Musicstore Trade in Value?

[vivahenry]

Ok apologies as this is in English, but my German isn't great.

I bought a Fame Baphomet IV Spalted Maple Top 2005 from Musicstore in Köln about a year ago. This is the closest thing I could find to it on the musicstore website. It's the same as mine but has a different design on the body and is neck thru. Mine cost €999.

I want to swap this for a Fender Aerodyne Precision Bass. Problem is in Ireland not many people have heard of Fame and it would be quite hard to sell privately. I know musicstore take trades (I lived in Köln for a year), but they won't give me a rough price over the phone. The bass is in perfect condition. Not a scratch on it since I bought it, it looks brand new. When I lived there I would ask them about trade ins and they would be able to give me a rough idea of what I could get without actually seeing the bass, so I know this is possible.

I will be visiting Köln this weekend, and I need to know if it's worth bringing the bass with me. I think I'd have to get at least €600 store credit for me to think about trading it in. Bringing it with me will potentially cost money to check the guitar in, and could also damage it. I'd like to know roughly what they offer for trade ins before I go. Does anybody have experience with this. What percentage of the new price will they be likely to offer for second hand items, if they're in perfect condition?

 

[Buschi83]

Hello,

perhaps you should send an email to the music store, that would solve your problems ;-)

greetings

Buschi

 

[~Siempre~]

I'm not sure I got that quite right.... Can't you just take some pics of the bass, mail it to them and ask them directly? 'cause you said that you do know they accept trade-ins.
It's hard to say how much you get for used instruments. I heard that unless the guitar is brandnew (i.e. not older than 6 months), it's unlikely you will get more than half of what it cost new.

 

[vivahenry]

I emailed them about it ages ago, they said they weren't willing to discuss trade ins via email or over the phone.

I managed to get through to them on the phone eventually today. I couldn't get through to the bass guitar department but somebody in exports told me they no longer have a second hand shop so I'm guessing they no longer take trades.

Thanks for your help anyway.

 

[GoodYear]

... Problem is in Ireland not many people have heard of Fame and it would be quite hard to sell privately ...

Hi,
how about simply selling it on ebay Germany?

Pablo

 

[bemymonkey]

Hi,
how about simply selling it on ebay Germany?

Pablo

That's not a bad idea. You could also put it in the Flohmarkt here in the forum (just make sure you add that you'd be sending the bass over from Ireland...).

 

[Cadfael]

Hi Pablo,

the problem in selling the bass via ebay-Germany might be the shipping cost as well as customs problems (duty / taxes).

@ vivahenry:
I think it would be best to try and find a buyer in Ireland.
Photos might be the key to success? Or "German quality"???

By the way; I own a Fender Japan Aerodyne Classic P-Bass Special.
It's one in amber. I changed the pickguard (black P-Bass) and the wiring. I have a master volume and master tone now, a 4-way-rotary-switch with the original knob put on (bridge - parallel - neck - serial), a tone mini-switch (22nF) and a kill-switch.
I love my Aerodyne. It has a fat but also nuanced tone and the neck is great (Fender website is wrong - mine has 42 mm and not 39 mm at the saddle). A slim P-Bass or mixture between J- and P-Bass neck ...
It takes some time to get used to the body shape of the Aerodyne! The feeling is totally different to a normal shaped Fender Bass!

Here is my review thread (in German) with photos before and after customizing the bass:
https://www.musiker-board.de/vb/reviews/228372-bass-fender-aerodyne-classic-p-bass-special.html

Good luck in finding a new owner for your Fame
Andreas

 

[bemymonkey]

Hi Pablo,

the problem in selling the bass via ebay-Germany might be the shipping cost as well as customs problems (duty / taxes).

Isn't Ireland all EU anyway? That would pretty much eliminate the duty/tax problem

 

[Lars_Vegas]

I emailed them about it ages ago, they said they weren't willing to discuss trade ins via email or over the phone.

I managed to get through to them on the phone eventually today. I couldn't get through to the bass guitar department but somebody in exports told me they no longer have a second hand shop so I'm guessing they no longer take trades.

Thanks for your help anyway.

I was there two weeks ago and they still had about five second-hand basses there. So I guess they just stopped the extra second-hand store to make room for a new and bigger acoustic guitar section. Seemed so when I was there.

 

[bemymonkey]

Yah, they're still selling the stuff from the old second-hand store. Don't think they're giving trade-ins any more though...