TromboneChat

Just looking for some advice here.

I've been trying to sell my Shires trombone for some time and have not even had any tire kickers. The kit includes a 7YLW bell (7.5/10), a 2REV bell (9+/10), rotary valve (8.5/10), straight neck-pipe (9+/10), X tuning slide (9+/10), TW47 slide with some lacquer loss at the hand contact areas but has fantastic action (7/10), and 4 leadpipes (1.5L, 2, 3, 3S). I've had it listed for the equivalent of $3,650 USD. Is that way too much?

That's a very specific combination of stuff. Almost 2 horns worth. Everybody might be better served if you offer it parted out or in 1 trombone sized packages.

As a package it doesn't look overpriced, but it has more than a horns worth of stuff which might turn people away.

I recently bought a Shires bell, nice shape, $650; and a Shires .547 slide, excellent condition, $650. I figure maybe $900 for a valve section, $250 for a tuning slide (I already had these but I can’t remember what I paid). So ~$2500. The extra bell and straight neck pipe takes you into the low $3K range.

When I buy and sell I xpect to buy a normal Shires for $2000 and sell it for about $2400 or so. The extra parts might raise the value $500 - If you really want it sold, put it on Ebay starting around $2000 and the auction process will set the selling price where the market says it should be. Take good pictures!!!!! A picture is worth a thousand words!

Think about your customer a bit. You may get lucky and someone has around 4k to spend on a bunch of untested Shires parts, but you might not.

I think selling the components is the way to go. Yes, it is more work - more communication and more shipping - but a more effective way to move it.

And Yes to good photos.

I would sell one of the bells separately and sell the rest as a complete instrument

Is the slide really "fantastic" if you're describing it as a 7/10?

I know that if I had $3600 to drop on a new main axe, I'd want something that was going to be a screaming deal for $3600- which this really isn't. There aren't many people who are going to want two bells, and even fewer who are going to pay extra for them. Maybe try selling them separately? I'd try to get rid of the 2RVE independently, the other bell might help the horn sell better...

Selling stuff is fun, because you never know what something's worth until you've sold it. Nobody's getting ripped off if they buy your horn at this price... but you certainly wouldn't be getting ripped off if you re-evaluated how important it was for you to get "full price," vs. selling the horn quicker. Just try and pick a price you're happy with. Both sides should be happy with a sale, so think about what amount of cash you'd rather have, than this horn sitting in your closet.

mfellows821 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 18, 2019 10:10 am When I buy and sell I xpect to buy a normal Shires for $2000 and sell it for about $2400 or so. The extra parts might raise the value $500 - If you really want it sold, put it on Ebay starting around $2000 and the auction process will set the selling price where the market says it should be. Take good pictures!!!!! A picture is worth a thousand words!

Seems about right to me. Although fonding a Shires in great condition for 2000 ain't easy.

Thanks guy's for all you input. I'll revise my tactics.

Strange thing is, I also tried to sell my King 4B for $800 and again nobody even called about it. I decided to take it to a music shop (L & M) to trade it in on a Yamaha keyboard. I figured they'd give me like $500 for it, but I needed the keyboard and was willing to take the hit. However, they gave me $1050 for it. More than the keyboard cost, and apparently sold it 4 days later for $1500. Go figure.

paulyg wrote: ↑Fri Oct 18, 2019 12:13 pm Is the slide really "fantastic" if you're describing it as a 7/10?

I rate it that way because of the lacquer wear. It 'looks' 7/10, but yes, the action is top drawer. Maybe I put too much weight on aesthetics but some folks are like that and I'd rather a buyer be pleasantly surprised than dissapionted.

Dillon Music will sell it on consignment. I forget exactly what percentage they take, but it is pretty reasonable and they can get a little better price than what you get selling privately. I sold a horn through them and it was really easy.

Brass Ark, Brass Exchange, Baltimore Brass.....they have consignment options. I once sold a trombone on consignment at a repair shop. It sold relatively quickly and I got what I was asking for it. The shop made a few bucks too. Have you tried Craigslist or Letgo? I hate shipping stuff so when I have the option I try to avoid it. Even if you sell it for a few hundred less it would still be better than paying for shipping as well as the hassle of boxing it up, etc in my opinion. If you know any private lesson studios in the area it might be a good option to find some students looking to get a better horn. I traded 3 horns to Dillon music a few years back and it was a pretty smooth process. It was not monetarily to my advantage, but smoother than dealing with a bunch of buyers.

I feel like Shires isn't as "trendy" as it used to be. You are likely asking too much. Have someone like Brass ark sell it for you.

I should have mentioned, I am in Canada - about 2 hours north of Toronto, so your suggestions about consignment are not open to me. I did have it with a brass tech (Ron Parch) in Toronto for nearly a year on consignment, but the same effect. No interest. In fact, Ron had suggested the pricing.

I'm going to reduce the expectations, kit it as a whole trombone and sell the extra parts separately. PITA, but that's life.

Just seems the brand has lost it's luster. Even the folks at Long & Mcquade are not interested in it as they can't get rid of their existing inventory of new items.

It's not that it's a bad instrument, quite the contrary. But it's not any better (at my pay scale anyway) than the Jupiter XO 1236 I have, which I end up playing a lot more.

If you parted it entirely out, on this forum, and sold everything as individual parts, you might get pretty close to the number you want.

You'd have to be very careful about charging properly for shipping and handling. It's easy to lose on shipping.

PITA, but you'd probably get pretty close

There might be complications shipping from Canada to the US as well. There’s a limit - around $2700 US - where it gets a bit more complicated.

Me? I would part it out. First take good photos of each component. Then pack them up so you have exact weights and dimensions and can get proper shipping quotes.

I for one would be interested in the straight neck pipe if you decide to part it out.

Michael

Depends on the buyer and if he's got time/money to experiment. I bought a pile of Edwards stuff with two slides, two bells, and three tuning crooks. It was more stuff than anybody needed, but I found the combination that worked for me. The idea now is to sell off the stuff I don't need. I'll end up with a "custom" horn for a good deal. But some buyers won't have the extra $1000+ for a pile of things they'll just have to resell.

It looks like a good deal to me based on all the stuff you are including. I would list for sale a complete instrument and then list all the extra parts separately. List it here and I've also had really good luck with the "trombone marketplace" group on facespace. Mailing it to Dillon music on consignment isn't a bad idea, but you'll get more for it selling it yourself.

Consignment is a good idea. I've had really good experiences with Noah Gladstone on Brassark in that regard. Dillons has also been great to work with in the past, although they are more hands-off than Noah is.