Where to sell quality ukes at auction

MarkJay

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Hi everyone. I broke my right arm and strumming wrist last year and have now decided to sell several of my ukes at auction as I am now not comfortable playing.

I have some high end Hawaiian instruments and not sure if Ebay is the best place to sell these. From what I can see on Ebay, there are expensive ukes listed, but not much activity.

Are there any sites where I could expect better visibility for a quality ukulele and better results ?

Many thanks for any suggestions.
 
Do you want to auction or just sell them?

If you have a realistic idea of price (both current and used values) plus shipping, you could list them here and on Magic Fluke’s forums where buyers look for these instruments and there’s a pretty good track record of honesty. What you have going against you is being a member here for 4 years with a single post. Some people get worried about that.

There are Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace as free ways to sell instruments—but more expensive instruments may not have an audience in the general public in your area.

With those ways, you keep what you get, minus any PayPal or Venmo fees (unless you can get cash).

If you’re looking for auctions, eBay and Reverb are your answer...but you’ll pay to list, and then pay to sell. And when you sell, you’ll also be charged a percentage for selling, a percentage from PayPal, and of course shipping fees (even if you collected shipping fees). I have usually lost 30% of the proceeds of a sale due to this plan...and if you sell on auction without a reserve (you pay for for a reserve price, too). You could get far less for your ukulele than you planned.

So, there are some options for you.
Of
 
Seems to me that auction sales for ukuleles are getting less and less popular, except for rare instruments. Even on EBay, Hawaiian ukuleles (especially newer or more common models) are usually sold for fixed prices instead of auctions. If you're looking for a no-fee fixed-price sale, the Ukulele Underground marketplace forum is as good a place as any.
 
Thanks for your reply. I noticed that about ebay as well. Seems almost everything is posted with a price, rather than auction. I think that is generally not a good sign, because sellers re concerned in an auction format they think the chances are too high it will not bring what they want. I am selling a Bettah and a Ko'Olau. Hopefully, they will get more attention than mnost Hawaiian ukes, which seem these days to be more and more like commodities in larger production numbers. The sound may be very good, but most of the Hawaiian instruments now are not very distinguished from each other.
 
MarkJay, you could take some pictures and list them here at UU. It costs you nothing but your time to do it and you're going to have to do that no matter where you list them. Sorry to hear about your arm/wrist. Best of luck.
 
I do not think it would take long to sell a Moore Bettah on UU. Price is the key to a timely sale. There is likely to be strong demand for the brand. Same with Ko'Olau.

A shop called "Ukulele Friend" specialises in these types of instruments. I recommend at least making an inquiry to them to see what they can offer you.

Of course now that you have posted on UU, you may get some PMs from keen buyers?

Thanks Bill. Will check it and may post here as well, but like I said, I do not know the current value of these so hard for me to know whether an offer is fair. But I will try it.
 
There's also Ukulele Friend who sells high value instruments.https://ukulelefriend.com.

Ukulele Friend has recently sold a u number of custom 'ukuleles like Moore Bettahs for significantly more than what it pays you to buy it from you. Shawn is a great guy, but he's a businessman and he believes he adds value to the 'ukulele he might buy from you by the manner in which he sells it. You're likely to get more for your MB by selling directly than you would bey selling it to an entity like Ukulele Friend. Of course, selling to UF will save you the hassle of fielding offers for it on places like the UU Marketplace, but at a cost.
 
Hi Patrick, Thanks for your sugestions. I spoke with UF and also Ukulelesite, and what they wanted to sell the pieces were both somewhat astounding... between 15-25% - even if I sold it through them in an auction process. They believe they add significant value to the process. I'm sure they do add, but I am not sure its worth 25% of the sales price!
 
Hi Patrick, Thanks for your sugestions. I spoke with UF and also Ukulelesite, and what they wanted to sell the pieces were both somewhat astounding... between 15-25% - even if I sold it through them in an auction process. They believe they add significant value to the process. I'm sure they do add, but I am not sure its worth 25% of the sales price!

they will do quality sound samples with great players,show great pictures of your uke..going through the uke and fixing any kind of damage on the uke,packing shipping insurance etc......but if you want to do all this buy yourself good luck start by posting pictures of your ukes
 
Hi Patrick, Thanks for your sugestions. I spoke with UF and also Ukulelesite, and what they wanted to sell the pieces were both somewhat astounding... between 15-25% - even if I sold it through them in an auction process. They believe they add significant value to the process. I'm sure they do add, but I am not sure its worth 25% of the sales price!

This is standard. Respected, established guitar and banjo stores that sell or auction instruments on behalf of costumers typically also take between 25% and 30%. You'll get more if you sell the ukulele through them than you will if you sell it on your own. The Ukulele Site/HMS is highly respected and trusted, and they have a good reach when it comes to potential buyers of top level ukuleles. It also offers better protection and much less hassle for you (scammers, payment issues, people who pull out, etc).
 
Thanks Bill. Will check it and may post here as well, but like I said, I do not know the current value of these so hard for me to know whether an offer is fair. But I will try it.

You will find it helpful to head on over to the marketplace and "browse" all of the current and past FS (for sale) ukes. There have been a number of MBettahs sold over the past 24 months...with photos... and you can see how yours compares. Try to calculate a shipping price, too. If you have a hard case, with a solid box and good packing materials, you're probably in the 8 pound weight, with a box size of 8x12x26... (point is, that will cost you around 40-50 dollars in shipping) Shipping was a big issue for some of my prices on the mid/lower range ukes I sold. On the better ukes it will help you establish how much wiggle room if if you find yourself negotiating a price.

Basically though, use the Marketplace to help you find comparables and use your judgement. If you don't get nibbles, try lowering :) the opposite of an auction. Anyhow when at an auction, you still have to come up with the lowest price you're willing to sell for. Not much different here. Good luck.
 
eBay would not be my first choice. You could contact HMS and ask if they would be interested. They've done auctions before. Of course, they would take a percentage (I assume). Auctions are risky. I would go for a direct sale.
 
Listing them here is a solid idea.
 
There is no set market price for top end ukes, especially custom made whereby two of the same size ones can vary significantly in price even if built in the same year.

Starting consideration would be what you paid for it. If you got your purchase price back, would you be happy having been able to enjoy that uke for the time you owned it. That means you played it for "free" and had pride of ownership. Or would you be unhappy because you might have left some money on the table if you believe it has increased in value. Or like most ukes for sale, how much less than what you paid should you sell it for? Is it like new because you treated it with kid gloves, aghast at the thought of an invisible scratch from playing it? Or does it show love marks from enjoying playing such a fine instrument?

And do you need the money? That usually is not the case if you have a Moore Bettah and a Ko'olau to sell.

Finally, do you care who buys it? This UU forum has been a great place to sell to an appreciative audience. Good luck with figuring this out.
 
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