How do you price your guitar to sell it?

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I know we've had a bit of discussion about this but I thought I'd throw in my two penneth following a few people contacting me recently about a guitar I have for sale. 

I've seen views that you've got to price a little higher to let people haggle you down and feel good about themselves. 

But I've also seen the view that that's BS and you should go for your lowest price and go firm. As it just wring to price high. 


So here's a case study... 


My Gibson ES335 currently for sale on here - 


Fretboard £1600/ £1575/ £1500 - Drop it till its hot.
That's nice mate, what's the weight, neck size and does it play itself at gigs? I might be interested, just need to ask the other half and sell a kidney. 

Ebay £1675 - The offers approach.
Good old Fabio offers me £1500 to send it Italy.

Gumtree £1500 - The price it low for a quick sale approach
Will you take £1350 and drop it off at my house/ I mean shop, where I've got 84 guitars and amps listed on Gumtree for sale. You know who he is.


I think my point is the lower you price the guitar, the lower the offers you get. 

Albeit I've sold stuff stupid cheap on here in minutes (but at the same time been offered even less).


Any thoughts? :-) 
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Comments

  • jellyrolljellyroll Frets: 3073
    Price it based on what you think you might get based on current market prices. Know in your head the minimum you'll actually let it go for. 
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  • munckeemunckee Frets: 12255
    jellyroll said:
    Price it based on what you think you might get based on current market prices. Know in your head the minimum you'll actually let it go for. 
    Yep this, I generally have a) a price I think it is worth if I'm prepared to wait, then b) a price I would actually take.  I price it usually at a) unless I want to sell quickly then somewhere between a) and b)
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    I price them pretty much in the middle between the two ends of the current going rate, then I see something shiny and let it go for half that. 
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  • robertyroberty Frets: 10893
    If it's firm I just write firm after the price. Seems to do the trick. I'm okay at pricing but usually just in it to recoup from other stuff I've bought, so I see it as cashflow rather than profit and loss. There's definitely a threshold below which people are completely ravenous, as I've discovered. It's best to go above that unless you really like responding to messages
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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14030
    tFB Trader
    you also need to add into the equation about your urgency or patience - For a quick sale you might need to be more price sensitive - Take your time and wait otherwise and when I say wait I mean 2/3 months - To many want instant results
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  • fretfinderfretfinder Frets: 4978
    edited July 2019
    I know we've had a bit of discussion about this but I thought I'd throw in my two penneth following a few people contacting me recently about a guitar I have for sale. 

    I've seen views that you've got to price a little higher to let people haggle you down and feel good about themselves. 

    But I've also seen the view that that's BS and you should go for your lowest price and go firm. As it just wring to price high. 


    So here's a case study... 


    My Gibson ES335 currently for sale on here - 


    Fretboard £1600/ £1575/ £1500 - Drop it till its hot.
    That's nice mate, what's the weight, neck size and does it play itself at gigs? I might be interested, just need to ask the other half and sell a kidney. 

    Ebay £1675 - The offers approach.
    Good old Fabio offers me £1500 to send it Italy.

    Gumtree £1500 - The price it low for a quick sale approach
    Will you take £1350 and drop it off at my house/ I mean shop, where I've got 84 guitars and amps listed on Gumtree for sale. You know who he is.


    I think my point is the lower you price the guitar, the lower the offers you get. 

    Albeit I've sold stuff stupid cheap on here in minutes (but at the same time been offered even less).


    Any thoughts? :-) 
    Were your asking prices stated as ‘firm’? If not then I would expect people to make offers. And personally I’ve always had more success selling when I build in a little room for haggling, rather than calling the price ‘firm’. Also, if I had a 335 dot reissue for sale myself at £1500 then it would be marked firm and no offers! It’s a good price. Just be patient I guess, as Mark at G4U says. GLWTS!

    Edit: I’ve just read your 335 sale thread and see it’s still priced at £1675 - I thought from your OP in this thread that you must’ve reduced it to £1500 by now. Oops! 
    250+ positive trading feedbacks: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/57830/
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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    I always assume that any secondhand sale is at least open to the concept of an offer/negotiation - unless it says "no offers", "firm" or similar.

    That said, I don't particularly enjoy haggling on either end of the deal, so I tend to price stuff at what I think is "about right" on the assumption that there's a bit of wiggle room for someone to get a few quid off and feel good, and me not feel like I've been taken for a mug. The tricky bit is what denotes "a few quid".
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    roberty said:
    If it's firm I just write firm after the price. Seems to do the trick. I'm okay at pricing but usually just in it to recoup from other stuff I've bought, so I see it as cashflow rather than profit and loss. There's definitely a threshold below which people are completely ravenous, as I've discovered. It's best to go above that unless you really like responding to messages
    I don't see why you should respond to any messages other than the one that says "I'll buy it at your listed price".
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  • fandangofandango Frets: 2204
    I took the OP to mean what research one does to set the sale price.

    Look at eBay for sold prices. Ditto Reverb. Harder to do with tFB and Gumtree/Preloved. Reverb has a means of tracking the trend of sold prices. Not sure how accurate, but remember with Reverb, you’re selling to the global market (depending on your settings), so you want to know global trends, not just UK trends.

    Then I’d also be looking for the sale price of similar items, and how long its been for sale.


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  • HarrySevenHarrySeven Frets: 8017

    Gumtree £1500 - The price it low for a quick sale approach
    Will you take £1350 and drop it off at my house/ I mean shop, where I've got 84 guitars and amps listed on Gumtree for sale. You know who he is.

