-
Used to be that I could find all kinds of used guitar related stuff on eBay. Now, searching for used gear rarely brings anything back. I was looking for used tele pickups and didn’t find hardly anything. Is there another site I’m not aware of?
-
04-02-2022 12:55 AM
-
I have wondered this myself. Not only guitar stuff but most other categories of items on eBay, unless you are searching for "vintage," seem to be in the same situation. eBay has apparently become little more than an outlet mall instead of the glorified garage sale it used to be.
reverb.com used to be another resource for used stuff, but again unless you are looking for "vintage" most of it is either flippers or business is looking to sell new product.
-
I think eBay isn't a local thing. If I sell stuff online I use a local website. In holland we have marktplaats.
-
Facebook Marketplace. No fees, no regulations.
-
I had been looking for a mic stand on CL for weeks, finally bit it and paid for a new one from SW.
-
Personally, my desire to sell stuff online took a serious hit when I got 1099’ed by PayPal last year. For me, the golden age of buying and selling on the internet is over. It sure made trying new gear a lot easier… while it lasted.
-
Lots of good stuff can be found for sale on this very forum.
Especially in my ads.
-
While the selling experience has gotten harder due to increased fees and reporting requirements of the big platforms, another thing that has dried up the used gear is all the printed money. Some of that money has scooped up a lot of used gear creating a dearth in the marketplace. A recession will come about, maybe sooner than we think. I predict that when the economy turns sour, a lot of used gear will hit the marketplace.
Keep your powder dry, there may be some buying opportunities ahead.
-
There's a lot of used pickups at musicgoround, for example:
https://www.musicgoround.com/product...ess-pickup-set
-
I think it’s always best to buy local through Craigslist or a local shop. All the local stores I frequent have a reasonable selection of vintage stuff.
Also local pawnshops. Though the ones around here don’t seem to price their stuff very cheap.
I haven’t bought/sold gear on EBay (or FeeBay as we sometimes call it) for awhile. But seems like Reverb has a pretty robust selection.
(Minor related rant: trying to find something like pen nibs on Amazon, and being bombarded with dozens of cheap Chinese knockoffs. OTOH, sometimes one just needs a cheap Chinese knock-off of something…)
-
So the real question is where did all the paying local gigs go? With the iPhone and YouTube revolution, came free and cheap entertainment .
And the sea change of actual paying gigs as well as the advent of hobbyists playing for free. Oh Joy!
And I guess in fairness, it never was truly about anything but selling drinks and having a few laughs.
-
I still play lots of paid local jazz gigs though the pandemic killed many venues, so my gig count is down about fifty percent. 40 years ago, those gigs paid $35-50 per man, today they pay $75-100. (I am talking about public gigs in restaurants and bars, weddings and corporate events pay a lot better) Considering inflation, our wages are down, but so are many other people's wages who work in the venues in which we play (servers, cooks, managers etc.)
Originally Posted by jads57
The hobbyists who play for free are a problem. First they make it harder for those of us who need to be paid to be able to do so. And second, many of them (most?) lack the skill set to play jazz well, so the public gets to hear a poor version of jazz. This is not a good way to create new jazz fans among the young (and it is young people who go out). The venue owners are the gatekeepers. Back in the day, the venue owners knew who could play and who could not and they only hired those with a modicum of good skills. Today's venue owners have no clue it seems. There are some pretty poor musicians fumbling their way through tunes with their eyes glued to charts playing in public these days. Perhaps at some point, those venue owners will learn that you really do get what you pay for.
-
StringSwinger
As a non-hobbyist, if someone talks to you during a break and they play. Would you feature them?
I think that’s how you handle the hobbyists. Feature them during your set, they play for free, you get a fan. Of course, they might follow you around trying to get onstage again. Which could go either way.
-
If I know a cat can play, he/she can sit in (assuming that I am the bandleader, I am often a sideman and do not get to make that call). Otherwise, that does not happen. I am paid to provide music at a professional level. It would be a disservice to the music and the venue to let a substandard player play on my bandstand. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
-
"The hobbyists who play for free are a problem. First they make it harder for those of us who need to be paid to be able to do so. And second, many of them (most?) lack the skill set to play jazz well, so the public gets to hear a poor version of jazz. . . . " Stringswinger
Hi, S,
This is a real problem for jobbers and our only hope is that our name travels locally among club owners, restaurants, and venues who want a quality experience and a full house. As a soloist, I use my sales ability and printed remarks from former "employers" (along with their phone number or email) to sell myself to new customers. I, then, do extensive advertising before an event that definitely brings people to the venue. I schmooze with patrons during the intermission and pass out business cards. I have never played for free with the exception of "sitting in" on jam sessions back in Chicago. However, I am still gun shy concerning Covid and haven't looked for a gig in over two years.
