Local Sales Still Work Best......

[soulman969]

In preparation for a move outta here to a less crowded and less costly area I decided to part with a couple of my Epiphones just to raise a little cash to cover some expenses and lighten the load.

A couple weeks ago I sold my AJ-220 SCE acoustic/electric I had listed on both CL and FB Marketplace. After sorting through some initial scammers on FB Marketplace I ended up with a full price buyer who came over with his wife and loved the guitar. He was also one hell of a lot better player than I am and his wife was a terrific lady and very supportive of his playing and the guitar.

Today, and with some degree of sadness, I sold my ES339 P90 Pro. It was a damn tough decision too if only because Epiphone isn't offering that model any longer at all and also because I loved the wine red finish which they also seem to have eliminated from their product line. That's also a shame. Both models had that "D" profile neck I don't really enjoy vs the "C" profile neck like my Casino that I do.

Again this sale came from my CL listing to a buyer from New Mexico who happened to be in Denver for a family reunion. He'd been watching my listing for a couple of weeks and after I dropped my price 10% he responded, came over, inspected it, paid cash and went home with it even though my price was more than an ES339 Pro model GC had locally. It was another friendly deal that benefited both.

So local sales do still work quite well provided a seller has the patience to wait out the right buyer and the knowledge and caution needed to deal with the scammers who seem to have now chosen FB Marketplace as their current venue more than CL. To be honest I've never had a bad experience selling locally and in only once instance can I recall a potential buyer walking away empty handed.

The other interesting thing is that all of these sales (several dozen or more) have taken place in my building either in my unit or more recently in the laundry room just off the foyer due to all of the construction/renovation work that's torn this place apart. I've never felt unsafe personally nor have any of my buyers apparently so I must sound like a good trustworthy guy over the phone....LOL.

I may end up replacing the ES339 but probably with the Pro model with humbuckers and a "C" neck profile or another similar model. As for the AJ-220 as nice as it looked I just couldn't get 100% comfortable with the neck. I like Takamine and Taylor necks more but I may look at an Epi J-45 again because of it's shorter scale and my preferred neck profile. Sad to see two nice guitar go but it was time to lighten my load a little and both sales made me whole on what I had into the guitars initially.

 

[Darkness]

I have only ever sold things locally. I can't imagine the fiascos of shipping, especially with guitars. My wife buys and sells purses and clothing online and that often comes with a lot of extra effort.

 

[BGood]

I too mostly sell and buy locally. If I go for something further that I'll buy without seeing/touching it, I make sure to talk on the phone with the seller and often try to find someone that can pick it up for me until I can make it there to grab it or ask that someone to ship it to me.

The only two times I refused to sell, I made the mistake to deliver before being paid and both buyers were assholes. Never again.

 

[soulman969]

I have only ever sold things locally. I can't imagine the fiascos of shipping, especially with guitars. My wife buys and sells purses and clothing online and that often comes with a lot of extra effort.

I've done it in the past before shipping costs skyrocketed and back when Reverb still ran a tight ship via CME. Now that place is a mess as well.

Too many phonies and buyers who want to return something or bitch that what they got wasn't in the condition advertised so they want a partial refund.

Locally the buyer sees what he's getting in person before he pays and once cash and guitar or amp or effect trade hands it's all over. No ongoing hassles.

 

[soulman969]

I too mostly sell and buy locally. If I go for something further that I'll buy without seeing/touching it, I make sure to talk on the phone with the seller and often try to find someone that can pick it up for me until I can make it there to grab it or ask that someone to ship it to me.

The only two times I refused to sell, I made the mistake to deliver before being paid and both buyers were assholes. Never again.

Even though I've only had two problem issues with Ebay or Reverb deals I'm now strictly COD. Come over and look, play it, ask all the questions you like, and if you're sure you want it pay me in cash and take it home. Works every time.

My stuff is always in top shelf condition so I often get questioned on my pricing but I've already researched the sold transactions and price within the market but more often closer to the top of the market. That's why I want someone to see and play a guitar I'm selling so they know that when I say "like new" I'm not bs'ing anyone. If it's not like new I won't list it at all or I'll be very specific about any flaws or damage.

Most of the time I'll take offers based on my original listed price but once I've reduced from that it's always price is firm and once they've seen the guitar I get my price without any haggling. In fact my last two sales were listed at an odd amount like $695 but the buyer peels off six $100s and five $20s and doesn't even want his $5 in change since he realizes now that he's shopped my price is fair for what I'm selling.

It seems like those who don't believe my price is fair don't even bother so maybe I've developed a reputation as one whose not a wheeler dealer in gear. That's fine with me. I'm patient and I'll more typically list something for 30 days. If it hasn't sold by then it's not going to so I pull the listing and maybe list again somewhere down the road. I'd rather keep something than deal with an asshole buyer.

 

[Darkness]

Locally the buyer sees what he's getting in person before he pays and once cash and guitar or amp or effect trade hands it's all over. No ongoing hassles.

Agreed, and it helps the buyer as well. Getting your hands on a guitar before you buy solves most of the potential surprises. A few months back I went to buy a Guild acoustic "in perfect condition, just needs new strings". It was in great condition except for the thin crack I spotted on the bottom where the strap button was. I was happy that I saw that and the buyer claimed not to know it was there, either way I didn't have to mess around.