Guitar shops making lowball offers

[Tico]

You can't compare expected prices from CL to those from dealers.

With CL there are only two mouths to feed, the seller and the end-user.
But with dealers there are 3 mouths, seller, end-user, AND the for-profit business that connects the two.
It's also worth something to not have to hassle with meeting the end-user buyer, with all the no-shows, negotiating price, and the risk of crime.

Comparing the price you'd get from each is like comparing apples and oranges.
IOW, offers from dealers are not "low-ball".

[ruby50]

OP pagedr

Are you saying that you get unsolicited offers on guitars you own? How do the shops know you own them? Can you ask them to stop doing that? You must have some nice instruments if Retrofret is making offers.

Ed

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by pagedr

Am I overreacting...

Yep. Part of the income those stores count on to exist comes from the used guitar market. That they reach out to people who have guitars up for sale is neither unusual nor unreasonable. When we sell anything, whether it be guitars or audio gear or cars or whatever, we're going to get some number of lowball offers, not just from people who want to resell it but also from people who are simply looking for a great deal.

I make lowball offers for gear on Reverb on a fairly regular basis on things I don't necessarily need but wouldn't mind having in my arsenal. The vast majority of the time the seller politely declines but every once in a while the seller will say yes. That's how I got a Blue Dragonfly mic for $300, a pair of Neve 542s for $950, and a Mesanovic Microphones Model 2S for $1050. Sometimes it pays off.

But regarding your situation, guitar stores all across America are struggling every month to keep their doors open. Some are going to go the extra mile to do that by finding used guitars online rather than waiting for them to walk into the shop on their own. I applaud the effort and wish them well.

[Graham H]

Sounds like you are just getting beat at your own game, sell a little harder, emphisize why you have the better deal !!!

[archerscreek]

Originally Posted by Osage

I sell over 150 items a month on Ebay and Reverb. Guitars and guitar parts. I get lowball offers every single day of my life. From individuals and dealers. I guess I used to find them a little annoying but now I just ignore them. I don't even bother to counter offer the silly ones and it's not like they take up any real time in my day.

You can set listings to automatically reject offers below a certain point, which will almost certainly solve your problem.

Some/many have more patience with people than I do. Haha. I used to sell stuff on eBay and always blocked anyone who ever made a low ball offer. Then, to save myself time, I simply created listings that outright refused to accept any and all offers. But apparently eBay started to think I wasn't making them enough money, so they altered every one of my listings without my approval to once again allow offers and the low ballers started popping up in emails again. That did it for me and eBay.

[lowrider]

Originally Posted by GKing34

On the Martin forum, most consider $1,500 to be the fair price for a used D-18. That’s a $359 discount off the 40% discount price the a couple of dealers offer. GC will write a check for $1,100 to somebody who walks in and sells them a D-18. So I can see why people scratch their head if they get an offer that is lower or equal to that. It seems like a used guitar transaction should be a win-win or there is no point. To me (having bought and sold a lot of guitars) a win-win is around halfway between selling to GC and the buyer buying a new one.

To me this formula works for used Strats, Seagulls, etc.

Again, unless the guitar is in absolutely brand new condition, why would I pay 1500 for a used guitar that I can get new for 1859? I'd be willing to go 1350 max and anything less than perfect would lower the price.

[musicman1951]

My car dealer sends me emails about buying a new car. He offers me $22,000 for mine and I see that he has them on his web site for $34,000. Yes, it's annoying. But clearly some people are jumping on these offers - or they'd stop making them.

I imagine it's a tough time to be a brick and mortar music store.

[Shades of Blue]

I think the best deal for the shop is selling on consignment. Charge 10% and let people use your floor space to sell. Doesn't cost the shop anything but inventory space.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I'm just curious but what do you consider a low-ball offer?

I think most of the asking prices on Craigslist for used guitars is much too high. I can buy a Martin D-18, brand new, for just over $1800 from several online dealers. When I see people asking 1900 to 2200 for a used one, I have to wonder what I could pay them that would be fair. I think it's around 1200, more than that and I might as well just get the new one. But to negotiate with someone asking 2200 where could I start my offer that wouldn't be insulting?

I think the issue is that many people out there unaware of this martin discount are paying full list price (or minus less than 10%) from GC or Sweetwater and when they go to sell they find out they were drastically overcharged and don't want to accept it. I see it on facebook all the time. When they find out that they paid 35% more (after tax) then they needed to they call you a liar or lash out.

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by lowrider

Again, unless the guitar is in absolutely brand new condition, why would I pay 1500 for a used guitar that I can get new for 1859? I'd be willing to go 1350 max and anything less than perfect would lower the price.

Sad to say, but the majority of buyers are not aware of the 35-40% discount of MSRP that you can get on Martin guitars. Local buyers want to actually play and try out a guitar, so if I have a used D-18 listed for $1800, that is suddenly a fair deal to them because they want to physically touch the guitar.

I hate it, but people blindly walk into guitar shops and pay whatever the price is on the wall. It happens everyday. When I am selling a used guitar, I will price my guitar at 25% off MAP knowing that someone will contact me and tell me "I can get this guitar new for $XXX why are you selling for higher?" Well, why not? Depending on my urgency to sell, I will either haggle with you or wait for a buyer who thinks my price is a great deal.

I personally think we online forum guys are a bit spoiled. We are used to getting amazing service and rock bottom prices that we forget that the majority of guitar players out there are missing out big time!!!

[Rockysdad]

I've never had a problem selling guitars, because I don't.

[lowrider]

Shades, I absolutely would not buy a used guitar unless it's local. When I look at Reverb or even Ebay, I look at the seller's location first.

I also don't have a fascination with ''old stuff'', so I'd rather buy new. So I guess I'm not a good example of a used guitar buyer. I will buy used if it's local and a deal, otherwise I'll get a new one. Luckily with the new Music Zoo only 12 minutes from home, and with them willing to give the 40% discount on Martins, I can now have my cake and eat it too!

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by pagedr

Often the lowballers are the same people who initially ask a million questions, want additional pictures, etc.

Oh, I see. That is indeed annoying. Probably not really a good way around that.

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by UncleJesse

I think the issue is that many people out there unaware of this martin discount are paying full list price (or minus less than 10%) from GC or Sweetwater and when they go to sell they find out they were drastically overcharged and don't want to accept it. I see it on facebook all the time. When they find out that they paid 35% more (after tax) then they needed to they call you a liar or lash out.

Except that I don't remember ever seeing a guitar advertised for MSRP at GC or Sweetwater. The price is always much lower than that. What am I missing?

[sabatini]

Originally Posted by pagedr

Often the lowballers are the same people who initially ask a million questions, want additional pictures, etc.

Those people can be ignored as easily as anyone else.