How hard is it to trade basses?

[Prime_BASS]

I've never really traded guitars or basses, but since starting my trade thread for the bass in my sig I'm finding it frustrating.

Probably because it's note a typical bass, I dunno.

I think I'm being very open to trade offers, but there are some specific basses I would like.

There's enough info, 2 links for further reading. Ton of pics.

Am I doing something wrong? Why haven't I got any feedback especially with the topic views so high?

I would link but I'm using my phone.

Stephen.

[lemmywinks]

It's not everyone's cup of tea so will take longer to sell i'd expect, also it would help if you described it a bit clearer in your sig (it looks like your selling a group of consonants instead of a bass!), maybe made the text bigger/different colour? That way everyone would notice it when you post. Could also put a link in there


Some basses will go in a day, some will take an age (like my old Warmoth)

[Sibob]

Yes, patience is a virtue!

Si

[Prime_BASS]

I guess I'll just keep bumping it for now, cheers for the input.

Btw I added a link in sig and got rid of the letters. Haha.

[LukeFRC]

Because nobody wants that particular bass at the moment?

I just looked at the add. I think if you replaced the original pups and went and bought the missing screw, and allen keys to change the knobs you could swap it as 'original', (and sell the other pups separately too)
Find out if you have the standard tone stack or not. describe the controls not just link to a manual, i don't have a clue from your ad if its an active or a passive pre amp (and it seems to contradict)
Look at what you are saying, try and sell the bass better. shorter sentances not in a colloquial idiom. talk more about what it is rather than what it isn't.
If you give an opinion explain better, why are the stock pups that bad; you have a jaguar, how is this more versitile; why isn't it for you? and so on

Its very white and very 80's which will put folk off, I would hazard a guess that it will not be as desirable as a standard looking Japanese Fender. Also I have no idea how much this model is worth, you've put a rough trade price of 650 on it which I think would put it in secondhand fender USA territory? As a point of reference I bought my '82 Japanese JV Squier P bass with a large Fender logo for less than that from someone on here a while back.

[thisnameistaken]

The colour is pretty marmite. I also think most people don't know what these are.

Play up the Status angle - Status are very well-regarded on this forum. Probably fairly in all honesty, but I'm not a fan myself.

EDIT: Ah sh*t I read the wrong ad. Yours is the Duff McKagan spesh?

There'll be a G&R fan along post haste to buy it. Shame it's not original though.

EDIT AGAIN: It's not even one of those? I don't think I've ever seen a bass like this before. Wow. Hey good luck with the sale, I think half the problem is that nobody's ever seen one before.

Still not my cup of tea but really interesting anyway, thanks for pointing it out.

But you might still sell it to a Duff McKagan fan. There are a lot of Duff McKagan fans around and not many white '80s P-bass specials.

Edited May 10, 2010 by thisnameistaken

[Prime_BASS]

Ok Ill try and shorten it, I do tend to faffle a lot of nonsense :/

As far as I'm aware it was released before the duff spesh, it is a strange beast though.

Edit. As far as I know the power special came with the fender tbx control and not a standard tone control.

Edited May 11, 2010 by Prime_BASS

[Mr. Foxen]

Yeah, the problem is it looks really 80s and unfashionable. For that sort of money someone could score some timeless sunburst [boring] Fender. Stuff like this will come into fashion again at some point, then its time to sell. I try and scope out unfashionable but quality stuff for the quality at a budget, unfortunately this has left me with more points than strings.

[thisnameistaken]

Yeah it's a genuinely interesting Fender man. There'll be a market for it, maybe even some people who'd pay top dollar for it.

Fender made some heinous mistakes in their time, stuff like the P-Bass Lyte, but these white '80s spesh models with their hair metal roots were at least used by people so they've got history. I have to be honest though until today I didn't even know this one existed and I've been playing bass since 1989.

[Prime_BASS]

Ok just editted it slightly hopefully for the better.

[OldGit]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='833862' date='May 11 2010, 01:13 AM']Yeah it's a genuinely interesting Fender man. There'll be a market for it, maybe even some people who'd pay top dollar for it.

