It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 12:59 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 2:52 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:48 pm
Posts: 4
I have a 1958 precision bass to sell for the family of a bass player who died recently as far as I know it is original as been informed he was using it in a band in the 1960,s any advise


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 3:10 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14048
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
Look here , this bass could worth more than $10 K

A buyer will ask to see lots of pictures ; pickups ( all side) , neck date , body date , peg head , serial number.....

http://www.gruhn.com


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 11:07 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:58 pm
Posts: 1051
Location: SW Florida
Be happy to help. PM me.

_________________
Collector of vintage Fender 4 string basses.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 1:22 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14048
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
affprod wrote:
Be happy to help. PM me.



A buyer :lol:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 2:19 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
Whether Affprod wants to buy it or not, the first thing to do is to get an appraisal by a noted vintage instrument authority. Don't sell it to anyone before that. One way to get a fast convenient appraisal is to go to the link Stratele52 posted for Gruhn Guitars. In the left column click on APPRAISAL and follow directions. This could be a very, very valuable instrument or it could be not as valuable as other 1958 Precisions. Only an appraisal will tell you. George Gruhn is the most noted and trusted name in vintage appraisals. Follow the instructions on their appraisal page for an online appraisal and take good clear photos to email. It costs $50 for an online appraisal and totally worth it to know what you actually have and what it actually is worth. Do not sell it without an appraisal first as you could cheat yourself out of thousands or wind up with an angry buyer hunting you down later breathing fire. Of course in an online appraisal they can't play it to see if it plays good and sounds good or disassemble to check for hallmarks. So you'll get a less accurate appraisal online than in person but it costs less and has become a standard practice in the collector world.

The second thing is to get this thing insured against fire and theft immediately after finding out what it is worth. You can just add a rider onto your existing homeowner policy.

Know that the appraisal value will be higher than the actual final value in a sale. An appraisal is a starting point to know what you have and to validate it to a potential buyer. It will probably sell for about 75% of the appraisal value. One that appraises for $16,000 might actually sell for $12,000. This is partially because appraisals are often used for insurance purposes and instruments increase in value (hopefully) over a five year period. The appraisal figure has some built in inflation in the value so it will still be useful five years from now for insurance purposes.

You say it is original, but how do you know the owner didn't refinish it or replace a part with an aftermarket one? You don't. Originality and condition are the two most important factors to value. George Gruhn will be able to tell whether it is an original collector class instrument or a player class instrument that has been modified. Collector class instruments in excellent condition that are 100% original as the day they left the factory are worth a multiple of what a modified (player class) one in poor condition is worth. Many players do make modifications but some don't. Get an appraisal, otherwise you are merely guessing at what you have. Some 59 P-Basses are worth $13,000 in today's market and others are worth $3,000. Get it appraised and George Gruhn is the most respected name.

Once you have an idea what it is worth there are FIVE different ways I can think of to sell it, depending on what it actually turns out to be worth.

1. Private party sale where you sell it directly to a buyer. This can take forever to sell at anything near what it is worth. Also where you are located can significantly impact your ability to ever sell it. This instrument needs to be offered for sale nation or worldwide to get the most possible money for it. Depressed markets are not usually a good place to try to sell an instrument like this in a private party sale. Also use caution. Once thieves know where it is they come back later to steal it. People pay with counterfeit money or with a "cashiers check" they printed at home. Be very careful. The upshot here is you keep 100% of what you sell it for. However HOW are you going to connect with actual vintage instrument collectors to sell it in person? That's the problem.

2. Real world auction house. Christie's, Sotheby's and Guernsey's are three of many noted auction houses famous for selling vintage guitars for high figures. There are fees involved and you have to wait for a guitar auction to come up. Almost always these auctions bring what it is worth depending on current market conditions. 99.9% of the instruments in the marketplace are not worthy of this, but some are. See what the appraisal says about this one. Auction house sales bring good prices but you have to ship it there, wait for the auction to come up and it is somewhat complicated to deal with them remotely. Sometimes they are only interested in celebrity owned instruments or in entire collections of vintage instruments such as Guernsey's auction early last month of 265 vintage guitars from Hank Risan's collection. However some houses do sell individual collector class guitars that come in from private sellers in day long affairs several times per year or at least annually. The April Hank Risan collection auction had lots of instruments that sold for LESS than the starting bid but may have been "overestimated" in value. One did sell for $300,000.00 though.

