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Thread: Advice On Selling Online?

  1. #1
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Advice On Selling Online?

    I've decided to sell my new Martin OMC 15ME. After less than two hours playing it, I've come to the conclusion it just isn't right for me. Oh, it's got a great sound - the mahogany gives it a very warm tone - and it's a Martin, after all. It's just that I knew going in that it was described as a "strumming" guitar, and despite my handle here (the focus is more on the "old" than on the "strummer," btw) it just doesn't suit my style of play.

    Typically, I hold on to guitars, but now with the prospect of packing up and leaving, maybe it's time to prune the herd. So, maybe I should learn the ins and outs of selling guitars online. I have a Reverb account with a five-star rating, but that's as a buyer. The cost to sell on Reveb is 3.5%. I have a PayPal account, and the cost to me would be $0.30+2.9%. Then there's shipping. There are calculators for that, but in the SWAG calculations I've made, I've used $50 for domestic shipping.

    I have the original box, with the original packing material (straight from Martin), and the gig bag. I didn't receive an owner's manual, so there's that. But, since it's a guitar...

    There is a UPS Store about a mile from me, so getting it out the door isn't a problem, either.

    (Yes, I know there's a classified section here, and I might post it there after I get more comfortable with the process).

    So... what advice, tips, warnings, and what-have-you do you who've done this before have for me?
    Striving to be ordinary

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  2. #2
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    verified addresses only, no matter how good the story sounds "I'm overseas in the military, my brother in law will pick it up yadda yadda."

    video packing it, don't leave it to the shipping store. Insure for full value. Always put as is. If you put 'accept returns, be sure to explicitly state buyer pays return shipping and item must be as shipped (hence the video).

    Pictures, tons of pictures.

    communication. If the buyer doesn't ask questions, be wary. If you have to hold their hands and it's like extracting a tooth to get them to commit, beware.

    If you feel the least bit uneasy about a buyer, cancel the deal. You're under no obligation to sell.

    BTW - I believe Reverb is 5% now, not 3.5% Big stink about it last week on TGP.
    "Live and learn and flip the burns"

  3. #3
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    Quote Originally Posted by OldStrummer View Post
    The cost to sell on Reveb is 3.5%.
    Sorry to hear that the guitar didn't work out for you!

    FYI, Reverb's rate is going up to 5% on August 4th. I don't know if that affects items that are listed before then or not.

  4. #4
    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    I'm sure someone will want it.

    I'm not a big fan of shallow bodied acoustics. Don't give up on Martins. I couldn't go on without my HD-28VL. It's a matter of taste, but I've always been a Martin fan. Mine is 24 years old, and it gets sweeter every year.

    You're a strummer, and you need a dreadnought or jumbo body to get that strum on heavy. I ain't against Gibsons either. I wouldn't mind having one of their jumbos or a J-45.

    I've forgotten what acoustic you have other than the Klos.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

  5. #5
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    Thanks for the replies, guys. Keep 'em coming. I knew about taking photos of the guitar, but taking photos of the packing too, is a great idea. Covers you if the recipient complains about damage! As for the fee, I doubt I'll get anything posted there before August 4, so I'll adjust my numbers (I have a phone app that I input the various numbers and it tells me how much profit -- or loss -- I can expect to realize).

    As for Martins, not long ago I bought a "Little Martin," a LX1RE to complement my KLŌS travel guitar, and it's a great sounding guitar (the KLŌS plays better, IMO, but it cost more, too). I cruise the 'Net and look longingly at the D-18s and D-28s, but they're a pretty penny... Maybe if I sell off a couple of my herd...
    Striving to be ordinary

    Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!

  6. #6
    Forum Member blackonblack's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    Not to get you to buy another, but if you’d like a nice Martin D-18 like Guitar under 1000, check out the Alvarez Bluegrass. It’s about the only non Martin that won’t get you kicked out a bluegrass jam. Alvarez MD60EBG
    Mark

  7. #7
    Forum Member blackonblack's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    As far as selling on Reverb, pic the price you want, add in the fees, shipping, link your bank if you can (gets around PP fees), then add another 3-5%. Make sure to post you will accept offers. If you get no quick bites, bump it. Most likely you will get an offer. Before accepting the offer, un-bump it. You get the advantage of the bump but don’t have to pay the bump fees.
    Mark

  8. #8
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    Quote Originally Posted by blackonblack View Post
    As far as selling on Reverb, pic the price you want, add in the fees, shipping, link your bank if you can (gets around PP fees), then add another 3-5%. Make sure to post you will accept offers. If you get no quick bites, bump it. Most likely you will get an offer. Before accepting the offer, un-bump it. You get the advantage of the bump but don’t have to pay the bump fees.
    This sounds like the voice of experience. Thanks!
    Striving to be ordinary

    Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!

  9. #9
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    I just sold two guitars for a profit on Craigslist locally this past week! I don't know how you feel about that option. I prefer to sell guitars locally.

  10. #10
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

    there's a '75 Martin D-28 for sale right now, thoroughly broken in and I'm sorely tempted. I liked my '89 Martin D-28V when i bought it new and I must admit I got some of my better archive tape recordings from it, back in the '90s when I barely knew what I was going (basically a radio shack stereo condenser mic into a TASCAM deck on cassette tapes). A lot of my archives are that Martin through a Woody (early version) into a Marshall DSL401 pre-2001 combo. I ended up trading that Martin towards a DSL 50 head, which I wish I still had. The green channel on those is to die for. The new SV20 reminds me a lot of that channel without the angry hornets in a paper bag additional channels.
    "Live and learn and flip the burns"

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    Re: Advice On Selling Online?

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    Last edited by MGW-AB; 02-17-2021 at 09:44 AM.

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