Fender made some heinous mistakes in their time, stuff like the P-Bass Lyte, but these white '80s spesh models with their hair metal roots were at least used by people so they've got history. I have to be honest though until today I didn't even know this one existed and I've been playing bass since 1989.[/quote]

Trading for exactly what you want is always tricky. It's much easier to sell what you have and pay money for what you want.

Precision Lyte a hideous mistake? Now that's interesting.
P lytes are fine if you like that "active" sound, a really fast neck, a very light bass and that 80's look. They still sell for pretty decent money.
This one seems to have a very similar body.

+1 on return it to standard. people are less likely to buy a bass that is not standard.

Unless this is a secret classic I'd suggest £500 is rather ambitious. Someone may prove me wrong, of course.

[cameltoe]

Don't worry dude I'm having the same trouble trading mine [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=86299"]Click[/url]

The irony is, when I bought it from tom1946 only a couple months ago, loads of people seemed to be interested in it, and it was £60 more expensive then!

I've literally used it 4 or 5 times, realised it's not for me, and I can't give it away.

I mean, it's a seriously quality bit of kit and it's basically brand new. Sounds good, plays AMAZING, and I'm asking for half the RRP. I've even approached people about trades for well used Classic Vibe squiers (£250-ish RRP?) and no one is biting.

It's a great guitar, it's absolutely leagues ahead of my Mexican Precision in terms of quality and to play, but I've always found Jazz basses feel slightly off-centered when I'm wearing them, and as such I lean to the side a bit to compensate and end up getting mild back ache.

I need to get my MIM precision to my local shop where it's to be traded in against my birthday present, a fiesta red RW precision, but I can't really do that as I now need the MIM for rehearsals and gigs. I could put up with using the Fret King, it doesn't cause me agony just a bit of discomfort, but now I've made up my mind to move it on I'd rather not risk damaging it and losing even more money on it. £300 is too cheap as it is.

I'm off to London this weekend and I'm gonna try and trade it in at The Gallery while I'm there, but I can imagine they'll probably ask me to put money in for anything worth more than £250

[MuseMatt]

Had the same issue with my Van Der End (that's less known than a 7ender) but an amazing deal popped up out of nowhere! Be patient!

[Prime_BASS]

After changing the description a lot, I had a bit more interest, but maybe Monday night blues kicked in in a lot people.

I guess I was expecting it to walk away as even my guitar teacher hasn't seen one ever, and he's been playing 43 years and has some serious kit at his home.

Although have since been offered something I'm very very interested in so hopefully all will go well.

[xilddx]

My mate's got one, plays like a dream, best action I've seen on a Fender.

[Mr. Foxen]

Just been having a think about this, and I'm thinking cheap but really good basses are here to stay, there are still plenty about from the 80s Japanese golden age, and all the nice Squiers and such are about to stay, so the value of a nice but generic fender copy instrument may well not last, its value will only be in being old, as there are plenty of quality fender alikes, so eventually the value will be in old, unique and well made. I hope.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='834881' date='May 11 2010, 11:33 PM']Just been having a think about this, and I'm thinking cheap but really good basses are here to stay, there are still plenty about from the 80s Japanese golden age, and all the nice Squiers and such are about to stay, so the value of a nice but generic fender copy instrument may well not last, its value will only be in being old, as there are plenty of quality fender alikes, so eventually the value will be in old, unique and well made. I hope.[/quote]

come again?

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='834884' date='May 11 2010, 11:36 PM']come again?[/quote]

There are many, many nice fender P shaped basses about. Many are very good. Some are valuable because they are old, because old ones were very good, often. However you can get a very good new one now, which undermines the value from being good, leaving the value from being old. A bass that is a bit more unusual has novelty value, and can also be old and good, so might make a better investment as it is less likely to have its value undermined in such a way. Plenty of rubbish 70s Fenders about that are total dogs, they have value from being old, but are bad instruments, 80s Fenders can be very good, but not worth as much as they aren't as old, even I remember the 80s. Idecades time, the difference between the 70s and 80s will not be so great, age wise, so it will be the choice between an old crap Fender (70s), or an old good Fender (80s), that looks pretty much the same as the very excellent Squier you can buy for a fraction of the price. But the old and very excellent weird BC Rich, that has no competition.

