Time Wasters.

[cheddatom 557]

I sent a message to a seller asking if his marching snare drum was still for sale. He replied instantly with a yes. I asked if he could arrange postage and how much that might be? He didn't respond and it's still listed for sale

[FDC484950 185]

43 minutes ago, Bassislife16 said:

Gotta respect the dude, worth a try. At a bass up for £300, someone desperately in need of the cash would take the £150, I wouldn’t say that’s a ridiculous offer, £50 however would be!

I’ve got to disagree with you. It’s a crappy lowball offer praying on the expectation that the seller is so desperate they’ll give it away.  Unless of course it is massively over-priced in the first place! Then again it’s better not to be in a position to be desperate for the cash in the first place but such is a musician’s life!

[Muzz 796]

I'd agree that the very worst communications I've had are from the lowest value items, the absolute nadir being when I offered two pretty good sofas for free, the only condition being they were picked up. The number of 'Will you deliver?' messages was in equal parts annoying and depressing. Other than one protracted conversation, the gist of which went:

"I'll have those two sofas"

"Fine, when do you want to pick them up?"

"I haven't got any transport, you'll have to deliver them"

"I'm sorry, they're pickup only. Like it says in the ad."

"But I haven't got any transport"

"Sorry"

"But I really want them, i just haven't got any transport."

"Well, you haven't got two free sofas then, either."

That one was alllll annoying...

[Bassislife16 132]

1 hour ago, FDC484950 said:

I’ve got to disagree with you. It’s a crappy lowball offer praying on the expectation that the seller is so desperate they’ll give it away.  Unless of course it is massively over-priced in the first place! Then again it’s better not to be in a position to be desperate for the cash in the first place but such is a musician’s life!

I wouldn’t call £150 a “give it away” type of transaction. £150 is a lot of money to some people.

Say a bass had been for sale for 6 months for £300, and someone offered £150, that’s a perfectly fair offer considering it’s half of the asking price and lack there of a sale.

Personally, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. I’ve took losses on basses & guitars in the past and also made offers which have successfully been accepted. 

My Fodera YYS was for sale at £3000 for nearing a year, sold for £2300 in the end. But if you want something sold, you have to compromise, all the idiots on eBay with basses for sale high above their price tag think they’ll get what they’re asking, but they wont. Which is why they stay for sale for two or three years until being withdrawn. 

[dave_bass5 951]

10 minutes ago, Muzz said:

I'd agree that the very worst communications I've had are from the lowest value items, the absolute nadir being when I offered two pretty good sofas for free, the only condition being they were picked up. The number of 'Will you deliver?' messages was in equal parts annoying and depressing. Other than one protracted conversation, the gist of which went:

"I'll have those two sofas"

"Fine, when do you want to pick them up?"

"I haven't got any transport, you'll have to deliver them"

"I'm sorry, they're pickup only. Like it says in the ad."

"But I haven't got any transport"

"Sorry"

"But I really want them, i just haven't got any transport."

"Well, you haven't got two free sofas then, either."

That one was alllll annoying...

Reminds me of the Karl Pilkington sitcom where he gave a sofa away. Guy came round and didnt have transport so Karl had to help him carry it to another address, on the day he was going to a funeral. When they got to the other address it turned out the sofa guy was selling it to this other bloke. The second bloke changed his mind and didnt want it so Karl had to try and get it back too his house. The first bloke wanted £20 to help carry it back lol.

[FuNkShUi 177]

20 minutes ago, Bassislife16 said:

I wouldn’t call £150 a “give it away” type of transaction. £150 is a lot of money to some people.

Say a bass had been for sale for 6 months for £300, and someone offered £150, that’s a perfectly fair offer considering it’s half of the asking price and lack there of a sale.

Personally, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. I’ve took losses on basses & guitars in the past and also made offers which have successfully been accepted. 

My Fodera YYS was for sale at £3000 for nearing a year, sold for £2300 in the end. But if you want something sold, you have to compromise, all the idiots on eBay with basses for sale high above their price tag think they’ll get what they’re asking, but they wont. Which is why they stay for sale for two or three years until being withdrawn. 

