jbiscuti
Well-known member
There are a few price guides out there, yeah. Nothing better then a "Completed Listings" search on eBay though!
adouglas
Well-known member
Totally agree.
The market fluctuates so fast these days that published guides are not particularly useful for commonly found instruments.
Where you get into trouble is if the bass is very rare... completed ebay won't help you there because you won't find anything comparable.
Even a published guide might mislead you, because rare stuff is not a commodity. The value of a rare/old/collectible instrument has absolutely everything to do with how badly the buyer wants it. One person may be willing to pay twice what another person wants to part with. So what's it worth? Price x or price 2x? Depends on who you're dealing with. No book can tell you that.
However, if you poke around enough, take your time and be observant you'll get a good feel for what the vintage market is like.
The market fluctuates so fast these days that published guides are not particularly useful for commonly found instruments.
Where you get into trouble is if the bass is very rare... completed ebay won't help you there because you won't find anything comparable.
Even a published guide might mislead you, because rare stuff is not a commodity. The value of a rare/old/collectible instrument has absolutely everything to do with how badly the buyer wants it. One person may be willing to pay twice what another person wants to part with. So what's it worth? Price x or price 2x? Depends on who you're dealing with. No book can tell you that.
However, if you poke around enough, take your time and be observant you'll get a good feel for what the vintage market is like.
oli@bass
Well-known member
Yep. A fairly recent one lists Sabres for around $800 depending on age and shape... haven't ever seen one that low.... more like $1'800 for nice ones.