[Chris2112]

The thing is, trends also play a big part in it. It was most noticeable on Talkbass but every few months had its brand, and the year had one too. Like earlier on this millenium, Warwick were the "in" bass at Talkbass and everyone had to have one. The same thing happens here I think, on a smaller scale. Whats popular and being talked about at the moment can really help shift something on the adverts page.

You'd think something like a Fender would be very easy to shift, for example, but this year I'm noticing a lot of players are going for very individual basses, picking brands and basses that aren't seen every day and relishing the bass not only for what it is as an instrument but the "kudos" it has for not being something you see all the time.

Hence seeing some Marcus Miller basses selling for silly prices!

[cameltoe]

I just want a bass that doesn't give me a bit of back ache.

Other wise I'd keep it in a shot, it does everything I need it to do and more.

Someone out there must get on with Jazz basses and fancy something different?

[OldGit]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='834984' date='May 12 2010, 07:29 AM']The thing is, trends also play a big part in it. It was most noticeable on Talkbass but every few months had its brand, and the year had one too. Like earlier on this millenium, Warwick were the "in" bass at Talkbass and everyone had to have one. The same thing happens here I think, on a smaller scale. Whats popular and being talked about at the moment can really help shift something on the adverts page.

You'd think something like a Fender would be very easy to shift, for example, but this year I'm noticing a lot of players are going for very individual basses, picking brands and basses that aren't seen every day and relishing the bass not only for what it is as an instrument but the "kudos" it has for not being something you see all the time.

Hence seeing some Marcus Miller basses selling for silly prices![/quote]

Ah but this isn't a traditional Fender.
I have no problems selling the occasional Japanese P and J bass I get in.
Traditional plus quality will always win out over "the hit of 1987!" as ony a small percentage of people will take a risk on a lesser known instrument.

[quote name='cameltoe' post='835356' date='May 12 2010, 03:10 PM']I just want a bass that doesn't give me a bit of back ache.

Other wise I'd keep it in a shot, it does everything I need it to do and more.

Someone out there must get on with Jazz basses and fancy something different?[/quote]

Just how heavy [i]is [/i]this bass?
Maybe you need to make your strap longer or shorter or stand better...

Edited May 12, 2010 by OldGit

[Prime_BASS]

I see mr. Foxens point.

Part of the reason I go for fender is the history.

I think there is a diffinate trend of squier VMs and CVs right now, just stupidly cheap for how
good they are.

But maybe soon 80s fenders will become trade then I'll regretting this trade lol.

[spinynorman]

A lot of people seem to see a need to justify their reasons for selling a bass. So you get a large part of the ad saying things like: "It's a great bass, but just not for me, I prefer an xyz because ...". Why do that? Most people on here have sold one or more basses at some time, we know the score, people sell for all sorts of perfectly valid reasons. We expect sellers to describe the bass they have for sale honestly, and if they don't, they'll soon get rumbled. Some ads are a better sell for the bass they're keeping that the one they're trying to move on.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='OldGit' post='835390' date='May 12 2010, 03:59 PM']Ah but this isn't a traditional Fender.
I have no problems selling the occasional Japanese P and J bass I get in.
Traditional plus quality will always win out over "the hit of 1987!" as ony a small percentage of people will take a risk on a lesser known instrument.



Just how heavy [i]is [/i]this bass?
Maybe you need to make your strap longer or shorter or stand better...[/quote]

Not that heavy, I just don't feel all that comfortable with it on.

I'm sure someone else would love it and have no problem with it.

I've messed around with the strap loads btw.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='spinynorman' post='835526' date='May 12 2010, 06:19 PM']A lot of people seem to see a need to justify their reasons for selling a bass. So you get a large part of the ad saying things like: "It's a great bass, but just not for me, I prefer an xyz because ...". Why do that? Most people on here have sold one or more basses at some time, we know the score, people sell for all sorts of perfectly valid reasons. We expect sellers to describe the bass they have for sale honestly, and if they don't, they'll soon get rumbled. Some ads are a better sell for the bass they're keeping that the one they're trying to move on.[/quote]


Point taken


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