Keep seeing the same guitars for sale...why aren't they selling?

[fender4life]

Craigslist 3-4 years ago/Craigslist today....not even on the same planet. Then i could not browse CL without seeing several guitars I wanted to grab at such a good price. Today, i LITERALLY can go months and not see a single guitar i'd but at the price and most are so ridiculously price it;s comical. Some even more then new. Before prices went up there was a lake placid blue fender classic 60s strat mint and stock for $390. It sat there for months and didn't sell till the price dropped to $360. Tray and find one for double that today. Near impossible. Don't know whats wrong with people.

I think in part the internet, ebay and reverb in particular are to blame because people have to sell guitars for about $300 more then they're worth to compensate for the fees and shipping, and a lot of CL sellers are too dumb to understand that and use those prices to determine what they should ask in CL. Happily i've had 4 great guitars for a long time now that i have no desire to replace and cover all bases for me.

 

[Rocky058]

 

[mikeRI]

I’ve been buying/selling/trading gear for years on Craigslist and Facebook. I price stuff to sell, never decline reasonable offers, and routinely take random trade offers (i.e. electrical work on my house!)

No one is even kicking the tires lately.

 

[USian Pie]

Consider the possibility some of these unrealistic prices on shoddy gear are signals that have nothing to do with selling equipment.

My CL has a purple Ibanez Roadstar II in rough shape that pops up regularly. It might disappear for a while but eventually comes back. It has been listed for years.

The price? $420.

Color me suspicious on that one.

 

[marc2211]

At the end of the day, the only correct answer to why *anything* isn't selling is "price".

Would "it" (whether "it" is a guitar, a car, or a house) sell for $1? If yes, would it sell for $2? If yes...keep asking the question until until you reach a "no". At THAT price, the item is not correctly priced, assuming a proper "marketing time" is allowed.

That gear would sell...if it were correctly priced.

Have to disagree here, there can be lots of other circumstances involved, market uncertainty, time of year and other local external factors that may prevent correctly proved items not to sell.

Since I posted, most of the gear I had listed has gone out of the door, without me having to reduce further or take any offers. No idea why it didn’t move for a few weeks first. The items I have left are the ones with the biggest discount from new… but are the ones that can’t be put in the post and have to be collected physically.

 

[somebodyelseuk]

Conversely to the 'overpriced', just a couple of days ago, I picked up 'the only used G6128 for sale in the UK' for (IMHO) a lot less than it could have sold for, from a guitar store, no less.
The ad listed a "ding" in the neck, which turned out to be a small lacquer chip, several scuffs and scratches on the top, which so far, I haven't found (my sight is iffy), and it has been modified - fitted with TVJ Powertrons.
Seems to me, these days people are too picky about stuff that doesn't matter.

 

[adjason]

I think some folks confuse what something is worth with how much it will sell for. As has been said I have noticed that almost any item will sell if priced at about 50% off the retail price and it is in really good condition. When people start asking higher prices than that, things sit. For instance I have a nice 50's vintera tele- they sell now for 1099 so if I wanted to sell it, it should sell at around $550, maybe I couldget $600, maybe I'd have to sacrifice at $500. I am not selling it but if I did this is how I would price it.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

Play more. Shop less. Especially now during the Holiday gift-giving season.

 

[TwangerWannabe]

As an update to this thread...I've been looking for an SG for a few months now and really anted to buy used. Some decent ones popped up but sellers were asking nearly new prices. Ended up buying a brand new '61 SG w/ Vibrola for $200 more than what many are asking for used examples, have a return period and a warranty while those tiles are still up for sale, some for months now.

 

[Dusty Tonearm]

Folks are fearful of the future. Financially, we are just getting by.
I noticed nobody wants to Trade anymore?
Cash only these days.
I reckon it is better to keep my money & just enjoy all the great gear I already own.

I have some guitars I have tried and found that although they are good guitars, they are not a good match for me.
I would like to do some trading for other guitars or gear but how would that work with Reverb or CL?
I live in a place where the opportunity to trade is severely limited, I see gear for sale locally but it is typically heavy metal gear with pointy bodies and hockey stick headstocks.
Thank you.

 

[Cosmic Cowboy]

Economics. I work at a motorcycle dealership. 1 year ago we were sold out of everything. You put a deposit and waited 3-6 mos to get your bike.

Now I have premium bikes in stock. I had a dealer a couple of states away sell me 6 of his new '22 bikes that didnt sell.

We are on the downside of this price spike. People are actually discounting stuff.

