London small‑ads paper Loot now hosts innumerable ads on its web site as well as on paper, and also runs Internet auctions.
Need a new soundcard for your PC? Searching for that classic analogue synth, or planning to offload yours? Nicholas Rowland explains the ins and outs of buying and selling online via auction.
"Going, going, gone... Sold to the guy with the second‑hand Mac in Gary, Indiana. A Mellotron and a couple of early Moogs for the princely sum of one dollar." Along with online share dealing and the purchasing of discount books and CDs, virtual auctions are one of the great business success stories of the Internet. From the comfort of your own desktop, you can scour the world looking for someone who wants to offload some vital or rare bit of kit and then experience the thrills and spills of electronic bidding against other cyber bargain hunters.
Like the physical world of auctions, cyberbidding can become an addictive pastime. First, there's the anal‑retentive joy of tracking down the target item. Then there are the agonising decisions over what tactics to use to try and secure the item at the lowest possible price. Most auctions last several days, so you have to decide whether to show your interest early or wait until the last minute before revealing your hand, in the hope that you will outwit your bidding opponents. Some sites actively encourage this competitive spirit, by automatically emailing you the second you are outbid by someone else. Or they will count the final minutes of the auction to try to encourage a last‑ditch bidding war. Can you really have any better fun without taking your clothes off?
If you want a fast track to the world of the Internet auction, a useful starting point is www.auctioninsider.com, which claims to have thousands of links to auction sites all over the world. In reality, the list of links that actually work just about stretches into scores, and most of the sites it covers are US‑based. Nevertheless, it enables you to quickly link to various auction sites and see how they work. Basically, most sites require you to register as a user, with bidding usually carried out by posting a form from the site itself. Different sites employ different mechanisms for posting or updating bids: some will give you a bid history showing who else has bid what and when, while others keep that information secret, making it more difficult to pitch a winning bid. But then, that's all part of the fun.
New And Used
Those searching for esoteric vintage instruments and studio gear should head for the Vintage Electronic Musical Instrument Auctions at www.eclipse.co.uk/vemia/.
Broadly speaking, online auctions tend to fall into two categories. Either they are designed to bring together personal buyers and sellers, or they act as a mechanism to sell brand‑new goods from what, to all intents and purposes, are online shops by a different name. In the 'personal site' stakes, the standard by which all others are usually judged is www.ebay.com, a site which has pioneered a lot of the 'community' techniques used to keep people hooked on the whole Internet auction phenomenon. One of these techniques is a rating system, whereby buyers and sellers post comments about their experiences with each other as part of the sales information. This online vigilante system can alert you to bad (and good) users of the site, which helps to instil confidence in the idea of bidding to buy from people who invariably live on the other side of the world. The downside for us stiff upper Brits is that this site very US‑centric. Although there is a UK version (www.ebay.co.uk) it's not that well populated by sellers at the moment.
As SOS readers will quickly discover, you're unlikely to open up an Aladdin's cave of rare synths newly dug up from someone's apple store. For example, look at www.haggle.com or www.dealdeal.com, both typical US‑based examples of general 'you can sell anything with us'‑type sites, and you'll find only a handful of musical instruments on offer. Indeed, most of the big auction sites seem devoted to buying and selling Beanie Babies — by far the most popular category on every auction site I've visited! Then again, if you're looking for that special something to carry in your flight case or decorate your studio, you could do no worse than go straight to www.beaniewonderland.com without passing Go...
And In The UK...
Closer to home, we have Loot and its associated www.loot.com site, both already well established as the UK's most popular method of buying and selling musical instruments (after https://web.archive.org/web/2014..." target="_blank, of course!). Loot now offers an auction service alongside the traditional small ads, with bids accepted via the Internet or by phone and fax. That said, musical instruments rarely seem to come up for auction and when they do, the reserve prices tend to be quite high — unfortunately, most people selling via auction sites actually seem to know the value of what they've got on offer. Note that with Loot, you're not actually bidding for the product directly, but only the right to have first refusal on viewing and purchasing. The bid price is not binding either — it's just an indication of what you're prepared to pay should your bid be successful. Other private buyers/sellers sites worth keeping an eye on for music instruments, plus general electrical and electronic goodies (hi‑fi systems, videos and cameras for example) are auctions.yahoo.co.uk (or auctions.yahoo.com for the Stateside version), www.auctionuniverse.co.uk, www.eBid.co.uk, www.utrade.com and www.bullnet.co.uk/auctions (though there's not much going on with this last one at the moment).
