GC says it is worth $160

[HOBBSTER01]

[garytelecastor]

Hobbster-There is something wrong with the link.

[Jenix]

Yea I cant see the link either but whatever it is I'm sure its worth twice as much anywhere else. Lets not get started on GC.

[HOBBSTER01]

Just on a whim,I had it in the car needed a couple things and decided I'd consider a trade on a harmonizer.
I just don't understand their logic.

[sjhusting]

Will you take $165?

steven

[tombm3]

From my experience, GC will only offer you 1/2 of what they will sell it (or try to sell it) at. I had an acoustic amp a few years back that I was considering as a trade. Once I heard what they were willing to offer, off to the bay it went. I was able to get even more than double of what they offered.

[vjf1968]

The logic is that they will take it off your hands for $160.00. Turn around and sell for $600.00 so they can make a profit. You are never going to get full makrket value at any music store. Of course there are poeple on Ebay who sound like they smoke crack on a regular basis judging by what they want for certain items.

[getbent]

They are saying they don't want it without being rude.

[skeksis]

I took an amp in (on a whim) to see what GC'd offer in trade. basically, they took out a 2004 price guide, and said that if the amp was in great condition they'd offer half of the low value in the price guide. so they ended up offering about $250 (in trade!) for an amp that I later sold on craigslist for $1300. Reminded me why I rarely buy anything but strings from a guitar store, and never spend money @ GC.

I disagree with getbent -- if they had any manners, they'd just tell you they didn't want it. The low-ball offer shows just how little they respect you, and how dumb they think you are.

Without doing any research, I bet you could get at least $500-600 for your Ampeg.

[HOBBSTER01]

Original tubes, speaker.
Sounds like a dream.
The only thing that is not the original is the grill cloth and speaker baffle.
The baffle was cracked due to an over tightened clutch screw.
New birch baffle from Fliptops.
I did the grill cloth myself and it shows but other than that,the amp is in great condition for 46 years old.
Not to mention I kept the old parts.

[Jakedog]

Well, it's a Reverberrocket 2. VERY cool amp, but not all that valuable. I routinely see them in shops, on Craiglist, or on the web for anywhere from $300-$400. $450 on the really high side. that said, if I owned a music store, any music store, there's no way I would put more than $200 into it, and I would go less if I could get away with it. First of all, I'd have to turn it for a good profit. Second of all, if it sat for long enough on the floor, I would have to be able to discount it to move it out quick to get it out of inventory before the next years taxes came due, and doing that, I would still have to make money on it. Third, it's a vintage tube amp. I have no doubt you take care of your stuff, the amp looks to be in really good shape. But if I were a store owner, or a GC manager, I couldn't get too much into an amp that old, knowing that if it sits on the floor and gets played for six months, it might end up needing tubes, or caps, or a speaker, any number of things, which would result in my having even more money into the amp.

You will never get top dollar, or even close to fair retail out of any store for a trade or sale of your gear. It would be poor business for them to give it to you. I sell lots of stuff to stores, even GC. I don't get what I could get, but it's easy and convenient, and I don't have to run auctions, ship crap, drive stuff to the post or UPS store, or have people I don't know coming to my house to try out and buy stuff.

I fully understand where you're coming from, it's frustrating to know you aren't getting full price, but it's just the nature of the beast.


Jake

[endzone]

Dont' be insulted, they are a business. Businesses don't offer you what your piece of used gear is worth. They offer you a low price so they can try to make a profit. If they can't make a good spread, they don't want your used amp. It's not personal...it's pure Marketing 101. And I doubt you would get much more, if any, from the store up the street because they all should operate under the same basic business philosophy if they want to stay in business for long. GC gets so many people coming in with gear that they don't have to pay much for used inventory. They have the luxury of being patient and making the best deals for them...not you. You will ALWAYS do better selling the used item yourself.

I have also found that if you're shrewd enough, you can get GC to make decent deals on "selling" you used gear. I've bought a few nice pieces of vintage guitars and amps and made money when I sold them.

[stevieboy]

Stores are in business to sell gear, not buy it. They can buy new ones from the mfr for not much more than you might think your used one is worth. I worked at a camera store years ago, and they had the same general policy--pay about half what you hope to sell it for. I think that's pretty common at equipment retail stores everywhere. Stores are taking a risk buying used gear--double your money on an individual piece sounds good, but taking their used department as a whole, stores don't make double profit. Sometimes they have to eat repairs. Sometimes they have to eat gear that turns out to have been stolen somewhere down the road. In a lot of places you have to hold stuff for a month while it goes through a police check--that's a month of holding money with no utility and no interest. It all adds up.

You may not agree with that, and whether you agree with it or not, it's not just Guitar Center, it's fairly common practice in retail in general, including Mom and Pop stores. There may be exceptions of course, but they aren't the norm. Take that amp to a small store and see what they offer.