Getting A Shop To Sell Your Bass

[Hobbayne]

I took a couple of my basses into a local shop for a minor set up and to have the nut re-cut, and was talking to the guy behind the counter about one of the basses that I was thinking of selling and he offered to sell it for me.
Apart from the obvious commission for the shop what are the pros and cons of doing this?

[Turnaround]

Ah ...music shops with interesting second hand gear, I remember those. Time for a come back in my opinion, much preferable to Internet/ postage scenario and nobody's mucky boots on your carpets coming round to check it out at home.
Limited numbers of local buyers and possibly longer to sell though.

[ambient]

I posted a similar thread a few weeks ago.

The main things are if the shop is well known, and has a good internet presence, then there's more exposure for your instrument, so it should hopefully sell faster, and you don't have to worry about posting it etc.

There's obviously the commission thing though, and make sure that they're not being too over optimistic with regard to price.

[xgsjx]

Having it in a shop means that people can try it out before they buy. Downside is window lickers going in & playing your bass with no intention of buying it & you not being able to see if they're taking care of it.
Most music shops up this way sell gear for individuals.

[RhysP]

As I said in a similar post recently - there is a chance that your guitar could get damaged while in the shop, so you need to make sure what the shop would do about this if it happened. A friend of mine had an expensive guitar he had for sale in a music shop in Cardiff seriously damaged by a staff member.

Edited January 15, 2016 by RhysP

[TheGreek]

You might want to ask the shop what they are going to do to sell your bass other than have it in the shop. e.g. Will they be contacting studios or do they have a client base who might be interested?

[leftybassman392]

I have two for sale at The Gallery ATM. Taking a very long time to sell, but in fairness they are both upmarket instruments (a Wal and a Regenerate) - and both Lefties of course - for which the natural market is very small. Fortunately I'm not in any hurry! 15% commission sounds a bit of a pain, but I know they're being well-looked-after by people who can actually offer sound, knowledgeable advice to anyone who asks (and who will keep a good eye on them when tyre kickers drop by on the offchance). They'll handle the haggling (on orders from me), and will do all the P&P (which TBH is the one part of trading I absolutely loathe).

All in all I reckon it's a pretty fair arrangement.

Edited January 15, 2016 by leftybassman392

[blue]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1452877594' post='2954400']
I took a couple of my basses into a local shop for a minor set up and to have the nut re-cut, and was talking to the guy behind the counter about one of the basses that I was thinking of selling and he offered to sell it for me.
Apart from the obvious commission for the shop what are the pros and cons of doing this?[/quote]

Over here, the most you'll get from a shop is about 50% less then what you could get selling good bass on your own.

Blue

[Beedster]

With Basschat and eBay as options I cannot see any reason to sell a bass in a shop. Fees are higher, risk of damage is higher, market is far lower.

[ambient]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1452907858' post='2954736']
With Basschat and eBay as options I cannot see any reason to sell a bass in a shop. Fees are higher, risk of damage is higher, market is far lower.
[/quote]

Selling on here is good, though I wouldn't touch eBay, unless it was strictly cash on collection only.

I sold my Modulus via Facebook. I got exactly what I wanted for it, no haggling or hassle.

[Machines]

I've sold about 5 basses through BassDirect. I'd say he got better prices than I'd sell for elsewhere but netted me the same cash after commission. For me not having the hassle of haggling or posting is worth the cost. Most of them were posted to Europe which is something id never risk.

[lojo]

Whilst it would seem you limit your market to local , if the shop has a good web presence and reputation, then it could make your market worldwide. Obviously the bass needs to special to attract interest overseas buyers though.

I was considering doing this with a bass , bass direct said they would mark it up 20%

I guess if your selling a cheaper bass, it saves you the hassle of posting , and there's always people buying starter instruments

Edited January 16, 2016 by lojo

[leftybassman392]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1452907858' post='2954736']
With Basschat and eBay as options I cannot see any reason to sell a bass in a shop. Fees are higher, risk of damage is higher, market is far lower.
[/quote]

Depends on the instrument to some degree (and depends on the shop of course...). After a sequence of bad experiences I wouldn't touch eBay with a 10-foot cattle prod, and after 15 months and several price drops I've had no takers on here. Upmarket lefties need as big a market as I can possibly manage (and in this case the 'if the price is right it'll sell' adage doesn't really apply IMHO).

[BigRedX]

Having sold many thousands of pounds worth of basses on eBay without any issues I have a sneaking suspicion that the problem is not eBay, but the kinds of basses that are being sold. Mine have all been fairly unconventional instruments, and as such don't really appeal to the "tyre kickers".

Also I have a fairly strict set of rules when it comes to selling stuff. Pay by PayPal and I organise the shipping with my choice of courier or cash on collection. Anyone who asks a question that has already been answered in the listing description gets added to my list of blocked bidders on the basis that if you can't be bothered to read the listing properly then IMO you are going to be more trouble than it's worth to have you bidding on my items.

Sticking to these I've been able to sell and ship stuff all over the world and have yet to have a problem.

My feeling is that the more conventional the things you sell the more likely you are to attract the problem bidders and potential scammers.

The one time I have had a problem selling a bass it was a Squier that I listed here. No end of "tyre kickers", dumb questions that had already been addressed in the description, and people saying they were definitely interested in the bass only for me to never hear from them again...

[martin8708]

If the shop is one of the big 3 ( bassdirect/ bass gear/ the gallery ) you probably stand a good chance of securing a sale as these shops have a high level of Internet presence .

If it's the local village music shop at the end of the High Street , ( bit like here on the Isle of Wight ) , instruments can sit on the rack for years with the occasional plank spanker trying it out with no intention of buying it .

I have had good results with Gumtree and eBay , I wait till eBay have special offers on final sale fees before listing the big stuff.
Gumtree is free , attracts all sorts of tyre kickers , but occasionally a good result comes through .

eBay opens up your market to Europe and beyond , I have sold guitars to France / Spain /Italy / Holland and shipping is no different to posting to Wales or mainland UK.

Edited January 16, 2016 by martin8708