Selling on commission through a shop Question

VimFuego

may be planning to do a bit of a gear shifting, I don't have a lot of gear but some of it is nice stuff. I could sell via ebay etc, but cos I live 1 mile from the middle of nowhere it would be tricky for folks to come a try, I figure that people may take a punt on buying unseen something in the region of £100, but not closer to a grand (in one guitars case), so I was wondering about selling via a shop on commission, but dont know how this works. There are 2 big shops down here, Mansons and Project Music, both in Exeter, but do all shops sell on commission? How much do they charge? etc?

bodhi

Last time I enquired (not from those shops):  20% commission, and deliberately vague about it all.

i.e.

VimFuego

ooof, well, good to know.

stonevibe

Mansons take 40% 

Not sure if Project take any on commision to be honest

VimFuego

stonevibe said:

Mansons take 40% 

fah

kin

ell

stonevibe

VimFuego said:

stonevibe said:

Mansons take 40% 

fah

kin

ell

I live 10 minute walk from there and know them all really well, but damned if I would do a commission sale there.

VimFuego

well, that's that idea scrubbed then. They're worse than estate agents, must've all been lawyers in previous lives.

stonevibe

South West guitar Boot Sale?


I need to clear a load of guitars.

VimFuego

stonevibe said:

South West guitar Boot Sale?


I need to clear a load of guitars.

hmmm, that's an idea. I'm a bit shaky on dates tho, I'm not in a desperate rush to sell, and may only be selling a few items, or all of them, need to decide so couldn't commit to any dates yet.

Kebabkid

15% if you're really lucky but usually 20%+
Edit: Yes, plus VAT

Elwood

Does it matter what the commission is?

If you'd accept 1000 for your guitar and a shop sells is for 1250 and keeps the 250 then it is win/win. Come up with a figure your happy with and give them a call

I've sold one thing on commission at a local indy and is was 25%. The shop sold it for way more than I could get second hand and I came out quids in. 

jellyroll

20 - 25% (plus VAT) is probably the norm. Some shops are happy to do it - no stockholding cost and (if it's something interesting) it adds to their stock range.

VimFuego

Elwood said:

Does it matter what the commission is?

If you'd accept 1000 for your guitar and a shop sells is for 1250 and keeps the 250 then it is win/win. Come up with a figure your happy with and give them a call

I've sold one thing on commission at a local indy and is was 25%. The shop sold it for way more than I could get second hand and I came out quids in. 

if that's the case then all well and good. This was why I was asking the question as I know nothing about how it works.

Fretwired

It depends. My local store Coda used to be good and honest. However, don't forget that they will charge VAT.

Why not try on here? People can vouch for your honesty .. not sure about your sanity though ... ;-)

VimFuego

Fretwired said:

It depends. My local store Coda used to be good and honest. However, don't forget that they will charge VAT.

Why not try on here? People can vouch for your honesty .. not sure about your sanity though ... ;-)

I probably will put them on here 1st, and the strat would probably be OK, you know what you get with them, and easy to post in its hardcase. I may sell my larry as well, not sure I'd want to trust that to post and I'd imagine anyone would want to try it before buying it.

Funkfingers

15 - 20% commission is fairly typical. 

If the percentage quoted for Manson's is true, I interpret that as a euphemism for, "please, take your ------- guitar away from our ------- shop." 

Van_Hayden

I've used CCGX a few times - highly recommended. I think 20% ish is about right. 

thetomsk

What is it you're selling? I among many others have bought guitars used at that kinda price bracket as long as I'm familiar with the brand neck profile etc...

FelineGuitars

One of the things that changed a few years ago is that the rules about VAT changed regarding selling on comission . 

HMRC want 20% VAT on the whole sale price and not just on the profit bit that the shop takes, which is what many shops used to get away with in the past.
The 20% VAT which equates to 16.7% of the total selling price disaapears to the government.
The shop obviously wants and needs to make a reasonable amount of money - covering wages , rent , heat and ligt etc so maybe 20% is probably about right.

axisus

I sold an expensive Custom shop bass via the Bass Gallery a few years ago. They asked me what I wanted, they added what they wanted on top. It was there for a few months then someone made an offer, which I accepted. The BG were happy, the guy who bought it was happy and I made £400.

On the downside I kind of miss that bass ....

richardhomer

Elwood said:

Does it matter what the commission is?

If you'd accept 1000 for your guitar and a shop sells is for 1250 and keeps the 250 then it is win/win. Come up with a figure your happy with and give them a call

I've sold one thing on commission at a local indy and is was 25%. The shop sold it for way more than I could get second hand and I came out quids in. 

Absolutely.

I sold a PRS through Mark @Guitars4you and got at least what I would have with a private sale - but with none of the hassle. Shops can take card payments - and sometimes p/exs - and will have a website which receives 1000s of hits from genuine buyers.

The more valuable the guitar, the more sense selling through a store makes to me.