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selling a guitar on ebay, any tips?


Jealousblues

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I agree with $1 starting price. With eBay, the market always decides what your item is worth (unless your description and pics are for {censored}). I've sold hundreds of items on eBay (not guitars but items just as expensive) and have always started at $1 and never feel like I didn't get what the item was worth in the end.

 

And don't get cold feet if your item is still low in the last hours. The best action happens in the last few minutes.

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Don't use a reserve as many people such as myself won't even look at reserve auction. Just start your bidding at the lowest you're willing to take.


Lots and lots of really good pictures.

 

 

I don't agree with either. I sell several guitars a month. I've found that starting at a buck works best, no reerve, as it'll get lots of bids and attact attention. They're always going to sell for what they're going to sell for...

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eBay is a crap shoot. I've done really well there, and not so good too. If you are competing with other sellers on the same item - include free shipping. Start your bid at the very least you would accept. Set your auction to expire on Sunday afternoon/night. Be nice to people even though may ask dumb questions.

Good Luck!

- w

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I had 2 auctions recently. I sold a 1998 Gibson Les Paul Double Cut Studio in Emerald Green. I listed with no reserve and started the bid at $99. It was a 7 day auction. 3 days in the bidding was over $600. Once the first bid was placed the guitar was sold so you have to hold your breath for the rest of the week. After day three no movement at all until day 7 last few minutes as the guitar sold for $795. I was looking for $700 plus I ask $40 shipping for UPS or Fedex Ground fully insured.
My second Auction was a 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard 7 day auction opening bid $199 with a low reserve. the reserve was $1199. With shipping I could live with that price. The reserver was met early in the bidding and at the end of teh auction the standard sold for $1550 plus shipping. I was happy with that in this economy. You need to be willing to either sit on your stuff if it doesn't sell or take a few chances.

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My experience in the UK:

I've sold quite a few guitars on ebay and have never got less than about 70% of what I paid for them. In one case I got about 95% of what I paid, and once got a little more than I paid!

If it is a well known model or make, which is like to be popular (eg. a Squier CV tele - people go mad over those), or a Gibson of some description, you WILL be likely to get lots of interest. Therefore I would set the starting price well below what you would take for it minimum. This is because it will inevitably get some bids. I have always found this to work better. And you want to attract lots of watchers. You can always pull it if it looks like it is not getting bids. The reason this works is that the buyer is not stupid and many will know its value and set their maximum bid a bit before the end - what they will go up to. You only need two or more people to do this to get bids hotting up.

Other tips:

1. End it on a weekend, in the evening.

2. Answer all questions promptly, and be polite and generous in your responses.

3. BE WILLING TO LET THEM TRY IT.

4. Post up a video of it if you can, or a sound clip

5. Use good pictures.

6. Be honest about its flaws, however minor.

7. Don't fall for the early 'best offer' if it seems a bit low.

8. Don't panic - the bids will tend to come more towards the end. But a few early ones are a good sign.

Hope that helps.

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I do 7 day auctions. Ending Sunday night. No reserve. $.99 starting bid. Lots of description, lots of pictures. The more details you give, the better.


Every time I've done the auction this way it has sold for more than I expected.


Every time I have started the bidding at the price I wanted or had a reserve, the guitar did not sell.

 

I agree with this approach, and I think the reason it works is that low starting prices end up generating a high number of bids. There are so many Buy-It-Now and high reserve listings these days, it's quite common to look through a group of listings and see many of them with 0 bids....in such a situation, the listing with 15+ bids is going to stick out and I often find myself looking at those listings just to see what all the action is about.

 

Sure a lot of those bids are people submitting unrealistically low bids (I do this myself, for stuff I'm not sure I really want), but it has the intended effect of slowly driving up the bid price.

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I had 2 auctions recently. I sold a 1998 Gibson Les Paul Double Cut Studio in Emerald Green. I listed with no reserve and started the bid at $99. It was a 7 day auction. 3 days in the bidding was over $600. Once the first bid was placed the guitar was sold so you have to hold your breath for the rest of the week. After day three no movement at all until day 7 last few minutes as the guitar sold for $795. I was looking for $700 plus I ask $40 shipping for UPS or Fedex Ground fully insured.

My second Auction was a 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard 7 day auction opening bid $199 with a low reserve. the reserve was $1199. With shipping I could live with that price. The reserver was met early in the bidding and at the end of teh auction the standard sold for $1550 plus shipping. I was happy with that in this economy. You need to be willing to either sit on your stuff if it doesn't sell or take a few chances.

 

 

If you are selling a Gibson (which is an item that holds its value rather well) then you will likely still do well in auction format. If you are selling common stuff then your item will likely be ignored or lowballed IMO.

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im going to sell

 

PRS CE 22

Reverend Rocco

Line 6 Variax 700

and im thinking about selling a FMT Tele. Im not sure about that one

 

 

the Rocco has been modified before me so im not expecting much. Cool guitar, ive just never bonded with is.

The PRS I just never play

 

selling those to pay down some bills

 

the Variax im selling to buy another guitar

 

 

should I put them all up at the same time or do one at a time?

 

I dont think they would compete with each other.

 

 

also any tips on shipping?

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I know its silly, but I worry more about selling on a website like this than ebay.

 

Though Im sure thats unfounded.

 

 

I just get nervous. Right now im buying a custom pedal from a member. We had great communication, I sent payment and since I haven't received any response to PM's.

Its someone that came recommended so I dont think there is any funny business, but im just a little nervous.

 

 

any reassuring words to make me sell it here?

;-)

 

also what should I expect from the PRS?

 

CE 22 Silver with original case and I think all the docs too.

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I'm actually about to put a Gibson ebay myself and was wondering about this. I'm a bit weary of putting a no reserve auction with a starting bid of .99 on this as i don't want it to end at 250.

 

It's a Gothic Explorer with a crazy skulls paint job (i'll have a post with pics later). I was wondering if more unique things like this would attract more bids? I can imagine some metal heads digging this.

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In January there was a local guy selling an FMT Tele for $200. It was up forever and didn't sell. I think it went for $180 locally. Perfect shape and the 'red' colour. I watched it quite a bit because I have the yellow one. Someone here was selling a yellow one pretty cheap too for a while but I don't recall how cheap...I just remember thinking it was a good deal.

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yeah, I bought one for about that price for a project that im not going to do now.

 

But I still like the guitar, just not going to use it now.

 

Its inexpensive so I might just keep it around to have a solid body HH guitar in the house.

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not sure its been modded so its going to be a players guitar nothing collectible.

 

someone before me had a tech give it a strat forarm contour and I think it has non original pickups, I dont know what they are.

 

I was going to use this for the same project that I was going to use the tele for...but I found out due to the construction of the Rocco I couldnt.

Then I just never bonded with it feel-wise.

Which is a shame because I gassed over them for four years or so.

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I third this. I have much more luck selling items on websites like HC that is geared towards the items I have to sell. You do not have to pay any fees (more money in your pocket) to list the item.


With eBay you do have the chance to make more for an item since it is an auction but I always know how much I want for an item so that is what I list the price for when posting to a website. Another thing, is I do like the community aspect of places like HC and offering items here helps build that community.

I sometimes put stuff in my sig here before listing it on Ebay. But I've had stuff listed here for months before selling it on Ebay for noticeably more than what I had it listed for here.

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yeah, I did no reserve and made sure to include that in the description.

Its weird because ive never had problems or reservations or whatever bidding on a reserve auction.
I know its a selling tip to leave it off, but I always assumed most people didnt care

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