Guitar selling market

Hydra19

I just wanted to see if anyone else has trouble selling anything lately? I know there are some nice models for sale on Classifieds that aren't expensive but been sitting there for months, I, myself, have not managed to sell anything for the last 5 months. I'm not sure if it's like this for everyone, or I've somehow been blacklisted for something? 
Anybody know any other place to sell stuff other than Ebay, Reverb, Gumtree and here?

topdog91

Most of the time the reality is that if something sticks around too long, the price is too high. (And / or it's very niche and demand is low.)

gpw5150

The economy has been volatile and people are skint.  I think that the Truss-o-nomics that created the mortgage shock woke a lot of people up that their low mortgage rates can adjust upward very easily.  Not to mention energy volatility and pricing.  Regardless of your politics or what the incumbent gummint say; people are more cautious and a bit more broke.  Look at the high st at the moment - Bodyshop UK is gone, Superdry is on the edge of administration - all ‘mid tier luxury’ market retailers where it is likely a number of members of the forum sit in the demographic seem to be impacted.

just my 2 penneth and I mean no intent to politicise.

benecol

I'm usually fairly good with prices (admittedly, this purge around I was selling one quite niche guitar in amongst them all). I'd say we're slowly coming out of the woods, but it's about the worst it's ever been. I had nothing shift six months ago, bit better now. Two years ago it was a very different market.

Obviously, if I was buying guitars, not trying to pay off a bicycle, I'd be loving it.

NCo

It's been dreadful for me too, especially on TFB where I can't seem to sell anything.  I do think the market is dead at the moment,  and that it’s not just down to pricing.

This year I listed a LP Studio, an AVRI II Strat, a Marshall amp, a few pedals, and pickups for sale on this forum and other platforms. Reverb was the most successful for me, though selling there took some time and none of the items sold here. The Studio went on Reverb for much higher than I had listed here, and the AVRI buyer initially contacted me via Reverb, but we concluded the deal here. I haven't managed to sell the amp, pickups and pedals.

This forum attracts a very specific audience with particular tastes, so it might be that what I was selling wasn't appealing enough. As an observation, the amount of time wasters here seems higher than on Reverb.

Stevepage

I haven’t sold anything in here for quite a while. I’ve had better luck recently with eBay though, I’ve sold 2 guitars on there for my asking price within about 2 weeks of listing in the last 4 months

hassleham

Definitely dead everywhere at the moment. 

The last guitar I bought was for sale for weeks for a great price and nobody bought it which I found really surprising. 

The last 2 guitars I sold barely got a sniff for months so I ended up selling to Richtone just to get rid of them!

I also was watching 2 PRS customs on ebay this week on bids with no reserve. One ended at £1000 and the other at £1200. Needless to say both have now been relisted as buy it now for much more.

Petepassion

It’s slowed down a lot over the last few months.
   Stuff still sells, just takes longer. I had my old 100w Selmer valve head for sale here and on EBay for quite a while, yet within a week of being listed on Reverb it sold.
   So if you want it gone quick, sell at a silly low price, or keep the price sensible, accept it will take longer and advertise on as many platforms as possible…although I don’t usually advertise on FB marketplace anymore…too many messers.

topdog91

It's not a surprise that Reverb, eBay et al offer better "luck", they're much better known and have many more users than tFB which is in and of itself relatively niche.

The cost of living crisis and macro economy conditions mean that people have less disposable dosh for these largely non-essential items. So the prices aren't "silly low" in the current market.

Arguably if something doesn't sell for months, the price (again, in the current market) is "silly high". When prices went up during the pandemic, sellers were fine with that market adjustment.

Hydra19

OK, so it's not only me. I don't think pricing has much to do with it, I still put the price under the market value, you can find the same guitars but more expensive, still nothing, except trade offers for harley bentons, lol. 

So, do you think it will continue to decline or turn around? 

topdog91

Hydra19 said:

OK, so it's not only me. I don't think pricing has much to do with it, I still put the price under the market value, you can find the same guitars but more expensive, still nothing, except trade offers for harley bentons, lol. 

So, do you think it will continue to decline or turn around? 

If you try to sell something at "under the market value" and it doesn't shift having been well-exposed, is it not worth considering how you decide what the market value is?

Greatape

I've done ok selling pedals, but I've asked sensible prices. 

Yep, there are some serious bargains out there but the CoL Vs wages situation (plus a couple of unwelcome and unexpected bills) has me being extremely gunshy. 

