Advice on selling guitars

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auntlynnie
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Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:37 pm

Hello all,
I'm thinking about selling a couple of my guitars (just garden variety Breedlove 12, and a Stratocaster).
It has been so long since I've done this. Is Craigslist a good place to do this?
I just don't know.
Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks,
Lynn


BigBear
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Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:39 pm

Hi Lynn! Craigslist is a good place to start because the buyer can usually come to your house and examine the guitars in person. This takes a lot of uncertainty out of the transaction. Be careful of the many Craigslist scams that weave through their sites on occasion. I use Craigslist all the time and it works great. I've bought and sold on it.

eBay is also a good resource because you will have potentially many more people see your ad ie. broader coverage. I bought my little Taylor 314 and my Les Paul off of eBay and both transactions went perfectly. But I did my homework and I knew what I was buying.

I think you may get a higher price on Craigslist but more hits eBay. Plus someone is going to pay for shipping; either you as seller or the buyer. Use UPS for shipping. They are usually bulletproof.

Good luck! I miss having laughs with you! :cheer:


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Music Junkie
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Fri Oct 18, 2013 11:11 pm

I have sold several things on Craig's List, but I did have to sort through some scams. They are usually pretty easy to see though, so not a big deal. If someone is unwilling to meet or pay in cash, then stay away. I would even be leery of cashiers checks, as they can be faked. When dealing with honest folks, they have no problem sharing a cell number and paying cash... ;)

Bear gives some great info on ebay as well.

You could always put them on consignment, but you have to pay a commission on that and I doubt you will need the help selling either of the guitars you mention... B)

J


wiley
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Sat Oct 19, 2013 8:29 am



dennisg
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Sat Oct 19, 2013 8:59 am

I've sold a lot of things through CraigsList and had very good experiences with it. But the one thing I would never, ever do is allow someone to come to my home -- no need for anyone to see where I live, what possessions I own, how much money they think I have, etc. I always meet people at a very public place, like a Starbucks, and do the transaction there. Bring a friend along if at all possible.


wiley
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Sat Oct 19, 2013 9:52 am



willem
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Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:26 am

Maybe you can show them here,,maybe there is someone interested...


W.


familyman4
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Location: Arizona
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Sat Oct 19, 2013 12:30 pm

Hello Lynn,

The advise about CL is spot on from the others. I would like to add one more thing:

If you list a phone number for people to call you, be sure and spell out some of the numbers. You should do this to avoid automatic computer programs from being able to capture yuor number and get on a bunch of distribution lists you don't want.

example: 123-456-78ninezero.

Good luck....
Bart


tombo1230
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Sat Oct 19, 2013 1:29 pm

willem wrote:
Maybe you can show them here,,maybe there is someone interested...


W.
Willem has a good point. Maybe someone on the forum might be interested in them.

Maybe we need a for sale section? :)


Tom N.


Edit: Actually we have one: http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/22-for-sale.html


kanefsky
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Sun Oct 20, 2013 2:30 am

I've always had very good luck with eBay. I think it's your best bet as a seller since the auction format and the large audience lets you get the best possible price and you don't have to take the time or risk of arranging to meet a buyer in person. The auction also makes it exciting to watch and see how much you'll get :)

I recommend starting the bids at $0.99 with no reserve price. This scares a lot of people, but trust me that unless it's some very obscure item that almost no one would want, you'll get the best price that way and it will be a very fair price (if not more than fair). Almost no guitar would fall into the obscure category, but if you were selling a custom-made guitar case that only fit one specific model of Santa Cruz guitar for example, then you might not want to use the auction format since the set of potential bidders would be very small.

I also recommend you give free ground shipping if the shipping price is under 10% of the expected selling price. People really hate to pay shipping and will tend to bid higher if they can get free shipping so it really doesn't cost you much to offer that. Guitars are relatively big and heavy so you could probably charge a modest shipping price like $10 or $20 if you wanted without putting off too many people, but I still highly recommend that the shipping charge should seem like a real bargain because that puts people in a buying mood. It should also be flat rate so that people will know right away what their shipping cost will be without having to go through extra steps.

Here's the listing for a Fender Stratocaster that I sold on eBay not that long ago. I started the bidding at $0.99 with no reserve and the final price was $1,200 (I think I paid $1499 and it's not a vintage model or anything that would tend to go up in value). The actual eBay listing has expired but this is what it basically looked like: http://datamagic.com/ebay/strat.html . Taking nice pictures of everything including the case, accessories, and box is very important.

Of course if you don't have a case and/or box for the guitar then the hassle and expense of shipping the guitar is going to be much greater and it might be easier just to sell it to someone locally. You can do that with eBay too but Craigslist might be better in that case.

--
Steve


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