Marinero
-
Every other week or so someone asks to sit in on one of our weekly gigs and I typically decline. They're usually young people w a few drinks under their belt w no instrument, not a good sign..
But if someone I know that can play comes in I'll ask them to play.
-
Thread creep…I am not seeing a relationship between finding gear on EBay and paying gigs.
It’s misguided to focus too much on externalities. People do what they want to do. In the middle of a pandemic, when the risk of dying due to hanging out in a crowded jazz club or bar is substantial, people don’t want to go out. They want to stay home and buy stuff.
Some of that behavior will persist even after there’s little to no risk to socializing in public places.
That said, I don’t think it’s too hard to find a lot of stuff, though prices have gone up due to supply/demand.
-
Interesting general purpose thread.
- Prices on guitars have gone insane. Should sell into this market. Too hard.
- Gigs are gone for many reasons. You can start with what millions of young people set up their Spotify accounts for. It's not jazz.
- I'm sympathetic to bad amateurs. There is a need to express. Realistic self assessment is difficult. And their mom said it was OK. Still.. talk about annoying. Has no place in serious performance venues.
- We printed money until we got inflation. And many of our wise leaders wanted to print a lot more. We are now in treacherous waters. I hope we do have a recession and a bad one. We can recover from a recession. Hyper-inflation is end game.
edit: This is my number 2000 post. Shouldn't I be mowing the lawn or something?
-
This post made me take a look on eBay. They seem to be arranging or categorizing the stuff a bit differently now, but it seems to be there, still. In my case I found very little in the "vintage guitar" category, but when I followed the breadcrumb trail up a level, there were many listings of "pre-owned" guitars in "electric guitars." Originally Posted by rutledj
As an experiment I searched for "vintage guitars" and got 45,000+ hits. Searching for "pre-owned guitars" produced 160,000+ hits. "Pre-owned guitar amp" got me 5,600+ hits. "vintage guitar amp" turned up 206 hits in "vintage musical instruments" but "pre-owned guitar amp" turned up 2300+ hits in - get this - guitars and basses category.
I don't think eBay is really curating the posts in any sort of way... just as there are a ton of sellers yelling about how RARE their particular Les Paul is, when it is not, there are plenty of people posting stuff in the "wrong" category, perhaps intentionally, as a way of getting more views...
A bit of scouring and creative searching may be the way to go if you are looking for used gear here.
HTH
SJ
-
I used to go to Von Freeman's jam sessions(as a saxer) weekly for years. The worst-case I saw was a bone player who was so bad it was unbelievable. However, Von was a gentleman and gave him his licks. At the same show, Von's protege, 17 y.o. Stevie Coleman(alto), played Bird licks like Parker. Two years later he was in NY and became a star.
Marinero
Oh . . . used instruments? I think Stevie was playing a used Selmer Mark VI . . . . M
-
once a young trombone player came into our gig, proceeded to pull out his horn and start jamming along w/ us...w/out asking Originally Posted by Marinero
when the set was over I straightened him out and he never came back. it wasn't that he couldn't play, he was alright but that wasn't some jam session.
when I was coming up I wouldn't dream of just imposing myself on a band, and no one had to teach me this, it was just common courtesy.
-
The best place to buy used stuff is a forum like this one. You are among friends. Your friends are also experts. You will not be charged fees. You will not be cheated. The revolution will not be televised.
-
This can lead to undesirable consequences. Letting a completely unknown quantity into the equation can spoil more than one evening. They will follow you around, and importune you again. Always check out someone offstage first. There are open mic nights for the untested. Your employer is paying for pro-level performance. Trust me on this. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
-
It’s always about the $$$$ And some years back bars had no competition with other sources of cheap entertainment. Now you can’t hardly go to a local bar or restaurant that has huge screen sports tv on all the time.
Also amateurs rarely tried to go on stage with pros. There weren’t that many like nowadays. Also the level of musicians and music has dropped considerably. Just because you have a YouTube video doesn’t mean you know how to play!
I keep saying try doing that in any other profession and you might
even get arrested. But for some reason musicians are fair game.
Sorry about the rant fellas, but the level of self importance amongst the amateur public is astoundingly narcissistic imo.
So instead of worrying about used gear, worry about actually learning how to play first on el cheapo like all the pros did, LOL!
-
When it gets bad is when after one mediocre or bad tune, the sit-in doesn't want to get off, just sits there expecting to keep going. Originally Posted by citizenk74
This can lead to undesirable consequences. Letting a completely unknown quantity into the equation can spoil more than one evening. They will follow you around, and importune you again. Always check out someone offstage first. There are open mic nights for the untested. Your employer is paying for pro-level performance. Trust me on this.
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos