Wondering how much my bass is worth.

[DLM]

Hey guys,

I have an unbelievably rare Fernandes APB-4 fretless bass. I bought it new in 1990 or 91 for $800, and its spent most of its life in a hardshell case, so it looks like it could be hanging brand new in any guitar shop right now. I've only ever found one other of these, but it was solid blue and had plain hardware. Mine has a gorgeous finish on it and gold hardware. I've wondered for a long time how much it's worth, and I know the standard answer would be, "Whatever someone is willing to pay for it," but I was kind of looking for a ballpark figure, and I'm not sure how to go about it, because while APB-4 fretted basses are all over the place, the fretless is from their custom shop. I had confirmation from Fernandes that they never made a fretless production model of that bass, so it had to have come from their custom shop, because the headstock has the name and serial number and all that on it, so it's the original neck.

Anyway, because of that, I haven't had much luck looking in the various online resources to try to figure out its value. I was hoping maybe some of you had some suggestions.

 

[jimfist]

two methods that cost nothing but are very effective in determining value:

- post the bass up on Craig's List or EBay and attach a token $ value to the bass. You will find out within a couple of weeks how many people are interested and what they will pay.

- go to your nearest Guitar Center and have them make a bid on the bass. add about 50% to their offer and you'll have your ballpark value.

I've found that it might help to be patient, but not always. In my experience, hot items that carry strong value generate a lot of immediate interest and will therefore enable you to offer at a higher price. If your bass sits and sits and sits at your asking price, then generally speaking, it is priced too high. Then your only hope is to find that 1 in 1000 bassist who sees things like you do and is willing to pay maybe a couple hundred dollars more than anyone else.

Did Fernandes put a current value on the bass, since it is one of their babies?

Having just sold a few basses recently, I can tell you that unless you have something of very specific desirability or vintage, you will most likely do well to get your money back on initial investment. Just a guess on my part, but I'd hazard to say that $600-800 would probably be a workable street value if you want to turn this bass around reasonably quickly in this economy and market. Bad news, I know....JMHO.

 

[DLM]

Thanks for the suggestions man. I've considered throwing it on Ebay with a high reserve price just to see how high the bids would go. I kinda figured that'd be a good way to see how willing people were to bid it up without actually selling it, or if it did go that high, actually selling it for that much.

A few years ago I wrote to Fernandes and asked them what model it was and send them some pictures. The guy wrote back to me and told me it was a custom APB-4 because of the fretless neck. He never placed any value on it though, and I didn't actually ask him for an estimate at the time. Thing is, I love having it. It's like a piece of art, but I never play it, and honestly, I never play it on purpose, just to keep it as mint and pristine as possible. I have my Schecter Studio 4 fretless for whatever fretless playing I do, so basically right now I'm sitting on a 21 or 22 year old piece of art. I have a five string Ibanez SGR bass I'd like to sell as well, but there's nothing special about that one. I have a Schecter Custom 5 five string I play when I want to play a five string, so it's another one that sees almost no use.

Anyway, maybe I'll give it a shot. Here's a pic of it I have on my Facebook page.

 

[mworkman]

As Member #18 of the Official Fernandes Club on the TalkBass forums, I would recommend posting your question over there, if you haven't already.

 

[yesfan]

I sold about 20 years worth of antiques on ebay and craigslist before the economy tanked. Wurlitzer jukeboxes ect. I sold a lighter on ebay I paid 20 dollars for and it went for $1400! The guy who bought it was a surgeon and said he had the worlds largest collection of Ronson lighters in the world and he didnt know that mine existed. The point being from my opinion is if it a fairly regular item with a pretty set price do craigslist. If you feel it is worth quite more but to the right guy do ebay. The whole world will be bidding and they will pay you what it is worth. I feel your bass needs the right guy. Cheers.

 

[DLM]

Thanks guys. That was an awesome score on that lighter! Congrats man! And I'll do that mworkman. I should register over there anyway. I'm always going there for bass tech info and stuff, it about time I registered.

I do need to take some better pictures if it first though.

 

[luke]

It's the middle of summer and people are on vacation so buyer pool will be smaller, so you might not get the best data. The next best time to "sell" something will be in October, after the back to school shopping is completed and prior to Christmas shopping.