used gear prices

[anttimaatteri]

vurts dont come easy

[justin3am]

One thing I've noticed... if a currently available product is temporarily out of stock at most common dealers, the second hand price will go up. Since global logistics has gotten a lot slower, products which are normally plentiful are out of stock for longer periods of time. Also, folks are paying shipping and duty fees to have products shipped across trade boundaries, when they aren't available locally. The added cost on their end may lead them to ask a higher price if they try to resell.

Then there will always be folks who buy scarce items, mark them up and wait for someone desperate enough to purchase immediately. With the same kind of patience, you can wait for someone who is desperate to sell immediately and willing to let the the item go for a low price.

[vurt]

thats the thing justin, a thing is only worth what youre willing to pay or are willing to part with it for.

if something is essential, its worth more than something you can take or leave

[vurt]

vurts dont come easy

that not what my missus says

[justin3am]

thats the thing justin, a thing is only worth what youre willing to pay or are willing to part with it for.

if something is essential, its worth more than something you can take or leave

Yep, I couldn't have said it better.

[SneakyBeats]

I saw one woman trying to sell some yamaha keyboard. She told the place it was bought from 6 months ago, and the price she wanted. Funny is that the kb was 199 new and she asked 200 + shipping

[vurt]

i usually add a 25% increase, well you are getting a piece of musicsl history if you buy second hand vurt stuff

[elxsound]

Having done a quite a bit of hunting on Reverb, I can say that prices are basically the same as what you seen on eBay, but it might not seem like it, because if you are not hunting the latest additions to Reverb and only waiting for your feed to be updated... that reasonably price item is gone. Every time.

On ebay and on Amazon via 3rd party seller, the price people will ask are ridiculously high and will run concurrently with any other lower priced listings, usually because the seller is not in a rush to sell and eventually someone will want something is no longer available.

It's the same thing on Reverb.com... basically all the good prices for your items are bought right away, leaving only the expensive ones to show up.

So far, I have either bought my gear new, on-sale or competitively reduced price if used and everything I've purchased has fallen into the high-demand category.

[Vectorman]

It is kind of amusing seeing Guitar Center these days not so infrequently having lower prices on a given piece of used gear than what private sellers are asking.

There is no piece of gear I want so desperately that I'm not willing to wait until a decent deal comes along. I've bought 3 major items this year (two from Reverb and one from GC) and all three of them I got at 50% of their original price (or the cost of their current equivalent item) or less, all in excellent condition. Fortunately there are still some sellers who aren't shameless gougers and are just looking to move stuff at reasonable prices.

[elxsound]

It is kind of amusing seeing Guitar Center these days not so infrequently having lower prices on a given piece of used gear than what private sellers are asking.

There is no piece of gear I want so desperately that I'm not willing to wait until a decent deal comes along. I've bought 3 major items this year (two from Reverb and one from GC) and all three of them I got at 50% of their original price (or the cost of their current equivalent item) or less, all in excellent condition. Fortunately there are still some sellers who aren't shameless gougers and are just looking to move stuff at reasonable prices.

Also don't forget Musicgoround.com - that's another great resource for occasional bargains.

This is especially true for any gear variants (if you're into that). Generally prices for used gear remains the same even if its a limited edition (that you'll find listed for double anywhere else).

[chk071]

Definitely, I think it's a sign of the times and the pandemic thing, even at the grocery store
lately there are few sales, people have less money so prices naturally go up. Help your
fellow man and all.

Goes both ways, doesn't it? Help your fellow man, and offer for proper used prices?

[pekbro]

Definitely, I think it's a sign of the times and the pandemic thing, even at the grocery store
lately there are few sales, people have less money so prices naturally go up. Help your
fellow man and all.

Goes both ways, doesn't it? Help your fellow man, and offer for proper used prices?

You would think so, right? Sadly few seem to care too much about their fellow man in such times,
or other times...

[chk071]

Yep.

[wickfut]

From SOS mag, around 1996

BEST BUYS (MONOPHONICS):

Moog MiniMoog (1971).
All-time classic with three oscillators per note, straightfoward controls, and distinctive sound. No programmability. Still tend to be temperament. Expect to pay between £400-£500 for non-midi'd model in good condition.

