Used prices?
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I’m not complaining but why are they so high sometimes?
I’ve bought many of not only brass instruments but vehicles, tools and stringed instruments and after I’m done with them I give them away or sell for very reasonable prices.
I’ve never resold an instrument. If I pay $1k for it then feel I got my good times out of it why should I expect someone to think it’s a good deal at $750?
All the instruments I’ve owned have been donated to schools or third world countries.
I could never resell a vehicle for more than a thousand regardless of how much I paid or put into it.
I’m not going to pay these prices I see and don’t. If for 10-25 percent more I can have brand new!
I mean a Holton (I’m a Holton fanatic) t602 for$250 used. No warranty no store to stand behind the product?
I own quite a few of those Chinese jobs that have costed less with more to offer
And for real when it comes to strings I can buy a super cheap Fender/Gibson copy and literary drop in the high end electronics and come out still spending less than $500
What’s the deal?
I’ve actually only had two trumpets that came from Amazon that I had to send back. A Mendini of which I own 3 and a Hawk. The ones they sent were defective and remedied upon request.
I’ve bought a couple duds from eBay and was stuck with them.
I’ve always been under the impression that when buying used your just paying for someone else’s dismay the the given product. -
It's consumer driven, right? Do we really need to talk about it? It's history is long.
Personally, I think most items loose value 25-30% the moment they fly off the shelve. I usually use as a ballpark figure for resale at about 30%. It's a combination of supply and demand and the going rate for your region. It also is affected by the item's aura.
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Market, demand and such. If you want a very reasonably priced used instrument, go for an "off" brand that is still quality, e.g. Conn, CarolBrass vs Bach, Yamaha. Often you can find more reasonable prices and a very good instrument, sometimes better than the more well-known makes.
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The initial sell prices for "name" brand brass instruments has risen dramatically over the past 10-15 years. There are some on here that bought their Strads for sub-$1000 prices way back when, but the price for a plain Jane model 37 is over $1000 more expensive now than when I got mine in 1999. So, if we're looking at $3019 for a new Strad from WW & BW, then $1000 really is approximately 30% of that and not that bad of a price.
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I bought a used Strad once for $500. That was a good deal.
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When buying a used horn you’re not necessarily buying someone else’s problem. Sometimes that horn wasn’t a good fit for the player, or maybe came from someone who quit playing, or even from someone who passed away and the family has no use for the horn. I see horns from these types of situations all the time, and the value you get really depends on the condition of the instrument more than anything else. I know I personally have sold lots of horns that were in wonderful condition just because they didn’t suit my needs anymore and I had bought something different that did. Many of the vintage horns I have owned and worked on have been in good enough condition to gig on, but personally I don’t gig on them because when a vintage horn gets damaged, it can be too difficult to find another one in good condition that plays the same. Get used to carefully checking photos if buying online, and make sure you have a good return policy if you don’t like it. Play in person if at all possible, but don’t be afraid to buy used. Demo horns are also a great option, sometimes labeled open box. They have been played some, but haven’t been owned by anyone. Several of my daily players I purchased as show demo from NAMM, and got a much better deal than new. Most of the show demo we get at work don’t require more than oiling or a clean and polish, and though they may have a few scuffs from being handled are in otherwise brand new condition.
Prices have definitely increased over the years, with new Bach and Yamaha selling in the $4k range, so if you expect to find a brand new pro horn for under $1k, good luck to you. If you can find a horn you can gig with for $250, good for you - enjoy it! That’s not an everyday thing in today’s market. -
Market values go up and down and all trumpets aren't created equal. I think we all ...or most of us...would agree to that. A horn that started out with actual quality, not like white glove Chinese horns, can continue to exist and function for many decades and rise with the tide of inflation in value. Horn models as played by famous trumpet players attract attention now and will likely continue for as long as there are trumpet players. We can all name some horns we individually find to be almost sacred. Unfortunately there is no Trumpet blue book that I'm aware of. The best you can do is check out what the last of a model sold for on Ebay and examine apparent condition as closely as you can.
Some used object groups trend upward or downward sharply depending on what the new replacement market is. The car business is something I used to know something about. What used to be considered a "sled" by any dealerships appraiser and brought a few hundred actual dollars in trade now bring a few thousand because the new vehicle market average price has gone way up.
I bought some old Mosin Nagant rifles seventeen or eighteen years ago three for a hundred delivered to my door. Today they bring $400 each..or more.
The bottom line on any tangible used thing is a matter of a floating market price that changes all the time. You have to seek out and learn something about what that market price is before you sell or buy
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@djeffers78 said in Used prices?:
I’m not complaining but why are they so high sometimes?
Short answer is "buyer beware". Both eBay and the TH Marketplace are flooded with overpriced horns.
For me, a used horn has 3 prices. The appraised price is inflated and unrealistic (just like the MSRP of a new horn). The sale price is what the market will bear. The actual price is what you can realistically sell a horn for, the day after you purchase it.
For me, assuming the horn is in excellent condition with original case, a realistic price is half the retail cost of the same horn if it was new. A notable exception are Strads and Xenos, where so many are available, a realistic price is about 1/3 the retail cost (about $1000-$1200).
In recent years, I've bought and sold many used horns. This includes a '71 Strad in excellent condition, a '65 Strad is very good condition, an '80 Strad in good condition, and a '47 Strad in very good condition. I paid about $750 to $950 for each of them.
Mike
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Over on the oTHer site there is a price question. Some have stated that just because some would pay a higher price for something that is a justified reason to raise the price.
If your product is tops and it’s affordable then why would you raise the price and make it less accessible? Other than greed?
If I can really do something for someone then why should I cash in? Seems if I can make a great horn or pass along a great horn then that is what I should do
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That's how market forces work, though. Sometimes, people will sell something to you for a lower price out of altruism. I had that happen to me as a student. However, generally speaking, prices are what people are generally willing to pay for something.
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Maybe this is a play on words, but I wouldn't say that prices are what people are generally willing to pay, but rather what the market will bear. The difference being between the word "willing" and "must".
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Three versions of a fair deal:
- Both parties feel they got screwed.
- Both parties feel it was a fair deal.
- Both parties feel they screwed the other guy.
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@djeffers78 said in Used prices?:
Over on the oTHer site there is a price question. Some have stated that just because some would pay a higher price for something that is a justified reason to raise the price.
If your product is tops and it’s affordable then why would you raise the price and make it less accessible? Other than greed?
If I can really do something for someone then why should I cash in? Seems if I can make a great horn or pass along a great horn then that is what I should do
Was it the post about Kessler's custom trumpets? If so, I think the poster was misunderstood. It was a compliment about the quality of these trumpets, by suggesting they are being sold for less than their actual value. I don't think it was motivated by greed or anything inappropriate.
Mike
