You know, I do a little of buying, selling, repairing, etc. of gear, and I really don't know where the good guy/bad guy line really is. Sure, offering $8 for something worth $1,500 is wrong, but of course there has got to be more to that story- worth $1,500 to whom? Retail or wholesale, as an example.
But again, where is the line? I recently saw a Peavey guitar, case and in-case SS amp on Atlanta Craigslist, the guy was asking something stupid low like $30. I wanted it, but when I called, he said another guy was on his way, and the seller was happy to sell it to him it because the buyer "had one like that as a kid." That "as a kid" line was almost certainly bull- the thing appeared on CL, within a week, for something like $200. NOBODY flips something that is nostalgic that fast, and that kind of mark up is a dead giveaway, too. Mow, I would have probably flipped it, too, and if I really could have gotten $200 for it (unlikely, I think, but it illustrates the point- keep reading) I probably would have. But one thing I would NOT have done, is lied to the seller like that.
Where is the line?
Last week, I bought a Peavey drum set and a Squier Strat for $50 for both, and I know I can triple my money (even after strings, heads, pieces-parts bought and installed.) The drums may end up in our rehearsal studio, but they may get re-sold, too. The strat- slapped a set of strings on it and that puppy's FOR SALE- $75 asking price. The woman selling them did not ask my intent- if she had, I would have told her just what I just told you. She did say she had lots of responses, and when I asked her why she chose me as buyer, she said because she wanted to get them both sold, and I was the only one interested in both. I also bought a Harmony tenor banjo from her, which had been hers for 40 years, but I told her that I would prefer she be sure she wanted to sell it, first, and said that she could call me back if she changed her mind, and I will sell it back to her for the same $30. Mind you, this was before I had much of an idea of it's value- turns out it's worth maybe $50 to $60, $100 tops- frankly, if my only intent was to flip it, I'd rather not mess with something as hard to sell as a tenor banjo (I actually want it for myself, as I have a Harmony tenor guitar from the same era, and a song my buds and I do needs banjo, so I might learn to play it, too.)
A couple years ago, I found a Westone bass at a garage sale. Paid $40 for it, seller wanted $50. It was a wild, pointy thing, with two-color and metalflake paint. Sold it on eBay- the seller saw my post, recognized his old bass, and "offered" me $40. Sorry, no. I took a chance, did some work, and it was paying off. Buyer paid something like $150 for it, he lived in Canada. He wanted me to call it a gift for tariff purposes, which I refused to do- he knew there would be duties to pay, and he still bid $150. I am NOT getting myself in trouble with customs for HIS benefit, for sure.
More recently, I saw a ukulele at another garage sale. Dark wood, fiberboard case with a broken bake-lite handle. On the headstock was PAINTED "Gibson." I really didn't know if it was real or a fake, but it was a decent instrument, so I asked what the woman wanted for it. "Ten dollars," she said. I took a chance and paid the lady. Turns out, it is a real Gibson Uke, 1968 model, and is worth between $800 and $1200. But, i was not sure if it was even a real Gibson when I bought it, and I had no idea it's value. If I sell it, it won't be for $20, I can tell you. I am no fool. Now, dollar wise, there is not a big gulf between offering $8 for something worth $1,500, and paying $10 for something worth $1,200- but the difference between my actions and those of the "International Vintage Guitar Collectors Association," (besides me not changing my name...) is I had no idea what the uke was worth, whereas I strongly suspect, after listening to the interview, these guys KNOW what things are worth. If I were to see ANOTHER Gibson Uke, I'd ask what the seller wanted- and if he or she said "ten bucks," I would be compelled to say something like, "Are you sure? It's probably worth more..." Really, I would. What would happen next, you ask? Well, things would probably get REAL interesting...
Where's the line?
I am no angel, but I do try to stay legal and ethical and fair, but at the same time, I do much of this to make money. I feel no qualms marking it up, to a fair, what-the-market-will-bring price. If a good friend (here on HR, or otherwise) wants it, I will cut him a deal, but he's probably not gonna get it for my cost. My son, girlfriend, mother, nephew- that's a different story, they will probably get it at my real cost (it was a 60-mile round trip for the drums, for instance, so the drums won't go to any of them for less than $60, most likely- unless the Strat sells first, and I get my vehicle cost back that way), and I sometimes give it to them as a gift. There is an exception to the "friends" price- if it's a hot item that I KNOW I can clear some real money, I'll probably tell them "I know I can get $2,000 for this thing, and I need the money, so I am gonna have to put on the market, first. If it does not sell in a reasonable amount of time, we can talk."
I dislike pawn brokers, for the most point, because it has been my observation (not experience- I have NEVER- knock on wood- needed to pawn anything) that most of them buy gear for obscenely low prices, and then tag it at prices near or ABOVE what that thing sold for, new. Sure, most people don't pay that much, but some poor fool may. I hasten to add, there are exceptions- a friend from college is a pawn broker here in Marietta, and I have seen that his shop's selling prices are fair (although I have no idea what he normally pays for stuff) and if TV can be trusted, the guys on "Pawn Stars" are willing to pay 50% of an items retail value, if they can determine what that value is. But, the majority of pawn shops I walked in, I walked back out, no money spent. Still, I have learned that when a pawn broker gets a lefty guitar in his shop, he is a fish waiting to be reeled in at the right moment- lefty guitars tend to gather dust on the wall; by the time I walk in his shop the 3rd or 4th time, he is usually ready to sell it to me at what I want to pay for it, if only because no one else has shown any real interest.
I could go on and on, but my point is, it's okay to make a fair profit, but gouging ANYONE- seller or buyer- is just wrong. Oh, sure, caveat emptor and all that crap- but good GOD, how do some of these people SLEEP at night???
(While listening to the interview, I noticed they said someone walked in with a saxaphone that "low books for about $6,000..." but it is interesting that they did NOT say what they might have PAID for it...)