So basically a offer of 75% of your original price.
Where the £150 was 50% of original price.
Even your Fodera is a lot more money overall, its a smaller percentage "loss" on your advertised price, no?
I think Basschat is pretty good for selling/ buying tbh. 
Far prefer this site to any others

[Bassislife16 132]

8 minutes ago, FuNkShUi said:

So basically a offer of 75% of your original price.
Where the £150 was 50% of original price.
Even your Fodera is a lot more money overall, its a smaller percentage "loss" on your advertised price, no?
I think Basschat is pretty good for selling/ buying tbh. 
Far prefer this site to any others

Sometimes if you want to actually sell something for cash you have to meet in the middle at a 75%. Not everyone has £3000 for a bass, not everyone has £300 for a bass. Id rather take a loss on something than sit on it for 3 years at a price that’s unappealing and hindering a sale. 

[taunton-hobbit 602]

24 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Reminds me of the Karl Pilkington sitcom

So one of my neighbours asked if I could find her a two seater sofa (for free) - I had a word around & someone dropped one off in to my outside porch - the blagger came round & decided she didn't want it, which left me with said object in my porch (open to the weather) eventually the dustmen kindly took it away - never, ever again.....

😎

[EliasMooseblaster 667]

1 hour ago, Muzz said:

I'd agree that the very worst communications I've had are from the lowest value items, the absolute nadir being when I offered two pretty good sofas for free, the only condition being they were picked up. The number of 'Will you deliver?' messages was in equal parts annoying and depressing. Other than one protracted conversation, the gist of which went:

Funnily enough I recently found myself on the other end of the problem. We don't have a car (living close to London and all that jazz), so we contacted a number of people in a similar position to you - got a sofa to shift, free as long as you pick it up - and told them that we'd arrange a man-and-van to come and collect it and a time that was convenient to them. A rather alarming people seemed to take fright at this idea, and I received a curt:

"No, sorry, collection in person only."

I don't understand the objection - we're saving them the hassle and expense of transporting the thing, the only difference is that the derrière that sits in the driver's seat won't be the same one that sits on the sofa. And surely, it's not as if your average car owner has a big enough vehicle to take a three-seater sofa bed as it is?

[jazzmanb 116]

I'm a great buyer and a poor seller 

 

if I see one ,one or two messages securing price and getting it and its a done deal 

selling,as I am ,I've had lot of message tennis asking this that and the other ,non of which I would so I get a bit bored to the point i'll probably withdraw the ads .

I tend to like basses aesthetically ,someone said on here its crazy not to know what pick ups etc ,why ? If I did It wouldn't be a deal breaker .Buy wisely and if it isn't to your taste sell it is my experience 

[FDC484950 185]

3 hours ago, Bassislife16 said:

I wouldn’t call £150 a “give it away” type of transaction. £150 is a lot of money to some people.

Say a bass had been for sale for 6 months for £300, and someone offered £150, that’s a perfectly fair offer considering it’s half of the asking price and lack there of a sale.

Personally, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. I’ve took losses on basses & guitars in the past and also made offers which have successfully been accepted. 

My Fodera YYS was for sale at £3000 for nearing a year, sold for £2300 in the end. But if you want something sold, you have to compromise, all the idiots on eBay with basses for sale high above their price tag think they’ll get what they’re asking, but they wont. Which is why they stay for sale for two or three years until being withdrawn. 

Hardly a like for like comparison, is it? £1 is a lot to some people, but it’s not really relevant when we’re talking lowball offers, compared to the asking price. I guess it depends how much you value something. If someone offered me 50% of my asking price I’d politely ask them to F.R.O.  

[dave_bass5 951]

19 hours ago, FDC484950 said:

Hardly a like for like comparison, is it? £1 is a lot to some people, but it’s not really relevant when we’re talking lowball offers, compared to the asking price. I guess it depends how much you value something. If someone offered me 50% of my asking price I’d politely ask them to F.R.O.  

50% of asking price for a bass? Id ask if they wanted the neck or the body 🙂

[edstraker123 244]

23 hours ago, Bassislife16 said:

Personally, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. I’ve took losses on basses & guitars in the past and also made offers which have successfully been accepted.

Completely agree with this comment. I don't know why there is criticism in some quarters of making a modest profit on some sales which offsets the losses made on others or why it's perfectly o.k. for multi million pound businesses to sell gear at a profit and not an individual. At the end of the day an item is worth what the buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to accept.

I've just been offered £650 for a brand new Stingray 5  in a part ex deal with a well known music company  - I didn't take them up on it ! 

[Stub Mandrel 1,992]

Try giving away a piano on gumtree...

"You do realise you will need at least two and probably three people to move it?"

"No, it won't fit in a car."

 

 

[BassTractor 1,511]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

"No, it won't fit in a car."

