Advice for selling a steel

Walter Bowden · From: Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Hello all.

I may be selling a steel guitar and would like to offer it on the SGF. I would appreciate it if members who have sold/bought steels have a preferred method of establishing who has priority regarding the sale.

I have read the "Advice for sellers/buyers" postings and believe I can represent the steel honestly to anyone interested via photos and descriptions as well as answering any questions to the best of my knowledge.

What I am most concerned with is respecting the members who want to buy the guitar. Is there a preferred method of establishing "who was first?" I assume questions about the guitar could be addressed through PM as I prefer not to list my email address.

I will probably list the steel in the next day or so and any information regarding being a good seller would be appreciated as I really enjoy being a member of the SGF and want to do the right thing. I hope I have posted this in the right forum and the moderator is welcome to redirect it if appropriate.

Best wishes, Walter
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Rick Campbell · From: Sneedville, TN, USA

I'd sell it to the first person that shows me the money. Don't miss a sale because someone wants to drag their feet.

RC

John McClung · From: Olympia WA, USA

First dibs can go the earliest time and date stamped reply in your ad. Then you should weave in letters of interest coming through other channels, Forum PM's, email, phone calls.

Then Rick's advice kicks in about selling to the first buyer providing real money. At best, give earlier interest parties a short deadline, so you don't lose the "fish" on the line.

Posting great photos is a key to a quick sale, imho. I always want to see instruments from every side and angle. If there is one view missing, that usually means there's a flaw on that side. Show a good look into the changer so folks can know how many rasises and lowers it has, and show split screws, if there are any. 3 views of the undercarriage are very useful, and will save you from answering endless questions. Post the copedent, too.

Disclose if it's lived in a smoker's home, yours or a previous owners. Non-smokers like me are finicky about that.

That's all there is to it! Oh Well

Good luck, Walter!
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Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I think you have a right to set the terms any way you want to. I think the most important thing is to be very clear what your terms are. There is no absolute method to determine who you should sell to. Different people have different priorities. Some may insist on some type of first-come, first-served queue. Others may prefer to sell to someone locally to avoid having to ship a big heavy pedal steel. Some will only ship within the continental US. Others will ship overseas. Some will take checks or money orders. Others will insist on paypal. Others may have different money terms. I think the best thing is to be very up-front about all the terms of sale so there are no misunderstandings

If you want to set a particular first-come/first-served protocol, I would just state how you want it done, and then stick to it. Using forum private messages probably gives the most consistent way to do that because it establishes a consistent time base. But Rick's point about "show me the money" is absolutely reasonable. But if you want to take a different approach, I would just state that very clearly.

I have a hard time relating to the idea of insisting on a strict timestamp protocol for deciding who gets something like a big, heavy, expensive pedal steel that could easily be destroyed in shipping. I don't insist on that from a seller, and I wouldn't allow someone to demand that from me. For me, the issue is having a clear "meeting of the minds" in any transaction, and then making a firm, two-way agreement on all terms. Once that's done, then it's binding (in principle, but not always in practice - mistakes occur, as I've found out the hard way a couple of times I tried to buy something). But until then, an "offer to buy" is just that, an offer, and not a firm two-way agreement to make the transaction.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

There is no grey area ,folks comment either on the thread with "I'll take it" or by PM. Both have a time stamp associated.

If the first person hems and haws about a commitment or sending $$$ , then the next one who makes a commitment is the buyer. Unless of course should the SELLER decide to give the first contact a HOLD grace period to make up his or her mind.

I have purchased and sold many times with forum friends, all the deals were done first by PM then by a follow up phone call where all the details and meat were discussed.

Sometimes responses to FOR SALE threads state, "I'll Take it" and then you don't hear from that person for a few days. So be wise. If someone is LIVE on the forum and can type "I'll Take it" they can also send a PM with contact information just a few seconds later.

Make your add clear with precise details about the instrument and contact. Quality photo's with accurate descriptions, not " this is the best Steel I have ever owned" and I won't take less than x for it because I paid X for it. Nobody cares how much YOU paid for it, they care how much they can purchase it for and does it sit in the current market value window.

An add with quality photo's and description carry's all the water over "nuff said".

Oh, and clean the instrument and remove all the clutter around it for the photo's. The photo's are the best representation of the instrument .
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Walter Bowden · From: Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

I appreciate everyones advice and am taking a bunch of pics which leads me to another question. Is there a best size if I wanted to post around 10 pics.

I set my digital camera on the best setting for pic quality but they may be large images as a result. Thanx, Walter
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Emmons S10, p/p, Nashville 112, Zion 50 tele style guitar, Gibson LP Classic w/Vox AC30, Fender Deluxe De Ville and a Rawdon-Hall classical

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

The Forum will automatically resize your pictures, don't worry about that.

And if you're worried about how to handle a lot of interest... start with a higher price!
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