3. Online auction sites are quick sales, usually it takes a week to 10 days. The problems here add some risk such as non-paying bidders, shipping issues, chargebacks, fraud, high auction fees etc. When you get into a $10,000 item the eBay fees are substantial and about as much as a real auction house. Also since they can't actually see and play the instrument in person online buyers don't know whether it is a "good one" or a "bad one" so buyers are frequently hesitant to pay as much as they would if they had played an excellent instrument in person first. eBay is one way to sell quickly but the price might not be as high as you'd like. You can do a "buy it now" type auction at a set price. But if you set the price too high it won't sell. You can also start the bidding low to build interest while setting a "reserve" (meaning the minimum price it will be sold for) but there are extra fees involved to do that. Selling on eBay is not where I'd try to sell this first.

4. Outright sales to a vintage instrument dealer. This is instantaneous but you will get far less for it than selling it any other way. I'd prefer taking my chances selling via eBay rather than selling outright to a vintage dealer. They will offer 50 to 60% of what they intend selling it for. You'll do better on eBay and almost as quickly. This would be useful in an emergency situation if you needed the money right now and couldn't wait.

5. Consignment sale through a vintage dealer. This is a safe way to maximize your proceeds from the sale while also making the sale reasonably quickly. There is not the risk of an online auction. Dealers do charge a percentage in commission for consignment sales but they have an established reputation with customers, collector waiting lists, websites to advertise it and many travel with their best items to regional guitar shows on weekends. Usually they can get much more for it and sell it far faster than you ever could in a private party sale or even on eBay.

If I had this instrument and I wanted to get the most possible money in a reasonably short time with the least amount of risk then a consignment sale arrangement with a noted vintage dealer is the route I'd probably take and I'd probably consign with George Gruhn. This is a very desirable vintage and no matter what condition it is in or the appraisal value it should sell fairly quickly as there is a demand for both collector class and player class instruments of this vintage. You also have to ship it to the dealer who will then give it an in person appraisal which is far more detailed than one online and then he will price it and put it in inventory. If it has not sold in a reasonable time, say 3 to 6 months, then the dealer may ask your permission for some more pricing latitude. When shipping it to the dealer please insure it for at least 3/4ths of what the online appraisal said it was worth.

Affprod has lots of vintage stuff so what he says in a PM you can believe. He has contacts with lots of vintage dealers and is one of the real collectors active on this forum, if not the foremost one.

This could be a VERY valuable instrument. Get it appraised.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 2:47 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14048
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
Brotherdave you are 100% right


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 11:47 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
stratele52 wrote:
Brotherdave you are 100% right


It was getting long so left out a few things. I think the most important thing I left out was that the longer you keep it the more it probably will be worth so I'd be in no big hurry to sell it unless there is a pressing need such as a legal mandate to settle an estate within a limited time frame. It likely will not go down in value and if the vintage market continues to recover broadly it could appreciate, perhaps substantially.

However like on those TV commercials for gold bullion the disclaimer, "past performance is not an indication of future gains" should be kept in mind. All collectibles are subject to value fluctuations based on market conditions. The vintage instrument market is now in about the eighth year of a depression of sorts where the wildly escalating gains of 1988 through 2004 not only stopped, but reversed. Two years ago it was more of a buyers market than a sellers market. Over the past year that has begun to turn around somewhat but not completely across the board. If you bought into the vintage market between 2001 and 2004 you still are not back to zero, but closer. If and when the economy picks back up we may see more escalation in vintage Fender values but it is foolish to think the 1000% plus growth seen during the vintage boom will happen again. It isn't just guitars that are lagging but other collectibles as well.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 3:25 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:58 pm
Posts: 1051
Location: SW Florida
Brother Dave's input is spot on, as is his estimate of value, sight unseen. George Gruhn will send you a written appraisal with your pictures attached. That package should be copied and a duplicate given to your home owners insurance policy holder for a rider, insuring the bass. I individually insure all basses with a value over $7500. It is cheap, and it just makes sense. Make sure your policy has coverage for personal property off premises, too, and that the dollar amount is enough to cover the bass when in your car or at a location. I think they all do, but I would still ask the question.

To be honest, once insured, I would actually send it to George for an in hand appraisal. I will not buy a bass at this level without it, so spending $250 now will actually speed things up for you, because you will be able to talk about the bass details with knowledge.

I still stand ready to help you though the process, if you are interested. Stratele52 is correct, I could be a buyer, you never know, but my offer was to help. Anytime I have the opportunity to work with these vintage basses, it is always my pleasure to do so.

Steve

_________________
Collector of vintage Fender 4 string basses.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 12:28 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:00 am
Posts: 1226
Location: In the pocket north of Washington D.C.
You guys put a lot into those replies. I hope that this wasn't a hit and run.

I would love to have an original '58 Precision, but there are so many fake
Fenders around, its hard to take that plunge.

I hope the initial poster gives us some feedback as to what they are going to do with that bass.

_________________
If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of his children a drum.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1958 fender precision bass
Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 10:02 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:48 pm
Posts: 4
Thanks for all your very good advise still undecided what to do.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


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: