When to keep, when to sell, and how

[vvv]

Aiight, so I splurged some in the last year, bought some hardware for the hobby.

Did this even tho' I like what I already had.

But now, I so love certain stuff I bought, I no longer use what I already had. As well, some of what I bought I don't like/use as much as other stuffs.

So I have prosumer-type stuff, ex., Rolls MP105, VTB1, a cuppla compressors (Meek, DOD), that I have tried out in the context of what I do use a lot. The cited stuff ain't really lacking, but is either duplicative or a step backwards.

And also from over the years I have a cuppla mixers, some 16 bit effects, drum machines, a cuppla cassette multitrackers, a extra bass cab, etc.,

Now, I'm a almost-hoarder of musical equip. (esp. guitars and basses and amps, but that's a whole other story) and seldom sell stuff (I did divest a Platinum channel strip soon after I bought it, and I have sold 3 guitars in my 35 years of owning some).

But I don't see that even a sentimental fave like the VTB1 or Midiverb is gonna be more useful that other stuff, and it ain't much like a investment what will appreciate in value (like I tell myself my guitars is ). But this stuff is kinda just taking up space.

So do I sell? And what is the easiest? I mean, Craig's List means I gotta meet people, and evil-Bog means I gotta package and ship, altho' there is a re-sale shop fairly close by ... Mebbe I should just pack what's in the way in the garage for a rainy day, or my kids' inheritance or sompin'?

Not a bad problem to have, I guess, but surely not unique - what would/do all y'all do with the old shite after a upgrade?

[Burnt Ernie]

Great question! I'm in the middle of debating dumping my analog based 8 track/tubes/compressors/fx,and going either Zoom r24/Korg 3200/whatever,only so I can just plug in, play,and record. My studio is at my bandmates place (I built it-dummy,me!),his kids are both using it more than me with their violin lessons,and stayoversand although I love being able to accomodate a 5 or 6 piece with all the gear,by the time I'm done tracking,lending out gear,overdubbing,mixing,and then ending up mastering (No one EVER goes to a pro),I look at the hours worked,the hours paid,and realize I'm taking off from the day job to coddle
people,lose money,and never get to use it myself. I love having all this gear around,in the case I have time off from work AND enough $$$ for the wife,bills,etc,but that has proven to NEVER HAPPEN.
So-I'm wondering the same as you. I've launched stuff at Music go round,took it in the shorts. I've also spent hundreds of hours with Crakkslist,with tire kickers,vintage gear flippers,and foreign crakkheads eating whatever precious time I have. I,too am curious.
I will be watching this.
Thanks!
E.

[kslight]

Keep it when its unique/uncommon/appreciating in value/you still might use it/you don't need the money.

Sell it when its obsolete/you're never going back to it/its actively depreciating in value/it takes up more space than its worth/when its easy to replace if you change your mind/bills are piling up.


Move it as cheaply/quickly/locally/efficiently as possible. Big/fragile items you want to unload locally, and Craigslist is obviously the best way to do it, despite the idiots. I created another email address and typed it into a picture, and post that picture on my ads so that people have to be real (not a robot) to contact me, and so I don't use my real name on any transactions with strangers (because you NEVER know, not because I'm shady). This also eliminates the "type a specific email to me so I know you are real" because if you reply to a spam email off of Craigslist you sign up for 2 dozen junk emails or more a day. Rack gear/other easy to ship stuff, try to unload locally, but post it on forums first to get rid of without eBay bullshit, but if you absolutely must post it on eBay then there's that... I probably wouldn't bother with a shop that posts to eBay, why pay for something you easily can do yourself?

[percussion boy]

Re keep vs. sell, it helps to know what your ultimate goal is.

If a piece of gear is relevant to what I'm trying to do over the next few years, I keep it even if it's a spare. If something is good but doesn't get me somewhere, I usually sell the piece.

I've let go of nice stuff that I was the wrong owner for: Joly-modified Oktavas, Otari eight track, etc.. I would sell my board cheap (Allen Heath) if I could avoid shipping -- good mixer but I don't use mixers any more.

It's easy to end up with useful gear that never gets used, or develops weird hums and crackles while it gathers dust.
-------
Re the selling: Craig's List has worked for me.

[Jim Williams]

"You got to know when to hold 'um, know when to fold 'um..."

~ The Gambler

[timcoalman]

why not try Tape Op buy/sell/trade? If you get interest/money offers/or trade offers then you can consider them.

[vvv]

Good suggestion, if I can even decide if I should sell ...

[cgarges]

I don't usually sell stuff unless it's unnecessarily taking up space or if I think I can turn it into something else that's more useful. Sometimes, if I have amassed a nice collection of stuff to sell, it's kind of surprising how much money I can wind up generating off of a bunch of little stuff. If you throw it all up on ebay at once and have it at low enough starting bids, then you can move it all quickly and be done with the whole ordeal in a couple of weeks. And by "low enough starting bids," I mean look at how much similar stuff has sold for (not what it listed for, but what it actually sold for) and price it accordingly. If it's stuff that's not selling, then you have to decide whether to "give it away" or hang on to it.

At this point in my life, with very few exceptions, I'm generally looking at buying stuff that will likely appreciate in value or at the very least, not depreciate. Like, Sennheiser 421s are pretty much gonna be somewhere around $250 for a while. Those things aren't gonna all of a sudden drop in value unless they get really beat up or break while I own them. So if I buy a used 421 for $250 or less, that's a decent investment. If you buy a brand new $79 condenser mic, then you're pretty much screwed as soon as you walk out of the store, as far as resale value goes. If it breaks, it will likely cost more then $79 to fix it and there's no way you can get your money back from selling it in a year if you decide you don't like it. Same goes for guitars, amps, drums, cymbals, whatever.

Generally, I've had really good luck over the years selling off five or ten less-useful things and putting that money into one really great thing that will hold it's value. If you do enough of this, then it gets really easy to trade up on better stuff over time.

Hope this helps!

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[vvv]

Yes.

I got a few too many "$79 mic's" ...

[Jim Williams]

Rather than dump my 15 or so $39 MCA SP-1 mics, I rebuilt them with nice capsules. I wouldn't get anything for them so I converted them into something very useful.

For about the price on one decent mic, I now have 15 of them.

[Mane1234]

Do Ebay but sell locally. No packing and shipping.

[dsw]

I use Craigs List a lot for this kind of thing. I've probably done more purchasing than selling on CL though, including two cars.

If you haven't used it in over a year or two, you probably aren't going to and you should man up and let somebody else get some electrons bouncing around with the things that are just gathering dustoleum.

[jgimbel]

If you haven't used it in over a year or two, you probably aren't going to and you should man up and let somebody else get some electrons bouncing around with the things that are just gathering dustoleum.

+1