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Are Sadowsky basses popular in UK?


bassaussie
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Hi,

I have a question that relates to a potential sale I want to make.

I have a Sadowsky bass that I bought new from Roger about 15 years ago. It's a great bass, no flaws, but I've just found I've moved on from that type of bass, I'm really just into old Fenders, that's it.

I've thought about selling it for quite some time, but my location is a real problem - I live in Portugal, and the market here for anything exotic is non-existent.

I've spoken to one of the bass stores in UK about the instrument, they said they'd happily put in in their shop on commission, and the suggested price they gave me was quite good.

The thing is, though, I really have no idea if these instruments are very popular in the UK or not, and given that, I'm reluctant to leave the bass in a store simply for it to sit there for months on end with no interest, and potentially leaving me with the problem of having to get it shipped back to me.

So - given the above details, I'd really appreciate people's thoughts on whether there is a market for this sort of thing in UK. I'm not desperate to sell it, I don't need the money, it's more about not wanting to hold on to things I don't use.

PS - I realise that this thread may appear to be an underhanded way of putting out a feeler for my bass and thereby dodging the sales structure on Basschat. This is not my intention, what I've said above is genuinely my position, and out of respect for the site, I will not field any offers on the bass. If I decide to sell it, and want to use Basschat, I'll do it the correct way and advertise it. So, please - no offers or messages.

Thanks, Mark.

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Some Sadowsky basses sell and some don't, but if you want to gauge the interest it can't hurt to put an ad on BC. You are in a better position if you are not in a hurry to sell. You can be patient and see what turns up and the bass stays with you while this is going on.

Without the 20% shop commission, you'd be able to bring  the price down which could boost your chances of a sale. Also BC seems to have a lot of members in Europe who are keen on basses at the higher and boutique end of the market.

If it doesn't sell on BC, one of the UK bass shops (are there any in Europe?) might get you in front of a wider and more serious audience. A lot of bass players I've met aren't on Basschat, but I'd definitely try here first.

 

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4 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Some Sadowsky basses sell and some don't, but if you want to gauge the interest it can't hurt to put an ad on BC. You are in a better position if you are not in a hurry to sell. You can be patient and see what turns up and the bass stays with you while this is going on.

Without the 20% shop commission, you'd be able to bring  the price down which could boost your chances of a sale. Also BC seems to have a lot of members in Europe who are keen on basses at the higher and boutique end of the market.

If it doesn't sell on BC, one of the UK bass shops (are there any in Europe?) might get you in front of a wider and more serious audience. A lot of bass players I've met aren't on Basschat, but I'd definitely try here first.

 

Thanks Chris. There are other stores around Europe, for instance Spain, France, but the store I approached in the UK is a store I've dealt with in the past (admittedly quite a few years back), so there's that level of trust there.

I guess part of my question comes from having watched some Sadowsky instruments on BC - they don't seem to fly, that's for sure!

You mentioned "some do, some don't" - do you think particular configurations or wood options tend to influence this, or do you think this is more related to pricing?

Edited by bassaussie
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I think higher prices do have a limiting effect, but these basses do sell. Setting a "good" price can help a lot. I'm not sure that I know much about woods etc.

I have a Metro that I tried to sell at one point. I got a little interest and maybe one serious offer but decided to keep it. For the more expensive basses your audience is probably limited to a handful of players and you have to connect with them at the right time. As I say the option with the the lowest initial outlay for you would be to try BC.

Good luck.

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2 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I think higher prices do have a limiting effect, but these basses do sell. Setting a "good" price can help a lot. I'm not sure that I know much about woods etc.

I have a Metro that I tried to sell at one point. I got a little interest and maybe one serious offer but decided to keep it. For the more expensive basses your audience is probably limited to a handful of players and you have to connect with them at the right time. As I say the option with the the lowest initial outlay for you would be to try BC.

Good luck.

Cheers Chris. I really appreciate the feedback, it's given me some food for thought.

FWIW - I had a Metro for a while, they're sensational instruments.

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It depends on the asking price and the 'look' of the bass in my opinion. 

In my opinion, in terms of the NYC basses,  the  standard Fender finishes (natural finish, sunburst etc) tend to move more quickly on Bass Chat than some of the Sadowsky designs with custom figured wood tops. Some of this might be down to price (the figured top basses generally go for a higher asking price). You also have to factor in that the custom finishes have usually been custom made for a particular customer and not everybody is going to like a particular custom finish.

 In terms of shops, I haven't seen many used NYC basses hanging around for too long when marketed by Bass Direct or Guitar Guitar etc at an attractive price. The one I ended up buying from Bass Direct a few years ago must have been up on their web site for about 48 hours before I bought it.  
 

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I recently sold a Wal bass here on BC. It was a smooth transaction and the buyer took responsibility of shipping the bass. I would advise listing it here and seeing how things pan out. All that is required is some quality pics and a few quid for listing.Thats not alot of an investment for testing the water.

 

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If I were you I would by all means start putting up an ad on Basschat and in some facebook groups - European bass market is one of the biggest such group on facebook.

Basschat marketplace sees a lot of international traffic, I'm from Hungary and have bought and sold basses through BC from/to all over Europe. 

It only takes a few minutes and a small amount of money but you'll be able to gauge the interest and the price level.

But of course you'll need to be able to ship and take care of an international money transaction and these can be seen as risky for some. 

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2 minutes ago, Tubster said:

I understand your difficulty in trying to sell higher $$ bass in Iberian Peninsular - Spain is tricky too. However, you could try Bajistas.org an there is a lively Bajista group on FB.

good luck

Thanks mate, really appreciate it.

Actually, I'm going to be in Madrid next week, and I know there's a bass store there. I was tempted to take my bass over and see what they had to say.

Sorry - should just add, thanks to everyone who responded, it's been really helpful reading people's thoughts.

Edited by bassaussie
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