It does make me think that if the market gets a little bit livelier at some point, I will likely consolidate down to two electrics, two amps, about ten pedals and nylon/steel acoustics. I think the current situation isn't going to change a lot over coming years, and I don't want to be surrounded by unnecessary stuff if I can help it. 

If I were gearless right now, I'd buy a Katana and an import brand guitar. I'm struggling to see the point in me having a surplus 

barnstorm

Even among those who have cash to spare there's an awareness that the used market is slow, which has put the brakes on the old 'buy to try' carousel that so many of us on the forum have ridden at one time or another.

I think it will remain slow in the UK for a while – can't see how it can change as long as the wages of middle earners remain badly depressed, while Fender, Gibson et al are presumably looking first at other markets when deciding what price increase they can get away with each year. (I think the USA still accounts for about a third of all guitar sales.)

Also, though not directed at OP: I’ve been looking for something new for the first time in three years, but the number of no-effort listings from both private sellers and shops means I’ve passed on going to see/ordering lots of guitars that might have been fine. There are certain bits of info and certain pics I want to see, and if the seller hasn’t bothered to provide them I just move on. So some sellers and shops aren’t helping themselves, IMO.

AlbertC

There are just lots of guitars around 
If it's something very desirable or at a irresistibly good price or preferably both it'll shift quickly.
Otherwise you can only hope to get lucky that there's a buyer out there looking for what you're selling...or wait until there is

KrisGee

Trade only in my case. Cash sale is like a unicorn these days. 

Hydra19

@topdog, how do you decide market value? 

Deadman

I’ve sold two guitars recently, both on gumtree. I sold them pretty quickly because I priced them right, probably £100 less than I could have got had I been prepared to wait.

Just bought a guitar from here, because the seller agreed a £100 reduction, so I guess my principal works both ways.

theatreanchor

Lots of good answers here. I've sold pedals here easily enough, but only one guitar. Probably to do with the factors already mentioned.

topdog91

Hydra19 said:

@topdog, how do you decide market value? 

Supply and demand. A price that sellers are willing to accept that buyers are willing to pay.

Broseley_Bob

Market value is what someone is prepared to pay on any given day.  Take shares in publicly traded companies for example.

I think there is over supply in the market and prices need to be corrected downwards.  

If you price correctly you will sell.  It might mean taking more of a haircut than you wish though.  

PAL

I think times are tight for a lot of people. Also as guitarist we always want something cheap. We see something and we
  think something isn't worth it or is overprice we do this because we are using our eyes but the important thing it's what an 
  instrument plays and feels like. I've experienced people who ask about the neck size and does it play like butter !
  but then should I ask how big or your hands or how well do you play ! Most guitars out there can be made to play well
  and it's surprising how you can take an average feeling guitar and make it feel and play really well also doing this doesn't 
  mean a trip to a guitar tech unless you need a re fret or new nut etc. Some people are able to do this I know.
  So selling is made harder because we put a basic price or what some people call " The going rate on something " on guitars
  and amps. On the other side of things sometimes the equipment that is a bit more expensive because people who have
  put time and effort into ensuring their guitar feels and more importantly plays really well already know this an believe what
  they have is worth what they are asking.
  Also there is normally is a bit of movement in the asking price. Lets be honest  if someone listed a
 Gibson R9 Les Paul for £1000 I bet anyone of us would try to knock a bit off the price ! 
 My best advice from a sellers point of view is If you believe what you have is worth the asking price just take your time a it 
 will sell eventually and because of the price of guitars & amp becoming more expensive your guitar becomes a more 
 acceptable price. It's just a case of being patient.
 Also the same applies to buyers there is no point rushing because guitars and amps are like buses there will always be another one coming along so there is no rush.
The thing is even if something is called limited edition or rare you can normally find them if you take you time unless you have something that has been custom built by a well know guitar builder and is a one off. Yet even this can work against selling
something I know this from my own experience I inherited a one off Sid Poole guitar and it's the only one in the world and it's not really my thing so it would make sense for me to sell it and buy something that works for me but because it is something
different all I got was lots of questions about construction of the guitar etc so just wasted everyone's time even when listing
the guitar with a Wilkinson USA trem I'm told Wilkinson are made in the far east ! So sometimes people assume they know
everything but in truth no one knows everything !
I know this may have deviated from the question and I'm sorry this is long winded but I think we need to get realistic and
not judge things on what we think we know because we have read something in a magazine or someone's opinion on
YouTube. As the saying goes the sound we have is in our hands and only our hands ( and ears ) and will tell us if something is right for us and worth paying a bit extra for. Thanks for your time.