 

[oatsoda]

I have some very nice guitars listed on the local Kijiji, and admit freely that they are for 10 to 15 percent more than they should be. It is because it doesn’t matter how reasonably you price something, everyone expects you to haggle and take a lot less than asking. I routinely get $1000 offers for guitars which should easily bring more than twice that.

I think that a lot of folks right now are focusing their funds both on reducing debt load as the interest rates and the price of necessities climb, and also on things that they think may help their families get through the various rumoured impending storms. That being said, maybe a big chunk of the people who might be ready for a Martin are going to stick wth their Yamaha for the foreseeables.

 

[stantheman]

Definitely The Economy #1.
I look at Amplifier pricing and like, Wow.
Joyo Products are one of the very few
Decent Deals out there honestly.
Squier prices are plunging on barely used
Models and not selling either.

The Adults in My Family are only giving
Gifts to The Kids in School. Nobody
wants more "stuff"... This I have never
seen before in my life.
...If Santa brings me a 1st generation Deco though...Anyways I think "This Is
The Dawning Of The Age Of Austerity."

 

[Brent Hutto]

There was always zero chance of the mad buying spree of mid-2020 through early 2022 lasting forever and ever. Collectively we're all waking up from that two year binge and stepping on the scales in the cold light of day to see how much weight we've gained. And the numbers aren't looking pretty.

I'd say anyone (including me) who is holding more guitars and musical gear than they want or need has two options. Hold on to it for a few years and hope to catch a mini-boom period somewhere down the road or man up and try to find someone who'll give you 20-30 cents on the dollar for it. Even then it may take a while.

 

[teleman1]

There are guitars on Craigslist here in Phoenix that have been for sale for 10 years. Sub $1000.

 

[Toto'sDad]

There are guitars on Craigslist here in Phoenix that have been for sale for 10 years. Sub $1000.

It was less than six months ago that people were saying the housing market being insane was here to stay. At that time, houses were selling over asking in one day! Now there is a nice house around the corner from me, that is in pristine condition, priced reasonably, owned by literally a little old lady. It has been for sale for three months! When the market came to a halt (as it always does) it was like it had 16-inch disc brakes on it!

Things that were moving like a man on the way to divorce court four or five months ago on offer-up and craigslist just sit there. I offered less on a couple of golf items and got them no problem. (Glad to get them too) The stuff you read concerning the economy is hogwash, at least it is here. I posted about my brother-in-law giving $5500 for a 2007 standard cab Toyota with a four-cylinder motor with 160,000 miles on it. The auto market is clearly nuts here, but that too will probably correct itself.

 

[teleman1]

It was less than six months ago that people were saying the housing market being insane was here to stay. At that time, houses were selling over asking in one day! Now there is a nice house around the corner from me, that is in pristine condition, priced reasonably, owned by literally a little old lady. It has been for sale for three months! When the market came to a halt (as it always does) it was like it had 16-inch disc brakes on it!

Things that were moving like a man on the way to divorce court four or five months ago on offer-up and craigslist just sit there. I offered less on a couple of golf items and got them no problem. (Glad to get them too) The stuff you read concerning the economy is hogwash, at least it is here. I posted about my brother-in-law giving $5500 for a 2007 standard cab Toyota with a four-cylinder motor with 160,000 miles on it. The auto market is clearly nuts here, but that too will probably correct itself.

I think I just saw an article that the auto scene is changing fast, cars are not selling, yada yada yada. I have been a Realtor for over 30 years and the GREED keeps growing exponentially, with the new style Realty corporations have slammed down the public throat. Lot of this crazy price hiking? You can thank them.

 

[teleman1]

Took a gander at Craigslist this morning. One ad which I think is in the 5 year range use to have a ridiculous price in the $2500 range. Now $3800 is the price. Probably figures some dude from Japan will waltz into Phoenix and pick it up. THe Everly brothers had a hit about this situation. It called "Dream".

 

[Blackmore Fan]

There are guitars on Craigslist here in Phoenix that have been for sale for 10 years. Sub $1000.

My local Craigslist has probably 25% of its gear (or more) that has been listed for 3 months or more. Its priced too high--else it would have sold. It doesn't matter what we "think" an item is worth--its worth exactly what a willing buyer will pay (assuming a reasonable marketing period).

 

[Blackmore Fan]

And by the way, once Christmas is over Guitar Center is going to find that its sitting on a LOT of over-priced guitars, both new and used. The times they are a-changing.