Oh, so you are in the habit of buying amps then selling them to pay for things then buying more. Tell me again how I'm evil for buying amps and selling them again to pay for things.Originally Posted by parker_knoll
before i did. then i didn't as i had to sell a bunch to pay for two vinyl pressings. now i do again
The fact the value of vintage amps is on an upward trajectory is a great thing in terms of the fact it is making new, quality amps economic again. Fenders are going down because 90% of current/recent boutique type amps were Fender clones, because they are most marketable in the limited market, and it really isn't hard to make a better quality amp than Fender in terms of construction. Hopefully some new and innovative small run amps will come out before too long, clones of popular but not as popular as Fender amps is a step in the right direction. The thing I want to see is a good amount of knowledge and criticism among the customer base for such amps, to try and maintain a decent standard to them, rather than the automatic assumption that handwired = quality, since handwiring can be done badly far commonly than mass produced pcb can.
Before ebay went huge I used to advertise in local loot etc for broken and old amplifiers and then Id buy over the phone and collect. I used to find old hiwatts voxes and marshalls etc for £100 and sell for 5-10 times what I paid. When ebay got huge, it happened less but I made a good living for a few years shipping stuff to USA that Id sold on plexipalace site etc. I never stung anyone, and neither, it seems has this guy. Now google Marcus Hardy on the other hand. He was up there with MG. I dealt with both only when I had too, but terrible business men
the origin of this sidetrack was that i was advising the original poster not to take this guy's prices as an indication of what he needs to pay for an old amp, in this case a Hiwatt. I bought one on Gumtree last year for £500. They are around. if you decide you want something set up your ebay saved searches and your google alerts and it will turn up before too long.
that's what I'm saying. don't take his prices as indication of how much one of [insert amp name here] costs. That's what i'm saying. only that.
I have a pretty good handle on what amps go for. The fact my Hiwatts have sold kind of backs that up. If you want an amp I have, my price is what it will cost, although that prices will be lower not going via ebay/if you are in a band I like/if you don't go round crying on forums because I won't sell you my amps cheaply so you can turn them over to fund your record. Maybe you'll find a different one for less, but if you are looking for a price guide, then the prices on the items you want to buy that are on the market is exactly that.
this i love. Hey, pricejacking is good for consumers because um, hold on, wait, um, gimme a minute, oh yes, it makes new amps cheaper. no really. oh sorry, it makes them "economic".
that's rhetoric worthy of Foxton's (no pun intended), but come again?
How long have you been listing that broken £400 Laney PA? I've watched it. in the meantime a bunch of them have come and gone, and I've bought two of them, both shipped. that's fine, that is your approach. But it's what they actually sell for that is indicative of what they are worth to the market. Your prices are not the market value. Someone would have bought your Laney if it was.
As you say, if I want your broken Laney then I'll pay your £400 for it. I don't disagree with that. I don't like pricejacking but I can't stop you doing it. I do disagree with you maintaining that your stuff represents the market value. The values you post on ebay are very high and that was my point to the OP.
Glad you did well with your hiwatts. Hiwatts may be spiking, i don't see much else spiking. A lot of things are down, not just Fenders. Even Marshalls and Voxes.
my advice is based on being someone who has a bit of an amp addiction and likes to explore and as a result buys a lot of amps, mainly cheap ones. As a dealer you're going to defend your high prices. As a buyer and enthusiast I would advise that people can find stuff economically and have given some tips on how to do it.
Ebay prices do fluctuate a lot based on quality of listing of course. but you can get a general idea.
Last edited by parker_knoll; 20th February 2013 at 05:56 PM.
here's a nice clean one went today, with shipping:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/valve-ampl...vip=true&rt=nc
Its right there in my blog that I got the Laney PA in October. The price is reflective of its parts value should I decide to strip it out (which I'll generally avoid), which I assume you know from the amount of those PAs you seem to be buying. You need to treat your donkey better. Stuff that is not on the market is not an indicator of market value. As an amp enthusiast who finds stuff economically at a professional level, I'm pretty well qualified to sort people with deals on amps, step one in being one of those people is not getting butthurt about having your lowball offers refused.
The fact that there is a guy making Hiwatt homages that are competitive in price with both new and vintage Hiwatts is an example of the economics I am talking about, there was no point when someone could pick up an old valve amp cheaply, now there is, we have a new amp maker offering new features to exploit that niche, and that is a win for people who like amps.
People have been making Hiwatt homages forever and will continue to do so. Some people want vintage some people want new.
You're an assertive talker, but i still maintain that one can buy stuff for much less than you charge. That was my original point before you stepped into the debate, and hopefully i've demonstrated it. I've used Laneys as an example because that's something I've been watching of late and they're fairly frequent.
Finally, i just want to make it absolutely clear that i have never sent Mr Foxen an offer for anything, lowball or otherwise. just in case someone misinterprets what you said as applying in some way to me.
Last edited by parker_knoll; 21st February 2013 at 12:55 AM.
Come on girls lets call it a day. Whilst I can understand Parker being peeved at seeing prices go silly, but that is only reflecting what a few people will pay right now. Maybe people are looking for investments? This time next year they might have doubled, maybe they will have fallen. It's a gamble.
Foxen is listing his amps at top dollar and not leaving it to chance - exactly what I do with anything I sell on ebay. Thats the price buy it or dont. There is nothing wrong with buying something at a price that you can see a profit in. If the seller values it at less than you do, one of you is right. You wont win every time and you wont get your money back every time. He isn't setting the prices, he's fishing. If someone lists one cheaper he wont sell his unless it is particularly desirable.
Remember it is not everyone that will buy something that needs work or a tidy up. You are also at the mercy of it being packed well and not getting damaged enroute.
Also the higher the price the fewer and more discerning the buyers.
So why did this Steve guy get "kicked off" the forum?
Successful deals with Prudd, HeartfeltDawn, Cosmiccarrot, Wullybee, dchwhite, HorationCaine, Saxosim
I'm sort of suspicious of people who make amps that are pretty close to established models front to back, because I take it as a sign they might not really understand the workings fully and that is why they are stuck with copying (familiar situation, but I'm, learning with the poking around in obscurities). I'd like to see some gutshots, see the pride that went in there, as consult with the EEs as to layout stuff, because that's where the real cream is when it comes to boutique stuff.
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