Jimryan Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) Morning all, Last summer I quite proudly made my most recent "bitsa" (the was a thread and everything). It was made to be my main gigging bass, one that I'd use all the time and do everything with. Unfortunately, since making it, I've only had two gigs and the rest since then has been with my upright. As a result, it's sat in the corner, on its stand, glittering away longing to be used. However, even when if I do find any electric work, I reach for my passive precision (also a bitsa) so it's widely neglected. This to me thinking, I could sell it, I probably won't, but I could. Let's say I did choose to sell it though, how the hell would I price it?!? What I paid in parts, what it actually/originally is/was? I've no idea. Would the fact it's a home refinish lower the value, or would the fact it's a flake finish retail the value? Do I add extra for the paint, flake and work? I just don't know. What would you guys do? How do you guys sell project basses? For reference it's made up of the following... Sterling ball SUB body (originally black £200) refinished in blue metal flake (think the blue flea bass), Status graphite neck (custom blue tint, no fret markers) £450, Delano FE pickup £80 John east 2 band pre £126, Schaller locks £6, Hipshot tuners (ultralites) and extender £100, White pearl aftermarket guard £15 Sorry mods if this isn't allowed, should be OK as I'm not doing this as a sale post. More curiosity on how people price their project basses. Thinking about it, not just for sale purposes, but for insurance quotes too I guess. Cheers, James Edited April 12, 2016 by Jimryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.noisy Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Well, I'd say it really depends. Most bitsa basses I have seen are usually made from cheap necks and bodies with better pickups and electronics. Bitsa basses are hard to value, depending where you sourcing your parts from. If you using things like Allparts then it's easy because they have a retail price etc, if you buying a body and neck on ebay, then it's harder necause some people could sell unwanted bass body for less or more than the others, same with other components. In your situation, it's a very expensive bitsa, mostly because of the Status neck. I'd say that every bass being sold by it's user is a second hand instrument and should have some of it's original value at least slightly deducted. And other thing is that the bitsa basses are not on a big demand like other basses with the badge, plus you said no fret markers so i guess its unlined fretless, and thats for a specific people too, not as popular as fretted basses. You would really need to think how to price it, if it was me, I'd put it at around £700 to begin with and see if there is any interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimryan Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 Should've mentioned that, it is fretted, just an unmarked board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Usually the person putting the bitsa together, puts it together with some specific use/sound in mind. If you don't find someone who thinks its a good mix too, you may struggle to get anywhere near the value you put in. A lot of people will pay extra for certain "badges". If yours doesn't have a badge, you're already at a disadvantage. When i sold a bitsa i put together it ended up selling for less than half the money i had spent on parts. Maybe i was unlucky/stupid for letting it go for that price? Dunno, but that is my experience. If you like it, and don't need to get rid, keep it. Or at least have a minimum price you'll take and don't allow yourself to take less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 [quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1460455365' post='3025796'] Usually the person putting the bitsa together, puts it together with some specific use/sound in mind. If you don't find someone who thinks its a good mix too, you may struggle to get anywhere near the value you put in. A lot of people will pay extra for certain "badges". If yours doesn't have a badge, you're already at a disadvantage. When i sold a bitsa i put together it ended up selling for less than half the money i had spent on parts. Maybe i was unlucky/stupid for letting it go for that price? Dunno, but that is my experience. If you like it, and don't need to get rid, keep it. Or at least have a minimum price you'll take and don't allow yourself to take less. [/quote] This really... You may get more if you part it out? people looking for specific components will maybe pay a bit more for them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 The quickest way to lose money on a bass (apart from have a new custom luthier build and selling a week later) is build a bitsa and then sell it. As Funksui says, they're pretty personal projects, and unless you're very lucky and find someone who agrees completely, then they're never worth the cost to build. As a sale - I'm a fan of mongrel builds, but I rarely sell them: I've learnt a lot by building mongrels, especially about what I like and don't like. It enabled me to get my Shuker custom build exactly right, and in that sense, saved me a lot of money and hassle. It's worth more broken for parts, I'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 It's not something to start doing if you have resale value as a factor. Upgrades in general don't help sell anything if the original item is not highly sought (e.g. £200 pickups in a £200 bass will increase the value by £50 tops). If you made it all, then there is no brand name, and thus no confidence in what has been constructed is of high quality (possibly even if the parts were all branded). It is a big risk to the buyer, and they may reflect that risk with a lower offer price. There is also no manufacturer support if there is an issue. Splitting for parts is a chore, but will likely net a better total value over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) Agree that you are unlikely to get what it cost you to build, even if it happens to be a great bass. Why there should be less value attached to a bass you carefully put together compared with someone in Mexico is a moot point, but there it is. ^^ Also agree with the above that you would make more if it were parted out ^^ - but again if you have multiple sales you have multiple dealings, multiple packings and multiple postings, plus the increased possibility of problems with assholes and so on... Being sensible, I think the best solution would be for you to take it to your next gig and at the end of the encore smash it up on stage and set fire to it. May as well get your money's worth... it would certainly be a night to remember... Edited April 12, 2016 by discreet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 The main thing to remember as well is, if you buy a whole bass new for x, when you come to sell it it is no longer worth x. So the same should apply to a bitsa, just because the parts cost x new, doesn`t mean when sold on they are still worth that. I think parting out is possibly the wise move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimryan Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) Cheers for the responses guys, I appreciate the advise. For starters I might stick it up for sale as a whole bass and move to parts failing any interest as the finish of the body and the neck aren't standard. With a blue status neck I might struggle selling it on its own. Cheers [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps2i9nvtto.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps2i9nvtto.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsumttxktw.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsumttxktw.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Edited April 12, 2016 by Jimryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 That looks superb, a string short for my tastes though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 One of the coolest basses about there. Ild want it! Seriously though it's prob not worth selling. USA stingrays seem to be about £600 secondhand now and that will be worth "more" even if it's not as good... I love the bass though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimryan Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 Cheers guys. The more I think about it the more I can't quite justify keeping it when it's not getting used. To test the water I've stuck it on gumtree and will probably stick it on Facebook too and come Friday (payday), I'll pay the subscription and stick it on here too (at a reduced basschat rate compared to the gumtree and Facebook price). Cheers again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Bitsa basses are worth more to the owner as a working instrument made to their own spec, than to a buyer as a new (to them) bass. I agree with Lozz - if you must sell, you will get more parting it out. That also means you can keep any bits you may want to use on another project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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