Members Cygnus64 Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Has anyone had good/bad/any experiences with trading in synths from a place like Sam Ash or GC? I have several pieces of gear I no longer use. None of it will fetch much of a price ( stuff like JV1010, nanosynth:rolleyes:, Alesis SR-16, etc) but together it might do okay. Is it better to try and sell it on my own? I hate selling things, I hate having strangers in my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Sell it on Craigslist, GC/Sam Ash won't give you more than 1/3 of what they are going to try to sell it for.If nobody wants it on Craigslist, put it on Ebay, even if you post a cheap price it will be more than what GC will pay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinHines Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Sell everything on eBay and put the words "Rare Vintage xxx" in the title. As for worth, I would suggest performing an eBay "Completed Listings" search to see real transaction prices (not just what people are asking). Compare those prices (minus sales cost, shipping, etc.) and see what the local retailers will give you. It will most likely be similar to trading in a car -- you won't get as much as if you sell it yourself but it does reduce hassles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members evildragon Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Sell everything on eBay and put the words "Rare Vintage xxx" in the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mildbill Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 I trade almost everything. I know I'm going to get screwed badly, but the convenience of not having to sell it myself, and being able to walk in and out with something in my hands is worth it to me.Be prepared for them to give you almost nothing for the types of pieces you're talking about. If you plan on trading regularly, you're much better off buying used stuff in the first place. When you trade in, the store is taking the risk and hassle off your hands, and that's worth something. They'll have much more traffic and exposure than you'll get placing an ad and having people come to your house. I've never sold on ebay, and know that I'm losing probably several hundred on each trade I do, but I've heard some real horror stories about ebay. If I trade in to the place I bought it from I usually get a much better deal because of being a repeat customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Thanks for the comments. Another idea I had was possibly donating it to a local high school. With a synth module, a drum machine, a lil mixer, etc they could get up a fully functional rig pretty easily. I would want it to be used however. I would hate to donate it and see it stuffed in the closet. It's all valid gear to make music, a JV1010 has tons of cool pads and usable patches. I will investigate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJP Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 On the few trade-ins I've done, I found that I took it in the shorts too much. And selling locally, I'm with you in that I don't feel like having a parade of strangers in. That leaves evilBay, and I have to say I've had really good luck selling there. My challenge has been estimating shipping costs correctly. If I'm ever in doubt on my own packing, I take it to a place that does a great job. If I eat some of the shipping cost that way, it's still better than taking it in the shorts at Sam Gash or the Retard Center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gribs Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Depending on what it is, you might get a good trade from a place like Noisebug. I just put stuff like that on Ebay. I have worked pretty hard to keep my Ebay karma (feedback) high and every electronics item I have put up for sale has sold. You could also try the classified sections here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 AJP, locally there isnt much around. I usually head to Mayfield Road to the Sam Ash/GC block. When I go in there, the prices they are asking for used gear are idiotic. One of them had a DX7 for like $800. The other had a Triton with two missing keys that looked like someone threw up on it, and they were pricing it like a new keyboard. Obviously they expect you to "make an offer" but it just makes them look stupid starting so high. There was a Poly800 for $400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Depending on what it is, you might get a good trade from a place like Noisebug. I just put stuff like that on Ebay. I have worked pretty hard to keep my Ebay karma (feedback) high and every electronics item I have put up for sale has sold. You could also try the classified sections here. My main problem: I'm really lazy. I don't wanna pack stuff up, find boxes, etc. I sold a car on Craigslist and it was a crappy experience. I tried to sell a guitar from my home several years ago and it was God awful. A guy came to look and found out I was a pro musician, he didnt buy the guitar but he kept calling me asking me to "jam" with his buddies. Word of advice, if you want me to jam with your buddies, buy the damn guitar first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 I have a UPS store that does a very good job packing up stuff (no double boxing but a lot of foam peanuts, and bubble wrap), and they went down on their packing material prices after I started using them. If you can find a store like that, it's awesome - put your stuff on Ebay, let others pack it for you, ?????, profit!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJP Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 AJP, locally there isnt much around. I usually head to Mayfield Road to the Sam Ash/GC block. When I go in there, the prices they are asking for used gear are idiotic. One of them had a DX7 for like $800. The other had a Triton with two missing keys that looked like someone threw up on it, and they were pricing it like a new keyboard. Obviously they expect you to "make an offer" but it just makes them look stupid starting so high. There was a Poly800 for $400. Yeah, I've noticed that, too. I live right by the Sam Ash/GC block (if you like Italian subs and pizza ingredients, you gotta stop into Ferarra's Imported Foods right by there!). BTW, my trusted shipping place is the Postal Annex on Wilson Mills, right across from where Sodja Music used to be, if you remember that place. Very nice people, and buyers love "my" packing jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tagpass Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 I've been a long time lurker on this forum, but finally registered today in an effort to prevent anyone from making the mistake I did a few years ago. Like Cygnus, I thought it "too much trouble" to try to orchestrate posting auctions or craigslist, etc., so I packed up literally a "car load" of gear to trade in at Guitar Center. They know when