Selling Used Musical Equipment

[Moparguy392]

Has anyone had any experience selling musical equipment through Reverb or any other online musical equipment for sale sites? I have a 1966 Hofner Beatle bass I will be marketing to see what offers I receive. I am hesitant to ship it to a buyer and may have to limit my market to local sales. TIA

 

[ownyourfuture]

I have zero experience selling musical instruments. I researched the beatle bass, and it looks like it could be quite valuable. Because of that, the only advice I could give is to take into consideration how you go about selling it.

'If' you weren't aware of it, thanks to a combination of politicians, CPA lobbyists, and the IRS, selling items became a lot more complicated starting in 2022.

The new ”$600 rule” for 2022
Under the new rules set forth by the IRS, if you got paid more than $600 for the transaction of goods and services through third-party payment platforms, you will receive a 1099-K for reporting the income.

https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/irs-form-1099-k-600-dollar-reporting-threshold

 

[Freedom56]

I have sold through l through Los Angeles Craiglist and it moves fast with such a large market. Best of all it's free.

 

[Moparguy392]

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated. I will have to consider that as I move forward with the marketing and sale.

 

[FiveDriver]

Do you have a reputable Music Store nearby ?? Guitar Center or the like ??

Take the instrument to the store and ask for their 'Appraisal' just to see if there is any level of interest from the employees or from one of their trusted customers. You could put an ad on their bulletin board, or perhaps sell it on consignment.

Shipping this hollow-body instrument out of state would be a risk I would not be willing to take. Local craigslist would have a bunch of characters emailing you for endless negotiations. I sold a Fender Tele on craigslist, sale went smoothly....but that may have been an outlier.

If this guitar is legit and in great shape -- it's worth a considerable amount (as I'm sure you are aware).

Good Luck with the Sale !

 

[Moparguy392]

Thanks for the comment. I did take it to a Guitar Center. Their offer wasn't reasonable. I took it to another store and they offered consignment but I was hesitant to do that because of having no control over who would be handling it out of curiosity with no intent to purchase. I put pictures of it on Reverb but choose local pickup only. A lot of views but no offers (predictably) since that site is worldwide.

 

[cbo111]

This is on EBay right now:
1966 HOFNER BASS GUITAR ORIGINAL VINTAGE BEATLE MCCARTNEY FAB FOUR HARD CASE XXXOpens in a new window or tab
Pre-Owned
$5,997.50Top Rated PlusWas: Previous Price$11,995.00  50% offor Best OfferFree shippingFree returns

 

[FiveDriver]

I'm sure you have some idea what it's worth.....that is a beautiful instrument and a piece of history.

Try you local craigslist, and maybe the craigslist in a nearby larger city.

GLWS

 

[COcheesehead]

Take it to the biggest market in the world, eBay. Local only will greatly limit the value.

 

[COcheesehead]

Craigslist is filled with scams and is not the standard for selling things anymore. FB Marketplace, maybe, but eBay is still the gold standard, though not perfect.

 

[Moparguy392]

Thanks for all your input. Great to have all your helpful comments. I knew I would receive great advice from you! You can see my predicament. I would like to entertain offers but who can I trust to complete a transaction. I am aware of the scams that are out there and I want to be diligent,

 

[Badger]

Thanks for all your input. Great to have all your helpful comments. I knew I would receive great advice from you! You can see my predicament. I would like to entertain offers but who can I trust to complete a transaction. I am aware of the scams that are out there and I want to be diligent,

Any of the times I have sold anything (car, motorcycle, bicycle, furniture, etc.) it has always been cash only. I'm sure there may be some way to scam but I figure if I have cash in my hand that is not counterfeit then I at least have the money and nothing to report for taxes.'

Cheers!

 

[frayne]

Has anyone had any experience selling musical equipment through Reverb or any other online musical equipment for sale sites? I have a 1966 Hofner Beatle bass I will be marketing to see what offers I receive. I am hesitant to ship it to a buyer and may have to limit my market to local sales. TIA

As for selling on an on-line musical forum or sales site, I have no experience. I have sold a number of musical instruments many guitars, amps and keyboards. I've used Craigslist and FB Market Place and always post in the ads that the transaction is in person and cash only. I've never had any problems nor do I hesitate to do a little due diligence by asking asking question before hand. Serious buyers will understand and never have an issue with upfront questions. Good luck on the Hofner bass, the bass Paul made famous.

 

[Freedom56]

I have bought and sold many items of Craigslist and never had any issues.

 

[Winemaker]

When DW had the piano tuned on Tuesday, the tuner asked if we would be interested in an upgrade from our current 55yo perfect shape piano. Cheap, he said. Then he asked if we wanted another piano for upstairs or even downstairs or even considered a grand piano if we ditched the dining room suit. Free, he said. Asked if we knew anybody who wanted one. Free, and the current owners would pay for its safe transport to the new location. He knew of at least 5......

 

[Music Lover]

I've bought and sold dozens of musical instruments and amps. If you're on Facebook check your local area for a musician gear page. IF you can't be bothered use Craigslist (Kijiji in Canada). If you're unsure of the value do a search on the internet.

If you're selling locally the person buying it will want to try it out first. Do you have an amp they can use to test it? If it can't be tested people may be wary that it doesn't work properly.

FYI, I just bought a bass cabinet an hour ago. I went to the guy's house and he had it plugged into an amp and let my use his bass to test it. This is normal, I just wanted to make sure the speakers weren't blown. Before I left his wife tried to sell me his motorcycle, lol

 

[mn54]

I recently sold my old drum set on FB marketplace. as soon as i listed it i had a dozen offers for it. it was a ludwig set same as the one Ringo used from 1970. i thought it was just old. i didn't realize it was "vintage". it was gone in a few hours.

 

[sturge]

I have been a guitarist in local bands for years as one of my 'hobbies' and have frequented a few music forums. One that is worth browsing around is thegearpage.net. It's a HUGE worldwide forum for all things musical including collectors and flippers of instruments. I own and regularly play a '73 Stratocastor, an '83 Les Paul and a 08 Telecaster and also own many amps and effects. I purchase what I need and use them versus 'flipping'. There are countless people who buy and sell continuously in search of 'the holy grail' but I've never been big into that racket. I'm sure you would get some great input for best way to sell a beautiful vintage bass!

 

[O2Bfree]

I've sold a heap of stuff to local buyers on Craigslist, much of it from my parents' estate, including this great old Martin Handcraft Saxophone that was my grandmother's.

Patience was the key, as it was posted for months before a serious buyer came along. During the waiting period though I got quite a few comments on the instrument and learned details that I included in the ad. One young buyer who came over to look at it even played it for us. It was rather thrilling to hear the sax come alive after decades in storage.

 

[TripleLindy]

I’ve never sold an instrument online, but bought a trombone through eBay for my son when he was in the high school band. This would have been in the early 00’s. I used an escrow service to ensure that we received what we thought we were buying. That may be a standard part of eBay transactions now, but a 3rd party was necessary back then. Both buyer and seller were happy!