Where do you sell your gear?

Dpoirier

Fractal Fanatic
Hey everyone,

Now that Reverb imposes sales tax on used gear (!) I find that gear doesn't move as fast as it used to, even when priced aggressively. I get it, the economy is tough, and that tax is the final nail in the coffin.

I'm in a low population area, so Kijiji doesn't quite get enough exposure.

Is there any other less-local way to sell gear nowadays?
 
I'm still using Reverb for selling and buying. I prefer not selling locally, too many hassles (people that don't show up, want to buy at a lower price than agreed, etc).

For Reverb listings sold by music stores, I check their website to see if the price is better and if they charge sales tax. I've often gotten better deals that way.
 
Dude you’re near a major city, shenanigans on low population heh.

Kijiji and facebook. Sometimes word of mouth can help.
 
I'm still using Reverb for selling and buying. I prefer not selling locally, too many hassles (people that don't show up, want to buy at a lower price than agreed, etc).

For Reverb listings sold by music stores, I check their website to see if the price is better and if they charge sales tax. I've often gotten better deals that way.
Totally agree here, while reverb has been more expensive lately, the firewall it offers outweighs the challenges and risks with other platforms, I've sold lots of gear on reverb over the years, even some fairly pricy things, never regretted the administrative fees (mostly) in lieu of risk...
 
Guitar Center.
Don't get as much for your items, but it's quick and simple and unrisky.
Yup. The downside is that you receive only about 30% of a new items price; also based on condition, provenance, collectibility, etc. IIRC, GC uses a standard search function from Reverb or eBay, as well as their own website that calculates the lowest price your item sold for within the past 6 weeks. GC typically pays out to the seller the lowest price minus 25%. However, it's necessary to note that a brand new item MSRP brought in for sale typically is relisted and posted on GC's website at 55 to 60% of MSRP. The seller receives 25 to 30% less of that relisted price.

In only conditions where I might need to raise a lot of cash in a hurry (expensive car repair, dental surgery) would I sell to GC. Other times, my sales are calculated as one-in-one-out purchases/sales and my pref is still eBay for it's comparative reliability. Only more recently have some buyers had buyer's remorse and returned the items within the 30 day window. Even though my sales list as all sales final, the buyer still has the advantage of being able to return an item he can't adjust to or realizes it's not for him.

More recently, I've discovered that one can save a healthy amount of money simply by avoiding online buying over several months time. It might be wise to save up for desirable instrument purchases (used, of course) or new with warranty for electronics. All electronics in my household have about a 10 to 12 year lifespan before they need replacement; UPS backups about 5 to 6 years. Makes sense to save money over time to replace non-functioning electronics when they sputter and fade rather than sell gear that you treasure anyway.
 
Reverb, TGP, eBay, and to a lesser extent, Craigslist. The market has cooled significantly, and stupidly overpriced gear is sitting for months and months. Even priced well below “the market norm” things are stagnant. You need to get your gear in front of as many eyes as possible, and realize pandemic pricing has run its course. Be prepared to cut your margin, or keep the gear if the price goes unacceptably low.

Like everyone says, gear is “worth” whatever someone will pay you for it.
 
Reverb, TGP, eBay, and to a lesser extent, Craigslist. The market has cooled significantly, and stupidly overpriced gear is sitting for months and months. Even priced well below “the market norm” things are stagnant. You need to get your gear in front of as many eyes as possible, and realize pandemic pricing has run its course. Be prepared to cut your margin, or keep the gear if the price goes unacceptably low.

Like everyone says, gear is “worth” whatever someone will pay you for it.
The only foreseeable advantage that is occurring is that while tariffs are incurred on new materials and products globally, resale sites have the option to keep their prices lower and not reflective of what's happening world-wide. That may help the resale market appreciably. I don't know. It could go either way...
 
Yup. The downside is that you receive only about 30% of a new items price; also based on condition, provenance, collectibility, etc. IIRC, GC uses a standard search function from Reverb or eBay, as well as their own website that calculates the lowest price your item sold for within the past 6 weeks. GC typically pays out to the seller the lowest price minus 25%. However, it's necessary to note that a brand new item MSRP brought in for sale typically is relisted and posted on GC's website at 55 to 60% of MSRP. The seller receives 25 to 30% less of that relisted price.

In only conditions where I might need to raise a lot of cash in a hurry (expensive car repair, dental surgery) would I sell to GC. Other times, my sales are calculated as one-in-one-out purchases/sales and my pref is still eBay for it's comparative reliability. Only more recently have some buyers had buyer's remorse and returned the items within the 30 day window. Even though my sales list as all sales final, the buyer still has the advantage of being able to return an item he can't adjust to or realizes it's not for him.

More recently, I've discovered that one can save a healthy amount of money simply by avoiding online buying over several months time. It might be wise to save up for desirable instrument purchases (used, of course) or new with warranty for electronics. All electronics in my household have about a 10 to 12 year lifespan before they need replacement; UPS backups about 5 to 6 years. Makes sense to save money over time to replace non-functioning electronics when they sputter and fade rather than sell gear that you treasure anyway.
Yeah, but I've got better things to do than go through all the nonsense reverb or craigslist sales can turn into, and my time and QoL are worth something too.

