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Thread: I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

  1. #1
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

    I know, heresy, right? But after last night's guitar lesson, I came to realize there are some guitars that I just simply don't play. So maybe I should sell them off and make room for something I will play.

    For example, I have two Gibson Futura Tribute SGs. Identical in every way except color. And I never play them. I never seemed to bond with either, although I gave them both names. Same thing with the 1998 Gibson Les Paul Special SL. I think I lean more toward the Fender "single coil" sound in my playing.

    So, how does one go about selling a guitar? I have a Reverb account (which is where I bought two of the above), so that's an option. I'll have to contend with packing, shipping and insurance, which may dent the amount I receive. I guess I could put them on consignment at the LGS. Then I pay a commission.

    Any thoughts? Some people seem to buy and sell all the time with abandon.

  2. #2
    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

    I’d say ebay, reverb and whatsapp/Facebook groups

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

    I have saved many (but not all) of the shipping cartons that my guitars came in. So I can probably pack them well enough. How do I figure the shipping and insurance costs in advance?

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    Re: I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

    I recently sold an old Fender pedal steel on Reverb, and used their shipping calculator, (rounded up). Their calculator doesn't figure insurance, and when double boxed, the dimensions put it in a higher bracket. I quoted $75 to ship, but spent $114, not a big deal, but still a cut. Next time, I'll get shipping/insurance quotes from UPS before listing!

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    Re: I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

    I would really think about listing it on the Les Paul Forum (and here) first. Why? They won't take their pound of flesh. I can't tell you how many times on Reverb I have heard the old "I wish I hadn't agreed to sell it at that price after Reverb got their cut".

    I don't believe they are unfair or anything. Just be fully aware they will take a chunk. If you can sell it on LPF you can lower it some and move them quicker sometimes.

    But there is some protection involved on Reverb that may be worth it to you.

    Bear in mind though. I do not sell stuff so I am no expert.

    I probably should as well though...

  6. #6
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

    I figure pretty much any large box the size of a guitar case is going to be 100 dollars to ship and make my price accordingly. Depending on how motivated I am to sell. I usually settle for less than I'd like to get because I'm not into hand holding and coddling reluctant buyers or dealing with their remorse afterwards.

    Yes, try the forums, CL. I know nothing about Facebook market but everybody but I seems to be selling on it. Forget about ebay they claimed to have lowered their rates on musical instruments but I find that hard to believe. reverb is ok.

    i have a spread sheet I use when I sell. If I can find what I paid for something, great but it isn't a deal breaker. I put what I listed for, what I accepted and how much shipping and pound of flesh fees were. Mostly I just want to know what exactly did I get out of the sale, not just some "uh... 285 dollars less oh i dunno 75 shipping and a few bucks for fees?" No, that doesn't fly with me. I want to know to the penny that I got 167.32 after all was bled and done. And don't even get me started on international shipping and exchange rates. I no longer am willing to do that.

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

    Quote Originally Posted by DanTheBluesMan View Post
    I figure pretty much any large box the size of a guitar case is going to be 100 dollars to ship and make my price accordingly. Depending on how motivated I am to sell. I usually settle for less than I'd like to get because I'm not into hand holding and coddling reluctant buyers or dealing with their remorse afterwards.

    Yes, try the forums, CL. I know nothing about Facebook market but everybody but I seems to be selling on it. Forget about ebay they claimed to have lowered their rates on musical instruments but I find that hard to believe. reverb is ok.

    i have a spread sheet I use when I sell. If I can find what I paid for something, great but it isn't a deal breaker. I put what I listed for, what I accepted and how much shipping and pound of flesh fees were. Mostly I just want to know what exactly did I get out of the sale, not just some "uh... 285 dollars less oh i dunno 75 shipping and a few bucks for fees?" No, that doesn't fly with me. I want to know to the penny that I got 167.32 after all was bled and done. And don't even get me started on international shipping and exchange rates. I no longer am willing to do that.
    Thanks! I have a spreadsheet that details every guitar I bought, when I bought it, from where, how much I paid for it and how much shipping charges were. Shipping charges are all over the map. Some, from "established" vendors charged no shipping. I can't afford to do that.

  8. #8
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: I'm Thinking of Thinning the Herd

    the big established guys get significant discounts that you and I will never see. I occasionally put free shipping just to move an item, but almost never on a whole guitar. That's just too big a hit for me. When I part stuff, bodies and necks are a lot less expensive. I usually just put the item at a good price (after doing research to find out what the prevailing rates are) and a reduced shipping cost. If I get an interested buyer and they make an offer, I usually counter with my original price and free ship.

    I've yet to do it but I wouldn't be surprised if you could ship a body and neck separate for less than a whole assembled guitar. You pay a dimensional rate and a good half the guitar box is just empty space (well, filled with packing material if you're a conscientious shipper)

    I don't know how it is today but when I was working in A/P for an educational products developer and manufacturer, we were shipping thousands of boxes per week, often next day air and there would be the normal rate that you and I would pay and then our discounted rate and it would be 65-80% less, sometimes even more and we were still paying millions of dollars per year for shipping.

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