Trade Value vs. Sales Value

[jimbob]

I have bought and sold several instruments but have not done any trading. How would a fair trade value compare to a fair sales value ? I see ads that refer to a trade value...are they the same number....how to make reasonable calculation ?

[mandroid]

It's called Haggling .. You work it out between Yourselves


I'm Neither the seller or buyer in question , so I Have no skin in the Game.

nor do I know anything about current values..
other than seeing what people are Paying or asking for these days ..
MC classifieds Is a Place I check.

Sales Values are what a store charges, to get a reasonable Markup to stay in Business..

a Trade In is is what a store would offer to resell at a markup ,
for what they consider the used market retail price would be .

Famous brands in prized Years raise in value , over time,
Imports that are made to resemble famous ones May fall in value when reselling Used.

Not very specific , but the question asked was Not, either ..

[Eddie Sheehy]

The vales only vary where a 'special' cash price might be advertised for a quick sale but a little more might be 'market' value for the item and would be considered the trade value. Usually they are the same - market value. The hard part is staying in sync - both using the same 'formula' say 60% of retail, if they are still being made. I have had trades offered for my 'quick sale' price while the trader wants 95% of retail for theirs... Usually you can come to an agreement using recent 'sold' figures.

[Spruce]

I tend to value an item more--whether I'm buying or selling--if trading is involved...

[Seattle]

It depends on what we are talking about. If two people are talking about selling or trading their personal instrument then it's the same value more or less. If you are talking about trading in an instrument to a retail store so that you can buy one of their instruments then it's probably a lower value.

As was mentioned, there is not definite price as it's a negotiated thing.

[sgarrity]

It depends what the trade is. If you're trading me something I'd like to keep and play awhile, then I'll assign a value I know I can resell it for. If I'm taking a trade to make a deal happen and I have to turn around and resell it then I expect to make a few hundred on it.

[G7MOF]

When trading in, you won't get to haggle the retail price of the new instrument as the retailer needs to make his mark up on the new one and sell yours as well which may take him a while to do.
If you were to sell privately you'd ask approx. 2/3 of the new retail price, the dealer would need to buy yours at approx. 1/2 of the new retail price to make a profit!

[allenhopkins]

Trading in instruments with a local dealer, he said that he'd allow me about 2/3 of what he planned to sell the instrument for, as a trade. For example, $650 on an instrument he thought he could sell for $1K.

Interestingly, he said that this was the same deal he'd offer, if I sold the instrument(s) to him outright. But, of course, on a trade-in he also has whatever profit's built into the price of the instrument I was trading for. And I had only his word as to what he was planning to list the traded-in instrument(s) I gave him; he could have turned around and listed the "example" instrument mentioned above, for $1.3K. I didn't think this would happen, but I had no guarantee; a lot of my confidence during negotiation, had to do with prior dealings with a person who had been honest and reasonable in the past.

You've figured out a sale price for the instrument(s) you're trading, if you were to sell rather than trade. The person with whom you're trading, presumably also has a sale price for the instrument you're trading for. You can compare the two prices, and then negotiate what trade-in value the seller offers, and what you'll accept.

We're all familiar with the flexibility of automobile trade-in allowances, where the dealer uses your trade-in, just as a negotiating point to determine what profit he'll make. These "trade-in values" have very little to do with the actual market value of the vehicle you're trading in. With musical instruments, especially instruments like mandolins where there's a limited universe of comparable sales and trade-in data, and where condition, scarcity, and individual tastes are so central, coming up with a formula for trade-in value would seem to me to be pretty difficult.

[jimbob]

I was just curious if there might some protocol attached to musical instruments. I have seen ads that state a "trade value" but wondered why that was done. I think it would be like trading cars, or anything else, it's all about the difference you have to pay. It seems that stating a trade value might put you at a disadvantage for negotiating.

[nickster60]

As others have stated it is market value. If someone starts talking new retail value my eyes glaze over and I am not interested with dealing with them. A used instrument is just that and not warrant a retail price but you do see it all the time. I usually use 33% of the new street price unless it something exceptional.