Def the best way to save money is to not buy stuff, for sure you've got that right!
 
Guitar Center.
Don't get as much for your items, but it's quick and simple and unrisky.
Ultimately; this has become my reality if I want to sell gear. According to the store rep I talked to last time; they give you 60% of what they sell it at. That seems like not much but unless it's something super rare or something you love and shouldn't be selling anyway; I'll go this route 10/10 now vs. trying to sell on Reverb, marketplace or anywhere really.
 
I still use Craigslist, but I'm in Los Angeles so the market is big. I sell in-person, cash only, at a public place.

I haven't tried to sell anything in a long time, although I now want to downsize and seeing that it's slow. I thought with the new sales getting hammered with inflation and tariffs the used market would heat up. But people don't have the money like they did, and also are afraid to spend anything. So prices are down and I see the same items listed for a long time, even at low prices.
 
Yeah, but I've got better things to do than go through all the nonsense reverb or craigslist sales can turn into, and my time and QoL are worth something too.

Def the best way to save money is to not buy stuff, for sure you've got that right!
Thx for the support. By avoiding buying online stuff (the regular amazon got-to-have-it purchase), my credit bill at the end of the month is about one-half it used to be; and nowadays is mostly comprised of grocery bills. Cutting back on buying frivolously has allowed me more time off from work during high-stress sales weeks, and helped me find more balance between work and home life.

Now that the college employees are heading back to school, our workplace has hired several post-college workers to cover our budgeted work hours. With more employees, we're able to divide our work schedule more easily and the boss can schedule us as necessary, or ask us to cover someone else's shift when they need time away.

Not buying online means my credited bills are paid without worry, and its easier to ask for a couple work shifts away from work if recovery time from overexertion might be required.
 
Ultimately; this has become my reality if I want to sell gear. According to the store rep I talked to last time; they give you 60% of what they sell it at. That seems like not much but unless it's something super rare or something you love and shouldn't be selling anyway; I'll go this route 10/10 now vs. trying to sell on Reverb, marketplace or anywhere really.

They will give around 65% if you are selling for store credit. Not an issue if you are planning to acquire something from their robust used gear selections.

Pro Tip: you can call their corporate headquarters and form a relationship with a salesperson there. My go to guy gets me free two day shipping, and extended warranties, but the real benefit being, they will contact the managers at the stores where the used gear is listed and negotiate lower prices nine out of ten times. Even more so if at item has sat for sixty days.

So the “loss” you took on selling your used gear to them is nearly made up on the backend.
 
They will give around 65% if you are selling for store credit. Not an issue if you are planning to acquire something from their robust used gear selections.

Pro Tip: you can call their corporate headquarters and form a relationship with a salesperson there. My go to guy gets me free two day shipping, and extended warranties, but the real benefit being, they will contact the managers at the stores where the used gear is listed and negotiate lower prices nine out of ten times. Even more so if at item has sat for sixty days.

So the “loss” you took on selling your used gear to them is nearly made up on the backend.
Good to know!
 
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They will give around 65% if you are selling for store credit. Not an issue if you are planning to acquire something from their robust used gear selections.

Pro Tip: you can call their corporate headquarters and form a relationship with a salesperson there. My go to guy gets me free two day shipping, and extended warranties, but the real benefit being, they will contact the managers at the stores where the used gear is listed and negotiate lower prices nine out of ten times. Even more so if at item has sat for sixty days.

So the “loss” you took on selling your used gear to them is nearly made up on the backend.
I've never been offered store credit at gc.
They just paid cash.
 
FB Marketplace is where lots of people shop these days. I'd try that and Craigslist to hopefully get cash local sale. If security is an issue, many larger towns have police depts that have secure areas to conduct transactions.
 
They offer the same for both from the 2 places I take stuff to. I sold a pile of pedals a few weeks back and got a really nice chunk of change. They offered me solid $ for my LX but I ended up trading it for a better deal. As someone who has sold stuff on most every outlet there is; GC offers just enough $ where the time and no hassle tradeoff has been worth it. If you just have to sell something for whatever reason.
 
I actually plan on offloading some gear soon and will likely just go to GC. As many have pointed out, its quick, painless and fair.

I'm also the type to sell as a buyer and not as a seller, so I'm only expecting to get what I would think is a solid deal on a used piece of gear. With this mindset, I often get what I expect from GC or sometimes even more.

Last time I sold to them, I took in an old Mayones Setius guitar only expecting to get ~$1k and was offered $1.2k.
 
They will give around 65% if you are selling for store credit. Not an issue if you are planning to acquire something from their robust used gear selections.

Pro Tip: you can call their corporate headquarters and form a relationship with a salesperson there. My go to guy gets me free two day shipping, and extended warranties, but the real benefit being, they will contact the managers at the stores where the used gear is listed and negotiate lower prices nine out of ten times. Even more so if at item has sat for sixty days.

So the “loss” you took on selling your used gear to them is nearly made up on the backend.
I've never been offered store credit at gc.
They just paid cash.
 
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