    Sadly, that could be any number of well-known multi-platform (eBay, Facebook, Reverb, Gumtree, Preloved, blahblah) flippers... :(


    HarrySeven - Intangible Asset Appraiser & Wrecker of Civilisation. Searching for weird guitars - so you don't have to.
    Forum feedback thread.    |     G&B interview #1 & #2   |  https://www.instagram.com/_harry_seven_/ 

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  • chris45chris45 Frets: 221
    I've managed to sell a few items recently to my satisfaction:
    Reverb and Ebay are the sources for realistic sold prices and I will pitch in at a middle price within the range; if you are selling you have to reconcile with yourself that this is the maximum you are going to get before proceeding
    Put in as much information in the adds as possible (and update them if you answer something not covered).  Then you get less "what's the neck like" etc and it is easy to politely answer questions
    On the tFB I will always reply in the spirit of the forum and on Ebay will answer most sensible questions
    It is a slow market so 1-3 months is realistic; bump those adverts
    I don't reduce the price and only negotiate if it comes to travel / postage etc
    If the price offered is acceptable to me, I don't have a problem selling to a flipper
    If you price it too keenly and mark as "quick sale" then IMHO you look like a distressed seller and the vulture's will circle (and ping you with even lower bids) as they figure you will mark it down in a week anyway.

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  • LogieLogie Frets: 440
    I've always advertised initially slightly higher than I'd be prepared to take and then if no offers come in, drop it to my bottom line and leave it there. I'm never in a hurry to sell though so that works in my favour. If you're in a hurry you may have to bite the bullet and take a hit to move it.

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  • BeardyAndyBeardyAndy Frets: 716
    What somethings worth and what people are prepared to pay often differ greatly!

    I search eBay sold listings as a good guide as it's such a vast market place. Reverb sellers seem to all price over the top, given that the commission is much lower on Reverb than ebay I usually price stuff a little lower on there, takes longer to sell though. Gumtree's great but lot's of buyers with R8 taste and Epiphone budget.
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  • thegummythegummy Frets: 4389

    Gumtree £1500 - The price it low for a quick sale approach
    Will you take £1350 and drop it off at my house/ I mean shop, where I've got 84 guitars and amps listed on Gumtree for sale. You know who he is.

    Sadly, that could be any number of well-known multi-platform (eBay, Facebook, Reverb, Gumtree, Preloved, blahblah) flippers... :(
    It's a shame that there's always people just out to get as much as they can get for themselves.

    Like people who buy concert tickets just to sell them for profit when they sell out. They'd be going to the firing line if I was in charge.
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    I take the purchase price, multiply it by immediate financial need, divide it by ubiquity, subtract money spent on modifications, add my phone number and then move it back five decimal places.

    Or 60-70% of retail.
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  • Vintage-TVintage-T Frets: 405
    eBay sold listings if your first port of call, if that doesn't yield an indication I think 2/3 of new selling price is a good place to start and work from there, subtracting from that for item age, condition and how desperate you are for cash.

    If I'm stcuk with an item for longer than I'd want, I'd rather take a bit less and sell to a genuine buyer, than get my asking price and look forward to a few weeks of dealing with buyers remorse.

    Have to say, all sales of TFB have been faultless. eBay is a pit of buyers looking to exercise their right to return for any nonsensical reason.


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  • thegummythegummy Frets: 4389
    Vintage-T said:
    eBay sold listings if your first port of call, if that doesn't yield an indication I think 2/3 of new selling price is a good place to start and work from there, subtracting from that for item age, condition and how desperate you are for cash.

    If I'm stcuk with an item for longer than I'd want, I'd rather take a bit less and sell to a genuine buyer, than get my asking price and look forward to a few weeks of dealing with buyers remorse.

    Have to say, all sales of TFB have been faultless. eBay is a pit of buyers looking to exercise their right to return for any nonsensical reason.


    eBay completed listings is a good thing for getting a valuation. I'd look at there and go for the lower end of the average if looking to sell quickly or the higher end if willing to wait for more money.

    The thing you say about the eBay problems etc. is one of the reasons I've yet to sell a guitar. I have one that I want to sell but firstly with the hours I work and the amount of time I'm not at home, it's not that convenient to have someone come over to try it out. But also the huge hassles that could come in to play if they try to get a refund or whatever.

    I think I'd only be confident to sell a guitar (or buy a used one) from a forum like this and even then only if it was from a regular poster I recognised. Leaves me very limited though of course.
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  • skullfunkerryskullfunkerry Frets: 4136
    It might just be because I like superstrats and guitars of that ilk, but I find I can sell for the price I want, or I can sell quickly.... but not both
    Too much gain... is just about enough \m/

    I'm probably the only member of this forum mentioned by name in Whiskey in the Jar ;)

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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    I routinely get the best prices through eBay.  Here is a good place to sell in terms of people but overall the market is relatively small so you don't always get the highest prices... usually least hassle though.

    I typically avoid Gumtree or Facebook unless I really need to sell it and haven't managed to sell here or on eBay first.  No matter what you write on your ad you'll get lowball offers or unsuitable trade offers anyway.
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  • prlgmnrprlgmnr Frets: 3964
    octatonic said:
    I take the purchase price, multiply it by immediate financial need, divide it by ubiquity, subtract money spent on modifications, add my phone number and then move it back five decimal places.
    So about 1500 for a 2018 R8?
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