Roland SH-101 (1982).
Simple, powerful synth; the last mono made by Roland. Has useful arpeggiator and sequencer, but only one oscillator per voice (plus sub oscillator). Most sought-after mono today, especially for bass work. Prices from £100-£150.

Korg MS10 (1978).
Chunky-looking single oscillator model (MS20: 2 osc) with patch-bay. Not the most powerful sounds, but interesting. Good for effects, and learning about analogue programming. Pay no more than £100.

Sequential Pro-One (1981).
Prophet type controls and sounds, with arpeggiator and sequencer. Good modulation permutations. Powerful if not terribly reliable. Rarely seen, but should cost £100-£150.

OSC OSCar (1983).
British swansong: very powerful in all departments - sounds, programming, memories (36) and even midi on later models (1984). Owners seldom want to part with them, so they're quite hard to find; expect to pay around £300 when you find one.

ARP Odyssey (1972).
Quirky rival of the MiniMoog. Not very controllable, nor particulary stable, but powerful and expressive in right hands. Definite boffin-appeal. Will cost around £200. Not bad when you think they listed at some £1200 in the 1970s!


GOLDEN OLDIES (POLYPHONICS):

Sequential Prophet 5 (1978).
Classic analogue sounds, though not as easy to program as some would have you believe. Never the most reliable instrument, but examples that work today will probably continue to do so. MIDI came as retrofit. 5-voice polyphony. General asking price around £500.

Yamaha CS-80 (1978)
Extremely heavy and bulky instrument capable of some blistering brass sounds. Many unique features including velocity sensitivity and much sought-after pitch ribbon. Ring modulation good, as are offers of both glissando and portamento. A player's treat. Prices vary enormously but around £400-£500 is reasonable.

Roland Jupiter 8 (1981).
Controllable but powerful poly capable of whole range of tones, from gentle to blitzkrieg, using cross modulation etc. Generous 8-voice polyphony. A range of Roland interfaces eventually brought it into line with MIDI, thought a third party modification will be simpler today. Sought-after, hence £700-£750 typical asking price.

Roland Juno 6/60 (1982).
Use of digitally controlled oscillators confusing at the time. Still an analogue instrument. The 6 and 60 are identical save for memories - the Juno 6 doesn't have any. Superb all-rounder, especially good for bass and sequencer lines since it has wonderfully resonant depth. Generally reliable. DCB interface can be linked to MIDI via another box, but directly MIDI upgrade probably best bet. A bargain at typical price of £250 (Juno 60).

Roland MKS 80 (1984).
A rare beast; an analogue synth module. Based loosely upon Roland's Jupiter 8 and Jupiter 6. As such this is a highly sought-after instrument. Clean but powerful sounds and a reasonable MIDI spec to boot. Not easy to program without an MPG80 programmer or suitable editing software, but still £1000+ if you can persuade anyone to part with one.

Korg Polysix (1982).
Korg's answer to the Juno 60, and not far behind either. Excellent at percussive sounds, and the unison feature is very useful for bass/lead lines. Similar price range to Juno 60 at £220-£275.

Oberheim OBXa (1981).
Big, gutsy American sounds a speciality. Very princy and dance-orientated. The whole OB family (incl. OB8, OBX, OBSX) makes interesting listening. Relatively easy to programme - nothing like as complex as Oberheim's later Xpander/Matrix 12 offerings. Prices of OBXa range from £400-£500.

Good to see used prices haven't moved much in 25 years

[dirtydenver]

Agree on one point, OP. In order for me to buy a used piece of gear, it has got to be a significant discount for me to bite. If I can get new for an extra $100, I'll do it 9 times out of 10. It's a sliding scale based on the amount of risk I'm willing to inherit. Under $500? Screw it, I'll buy used to save $50. Over $500? I'll pay the extra $100 - $200 for a new one.

However, not everyone thinks this same way. $100 is a lot to some people, and saving $100 is the difference between eating and going to bed hungry (yea they probably shouldn't be buying gear in that case, but you know...)

From a sellers perspective, I'm going to maximize the amount of money I can get for my used gear. I evaluate the marketplace (what's for sale currently on the used market, what has sold recently, etc...), new stock across major sellers, and price from there. I'm in no hurry to sell my gear, and will gladly wait for a sale that gets me the most money possible. I like money, if people are willing to buy (which they are), I'm going to maximize my earnings.