A little Psychology of Selling here on AGF

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by catfish

I would add one more item: "be ready to ship outside the US".

Very difficult with cites restrictions.

[PTony]

Originally Posted by TJNies

Ok, yes. I've seen the same, to my bewilderment.

Agreed. I always scratch my head when that occurs. Even more ironic is looking at a listing from the OP that did just that. I’m guessing it was an oversight, yet it’s a bit humorous considering the nature of this thread.

[RP]

Originally Posted by Denny B

That's an immediate turn off for me...

Someone wants to cheat PP out of a fair fee for using their services, wants to bring me into the fraud as an accomplice, and expects me to give up my PP protection...

I don't even consider sales done that way...

Ditto.........

[Malcolm Kindnes]

Originally Posted by RP

I would add one more thing. Don't ask for PayPal Friends & Family payment. It is fraudulent and makes the seller appear like a scammer in my eyes....

I agree absolutely with this, it's a service, you should pay for it!

[drbluegrass]

Originally Posted by hamburg325

If you really want to sell something, determine the fairest possible price. Then lower it.

Very sound advice.....no pun intended.

[Blueser100]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Kindnes

I agree absolutely with this, it's a service, you should pay for it!

I've never even heard of it but I'll be on the lookout from now on regarding any potential sales.

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by brencat

FWIW, I personally have never seen the market as bad as it is right now. There are listings in the AGF classified that have been bumped for months, some 6 months or more, with no takers.

I'm concerned that something has changed. Maybe we've finally reached the saturation point and many older players are looking to downsize collections. That 50% of last MSRP rule you've heard about as the floor price for used Martins? You can forget it. More like 42 - 45% these days (has been this way for ~ 2 years now, actually).


Best of luck to you sellers out there... it's rough

Hi brencat...and all...

Yes...something has changed...very possibly irreparably as well.

We "Baby Boomers", whose "top-O-the charts" popular music styles of our days were extremely guitar centric, and which fueled this second "Golden Era" acoustic guitar market, including all factory, boutique, and solo luthier styles, are aging out and passing on, and thus selling out of, and falling out of the guitar market. So now the market is becoming swamped with wonderful guitars of all styles, and prices...and yet new guitar production seems to be holding, mostly, at fairly high output rates. Soooo many guitars in a shrinking market. How long can that go on...

The problem facing the market now, is somewhat twofold, there is no large swell or bubble of population now or on the foreseeable future, like we boomers are/were, and the "top-O-the charts" music now...Rap, Hip Hop, EDM, and "Party Pop" i.e. Adriane Grande, Katy Perry, Justin Beiber, even Taylor Swift now, is completely non guitar centric. The guitar is still "in the band" but just back in the mix somewhere, not out front. It's all computer generated beats, and tones, and sampling leading the way now. I mean, who is the pop chart topping guitar slinger now?...Ed Sheeran, and he's great, but he plays a 3/4 size guitar, either Martin, or now a smaller Lowden I think.

Ponder this...John Mayer is now and "old man" in the music world, and great as he is, TRULY he is, as a player, he is no longer really a force to drive guitar sales...except to aging boomers and gen-x'ers, who are going the other way. Taylor Swift had her run to fame, and really led the charge to bring young girls into the world of guitars, but like I said, she is drifting farther away from the simple country/pop roots she came from, and the guitar is not a big focus in her music, the way it was in the beginning.

Until the young folks of today begin the tire of Rap, Hip Hop, EDM, Party Pop, and start looking for something new and fresh to their ears and hearts...and until some amazing artist and/or artists who are more in the guitar centric world of pop music styles of music...of years past...arise, top the charts once again, and become iconic stars and superstars with the young audiences, and grab the young audiences hearts, and minds, and wallets, used guitar sales are going to struggle, especially for unique specialty factory models, and small brand, boutique, and solo luthier instruments.

And...waiting for the rebound/return of a third "Golden Era" for acoustic guitars, could take 5, or 10, or who knows how many years to turn around.

I believe it WILL happen...but...will it be the same as this amazing run we have seen from 1985 until now. I am not sure it will ever make it back to that. We boomers were just part of a perfect storm of music history, of occurences and events and amazing MUSIC that created this incredible run, which is not likely to be easily repeated. Count yourselves lucky to have been apart of it all.

As someone sang oh so well:

"Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days"

duff
Be A Player...Not A Polsher

[mercy]

in my opinion music stopped in 1980. The stuff on the radio now is like nails on a chalkboard. Off radio there is still good music being made and live bands but the great days of music are gone.

[alien]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Can someone explain this concept to me? People actually want to rid themselves of guitars?

In most cases, it is to buy what is perceived as a better guitar. At least that's the way it is with me.