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Selling equipment -- best results?


mstreck

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Our band has changed direction and is now becoming a 3-4 gig per month hobby band. The short of it is that I can't afford to pay for the equipment I bought on credit last year with that limited of a schedule, especially to play in dive bars, so I need to unload it: Presonus 24.4.2 bought last October and a full light rig (all ADJ LED FX, two Blizzard Fab 5's, and 4 moving heads along with a DMXIS controller and crank stand truss) which has about a year-and-a-half's use on it (moving heads are only a couple of months old). All in all, about $5k worth of stuff when I bought it new.

 

I have never had to sell perfectly fine equipment before. What would be the most effective way to unload it without losing more money than I already have? Ebay? Music stores? Piece it out? Sell as a package?

 

Thanks!

 

Mike

 

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~Depends on where you live. Since you are in central Delaware across the bay from dc and Baltimore its a long drive for some one to come look at your stuff.

So if you are not in a metro area of one million or more, I would try Ebay or Amazon, maybe both at the same time.

 

Good photos and lots of them are a must. A compete description is a must. copy the specs from the mfg's website. Make sure everything works and adjust your price so you can offer free shipping.

Read ebays & amazons return and dispute policy carefully. Make sure you understand auction minimum pricing and how it works.

 

Shipping boxes must be lightweight and sturdy. Place it in a sealed plastic bag to waterproof it..with tape, .add padding.. Ship insured. Make sure you have a paypal account

 

You could try Craigslist..but you will have to be willing to drive to the metro dc/baltimore area..meet in a safe place..inside a starbucks..mcdonalds..ect..have eneough gear with you to demo the device. Make sure you have the manual..a printed version as well as a pdf. Glance thru the manual in case you forgot how it works..

 

Music store..they will only be able to pay you less than wholesale..or half of a low price..

 

You could try a newspaper ad in dc metro..wash post

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When I moved to texas I sold 17 grand worth of odds and ends of all types on craigslist. take good pictures and go for craigslist. since its a bit of a drive. If someone is looking and the price is right ,, they will make the drive. I only ran into a couple weirdos in all those strangers I had to deal with. I showed the stuff in the garage ,, and was packin a high cap 9mm concealed. I had one guy get all snotty when he said I sold some stuff out from under him,,, and I just said ,, hey you didn't show and the guy had cash. sorry you missed the buy. You are all done , don't call me back on anything I have for sale because I don't have time to deal with people who are not ready to buy. You are gonna take a bit of a bath ,, but its to be expected. Been there done that ,,, I have turned some great deals in my day ,, and took a beating on some to. Put the stuff at a price that will sell.. pay down your loans and keep making payments on the balance till you are back above water.

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It seems like back in the '06-'08 time frame, it was very easy to sell anything on Craigslist quickly, and usually get what you want for it.

 

Now it takes forever to move stuff, and you'll deal with some whackos. I guess it is just the economy? Maybe the fact that CL has lost major credibility because of all the scammers? Maybe both. I tend to wind up doing trade-ins at the big box stores these days sometimes, as it is so difficult to sell stuff on CL.

 

Definitely price things fairly. It's not likely you'll get "top dollar" on CL. However, one word of advice I'd use is to price everything slightly above what you hope to get. EVERYONE on CL is going to try to talk your price down, so be prepared by asking a little more. Just don't price it way above where it should be.

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I recently tried to trade in a 6 space rack containing a dbx dual 31 band EQ,lexicon fx unit, dbx compressor and a furman power strip at my local music store. The price of the gear new was just over a $1000.00 and all was in excellent condition. They were only willing to give me about $200.00 on trade in. A few years ago they would have probably given me at least $500.00. The market is flooded with gear now.

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We need the equipment until mid-September because lights and sound were part of my bargaining chip towards getting a pay increase at a venue that we play then. I've already had some inquiries and I'm pretty confident that I can unload the most expensive pieces pretty quickly after that without taking too much of a bath on it. It could definitely be much worse.

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Yeah, the good news is it sounds like you've got a lot of hot, in demand gear that's in near-new condition. You shouldn't have too much of a problem selling that stuff for close to full lowest-possible retail price. If it were me, I'd put it on Ebay at a price that covers the shipping that will end up being 10% or so less than what someone would pay for the item new (if it's like-new condition, of course) and see if it goes at that price. Like others said, take lots of pics, fully document the amount of use it's had and the condition etc. The trick to selling used stuff is to be honest and upfront about it. Nobody minds it the finish has a nick on it. Unless you didn't tell them about it first.

 

Then if you can't move it that way, start looking at Craigslist and such.

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Yeah, the good news is it sounds like you've got a lot of hot, in demand gear that's in near-new condition. You shouldn't have too much of a problem selling that stuff for close to full lowest-possible retail price. If it were me, I'd put it on Ebay at a price that covers the shipping that will end up being 10% or so less than what someone would pay for the item new (if it's like-new condition, of course) and see if it goes at that price. Like others said, take lots of pics, fully document the amount of use it's had and the condition etc. The trick to selling used stuff is to be honest and upfront about it. Nobody minds it the finish has a nick on it. Unless you didn't tell them about it first.

 

Then if you can't move it that way, start looking at Craigslist and such.

Unless the studiolive he has is the AI version he will be lucky to get about half of what he paid. IIRC a few years ago the original versions were selling for about 3 grand. There are a bunch of them on EBay right now for about half that some with mixer cases.

