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What to do when a guitar won't sell?

samtheman8

By samtheman8
in Electric Guitars

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samtheman8 Newbie

samtheman8

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Got a Strat I'm trying to sell for around 250 with no biters. What are my options here?

 

*Can't sell anywhere but locally so ebay and HC aren't really good options.

 

Trading it for something? I'm looking at an Epiphone Firebird that has a bigger margin but I think would be more difficult to sell.

 

Any tips here guys?

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tlbonehead Newbie

tlbonehead

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Got a Strat I'm trying to sell for around 250 with no biters. What are my options here?


*Can't sell anywhere but locally so ebay and HC aren't really good options.


Trading it for something? I'm looking at an Epiphone Firebird that has a bigger margin but I think would be more difficult to sell.


Any tips here guys?

leave it at a house that you know is going to burn down?

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MahaloVision Newbie

MahaloVision

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PM me the ad and I'll take a look at it for you. Sometimes it's all in the wording. Also give me as many details on the strat as possible. Regards, Flip.

 

 

That's probably the #1 reason why Craigslist doesn't work for a lot of people. They can't write an ad to save their lives. If you want somebody to seriously consider buying your guitar, give them something to seriously consider.

 

That, and a decent set of pic's will go a long way.

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headless Newbie

headless

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That's probably the #1 reason why Craigslist doesn't work for a lot of people. They can't write an ad to save their lives. If you want somebody to seriously consider buying your guitar, give them something to seriously consider.


That, and a decent set of pic's will go a long way.

 

 

I'm going to sound a bit mean-spirited, but judging from the OP's post, this may be his problem.

 

I mean, all we learned about his guitar is that it's a, "Strat". A few details would let us know if he's asking a reasonable price for the instrument, or if it won't sell because it's an Affinity.

 

How many times have we seen CL ads that say something like, "Red guitar, plays really bitchin, $200"? (yes, I know, no one says "bitchin" any more).

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Steadfastly Newbie

Steadfastly

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That's probably the #1 reason why Craigslist doesn't work for a lot of people. They can't write an ad to save their lives. If you want somebody to seriously consider buying your guitar, give them something to seriously consider.


That, and a decent set of pic's will go a long way.

 

 

We don't use Craiglist in Canada too much; more Kijiji but it is very similar. I can't believe some of the ads, but all you have to do is look at some of the posts here by some of the younger members and you know why some of the ads don't work. There are no capitals, no punctuation, bad spelling, bad grammar and no imagination. And as you say, often no picture(s). Our school system is very responsible for this because they have this stupid, sound it out system where the kids can spell it any way they want as long as it sounds right. We know the English language (that word alone) doesn't work like that.

 

My son came to me one night at 13 years of age and asked me to look over a little talk he was asked to give. It was about the time they started this teaching style in school and the spelling, and punctuation were terrible. When I asked him what this was and he told me they allowed it, I told him that it will not be allowed by his Dad and checked from time to time after that to make sure he was following my directions. He was just an average kid but graduated at the head of his school the next year. I think it's because he learned to read well and then transmit his thoughts on paper properly.

 

Another little story that confirms your post. I was looking for a cheap used boat on Kijiji (like Craiglist) a couple of years ago and I kept seeing this boat over and over again that wasn't selling. It wasn't a bad boat or a bad price but the guy had no idea how to word his ad so it highlighted the good points of his boat. Well, I saw the ad for the 50th time one night and emailed him and told him he should work his ad a certain way, which I spelled out for him and why it needed to be done like this. He emailed me back thanking me and changed his ad as I suggested. His boat sold within the week.

 

I'm just an average guy, certainly no smarter than the next guy but the education was better when I was growing up. Thanks for letting me rant a bit. As you can tell, this is a pet peeve of mine. Regards, Flip.

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smorgdonkey Newbie

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I completely get what you are saying FlipFlopFly...I see so many poor ads. I tend to put a little effort into my ads and I do sell a lot of guitars. I will often seek out the factory info from when retailers listed the items (like in ad #2) and pare away the ridiculous things but even when I post a simple ad I make sure to list the major features (as in #3). Even when I am not really motivated to sell I put up lots of info and some options for people to kick around (#1).

 

Example 1:

http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-musical-instruments-guitars-Fender-Custom-Telecaster-FMT-H-H-W0QQAdIdZ235348768

 

Example 2:

http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-musical-instruments-amps-pedals-Traynor-YCV-50-Blue-with-extension-cabinet-W0QQAdIdZ236866561

 

Example 3:

http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-musical-instruments-guitars-Epiphone-Korina-Flying-V-with-Gibson-pickups-W0QQAdIdZ236862131

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Steadfastly Newbie

Steadfastly

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I completely get what you are saying FlipFlopFly...I see so many poor ads. I tend to put a little effort into my ads and I do sell a lot of guitars. I will often seek out the factory info from when retailers listed the items (like in ad #2) and pare away the ridiculous things but even when I post a simple ad I make sure to list the major features (as in #3). Even when I am not really motivated to sell I put up lots of info and some options for people to kick around (#1).


Example 1:



Example 2:



Example 3:

 

 

It's really so easy isn't it Smorgy. All you have to do is cut and paste if you don't want or can't make up your own ads. Even copy the picture from the manufacturer and tell people this is the style of guitar. Your ads look good by the way. Clear, concise and just enough information.

 

BTW, I looked up your postal code address. I use to live in Dartmouth too. Guess where I lived? On Primrose St. around the corner from where you are now. That's the second time this has happened to me in the last couple of months. I left there in '84. Things sure have grown and changed in those 26 years since then. Regards, Flip.

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samtheman8 Newbie

samtheman8

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I've sold 3 guitars on CL in the past month so I know my wording and ad is fine. Its more so the market I guess. I'm thinking I just hold it off for a week and try it again?

 

(My posts have been really sparratic mainly cause I'm in a rush most of the time, including now) :cop:

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smorgdonkey Newbie

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BTW, I looked up your postal code address. I use to live in Dartmouth too. Guess where I lived? On Primrose St. around the corner from where you are now. That's the second time this has happened to me in the last couple of months. I left there in '84. Things sure have grown and changed in those 26 years since then. Regards, Flip.

 

 

That's interesting! The Primrose area is pretty wild...I've been here about 3 years and moved from Calgary 3.5 years ago. Seeing the 'tweakers' at the corner of Primrose and Victoria or just seeing the strange cross-section of society at the Primrose Sobeys can be an experience in itself! I do believe 26 years would be a vast divide to come to grips with!

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Steadfastly Newbie

Steadfastly

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That's interesting! The Primrose area is pretty wild...I've been here about 3 years and moved from Calgary 3.5 years ago. Seeing the 'tweakers' at the corner of Primrose and Victoria or just seeing the strange cross-section of society at the Primrose Sobeys can be an experience in itself! I do believe 26 years would be a vast divide to come to grips with!

 

That's exactly where I lived, just beside the Sobey's store. There used to be a tavern at the far end and then a two story white apartment building. We lived there for a year while I built a house out in upper Sackville in '81. A small world isn't it?

 

So why did you move from Calgary? You had Lake Louise, Sunshine, Norquay; some of the best skiing in the world not far from your front door.:)

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samtheman8 Newbie

samtheman8

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Camouflage a spam thread as a question.

 

 

Like I said before, I'm not selling through the internet because I am unwilling to ship.

 

Would it be better to just pull it off the market for a week or two? Or maybe pursue a trade in hopes that the other guitar can sell faster? In my experience, Strats normally go pretty quickly which is why I'm kinda confused why this hasn't sold.

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