bassaussie Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what sort of commission rates UK stores charge for the sale of instruments on consignment. I made an enquiry today with a fairly well known store, and was a bit shocked when the rate came back at something like 35% of the sale price!! Is that typical? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunetune_jazz Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 As far as I recall it has always been around 20% or a bit less. 35% is taking the mick.... look else where sell it yourself you will save a ton of cash.. jz [quote name='bassaussie' post='562159' date='Aug 6 2009, 06:53 PM']I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what sort of commission rates UK stores charge for the sale of instruments on consignment. I made an enquiry today with a fairly well known store, and was a bit shocked when the rate came back at something like 35% of the sale price!! Is that typical?[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Academy Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 It varies from store to store. A smaller shop might charge less because they can avoid putting the sale through the books. It would be better to agree a price that you want and then let the shop decide how much they want to make. As long as you get your agreed fee, then it's up to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 [quote name='bassaussie' post='562159' date='Aug 6 2009, 07:53 PM']I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what sort of commission rates UK stores charge for the sale of instruments on consignment. I made an enquiry today with a fairly well known store, and was a bit shocked when the rate came back at something like 35% of the sale price!! Is that typical?[/quote] I don't know about musical instruments but I used to make furniture and accessories and the mark up for most big retailers was near 100% (ie. 50% of sale price), so 35% sounds quite good from the makers point of view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaussie Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 [quote name='dunetune_jazz' post='562163' date='Aug 6 2009, 06:56 PM']As far as I recall it has always been around 20% or a bit less. 35% is taking the mick.... look else where sell it yourself you will save a ton of cash.. jz[/quote] Thanks for the info. That's more like what I was expecting. I've actually sold a number of instruments through UK stores in the past, and I always remember the rates being around 15-20%. When I got my reply today, I just thought that things must've changed considerably in the past couple of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 For some reason, I feel sure I know which shop it was that quoted you 35%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaussie Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 [quote name='Happy Jack' post='562451' date='Aug 7 2009, 12:44 AM']For some reason, I feel sure I know which shop it was that quoted you 35%. [/quote] It's quite possible you do - you're in the right part of the world. I don't want to name the shop, though, as I don't think they've done anything wrong. I asked them what their price was to sell something for me, and they told me. And to be fair, they told me very quickly, and they were very polite and friendly in the transaction, which is more than I can say for a number of their competitors. Now it's up to me do decide whether I like what they've offered me. The point of the thread wasn't to name-and-shame, just to check out the current rates. However, if anyone reads this, hopefully they'll see that 35% is a bit above market value! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moos3h Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 In my experience, 35% is pretty realistic. Let's face it, what's in it for the shop anyway? The only way you'd get that figure down is if it doesn't go through the shops books at all...any many won't be that keen on that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obi 2 kenobi Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 The Gallery is 15%. At least thats what they charged me last year for selling a bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaussie Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 [quote name='obi 2 kenobi' post='562579' date='Aug 7 2009, 09:35 AM']The Gallery is 15%. At least thats what they charged me last year for selling a bass[/quote] Yeah, I've sold through them in the past, and they were around that rate when I sold as well. I should've just gone straight to them I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I always imagined that the commission would be added. Does it make a huge difference if you add 35% to the price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaussie Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 (edited) [quote name='chris_b' post='562598' date='Aug 7 2009, 09:53 AM']I always imagined that the commission would be added. Does it make a huge difference if you add 35% to the price?[/quote] If you add 35%, that's the same as taking away 25% (more or less). For example Say I want £1000. They add 35%, so the final price is £1350, so the commission ends up at £350. However, say the agreed selling price is the same, £1350. If you calculate commission at 35% (which is the scenario I was talking about above), then the commission works out at £472.50. Edited August 7, 2009 by bassaussie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Does anyone know how VAT would fit into these scenarios? If a shop sells at a 15% commission, surely VAT at the current rate of 15% would also be added to the sale price in the shop? Or does the shop only have to pay VAT on their commission as there's no outlay to then for the bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 DIY... The Gallery knows how much people want to sell his basses..which is why he has never done that even when he wasn't long started or established.. I'd say 15-20% is ok... and is the price for doing something you can't or wont do yourself.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlat Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 [quote name='obi 2 kenobi' post='562579' date='Aug 7 2009, 09:35 AM']The Gallery is 15%. At least thats what they charged me last year for selling a bass[/quote] Yeah, that's what they charged me too. I was surprised it was so low and they were great to deal with and paid promptly. I woudln't hesitate to sell a bass through them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaussie Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='562636' date='Aug 7 2009, 10:35 AM']Does anyone know how VAT would fit into these scenarios? If a shop sells at a 15% commission, surely VAT at the current rate of 15% would also be added to the sale price in the shop? Or does the shop only have to pay VAT on their commission as there's no outlay to then for the bass?[/quote] I asked this of one of the stores I dealt with once, and I think their answer was that the VAT was only applied to the commission. But you'd probably want to check that with a retailer, as I'm just telling you what I vaguely recall was the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcrow Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 [quote name='bassaussie' post='562159' date='Aug 6 2009, 06:53 PM']I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what sort of commission rates UK stores charge for the sale of instruments on consignment. I made an enquiry today with a fairly well known store, and was a bit shocked when the rate came back at something like 35% of the sale price!! Is that typical?[/quote] 15% tops, mark if they want more then one needs to gross the selling price or say goodbye to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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