Terrible time to sell guitars?

[Danrose]

Have any of you noticed that the market for used gear is terrible right now? I have talked to a few people and they said the same thing - guitars that normally would sell quickly have been sitting for months. Has anyone else noticed this trend?

 

[Tonelover]

The market is what the market is.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Due to a number of socio-economic/supply chain factors pricing on the used market sky rocketed for a while. Things have stabilized now but people are still trying to sell used gear for those covid/early post-covid prices. And now they are just sitting on these items because no one will pay those prices anymore, and as things have returned to normal, there may be less overall interest in purchasing gear by "normal" people

 

[Urobouros]

I got an offer on a bass in about a week of posting on reverb. I think selling speed on the used market is mostly pricing but also the luck of getting the right eyes on the ad. There wouldn't be as many stories about just missing one otherwise.

 

[webcat]

I actually said to my friend the other day it seems to be slowing. I’m not selling but occasionally I tease myself by looking at R9s on Marketplace or new ones at Andertons. There are steep discounts right now - Andertons has a lot with £500 off, some £1000+. On Marketplace all the listings that appeared first were showing price reductions, and down under £5k in most instances.

I can’t say those prices are necessarily reflective of the rest of the market, although luxury items are usually more resistant because people with money still have money. So they potentially could be an indicator of how other items are performing.

 

[Jayyj]

Due to a number of socio-economic/supply chain factors pricing on the used market sky rocketed for a while. Things have stabilized now but people are still trying to sell used gear for those covid/early post-covid prices. And now they are just sitting on these items because no one will pay those prices anymore, and as things have returned to normal, there may be less overall interest in purchasing gear by "normal" people

This.

Also, supply and supply chain issues meant that for a long time there was very little available new so for many models there were no new ones available - putting people in a very strong position to sell a used one of the same model. Now that it's reverted to being fairly easy to buy a new one with associated warranty and with dealers keen to move inventory people getting 80-90% of the price they bought it new for suddenly isn't a reality any more.

 

[BRumbler]

Seems their is direct correlation between the health of the 401k and the good used.market

 

[slowdived]

Still a seller's market, unfortunately.

 

[Paralaq]

The great gear correction is upon us. After years of hyperinflated prices, glut of new instruments and everybody trying to flip Generation Loss/Klon/Silver Sky Nebula/etc has finally caught up with us

 

[nmowery]

It just depends what you’re selling - there are still a lot of brands and instruments facing supply chain constraints, and so for those, the used market is still pretty robust. But outside of that, inflation in the rest of the economy is definitely slowing gear purchasing across the board.

 

[slipbeer]

You're also in the pre tax refund window.

Even with all the other economic stuff going on, you'll have a certain number of potential buyers who will succumb to tax refund GAS over the next couple of months.

 

[Tri7/5]

Price it right and it will move. Somewhere along the lines the past few years that notion was lost and somehow the notion came forward that used guitars might as well go for new prices. It's not hard to see why things are sitting in the emporium and other places when you can buy new retail for comparable or even less sometimes. It's also quite funny when sellers reference advertised retail prices as their baseline for their used prices.

Does this listing language sound familiar around here??

"These are $2699 new, asking $2500 PPFF (or add fees), shipping on you"

 

[67 goat]

It seems like people were still talking about how the used market was still crazy right after New Year. If that is the case, then how can the current slow down be responsible for something sitting for months?

Secondly, I would need more details than a few anecdotes. I mean, I have no doubt the market is starting to slow. But the prices haven't dropped out yet (they may have dropped a little, but no so far that it shows sellers are panicking).

For some sellers it could be an issue of thinking they can get even higher prices than the last batch they sold (those went quick for $100, bet I can get $150 next time). For others it could be they just hit saturation among interested parties (if only 50 people in the word want a widget, it's going to be super hard to sell the 51st one). There are regular market reasons besides a slowdown that may cause a seller to not be able to move certain things (including seller reputation).

So yes, I do think the market is slowing. However, I would not automatically assume that a given seller's issues are due to that slowdown. Now, if the economy were to crash hard, that might be a different thing. But even for all of the inflation and other crap going on, the overall economy is still pretty strong, at the moment.

 

[mjross]

People are trying to recover seller fees! This can take a big bite out of your profit.

 

[Noise Under The Floor]

This time of year is always a bad time to sell. Everyone is spent out from the end of year holidays.

 

[tomnicklett]

Guitars are novelty items to the broad market. As soon as loaves of bread get expensive, guitars take a hit. I'm all for normalization of the used market, it went nuts and I did not buy during that period.

 

[gonzoknife]

Yes. I recently sold a couple for a little less than hoped. I'm kicking myself I didn't list them when the market was hot.

On the bright side, used prices are down so it may be a good time to buy!

 

[TooManyToys]

This.

Also, supply and supply chain issues meant that for a long time there was very little available new so for many models there were no new ones available - putting people in a very strong position to sell a used one of the same model. Now that it's reverted to being fairly easy to buy a new one with associated warranty and with dealers keen to move inventory people getting 80-90% of the price they bought it new for suddenly isn't a reality any more.

I'm having a hard time moving stuff at 70%, 65% and even 60% for gear that is like new barely even used

 

[Black Squirrel]

Nope, I talked to a few other guys who said it was a good time. I sold 10k worth of acoustics this month, (2)

 

[cr1961]

When eggs cost $7.99 a dozen, people are more choosy about spending $5,000 on a custom shop Gibson