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Well good luck. My timing sucked when I bought a studiolive 16.0.2. A few months after I bought it the price dropped from about $1250 to $1000.00. I also had some bad luck with some LED pars. I paid about $200.00 a piece for 8 of them and a year later they were selling for $100- $150.00 new. I just noticed on musicians friend that the 8 mega par profiles that I bought a year ago for $99.99 now sell new for $79.99. sigh.

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Unless the studiolive he has is the AI version he will be lucky to get about half of what he paid. IIRC a few years ago the original versions were selling for about 3 grand. There are a bunch of them on EBay right now for about half that some with mixer cases.

 

Keep in mind that digital mixers are computers - and like keyboards, will lose value exponentially, as the next new thing comes out.

 

When Apple decides to orphan whatever IOS the StudioLive and especially the Mackie are compatible with, your mixer will be unusable and have no retail value at all. That's alright if you don't mind buying all new stuff every few years, but I like to get a little more time out of an investment.

 

A Les Paul or Marshall you bought in 1983 will still be worth 65-70% of what you paid for it, or more. The DX-7 is worth $50, on a good day. An IBM PC is worth nothing.

 

MG

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Keep in mind that digital mixers are computers - and like keyboards, will lose value exponentially, as the next new thing comes out.

 

When Apple decides to orphan whatever IOS the StudioLive and especially the Mackie are compatible with, your mixer will be unusable and have no retail value at all. That's alright if you don't mind buying all new stuff every few years, but I like to get a little more time out of an investment.

 

A Les Paul or Marshall you bought in 1983 will still be worth 65-70% of what you paid for it, or more. The DX-7 is worth $50, on a good day. An IBM PC is worth nothing.

 

MG

This would be a problem if I was using my studiolive boards with a computer. But since I just use them for live sound by themselves it isn't something I am concerned about.

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I have flipped tons of keyboards, toys, household items, phones, Leslies and two Hammonds on Craigslist and E-bay here are some tips:

 

Don’t undercut yourself on shipping fees on E-bay. Their calculators are often wrong and you can get really screwed. I have had to eat shipping in the past because of different UPS shipping zones in the US or them rounding up insurance fees. If you’re going to use your own packages or boxes check to make sure you calculate it right. Make sure you know what “declared weight” means. Shipping a 45 pound keyboard from NY to CA can be expensive. Also watch for international bidders bitching about custom fees and trying to get you to cover the cost of them getting an item out of customs. I had it happen with a Korg Triton two years ago and it was a {censored}in nightmare.

 

Be very clear in your description of the item. Don’t get bullied by buyers because they can be horrible also. When E-bay first started years ago there was a lot of sellers screwing bidders. So much so that they now side with the bidder because E-Bay is almost a buying site now. You can’t just leave feedback that’s negative. Their process of solving disputes is also way overblown and should be simplified and take less time. They have made certain things easier but the accountability factor is still not enforced enough. Expect also to pay a huge amount of fees with PayPal also. E-Bay kind of has people by the balls because the visibility of an item goes much further than Craigslist has. That’s the best thing about it but I have had a few horrible transactions, you name it I have seen it since my account was opened in 2001.

 

Craigslist is a different animal and works most of the time. The problem there is people sell and expect things for top dollar. Or you have people coming to your house and wasting time and not really want to buy anything. Tire-kickers are a huge problem. Or the people that give you the sob story “well I was hoping to get it for $600.00 “ (which is $400 dollars less than what I have listed) I will negotiate most of the time but some people are unreasonable and hang out trying to see if you go lower.

 

In your ad to reduce unwanted answers to your add write the following “Any replies with “Is the item still for sale” will be deleted immediately if it is listed it’s still for sale. Trust me this sounds negative but unloading stuff either goes smoothly or it’s a bitch.

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Our band has changed direction and is now becoming a 3-4 gig per month hobby band. The short of it is that I can't afford to pay for the equipment I bought on credit last year with that limited of a schedule, especially to play in dive bars, so I need to unload it: Presonus 24.4.2 bought last October and a full light rig (all ADJ LED FX, two Blizzard Fab 5's, and 4 moving heads along with a DMXIS controller and crank stand truss) which has about a year-and-a-half's use on it (moving heads are only a couple of months old). All in all, about $5k worth of stuff when I bought it new.

 

I have never had to sell perfectly fine equipment before. What would be the most effective way to unload it without losing more money than I already have? Ebay? Music stores? Piece it out? Sell as a package?

 

Thanks!

 

Mike

 

 

Craigslist is still the most cost effective way to unload it but ya may want to venture further out than your little metro area if you live in a small place. You'll have to sell it cheap but after Ebay's new hiked up fees, Paypal and shipping I've found Ebay to be a bust and we only use it as a last ditch effort if something else isn't moving. You aren't going to get anywhere near new prices on CL though so you have to run the numbers and see what you want to see has been selling for locally. Than look on Ebay, factor in 10% Ebay, plus 2-4% paypal plus shipping. I feel your presonus and the new stuff will definitely move on Ebay. Might want to try craigslist first because it's local and easier. REVERB is gaining some momentum as well and Mark just sold a Keyboard on there but again, there's a fee, shpping etc...I hope that helps.

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I've had a pair of passive speakers listed for probably more than a month. Finally moved them this week. Didn't get as much as I had originally hoped, but more than I had been thinking lately I would end up getting.

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Sad to say but unless you are willing to take a small percentage...I would just keep it for now..if you can. The market is just ridiculous. I think the value of what you have could be capitalized upon, as in renting...or just waiting for the market to pick up or maybe, by then, you will find a use for your stuff.

 

Just don't give it away if you can possibly hold on to it. There are so many lowball scammers out for blood...it makes me sick.

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