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If you want to sell a guitar (or bass), there are two things you should consider first: do you want a quick sale? or do you want to get the best price you can?
Depending on the guitar in question, these do not have to be mutually exclusive...but in many cases they are.
If you want a quick sale then eBay is your best bet. However, the price you get can vary
wildly depending on how well you place the listing. My top tips are as follows:
unless it's a particularly (and actually) rare instrument, always start the auction at 99p, with no reserve. Seriously. There are so many people using eBay these days that they often skip over any guitars that they don't feel that there's even a slight chance that they will get a bargain on. Do your own research and see what the final prices are of similar guitars that start at 99p vs say £200.
if it is particularly rare, then start the auction at the minimum price you are willing to accept - don't use a reserve. Using a reserve only ensures that you'll either end up having to relist the guitar at a later date (with no reserve) or at best, you'll only get the reserve, no higher. Many eBayers, myself included, don't bother watching guitars that have a reserve - we have too little time and there are too many guitars on eBay to bother watching something that has an unknown reserve price that may be too high for us. The one or two people that do end up watching it will bid furiously in the final seconds to get to the reserve, but it's unlikely it will go over that priceObvious eBay psychology lesson 1: everyone wants to think they're getting a bargain.
If you do insist on setting a reserve, or having a high start price then be realistic. As much as you love your guitar, you're only going to put people off if you set too high a price. This is not a private sale. Consider getting a valuation done first - your local guitar shop may be able to do this for you; remember I will value your guitar for free
BE HONEST. Do not list your guitar as "rare" if it isn't. A Mexican Stratocaster isn't rare. A Les Paul Studio isn't rare. CIJ is no better than MIJ (or vice versa) - Click here or here for more on this. There are an incredible amount of bullshitters on eBay. Don't sink to their level.
Post it! As much hassle as you think it may be (it really isn't) posting a guitar or bass is a real no-brainer when it comes to getting the best price for your guitar. By insisting on collection only you are closing yourself off to literally hundreds of thousands of potential bidders. Posting a guitar within the UK costs between £20 and £50 depending on the service. If you don't want to take it to the post office, then UPS, Parcelforce, DHL - pretty much any parcel service in fact - will happily pick it up from you at a time of your choosing, and for no extra cost. Considering you could expect at least 20% more in terms of final sale price, and that you can charge all carriage costs to the winning bidder, there really is no excuse for not having this as an option.
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