I'm sure I'm not alone in that the gear I desire most is usually well outside my financial reach. This may be guitars, pedals, amps, more guitars, more pedals, or anything else that may take your fancy. The obvious solution for many people is the second hand market. Besides a few relatively minor factors such as fret wire and amp valves, guitar gear doesn't really wear our per se. In addition to this, guitarists seem to be everywhere, and many of us affected by a persistent need to move on to something bigger and better (and often have to sell off other gear to fund this). This combination of factors results in an enduring and thriving second hand market. The greatest benefit of the used gear market is that it puts the power back into your hands - you can negotiate to your heart's content, and you are much more likely to find a specific guitar, for example, that might have stopped being produced many years ago.
The only real concern here is that the main dealers of second hand equipment are, of course, music and/or guitar shops. In order to turn a profit on used gear, they are bound to buy your used gear way below value and sell you used gear at a price that isn't much below the RRP.In many cases, this is still better than buying new gear, but there are number of perks that make new vs second hand a surprisingly close decision. Part exchange is great and all, but in most cases you are unlikely to be able to make a straight swap for the gear you want in a guitar shop without taking gear that is effectively lesser in value.
However, the advent of the internet has given the used gear market a 'second wind', so to speak. Websites allowing us to post classified ads mean that we are now able to cut out the middleman and buy or sell used gear for its true value. Gumtree, craigslist - or whatever your country's equivalent website may be - allow us to list gear with pictures and descriptions and chat directly with prospective buyers. With search and filtering functions, we can undertake specific searches for gear and find those holy grail pieces of gear that will finally allow us to play like Mark Knopfler (it really is that easy!).
More recently, we have also been fortunate enough to have Reverb. Reverb functions in a similar manner to eBay, but gear is sold on a 'Buy it now' or best offer basis rather than being subject to bids. Reverb also has a reputation system and should therefore be theoretically more trustworthy than eBay. The user base seems to be a healthy mix of retailers, gear companies, and regular musicians. The biggest downside in my experience, is that Reverb is US based and quite heavily geared towards the US market. There is still a good amount of listings for UK based and UK shipped gear, but there seems to be a lot less used gear and prices aren't aways as competitive as I would expect. However, there is definitely opportunity to get some great deals on Reverb. I have personally had a couple of great experiences where a low-ball offer was accepted and I was able to buy gear for much less than I had expected to pay. The trust system is another key benefit of Reverb, and I'd advise that you read a seller's reviews before going ahead with a deal that seems almost too good to be true. I don't have any experience selling items on Reverb, so I can't really comment on that. If the selling experience is anywhere near as smooth and easy as that buying experience then you're definitely onto a winner.
Whilst classified ads and Reverb are truly great for the stringent gear hunter, my favourite option for second hand buying comes from somewhere a little more unexpected - Facebook. In recent years, Facebook has come to bore me. The same old shite gets posted over an over again, and let's not even mention the serious privacy issues. Despite this, there is one major draw that keeps me coming back to Facebook. A few years ago, I first discovered a UK guitar buy, sell and trade group. Since then I have found a fair few more, and some more specialised groups like a guitar pedal marketplace. On these groups, a user can post an ad much like one that may be posted to gumtree/reverb which will then be available to other group members who are interested in buying used gear. If you would like to scroll through a stream of second hand gear to see what might pique your interest, then Facebook groups are perfect. If you are after something in particular, then the likelihood is that someone will be selling this. Facebook also allows you to search sale posts, though I've often found that this feature is less than perfect.
By far my favourite benefit of such Facebook groups is the real possibility of finding a trade. If you're getting bored of a piece of gear and really want to try something new, then theres nothing stopping you from offering a trade. I have bought, sold, and traded in these groups, and there is nothing more satisfying than trading your old gear for something of equal value that you really, really want. If you were to sell your old gear using more traditional methods, you may not obtain its true value. In all likelihood, you would then have to pay full price or at least an inflated used price for the replacement that you now desire. But now, WE LIVE IN THE FUTURE. You can instantly find someone who wants what you have and has what you want. You can add them as a friend and chat away to your hearts content about how this guitar was almost looked at by John Mayer, or was played by someone who once saw a SRV concert, or inherited the mojo of the vintage mint pickguard you fitted on it. By using Facebook's already well established networks and chat systems, you really can find a great deal that suits you well.
Now don't get me wrong, Facebook is still evil. I'm still convinced that Zuckerberg is doing his best to enslave us as our robot overlord. But in terms of striking that mix between local buyers/sellers and easy discovery and communication, there just doesn't seem to be anything better out there.
In my experience, it is still best to keep a close eye on those classified ads, Reverb listings, and even the odd eBay sale. Endless great deals are waiting to be found in Facebook groups, but there is still a good chance that a great deal will pop up elsewhere. I know many people aren't aware of the possibilities that can be found outside of the usual gear goldmines that we all know well. I wanted to share this information as I know that the more people who use a marketplace, the more buyers and sellers there will be. This means that we are all more likely to get a better deal whether buying or selling, and you are much more likely to find that coveted holy grail for a fair and achievable price.
Do you know of any other secret gear hidey holes? What is your best second hand find? Do you know how to get my stupid guitar pick our of my acoustic guitar???? Let me know below.
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