I guess one positive thing as a seller is that if you do post stuff that is reasonably priced and accurately described, it gets noticed and sells quickly. I posted two synth modules today (one of them The World’s Ugliest Wavestation) and they sold in minutes.
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I think that’s exactly what it all boils down to. There is nothing normal about any market right now. Used synths, local child care, real estate, auto, etc…
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I’m selling my ‘59 Gibson Explorer
A real deal too, i’m only asking a quarter million.
But somebody did pay that much. See this article on the most valuable guitars in Vintage Guitars.
I was looking on Reverb yesterday for a used acoustic. I can tell ya, it’s not just Machinedrum prices that are crazy. Bubble ?
I think it depends to some extent where you’re coming from. Here in Sweden, you’re gonna have to throw a Tempest after people and they still won’t pick it up. Travel west, and prices are higher. If you venture out on Reverb, you’re peeking into a world market but sometimes local prices, especially when it comes to second hand stuff.
I tend to go slightly below asking price when I sell stuff. Enough to get a decent amount of bidders. I can usually tell from how they communicate, if they’re good people or out to cause trouble. That way, I can go with someone I believe is a good person, and give them a fair price for a cool piece of kit.
Short run, it’s a loss. Long run, it’s a huge gain. You invest in relationships and reputation.
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I’ve seen ppl hike prices crazy since covid popped off and I think it’s disgusting. Creative communities shouldn’t move like that.
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… Consoles haha oh man
But yeah I agree, it’s the zeitgeist atm we all fear we get too little eventhough we already have so much
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Little fun fact, of all the US dollars in circulation around the world, 25% were printed last year! And the EU’s been even “worse” — in other words, we’re in a vicious cycle since 2008, where governments have to keep printing money to keep the hyper-accelerated system going, but the more money is printed the more it accelerates. So there’s waaaaay too much money out there (obviously not evenly distributed), which is reflected in the prices of almost anything that has even the most remote potential as investment asset / that is considered to have inherent material value. Real estate, stocks, cryptos, art, vintage gear and other collectors’ items etc etc.
I try to buy and sell used gear in communal contexts only, ie Ebay Kleinanzeigen (local only, which in Berlin is quite good), on this forum etc. I track prices of stuff I like and I refuse to pay up prices that I feel are silly for used gear. I won’t even express my interest in those cases. Myself I try to sell my gear as used ACTUALLY. That is, I try to set prices that will get me a fair return on expenditure while also being low enough to make someone else happy. To me, that’s the whole point of second hand markets for a relatively niche market such as our own.
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How ? Gear is cheaper than ever. I’ve seen some great prices for vintage equipment on local markets. I’ve seen Cs-80 way below market price and Studer consoles for pretty cheap among many other gems. I think we are spoiled with amount of choice.
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Global inflation, hot money everywhere. See property prices, gold, shares, bitcoin.
Electronics was just an exception because of more and more efficient manufacturing, cheap Asian labour, expanding market and competition. See Behringer’s curve but even Elektron’s revenue about 6-7 times more than 10 years ago.
It is over, we saw the peak. Vintage prices are already insane. Used gear prices less and less attractive. Supply of new gear with problems due to pandemic and the component prices started to increase.
If you have money, do not hesitate on prices, because they run before you.
I’m mostly here to complain about not buying that alpha Juno I was looking at for £200 a couple of years ago…
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miserable git
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I don’t bother with Reverb anymore. As mentioned items that are still in production practically sell for retail, and if it’s rare/coveted then it’s absurdly overpriced. Stick to Craigslist and be patient.
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The problem with Reverb could be the fees. First you pay 5% of Reverb fee, than 3% for PayPal (and PayPal could be the only option in many cases).
Of course this does not justify cases when used items are sold by price higher than at Thomann’s or other stores…
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True! Reverb is only worth it for buying from euro builders imo
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Yeah, this is simply not true. Reverb is a place where you can consistently find rare and vintage gear, but for a premium price. There’s still plenty of more localized online marketplaces where prices are both lower and higher than the Reverb median. Sucks if you live somewhere without a local marketplace, like a rural area and have to buy your gear from Reverb, true.
Like for example where I live there’s a pretty old, pre-Reverb and pre-Ebay even, musicians community where I’ve bought plenty of gear below “market” prices, mostly local pickup or postage within Finland, so relatively free of hassle. There’s also a synth specific Facebook group with a few thousand hardcore synth enthusiasts with a lot of really cool gear for sale, and there’s a common understanding that everyone gives a 10% discount for fellow members.
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I would say you’re in an extremely rare situation there.
I live in a city of 1.5million and there’s no such thing here. 
This… is certainly a theory.
It doesn’t make sense on any level though.
Absolutely nobody will pay 7% each time AND have a cache of Machinedrums they’re trying to base their retirement on. AND corner worldwide, AND do the same with eBay, Reverb, local sales sites…
Your frustrations are leading you to shoehorn patterns in, but the patterns you are finding are not meaningful to the narrative you’re assigning to collective action.
Ultimately there are not many of them around and still a good deal of interest, and there will be a fluctuation in of value at any point in time.
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No craigslist? I know many cities in the US have craigslist or a similar local marketplace with good deals to be found. Also in Europe many countries have their own marketplaces, either dedicated to music equipment or just like craigslist a general marketplace where you can find good deals on old gear.
Haha - I agree
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most certainly a bubble hence my urge to buy good prices play around and see what i need/want real quick right now.
I’m trying to sell my Moog Voyager had some good use, only 1 key is cracked from a crappy studio domonioes event.