Another good private seller site is www.eswap.co.uk. This has just been bought by www.qxl.com — a major European auction site that has been advertising heavily of late. QXL offers the opportunity to bid for new consumer goods (sourced by the site's own team of buyers) as well as goods placed by private individuals. Under this latter category, you'll find a fair few people offering musical instruments and studio gear. There are a number of auctions devoted to selling computer‑related bits and pieces which are invariably of interest to the hi‑tech musician. One UK example is www.onlineauctions.co.uk, which is currently offering deals on computers, monitors, Soundblaster cards and modems (all new). Note that because these sites are run commercially, you're unlikely to encounter bargain‑basement prices — these guys have to make an honest living, after all. But if you let your head rule your bidding (and if you're also patient) then you can end up with a discount on 'high street' prices, and even shave a few pounds off the prices offered by mail‑order computer and peripheral vendors. The good news about these kind of sites is that there are usually quite a few items in stock, so you're not competing for a one‑off, never‑to‑be‑repeated offer. The other good news is that sites like these will take credit cards and they're used to shipping goods all over the world. You also have more redress if anything goes wrong — in fact the decent sites will offer a year's guarantee, and often a seven‑day money‑back guarantee to boot.
As a general point (which doesn't apply to anything I've mentioned so far!) beware of any sites that don't provide real‑world contact details — it's amazing how many sites don't include address or contact telephone numbers. Remember, a '.co.uk' address doesn't necessarily mean that a company is located in the UK.
A Better Vintage
If you're after something a little more specialised, then check out www.eclipse.co.uk/vemia — a site specialising in the auctioning of retro synths and other gear. Run by Peter Forrest (of the A‑Z Of Analogue Synthesizers fame), this grew out of a couple of real auctions of retro gear held in 1995 in Devon. When it was realised that 80 percent of the items in the auction sold to people buying from a distance, it was decided to provide remote Internet‑based bidding as an option. Now the auctions are held every six months, the next running from 1‑15 November. Around 40 percent of the items being sold are actually held on the premises, and another 40 percent pass through the auctioneer's hands before being sent to buyers. This ensures that most items actually fit the catalogue description, and also means that if you end up buying more than one item you can save considerably on shipping costs. The site accepts bids either electronically, by fax or by snail mail. Customers are reputed to include top producers and other famous names in British music, but organiser Peter Forrest says that there is still plenty of opportunity for us mere mortals to bid on a bargain.
Those interested in bidding for ye olde instruments of a different persuasion should check out www.gibson.com/mall where the guitar manufacturer runs regular auctions of vintage guitars. All instruments are verified by the company's own luthiers who check out the model, year, condition and originality of every instrument. If you're selling, they'll take a commission of 10 percent or $40 minimum. Oh, and it doesn't have to be a Gibson to go under the cyberhammer.
Finally, a couple of oddities among the myriad of auction sites devoted to 'collectables'. If your music‑making is inspired by the King himself, check out
Tips For Selling
Auctioning things is a competitive sport, so make sure your item is displayed as enticingly as possible. Provide clear product descriptions (including reference to age, condition and so on) and upload a photograph if the site allows it. If you receive pre‑bid enquiries by email, then reply as quickly as possible, showing yourself to be efficient, helpful and polite. Judging by the comments on eBay, where buyers and sellers are able to post comments about one another, this is regarded as a good sign that you're serious. Also, be clear about whether the price includes shipping and whether you are prepared to ship the goods internationally. You also need to make it clear what kind of payment you are going to accept. For example, people who are prepared to take a personal cheque in a foreign currency will add a premium for conversion into their own currency (usually around $6). Note that auctions like eBay usually price everything in dollars (although recently it has started to offer Sterling prices on the UK arm of its site.)
Tips For Buying
Remember you are always taking a risk when buying by mail order from an individual, whether the initial contact is by phone, email or through an auction site. It helps to know exactly what you're buying, as this will save a lot of heartache. If you're not sure about something, then email the vendor before the auction finishes; you can gauge a lot from how they reply. And make sure you come to an understanding about shipping costs before placing the winning bid. While most auction sites can't (and don't) try to reinforce a contract between buyers and sellers, it's in their interests to make things run smoothly. There's a kind of moral pressure for people to be honest, which (perhaps surprisingly) works quite well.
Remember that if you're bidding for new goods from a trade vendor, you have statutory rights. Basically, it pays to study the conditions and etiquette of the site carefully. In practice, I've found that online auctions rarely generate amazing bargains. This is because in many cases, the seller sets a reserve price (in other words, the minimum they're prepared to accept) which is usually pretty close to the going rate anyway. So look out for 'No reserve' — which means that theoretically, the vendor will take anything that he or she can get their hands on.
The other downside of Internet auctions is the length of time it takes to complete the transaction. Most sites will run auctions for a week, so it can get a bit tedious checking to see how the bidding's going (though some sites will automatically update you on the state of your own and other bids). Whereas with small ads you can get an immediate yea or nay on whether the item is available, you can waste an awful lot of mental sweat wondering if you're still the leading bid.
This leads us on to the other main pitfall. As with auctions in the real world, it is possible to be swept along by the excitement of it all and end up bidding far too much for something you never really wanted in the first place. (I nearly talked myself into buying an ancient Lotus Esprit just because it was 'there'). It's all too easy to see it as a competition between you and the other bidders that you're determined to win at all costs. Of course, this works to your advantage if you're a seller. Just set the adrenalin flowing with a cracking description and stand back and watch the cash roll in. However, never, never, never place bids on your own item.