Where Can I Sell My Guitar For A Good Price?

So you’ve grown tired of your old guitar and want to trade it in to get some cash for some other gear. The problem is that you don’t know where or how to sell that old guitar. In this article, we are going to answer your question “Where can I sell my guitar for a good price?”

Before you start looking for where to sell your guitar for a good price, it is important that you understand how to sell the guitar first. Without the knowledge on how to do it, you might go about it the wrong way and under-sell your guitar. 

How To Sell Your Guitar In 3 Easy Steps

Find out how much your guitar is worth.

Prep the guitar for sale.

Take really good photos of the guitar and then market it to people.

For a more detailed explanation on how all of this works, keep reading.

Find Out What It’s Worth

If you’re trying to get the best value out of your guitar, it’s best to check its current asking price in the market. First, find out how much guitar costs if it’s sold new. This would give you a brief idea of how much it has depreciated over the years from when you bought it. 

If it’s still the same price or even higher may be due to inflation, then you’re in for a treat. If it’s lower, which it most likely would be, that’s not a problem. You should still be able to get good value for the guitar if it’s in good condition. 

After checking for the guitar new, check for used options. Check sites online that sell used stuff and check the average people are selling it. This is the price you want to target to sell. You could do something slightly cheaper so that people are more drawn to your listing than others. 

The only situation where you might want to sell slightly higher than the average listing is if your guitar is in pristine condition. That is, you didn’t as much as leave a single scratch on the instrument. 

Prep The Guitar For Sale

Now that you have an idea of what you want to sell your guitar for based on its present state, it’s time to prep it for sale. To do this, you’ll need to clean the guitar thoroughly. 

Cleaning your guitar is a lot more than just using a rag to wipe the body. If you don’t know how to clean a guitar thoroughly, check out our guitar cleaning guide here. It should help you get your guitar looking clean for the photos. 

Take The Photos

If you’re trying to sell your guitar online, then you definitely need to get the best photos possible. To get the best photos, you need to get really good lighting. Don’t just go into your basement and take a few photos with your smartphone and call it a day. 

See also  How To Write A Melody On The Guitar

Even if your guitar looks good in real-life, people looking at a tiny screen won’t know that if the picture isn’t good-looking. 

We’re not the best when it comes to photography so we’ve enlisted the help of the youtube video below to teach you how to photograph your guitar. You definitely need to check out the video so you can get the best photos of your guitar:

Where Should I Put My Guitar Up For Sale?

Now that you’ve cleaned up your guitar, taken good photos, and you’re ready to sell the guitar, where are the best places to put the guitar up for sale at a good price?

Your local music store

Online using sites like eBay, Craigslist, and Guitarcenter.

Your Local Music Store

The first place you should try to sell your guitar is at your local music store, and it’s pretty easy. All you need to do is walk into the store, ask them if they would love to buy your guitar, and sell it if they say “yes”. 

The problem with selling at a local music store is that they might not want to buy it for the price you want to sell, especially if it’s a small store. 

However, it doesn’t hurt to find out for yourself first. Who knows, you might even meet a buyer in the store who would prefer to take your guitar off you rather than buy a new one from the store. And if the stores aren’t willing to pay what you want for the guitar, then it’s time to try a different means. 

Where Can I Sell My Guitar For A Good Price

Photo by Ruel Del Jamorol on Unsplash

How To Sell Your Guitar Online

Here are the three main tips you need to know to successfully sell your guitar online:

1. Be honest and thorough. If there’s anything wrong with the guitar, say it. Don’t oversell. The worst thing that can happen to a seller is an unsatisfied customer.

2. Always be ready to ship. People have been spoilt by Amazon with 2-day shipping. Although you might not be able to get that, you need to be ready to ship as quickly as possible.

3. Reply quickly with great customer service.

For an in-depth look into all of these tips, keep reading.

If you want to sell online, you’ll need to be very patient because it’s a game of chance. While you can get contacted the very next day, you might also have to wait a few weeks or even months. So just get ready. 

Now that you know the risk involved, below are 3 essential tips to note when trying to sell your guitar online. 

Tip 1 — Be Honest And Thorough

There are a lot of online retailers who lie about their products. Don’t be one of them. It’s better to be completely honest and let your potential customers know all the problems and defects before they buy your guitar. 

If you lie and the customer finds out after the purchase, on most e-commerce sites, you might be compelled to receive a return and issue a refund, or you might not get paid at all. So, be as honest and as thorough as possible. Don’t leave any stone unturned. 

Most times your buyer would appreciate your honesty and if the price is right, they would still buy with the small issues the guitar has. 

Tip 2 — Always Be Ready To Ship

The online marketplace is a very fast-paced one. You blink and you’re out. Therefore, it is important that you remain prepared and ready to ship your guitar once a buyer has paid for it. 

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If you wait too long to ship the guitar, the buyer might have enough time to change his mind and cancel the order, leaving you where you started. Having a box ready to go is a very good idea. 

Tip 3 — Reply Quickly With Good Customer Service

You should always be ready to reply to your potential customers. You should also be prepared to answer questions they ask honestly. 

Apart from replying quickly, another thing to note is to be friendly. Be very friendly and calm with your potential customers. If they ask a question, compliment them and answer gently. One word answers won’t cut it. 

