Finding Used Gear

thegummy

A lot of people on the forum are fond of buying used guitars (and associated gear). E.g. "should I buy this or that" - "you could get such and such second hand for that money".

I've never bought a used guitar but obviously the lower prices are appealing and especially the idea of being able to shift something on in the future without losing much.

But any time I've looked on the "for sale" forum on here or on a bass forum, I'll scroll through pages of posts, eventually find what I'm after only to click in the post and see that it's 100s of miles away.

So how do you guys get round this? How do you find the specific things you're looking for within a realistic vicinity?

AlbertC

Well there's no magic solution to this. If you're not willing or able to travel to see/demo an item then your choices are either to a)  buy on trust and have it sent to you or b) have the patience to wait until something is advertised within your region.

If you live in Inverness, then good luck with b) 

However, having said that, I live in Kent not too far from London and I'm always amazed at how many used guitars up for sale seem to be in Scotland!

prlgmnr

Go to ebay, filter by 'used', sort by 'nearest', decide "fucksake, no one has any decent shit anywhere near me", go back to what  you were doing before.

Iamnobody

I’ve travelled in the past to pick up guitars. It’s all part of the fun. 

Also checked out classifieds etc when in other parts of the country for work or whatever.

If you’re not prepared to put a little bit of effort in than the used market probably isn’t for you. 

As above I’ve seen a fair bit in Scotland and that’s way past my ‘effort’ to travel to buy a guitar.

LordOxygen

Consider relocating to the midlands, a good proportion of the country is less than 2 hours away in any direction. You'll have a lot more choice starting out from there. HTH. 

Iamnobody

LordOxygen said:

Consider relocating to the midlands, a good proportion of the country is less than 2 hours away in any direction. You'll have a lot more choice starting out from there. HTH. 

That sounds like a proportionate response to buying used guitars. 

Of course the downside is you end up living in the midlands..

SlopeSoarer

Iamnobody said:

I’ve travelled in the past to pick up guitars. It’s all part of the fun. 

Also checked out classifieds etc when in other parts of the country for work or whatever.

If you’re not prepared to put a little bit of effort in than the used market probably isn’t for you. 

As above I’ve seen a fair bit in Scotland and that’s way past my ‘effort’ to travel to buy a guitar.

Yep I try and work it in to a day out if it is say over 30 miles, it keeps both of us happy (wife and I). The other week we ended up in Liverpool and went to the Tate Modern (which was fantastic) we may never have done it without being on the trail of something: )

stimpsonslostson

I join local Facebook “musical instruments for sale” groups and have a saved search on the Gumtree app for guitars within 15miles. 
Other than that it’s just patience, being willing to travel and acting FAST if something comes up. 

Living near a major population centre helps, but obviously more guitars are available and there are more people locally looking at them. 

Just seen you’re in Glasgow, there’s a huge Facebook group covering Glasgow & Edinburgh etc. 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/358559090891321/

Youre welcome to come to Edinburgh to try the Jazzmaster I’m selling. ;-)

Fishboy7

Most sellers are happy to post.  I've never had a problems sending or receiving.

ronnyb

I’ve never bought a new guitar or amp and I’ve travelled the length and breadth of the country to get what I want. It depends on how much you want a particular thing. I advertised a guitar on here a few months back and a member travelled from Oslo to get it. I met him at Manchester airport and he went back happy.

rossi

Gumtree works for me .Just depends on what you want  and how quickly you want it .

mburekenge

Try living on another continent! I have to travel back to the uk for refrets etc! 

Sassafras

If you're not prepared to put a bit of effort into buying guitars that you can then sell at a loss, there's no hope for you.

pintspiller

Me and the wife like weekend breaks. I often check Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace when away to see what's out there. Sometimes we go separate ways for an hour or so and I go around the shops too.

If you visit the same shops in Glasgow they will probably get to know you and what you may be after. The shop @icbm works at, for instance, it busting with used stuff for sale.

I rate the feel of a guitar more important than sounds generally so I find it relatively easy to try in shops at lower or no volume.

richardhomer

pintspiller said:

Me and the wife like weekend breaks. I often check Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace when away to see what's out there. Sometimes we go separate ways for an hour or so and I go around the shops too.

If I’d bought a guitar on a weekend break with my ex-wife, I’d have become her ex-husband much sooner.....

HarrySeven

I’m saying nowt!

thegummy

Iamnobody said:

I’ve travelled in the past to pick up guitars. It’s all part of the fun. 

Wow that's quite extreme. Can I borrow your flux capacitor? :P 

thegummy

pintspiller said:

Me and the wife like weekend breaks. I often check Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace when away to see what's out there. Sometimes we go separate ways for an hour or so and I go around the shops too.

If you visit the same shops in Glasgow they will probably get to know you and what you may be after. The shop @icbm works at, for instance, it busting with used stuff for sale.

I rate the feel of a guitar more important than sounds generally so I find it relatively easy to try in shops at lower or no volume.

Shops selling used guitars is what I've thought would be the most realistic option. I'd imagine they'd cost a bit more than they would from a punter though?

Seems those who would buy specific models used have the time to travel rather than there being an easy way to find one locally.

I suppose I'd have more luck just keeping an eye out for local listings and finding something interesting from those rather than looking for a specific model.

ICBM

thegummy said:

Iamnobody said:

I’ve travelled in the past to pick up guitars. It’s all part of the fun. 

Wow that's quite extreme. Can I borrow your flux capacitor? :P 

You need to be careful. I went back to 1965 and bought a Les Paul Standard from Macari's for £75, thinking that I would be rich. The only problem was that it was the one Clapton would have bought later that day, so he got a Custom instead. When I got back to the present day I discovered that black Customs were the price of a house and people were painting over those ugly red and yellow ones that no-one really wanted and fitting middle pickups...

Iamnobody

ICBM said:

thegummy said:

Iamnobody said:

I’ve travelled in the past to pick up guitars. It’s all part of the fun. 

Wow that's quite extreme. Can I borrow your flux capacitor? :P 

You need to be careful. I went back to 1965 and bought a Les Paul Standard from Macari's for £75, thinking that I would be rich. The only problem was that it was the one Clapton would have bought later that day, so he got a Custom instead. When I got back to the present day I discovered that black Customs were the price of a house and people were painting over those ugly red and yellow ones that no-one really wanted and fitting middle pickups...

Lols for both of you.

designerseye88

No easy solution I'm afraid, think ourselves lucky that we only have to travel a few hours, in the US it could be days and 1000's of miles. 
More often than not the buyer or seller is located a few hours away, I usually try and meet halfway. And failing that if I'm the buyer I will travel, I guess that's the price you pay getting something cheaper or harder to find