How to sell your guitar on eBay

Don't sell yourself short

Please don't read this article if you have money to burn and you want to give your guitar away for peanuts on eBay

Whether you are selling your guitar it is important that you do what you can to enhance its appearance. This is the hardest part of selling, but the rewards are greater for the effort. Things to look for are cracks around the pegs on the headstock, cracks or fractures on the neck, dents, fret wear, spaces where the neck meets the body, lifting or raising of the bridge piece and frozen {{{switchesor knobs|knobs or switches))) Now, you may think this is a lot to do but you dont want an unhappy winner because you misdescribed the condition. If you have a guitar that is complete but dirty then this is a simple task. The best method for a painted guitar is to get machine glaze buffing compound and rub out all the painted areas and then buff with a soft rag. If the fretboard is dry you can take lemon oil and wipe it on the wood. Rub hard and the grime disappears. Once the guitar is clean, inspect the electronics. Switch the pickup selector backwards and forwrwards to make sure it is selecting correctly. Ensure the volume control works. Do this to the tone knob also. If the knobs and switch are not working smoothly, they may need changing, but before you do it is good to try to refurbish them using WD40 which you spray on and leave overnight. If you get a noisy sound when you turn the knobs then you will need to buy some DeOxite spray at your guitar store which is fantastic for rusty or dirty electronics. Restring your guitar and tune.

Photograph. Take your photos against a plain background in natural light. Full view front and back. Headstock with brand name and serial number are the minimum.

Listing Suggestions: Always take care to ensure that your guitar is in the correct catagory with similar instruments. For a few extra cents you can show a picture of the item also, which I recommend. Make sure that you describe the make and model in the first line. Remember that you are trying to sell and so make the second line as enticing as possible i.e. "rare beauty, seldom seen".

Description: Recap the name of the guitar with the date of manufacture and any special details. Describe the instrument accurately including any small dents or scratches. This gives the viewer confidence. Make sure that you offer to reply to any emailed questions. Noone expects a vintage guitar to be in perfect condition and so your honesty will attract more buyers and therefore drive the price up.

Terms: Please offer to ship worldwide and not just to USA. European bidders in particular are very keen and wealthy.

Time to sit back and enjoy the excitement your guitar stimulates. Answer all questions quickly and accurately and make the answer visible to other ebayers.

P.S because most people do not go to the trouble of preparing their instrument this way then you might want to consider buying and then relisting other peoples vintage guitars! Do your research first though and watch out for guitars where the location is China as many fakes are known to surface there.

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