story does reinforce is that one should always pay on collection and not beforehand via PayPal. Then, if the item is not as described or damaged, you don't have to go through the rigmarole of getting a refund.

That's about it. Gear has to sound pretty dreadful if it's about to self-destruct. If you play on through that, it's down to you.

To each his own. I find my Beyer DT770s excellent for that purpose.

This. The trend towards smaller and smaller amps also means that components are more tightly packed together, which increases the likelihood of overheating. So many class D amps have fans because they are so compact. The better ones have a temperature controlled fan that only cuts in when needed (my AG700 does). We can either have large amps with heatsinks, etc, or compact boxes with fans. No such thing as a free lunch.

Some are, but a lot are just chancers. I was selling a PA power amp. Heavy brute, so stressed collection only. Some bloke got in touch and was incensed that I wouldn't post it. I tried all the reasonable replies - very heavy, post costly, not possible to wrap to ensure it won't be damaged, I'm a private individual not a dealer, etc, etc. He kept pushing. Eventually had to tell him to stop acting entitled and get lost, at which point he started bleating about what a nasty man I was.

Yep. A fashion product and absolute sh1te. Not remotely comparable with reputable brands - Sennheiser, AKG, Beyer, Grado, Sony, etc.

I'll sell you some of my dead skin and bogies if you like. That seems to be what strings end up covered with 🤢

This. I moved out of London (to Hampshire) last year and have realised how spoiled for choice I was in the Smoke. As Phil points out, once you leave the major cities, everything is more spread out, musical tastes can be a mite less adventurous and the standard of players can be more variable.

Take them up to tension, slacken, up to tension again, slacken, rinse and repeat. Should speed up the fatiguing of the metal.

Au contraire. it is obvious when something is struggling. If you can't hear when a cab is distorting, you will be unlikely to hear that it isn't getting louder when you turn up. If you're playing at insane onstage volume levels, you only have yourself to blame if you destroy your gear, anyway.

I also said "It will be obvious from the sound if a cab is struggling, so just turn down in that event" in the next line of my post. I guess if you want to find fault, you will. Btw, what does the OP's nationality have to do with it? I'm sure Romanian musicians are just as gear savvy as anyone else (including Kiwis).