Most outlandish prices

[Mrbigstuff]

I’ve just seen a bass for sale on Facebook that I would say is way overpriced. £1800 for a MIJ Fender fotoflame! I swear these were generally not much more than £400 not so many years ago.

 

Anyone else seen any examples recently of over ambitious pricing (not including vintage Fenders because we know that’s just the market)?

[Bigguy2017]

Don't worry about it... people can ask any stupid price - it's what people will pay that counts.

[neepheid]

It's not hard to find dreamers out there!  I just point and laugh.

[40hz]

There are some really nice basses out there that I'd take off the owners hands in a heartbeat (one in particular that's graced these pages and Facebook Marketplace), but loads of people have been taking hallucinogenics when it comes to pricing these days. It seems to have really accelerated since COVID, but not come back down to earth. The basses remain unsold for months, if not years, on end.

[Dan Dare]

I reckon many silly prices are due to people being ordered by 'er indoors to get rid because the place is crammed with instruments  So they put it up at a stupid price and tell her "I'm trying to sell it, dear, but nobody's biting".

[KingPrawn]

Ive had the same experience. An 80's bass i was intrested in was up for silly money. I watched it go round and round for several weeks. Offered them a fair price and they agreed. I wonder sometimes if sellars not from our world just get carried away

[Lozz196]

52 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

I reckon many silly prices are due to people being ordered by 'er indoors to get rid because the place is crammed with instruments  So they put it up at a stupid price and tell her "I'm trying to sell it, dear, but nobody's biting".

I think Blackadder & Baldrick would describe that as a cunning plan.

[msb]

I live in Nova Scotia and watch local classifieds like a hawk , have not bought a thing this year. I’ve found sellers are optimistic , and many things are simply not selling. Items priced to quickly move can sit for weeks. Buyers are scarce.
I’ve pretty much given up on importing from the US because of the exchange , duties and shipping. 

[Terry M.]

Just seen an EBMM SUB 5 on Ebay just now,£2,352.72 or best offer. The "lesser" Stingray with the textured body and aluminium pickguard that I've seen go for as low as £550 or thereabouts. 

[Terry M.]

Oh how could I forget this one: Ebay again but this time a Yamaha RBX765a,you know the one that can sell for under £200? This one has been fitted with SIMS fretboard LEDs. £1,260.00. It's been there for about a year or so unsold and I can't think why.

[TorturedSaints]

There’s a double bass bow that was sold on here for £50.  It’s been overhauled by a specialist (max £300) and is now being offered for sale at £850 at various places (but not here). It’s not selling. 

[binky_bass]

Best just swerve these tryers. There's a number of regulars on here that are clearly dealers or at least semi-pro buyers and resellers that always have basses sat for years on end. We all know who they are! 

 

There's 3 options really:

 

● Price high and wait for years to sell if at all.

● Price about right and prepare to sit on it while until person that wants what you have comes along.

● Price lower and sell sooner.

 

The market often dictates price, so crazy prices just won't shift! 

[Woodinblack]

Thats crazy - I thought that was the purpose of Reverb not facebook marketplace!

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, binky_bass said:

Best just swerve these tryers. There's a number of regulars on here that are clearly dealers or at least semi-pro buyers and resellers that always have basses sat for years on end. We all know who they are! 

 

There's 3 options really:

 

● Price high and wait for years to sell if at all.

● Price about right and prepare to sit on it while until person that wants what you have comes along.

● Price lower and sell sooner.

 

The market often dictates price, so crazy prices just won't shift! 

Agreed. Slightly frustrating though when it's something that doesn't show up often that I've been waiting on but hey...

[Terry M.]

4 hours ago, Terry M. said:

Just seen an EBMM SUB 5 on Ebay just now,£2,352.72 or best offer. The "lesser" Stingray with the textured body and aluminium pickguard that I've seen go for as low as £550 or thereabouts. 

Not to harp on but for context there's a 4 string example on here for £575.

[Burns-bass]

3 hours ago, binky_bass said:

Best just swerve these tryers. There's a number of regulars on here that are clearly dealers or at least semi-pro buyers and resellers that always have basses sat for years on end. We all know who they are! 

 

There's 3 options really:

 

● Price high and wait for years to sell if at all.

● Price about right and prepare to sit on it while until person that wants what you have comes along.

● Price lower and sell sooner.

 

The market often dictates price, so crazy prices just won't shift! 

We do indeed!

 

The Manners bass I sold could easily have gone for more, but who needs the hassle and the bad juju of trying to make a profit?

 

When I’ve made the psychological decision to sell I just want it gone as quickly as possible.

 

As for over priced basses, it’s a symptom of a wider problem with only e-commerce. Private sellers attempting to get shop prices.

[Tdw]

I think it's related to ebay (and probably others) offering to sell items with no fees for listing. People stick things on for crazy prices thinking that if it doesn't sell its no loss and that they might get a big windfall.  People with stuff to sell then see these items and think that's the market price, they then put their items on for these unrealistic prices.  A small weekly listing fee could probably change this.

[binky_bass]

11 minutes ago, Tdw said:

I think it's related to ebay (and probably others) offering to sell items with no fees for listing. People stick things on for crazy prices thinking that if it doesn't sell its no loss and that they might get a big windfall.  People with stuff to sell then see these items and think that's the market price, they then put their items on for these unrealistic prices.  A small weekly listing fee could probably change this.

eBay are really quite underhanded with their latest round of marketing...

 

The format used to be that a seller pays a fee to list an item and the buyer didn't pay a fee. Now the fee is transferred to the buyer under the guise of a 'buyers protection fee' and is charged at a higher rate than the old sellers fee. So now they market to all as 'free to sell' and mention nothing of the increase in cost to buyers. Legal sure, but very morally questionable. But hey, that's business for you! 

Edited 1 hour ago by binky_bass

[Terry M.]

46 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

 

When I’ve made the psychological decision to sell I just want it gone as quickly as possible.

Thank goodness it's not just me. I'm not running a business where profit is a factor.