It would shock you how many people would simply ignore a great product because of bad customer service.

What Are The Best Sites To Sell Guitar Online?

eBay

Reverb

Amazon

eBay

The American company is one of the biggest e-commerce companies in the world. The reason we listed this first is that eBay is mainly known for used products. So, people searching for something on here are most likely already looking for something used. 

Also, presently, there are about 182 million people on eBay, actively. That’s a massive audience and definitely a bunch of people who would be interested in buying your guitar off of you.

However, it’s not perfect. For instance, if your guitar is very popular, you might get lost in the millions of already existing listings. This would make it more difficult for your listing to be seen and therefore, reduces your chances of selling. 

Another thing is that as a new seller on the platform, you don’t have any review and people often prefer to buy from people with great reviews. 

Finally, eBay takes about 9% of the selling price of the item sold. That coupled with the fact that eBay shoppers love to look for “best deals” and “cheapest items” you might not get the full value of your guitar. 

Want to sell on eBay? Click this link

Reverb

Reverb is another great site. The good thing about reverb is that it’s mainly for music-related gear. So, people who go on the site know what they’re looking for. This means that you have a higher chance of getting the value of your guitar. 

The sad thing about reverb is that it doesn’t have as many users as eBay. That means you have fewer eyes on your guitar. However, looking at the fact that the eyes know what they’re looking for, we think it’s not that bad. 

Also, if you do sell your guitar, they take a much smaller cut than eBay.

Want to sell on Reverb? Click this link

Amazon

We couldn’t possibly complete this list without the giants. The singular biggest e-commerce site is definitely a place to list your used guitar. 

The reason we put this last is that although it’s the biggest site in terms of users, it’s the most difficult to navigate. First of all, you have to submit it to Amazon for them to accept it. 

For Amazon to accept your listing, the guitar you’re trying to sell must already be available to buy (new) on their site. Now, you might think that they have such a large library that you guitar definitely is on there. 

However, since it’s not a specific music site, if your guitar is not very popular you might not be in luck. Sorry. 

See also  How To Tune A Mini Guitar

Want to sell on Amazon? Click this link


Photo by Kenny Luo on Unsplash

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Conclusion

Alright! In summary, we’ve learned the following:

  • How to sell your guitar
  • Where to sell your guitar
  • How to sell your guitar online, and…
  • The best places to sell your guitar online

Now, you’re definitely well-equipped with enough information that’ll allow you to sell your guitar with ease. We hope we’ve been of help. See you next time!

Where Can I Sell My Guitar For A Good Price? – Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I sell my guitar for?

The resale price of your guitar will depend on a list of factors including the make and model of the guitar, quality, age, and condition of the instrument. 

A very good way to determine the resale price or market value of your instrument is to go on websites like eBay, reverb, craigslist, and guitar center. 

On these platforms, check for the make and model of your guitar to determine the resale price range and how much people are willing to pay for it. 

Is selling to Guitar Center worth it?

Guitar Center is one place where you can sell or even pawn your musical instruments – especially your guitar. However, a quick online search on feedback from people who have sold their guitars there might leave you thinking twice about selling yours. 

Well, it might help you to know that Guitar center has a policy of buying items at 60% of what they intend to resell it for. It might require a hard bargain to sell your guitarthee=re at a good price. To stand a chance, ensure the guitar is in as good a condition as it can possibly be and have a bottom line price in mind before approaching guitar center. 

What guitars will increase in value?

Not many guitars will increase in value after use. However, guitars that fall into the following categories are expected to increase in value. 

1. Fender guitars made before 1965, especially the Stratocasters and the telecasters. 

2. Guitars built with Korina wood. Such guitars are priceless to guitarists. They have a great time and are lightweight. Most vitally there are a limited number of them available. 

3. Japanese “lawsuit” guitars: these are Japanese-made replicas of Gibson and Fenders. They are top quality limited models. Production has been halted after Gibson and Fenders filed a patent lawsuit against the manufacturers. 

Does Guitar Center pay well for used guitar?

This actually depends on the quality, condition, and model of the used guitar. Typically, Guitar Center will buy a guitar from you at 60% of the price they think it can be resold. That might mean your guitar may be bought at a lower price than its market value. But it also depends how skilled you are at driving a bargain. 

More so, if your guitar is in excellent condition, is a rare or vintage model, or has some valuable artifact like the personal signature of a popular rockstar, you should be able to get good money for it. 

What do pawn shops pay the most for?

Pawnshops exchange goods for money which you are expected to pay back with interest within a specified time. Failure to do so means you forfeit the item. Pawnshops can also purchase items outrightly, however, they are notoriously frugal with purchases. 

For instance, getting good money for a guitar from a pawn shop will depend largely on the make, model, age, condition, or any special effects (such as autographs) seen on the guitar. You can expect a pawn shop to pay between $1 and $1400 for a guitar, considering the previously listed factors. 

Do guitars hold value?

Most guitars depreciate in value the moment they are purchased and used for the first time. This is, however, not the case for all guitars. For instance, guitar models considered as vintage today will keep appreciating in value over time. 

This is also the case for limited edition guitars and specific guitars played by guitar legends or popular bands. Guitars with special effects could also appreciate in value over time. This refers to guitars with autographs of music superstars and celebrities.

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