It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 8:15 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Have come into possesion of fender jazz bass
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:25 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:01 pm
Posts: 2
Hi, all,

My father-in-law passed away recently and my wife and I now have in our possesion his collectin of instruments. He was musician all his life and was active in the san francisco bay area jazz scene. He played multiple instruments....sax, trumpet, piano, keyboard, banjo, guitar, bass....he was quite the musician. His heart was bass, mainly upright. We have standard upright as well as electric upright basses and also a 1969 fender jazz bass.

I am not a musician so we are selling most of his collection. I am keeping a 1950's era gibson f slot acoustic and one of his uprights. but we would like to sell the fender jazz bass...and there is my question. Can anyone advise us on how to go about selling this bass. From my research I believe it is in the $4500 to $5500 range but I could be off. Not sure where to sell an item of this sort.

Any advise or direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanyou,

V. Vitucci
vpvitucci@yahoo.com


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 9:57 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:47 pm
Posts: 187
Fullerton era Fenders have really gone up in price over the last few years and, I bet will only go further. If it's not heavily modified plus in decent shape...I'd just wait and sell for much more later on. I know that's not the advice you are seeking. Just trying to help.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:24 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26417
Location: Tombstone Territory
Can you post some pics of the bass in question? If nothing else, it will help to identify the instrument, ascertain its bona fides, and determine the vintage.

There are several guitar shops in the SF/Marin County area that may be of assistance. As well, Skip's Music in Sacramento and Bizarre Guitars in Reno can help with consignment sales.

Best of luck, HTH

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 11:29 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:01 pm
Posts: 2
Thanks for the input. Holding on to it may be good advice i will have to consider that option.

I will post pics. May take a day or 2. It has had no mods done, is in original case, has tray (i think that is what the silver thing in called) and does have a few scratches. Also believe it is sunburst....

Thanks again and I'll get the pics going


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 12:28 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26417
Location: Tombstone Territory
I'll be happy to post them for you if you are unfamiliar with the procedure.

<phantoms4ever(at)cox(dot)net>

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Have come into possesion of fender jazz bass
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 12:37 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
vpvitucci wrote:
Hi, all,

Can anyone advise us on how to go about selling this bass. From my research I believe it is in the $4500 to $5500 range but I could be off. Not sure where to sell an item of this sort.

vpvitucci@yahoo.com


The vintage market has been depressed but is slowly coming back. I would go ahead and get it appraised by a legitimate appraisal service such as George Gruhn at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. http://www.gruhn.com/ Gruhn's will do a photo appraisal online and George Gruhn is considered a top expert. He also does consignment sales. Or you can take it to a local reputable vintage dealer who will give you a written appraisal. Once you have the appraisal, it is time to get up with your insurance company about getting a rider on your home owner's insurance to cover the instrument in case it is stolen or damaged by fire or an earthquake and hold onto it for a year.

The price you are quoting is what it might have sold for 3 years ago but the market has been stagnant. So don't expect your high end figure and you'd probably be real fortunate to get your low end figure.

Also when the appraisal is finished, know that the appraisal figure is NOT what you can realistically expect to sell the instrument for at this time. Let me give you an example. You buy a diamond ring for $6000. You immediately take it to another jeweler to get it appraised to make sure you weren't cheated. The appraiser says it is worth $9,000. You pay for the appraisal and leave with the written appraisal for insurance. The next day you go back and ask the jeweler who made the $9,000 appraisal what they will offer you to buy it outright on the spot. Probably they would offer $2,000 to $3,000 and then turn around and sell it again to someone else for $6,000.

Most if not all quoted asking prices on CBS era instruments like yours are very negotiable. However I would NOT sell it without having it appraised first. As a rule the sale price will be a percentage of the appraisal. If you can get 75% of the appraisal value you might want to seriously consider taking it. 80% consider it sold.

As was mentioned consignment is one way to sell. Lazy but it eventually works. Just remember a percentage of the sale price is retained by the dealer who sells it. Some consignment dealers will offer to appraise it for you and will then appraise it high, wanting you to sign a consignment agreement with them saying they believe they can get about that much for it. They can't of course, so a few months into the consignment term they'll contact you and say they have had some interest but no offers at the current price and they will recommend you give them more latitude in negotiating downward. They might do this again too about a month before the term is up.

So be mindful of these possible tactics by some vintage consignment dealers. They want to sell your bass. They know they can't sell it for 95% of appraisal value, but might imply they can. That is why an appraisal by an independent vintage dealer is advised. Price it fairly in line with the market and it will sell.

I have two more ways to sell it and possibly get as much if not more more for it than in a consignment sale through a vintage dealer.

1. When you take it to get it appraised, find out when the next VINTAGE GUITAR SHOW is in your city. Take it to the guitar show and go from dealer to dealer at the show offering to sell it. Take the highest offer if it is in the 75% ballpark of your appraisal. Here is a website that lists guitar shows: http://www.ducksdeluxe.com/ddevents.html
There are some music events coming in your area, but you just missed a big vintage guitar show.

2. EBAY it. Take very good photos from all angles and also use a scan of the written appraisal as one of your photos! Set a reserve for the very least you will take for it which I'd say is 75% of appraisal value. Ship only to USA. Accept only a US POSTAL SERVICE MONEY ORDER as payment. When money order arrives, cash the money order first and then ship the bass. That way you have no risk at all. Done!

As I said, the vintage marked is more active than this same time last year, but people are very cautious about buying.

Good Luck!


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: