How to sell your used guitar (2024)

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So, you’re looking to sell your guitar?

Finding a reliable place to sell your guitar and figuring out if you did everything right can be daunting. Luckily for you, you’ve come to the right place! Sweetwater’s Gear Exchange is the best and most trusted place to sell your once-loved instrument, and we are here to help you know what to do in your guitar-selling journey. From how to correctly price your guitar to shipping and more, we here at Gear Exchange have provided the resources and information to ensure you feel comfortable selling your once-beloved instrument to its new owner.

The peer-to-peer marketplace you can trust

Gear Exchange is where Sweetwater customers go to buy and sell used music gear.

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How to Value Your Used Guitar

One of the — if not the most — important parts of successfully selling your guitar is correctly and competitively pricing it. While this is one of the most important parts of listing your guitar for sale, it is also one of the more difficult parts, as you may realize that your guitar isn’t valued as much as you were hoping. There are many ways to come up with a competitive price to sell your guitar on Gear Exchange, including:

Compare on GX

Search for the same guitar as yours on Gear Exchange, and see what others sell theirs for. If you are looking to sell yours fast, then price yours lower than the others. Selling yours for as little as $5 cheaper can be enough to sway buyers into buying yours instead of theirs.

Do some digging

If you have a vintage/rare guitar or simply can’t find the same one listed on Gear Exchange, then try checking other marketplaces to see what people are selling theirs for. Other used gear marketplaces are great starting points to see what people are listing their guitars for.

Ask an expert

If you live near a guitar store, then you can go there and ask how much they’d value your guitar. Some guitar stores use marketplace prices to determine their own prices, but when evaluating your guitar, may give you a different value based on things they see on your guitar, such as the guitar’s condition, whether it comes with a case or not, and more.

Our top sellers will tell you that used gear moves fast when it's priced for less than a retailer can sell it for brand new.

If your gear is in great condition and is also some combination of vintage, rare, and historically significant - you might get more!

Grading Your Used Gear

The grade of your used gear is another important factor in determining its value. It's also a critical metric for setting honest expectations with your buyer. Our experts here at Gear Exchange created a helpful key for you to use to determine how to properly list the condition of your gear:

Condition

How the used gear market defines this condition

Mint

"Like new" condition with the original packaging, protective stickers, and tags. 100% functional and completely flawless.

Excellent

"Like new" condition but with some imperfections. 100% functional and has very few, very minor flaws or defects.

Good

In good working order but may have some more-than-minor blemishes or defects. 100% functional with a few imperfections.

Fair

Has imperfections that impact functionality and/or serious cosmetic flaws, such as cracks, dents, or tears. Not broken but not 100% functional.

Poor

Not 100% functional and has significant flaws or defects. Typically requires repair work in order to restore full functionality.

Quick Tips: How to Sell Your Used Guitar Fast

If you are new to selling gear on a used gear marketplace, then properly selling your gear can be a tough mountain to climb. Many of us here at Gear Exchange were once first-time sellers, so we know your pain. That is why we put together some tips that will help sell your guitar faster on Gear Exchange:

Provide high-quality pictures, and make sure you take pictures of every part of the guitar.
Write a detailed description that tells the potential buyer what condition it is in, any dings or marks they need to be aware of, and any modifications the guitar may have.
Price your guitar accordingly and competitively. The more expensive your guitar is relative to the other sellers selling the same guitar, the longer you will likely wait for someone to buy yours.
Provide the shipping cost, or inform the buyer in the description to contact you for the exact shipping cost.
Communicate with potential buyers when they message you. They may ask about the condition of the guitar, specific mods, and more.

If you want to learn how to list like a pro on Gear Exchange, then we take you step-by-step through the things to do and look out for when listing your next guitar.

What to Do if You Get Offers on Your Guitar

So, you’ve received an offer on your guitar. Congrats! You are one step closer to selling your guitar. But how exactly do you handle an offer from a potential buyer? The first thing to do is to see if the offer is good enough to sell your guitar. One thing to understand is that buyers are trying to get the best deal on guitars while you are trying to sell your guitar for the most money possible. This tug-of-war can be difficult for some people, but if you get an offer that is not quite what you are looking for, then don’t be afraid to counter it with a price that is closer to your original asking price. Many buyers throw an offer on instruments to see how low a seller will go before they get serious about buying it. Once you and the buyer have agreed on a price, then it’s time to ship your guitar to its new home.

Packing and Shipping Your Guitar

Now that you’ve sold your guitar, it’s time to prep it for shipment. The following quick tips from our shipping team will help you get it safely out the door and minimize the risk of damage or a return.

Boxing Your Guitar

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. It’s better to pack a guitar and anticipate it will be handled roughly than not to pack sufficiently enough and hope for the best.
Give it a shake. Use enough packing fill or bubble wrap to keep the contents from moving — both inside the shipping box and inside the guitar case. A good test is to shake the box once packed. A well-packed box shouldn’t rattle or produce noise when shaken.
Pack ‘em tight. Ideally, you want your shipping box packed so full that you feel resistance when you push on it. Remember that heavy boxes may be stacked on top of it.
Do unto others. Avoid packing peanuts altogether. Your recipient will thank you
It’s the little things. Triple-check the accessories! Make sure case candy and paperwork are surrounded by enough material to protect them from knife blades when the buyer opens the box.
Reduce, reuse, REVIEW. Reusing an old box? Good for you! Just be sure to hide old labels, addresses, and even retailers on the outer shipping carton by taping scraps of paper grocery bags over them or covering them with brown opaque packing tape. You don’t want the shipper to accidentally scan the wrong barcode and send your box to the wrong city!

Preparing Your Label

Print and prep. Printing your own shipping label at home? If you’re printing on a standard 8.5-inch x 11-inch sheet of printer paper, then trim or fold it to eliminate excess white space. This will make it easier for your carrier to get the information they need at a glance.
More tape please. You’ll also want to tape over the entire shipping label with clear packing tape, overlapping all sides by at least an inch and being careful not to have wrinkles over the barcode or address. This will protect the label from rain, sleet, and snow and ensure the guitar makes it safely to its destination.
This side up. Use your shipping label to indicate box orientation. Shippers are likely to stand the box up so that they can read and scan the label. If your label is placed at the bottom end of the box, then there’s a greater chance the guitar could get placed on its headstock, which could potentially lead to shifting in transit or worse.

Looking for more great shipping tips from our shipping specialists? See our full how-to article!

Why Gear Exchange Is the Best Place to Sell Your Used Gear

There are many reasons why Gear Exchange is the best place to sell your used gear. One of those reasons is that when you sell on GX, you have the option to redeem your earnings in the form of a Sweetwater Gift Card and pay ZERO fees! Turn your old gear into the hottest new gear with our zero-fee program.

If you prefer a 'cash payout', you can easily send your earnings to your bank account, PayPal, or Venmo and incur the 5% seller fee plus 2.5% transaction fee.

If you have any questions about Gear Exchange, then check out our articles, where we talk about how Gear Exchange works , what “no fees” means for you , and what makes Sweetwater's Gear Exchange different .

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