Ah, but then that is a reasonable answer to a not unreasonable question. Point in case: When we bought a piano, we were offered transportation by the shop, but I said: "No thanks, I'll just take it in the Sierra", and I did.

(Yes: short strings.)

[Stub Mandrel 1,992]

20 minutes ago, BassTractor said:

Ah, but then that is a reasonable answer to a not unreasonable question. Point in case: When we bought a piano, we were offered transportation by the shop, but I said: "No thanks, I'll just take it in the Sierra", and I did.

(Yes: short strings.)

Or Fender Rhodes...

[Quilly 173]

People trying to make straight trade with items that are of less value than what you’re selling 😡

[Meddle 266]

On 19/05/2019 at 19:47, theplumber said:

Has anyone noticed it's all going a bit slow these days? 

It is why I stopped paying my Basschat ransom subscription to be honest. I would spend ages taking photos, included detailed photos of any damage, corrosion or aftermarket parts. Lots of detailed description thrown in as well. Barely anything actually sold. Lots of guys suddenly had car or boiler troubles. Funny that.

I've sold basses on Facebook marketplace, and everything seems to move pretty quickly. I can tell I'm struggling to keep buyers focused on the basses though. Maybe there is too much choice? 

Any bass would sell, it just depends on how much of a bath you're willing to take on it. Conversely I'm sick of seeing rubbish, overpriced basses on Facebook...

[Aidan63 149]

there's over a 1000 used basses on ebay in the UK alone from 99p start to many thousands of pounds 

[jezzaboy 298]

On 23/05/2019 at 12:28, Bassislife16 said:

Gotta respect the dude, worth a try. At a bass up for £300, someone desperately in need of the cash would take the £150, I wouldn’t say that’s a ridiculous offer, £50 however would be!

So you don`t think that offering half the advertised price of a bass that`s at a very good price to start with is a ridiculous offer?

Please give me a shout the next time you have a bass for sale 😊

[PaulWarning 763]

30 minutes ago, Meddle said:

It is why I stopped paying my Basschat ransom subscription to be honest. I would spend ages taking photos, included detailed photos of any damage, corrosion or aftermarket parts. Lots of detailed description thrown in as well. Barely anything actually sold. Lots of guys suddenly had car or boiler troubles. Funny that.

I've sold basses on Facebook marketplace, and everything seems to move pretty quickly. I can tell I'm struggling to keep buyers focused on the basses though. Maybe there is too much choice? 

Any bass would sell, it just depends on how much of a bath you're willing to take on it. Conversely I'm sick of seeing rubbish, overpriced basses on Facebook...

for all it's faults I've found E bay is still the best place to shift stuff, and I find you don't get so many daft questions or time wasters, I try Gumtree and FB first if I'm not in a hurry, but usually finish up on E bay.

Trouble with Basschat is it's the only one you have to pay for if you don't sell, and I don't like selling anything that's less than perfect to fellow basssists, and there's usually something that's not quite right otherwise I wouldn't sell it would I? "best bass I've ever owned" yeah yeah that's why you're selling it

[Quilly 173]

35 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

for all it's faults I've found E bay is still the best place to shift stuff, and I find you don't get so many daft questions or time wasters, I try Gumtree and FB first if I'm not in a hurry, but usually finish up on E bay.

Trouble with Basschat is it's the only one you have to pay for if you don't sell, and I don't like selling anything that's less than perfect to fellow basssists, and there's usually something that's not quite right otherwise I wouldn't sell it would I? "best bass I've ever owned" yeah yeah that's why you're selling it

I haven’t used eBay in a long time but I might return to it. So sick of the lowball offers, trade offers and requests for driving half way across the country even though your advert read ‘pick up only’. basschat is one of the better sites .

[Quilly 173]

The hassle of selling items you bought on a whim for half what you paid for it has really made me think twice about GAS. At present I think I’m approaching ‘just enough’ gear . Everything I have gets used (more or less) and I’ve only 1-2 white elephants left. The internet is literally infested with unused gear for sale.

[ead 442]

The last three or four basses I have sold have been on ebay.  I have mostly got more for them than they were advertised on here even after fees.  I just wait for the £1 selling fees offers to come around.

[Quilly 173]

24 minutes ago, ead said:

The last three or four basses I have sold have been on ebay.  I have mostly got more for them than they were advertised on here even after fees.  I just wait for the £1 selling fees offers to come around.

At least with eBay you have to put your money where your mouth is , no messing around or you’ll just lose the item .