Posted by Lew on October 30, 2001 at 07:47:06:
In Reply to: Tubas to go posted by Steve Southworth on October 30, 2001 at 06:43:06:
First, so sorry about your Dad, he sounds like a great guy. Now your questions,
1. What is the best way to sell tubas? Tubas are a relatively specialized thing to sell. There are plenty of people looking to buy them, but like anything else they will sell more quickly or for a greater price the larger the market that becomes aware of them. One of the ways to get the most exposure for the instruments is ebay. The pros are:
- Millions of people worldwide have the opportunity to see them
- Sometimes in an auction situation people get committed to bidding on something and will drive the price higher than they might be willing to spend in a considered purchase
-The fees are relatively low.
The cons are:
- Because the auction runs for a relatively short period of time, some potential buyers are missed
- Some buyers can't or won't buy in an auction setting
- You can sometimes run into deadbeat bidders.
In my experience if I want to sell quickly and am willing to take a lower price, I use eb*y. I can get the highest price by putting an instrument on consignment at a store that is known for selling tubas. I my case I live less than an hours drive from Dillon music, which is one of a handful of stores in the country known for having a large stock of used tubas. I have listed a number of instruments for auction first with a reasonable reserve and I have always netted more from a consignment sale than people were willing to pay on an internet auction, even giving them 10% of the sale price. This can take several months or longer to find a buyer, but once someone buys it you don't have to deal with collecting the money or shipping.
The Brasswind in South Bend, Indiana is the largest store in your general area, but they're still not that close. I wouldn't bring it to a smaller local store because they just don't get the traffic to sell in a reasonable time or for the right price. Check the shops listed on this site for some other stores that could do a consignment sale for you. You could ship it to them it it came to that. Most of them would be happy to talk to you about it if you give them a call.
Local ads will take a very long time and not get you nearly as much out of them. Especially the King and Conn which are more collectors items than something someone will want as their primary horn. You could also use internet ads, such as tubadave or netinstruments, but I think that consignment is the best way to get the most for an instrument.
2. Shippng a tuba - tubadave's packing advice is good. The most important things are to protect the instrument from shocks or pressure being transmitted from the outside of the box to the horn, to allow room for the box to crush before the tuba is affected, and to use sturdy materials. UPS won't ship anything over 130 dimensional inches. This is calculated twice the length + twice the width + the height. For example, one maximum size box might be 24"X24"X34". UPS seems to throw things around, so the only real way to prevent horror stories is with proper packing. I have heard good things about Greyhound and Amtrack, but haven't used them.
3. Should accessories be included? If you include mouthpieces or other accessories with the tuba, don't expect them to add to the price. Most people pay based on the price of the instrument, and whether a mouthpiece is included or not doesn't change that. Therefore, selling them separately is the only way to net some money from them. Unless they are very special mouthpieces they won't sell for much, but even the least expensive tuba mouthpieces are $40 new, so they are worth something.
Good Luck