you go through the trouble of bringing something in, you're going to be disappointed to have to leave with your "old" gear, but they have a plan in place. They will keep you waiting while they "appraise" your gear, then get a manager to double check his "list" for the value. Classic car salesmen stuff. In the end, you're impatient, you've been waiting 20-30 minutes listening to emo kids on loud guitars and they come back to you with the barest of bare minimum values and a million excuses as to why it's so low. My stupid trade? The one that I regret to this day? Mackie 24-4 + Yamaha NS-10Ms + Alesis MicroVerb III + 3630 + MEQ-230 + Boss SP-202 + Digitech Vocalist II... all in "like new" condition, still in original boxes with paperwork, etc... and for about $60 in cash I left with a Waldorf Micro-Q. I could've gotten so much more money if I just took the time to find out the values of just the Mackie and the NS-10Ms on eBay. But they saw me as a sucker when I unloaded all these boxes and I allowed myself to be victimized. In retrospect, they probably had cartoon dollar signs on their eyes when I came in. In the end, I learned a valuable lesson. I've since sold a bunch of stuff on eBay with much success, realizing that once you get past your first couple of listings and shippings, the process ends up being pretty painless (unless you get a shady buyer... but that's a story for another day!). You definitely will make more money and feel less regret, I assure you. To this day, I still have the Micro-Q in my rack. I *do* like it, but not as much as some of my other gear. I'm often tempted to sell it, but I hang on to it nonetheless as a reminder of how I was burned by my own naivete and laziness, and how I should never make that mistake again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Son of HuHefner Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Has anyone had good/bad/any experiences with trading in synths from a place like Sam Ash or GC? I have several pieces of gear I no longer use. None of it will fetch much of a price ( stuff like JV1010, nanosynth:rolleyes:, Alesis SR-16, etc) but together it might do okay. Is it better to try and sell it on my own? I hate selling things, I hate having strangers in my house. why do you wait so long to recycle your gear ? You could have bought a classy clarinet if you did not procrastinate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Tagpass, good story. Thanks for registering and posting. why do you wait so long to recycle your gear ? I was thinking maybe I would still use it. Let's face it, the Alesis drum machine was from the late 1700s I think, I doubt I'm gonna get a lot of use out of it. Yeah, I've reconsidered and I won't be trading to GC. I'll either try ebay, Craigslist or give it to a school program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Diametro Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 I was thinking maybe I would still use it. Let's face it, the Alesis drum machine was from the late 1700s I think, I doubt I'm gonna get a lot of use out of it. PERIOD BAROQUE DRUM MACHINE ... ?!?!OMG !!! That will go for some serious coin with collectors on Ebay ... !!! Can you post some demos please ... ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 PERIOD BAROQUE DRUM MACHINE ... ?!?!OMG !!! That will go for some serious coin with collectors on Ebay ... !!! Can you post some demos please ... ??? Sorry, but the late 1700s is firmly in the classical period, not Baroque. That will pull the value down substantially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Diametro Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Sorry ... I glossed over the word late ... (I have such a hard-on for all things baroque ... "If it ain't Baroque, please fix it anyway ... ") Yeah ... I guess it's worthless now ... sorry ... Does it have a decent fortepiano patch at least ... ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Yeah ... I guess it's worthless now Worthless????? This thing has radio-ready beats. They are phat. I got it used, I think I've played with it for maybe 2 hours. It seemed like a good idea at the time, it wasn't. It makes a good metronome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karma1 Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 It's insulting what Guitar Center offers for your gear. I mostly use Craig's List to sell my equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members evildragon Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Congrats for getting over 2000 posts, Cygnus! I just noticed Sorry for OT ^^' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 I have a UPS store that does a very good job packing up stuff (no double boxing but a lot of foam peanuts, and bubble wrap), and they went down on their packing material prices after I started using them. If you can find a store like that, it's awesome - put your stuff on Ebay, let others pack it for you, ?????, profit!!! The UPS Stores charge a fortune to package stuff for you, especially keyboards. They do a fine job but it's really ridiculously overpriced. They only charge slightly more than UPS to ship but you should package it yourself if at all possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 The one by my house actually charges a very reasonable price, and the last two times, they charged surprisingly little... I don't know if it was a mistake, but something like less than 5 dollars for the packaging of a module that included an oversized box, foam peanuts and bubble wrap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mildbill Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 To be fait to GC - the one here lowballs you when you go to trade, but they sometimes have pretty reasonable prices when they put used stuff on display. They have a D-50 right now that looks in good shape for a little over $200. I wanted one of those when they came out, and am a little tempted by it still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 To be fait to GC - the one here lowballs you when you go to trade, but they sometimes have pretty reasonable prices when they put used stuff on display. They have a D-50 right now that looks in good shape for a little over $200. I wanted one of those when they came out, and am a little tempted by it still. I'm sure each store has it's own way. The one here has the dumbest prices on used gear you could imagine. They also have very little in used gear, lie maybe one or two pieces tops. Someone has a JV1010 on ebay with a "buy it now" of $189?? http://cgi.ebay.com/Roland-jv-1010-jv1010-sound-module-w-session-built-in_W0QQitemZ300329243686QQcmdZViewItemQQptZKeyboards_MIDI?hash=item45ed049426&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1205%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 Personally, I would say it's worth $75 at the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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