selling/trading in old amps at guitar shops?

hey. i hope someone can give me some advice. i have a fender roc pro 1000 100watt head and matching 4x12 cabinet that i bought used for $530 after taxes and all. i played in a ska/punk band and it was great for that, but really overkill in the volume department. now i think i'd be better served buying an acoustic with a trade-in and saving for a few years to see if I want to buy a nicer littler tube combo amp. anyway...has anyone ever traded in a used amp w/ a guitar shop? do they tend to rip you off really heavy? If I could get $375-400 I'd probably be happy. so what do you think? it's in good condition...just no footswitch . anyway, wish me luck.
brad

 

I would try to see it on e-bay, or in a newspaper first. Music stores will not give you the same amount as a regular person would.

I have a 1969 Gibson 335 that had a cracked neck. Once when I was pretty poor I went around to several music stores in Los Angeles to see what they would give me...offers ranged from 100-300 dollars, and this was a guitar I bought for 1200 dollars in 1993. They told me the neck was not fixable and that the guitar looked like it could be rusted inside etc.

Well I didn´t sell it and ended up getting it fixed for 200 dollars and it works as good as new.

 

Generally, most major companies like guitar center and mars music will ass fuck you to hell and back when you try to trade something in. Keep it in the family; ask all your friends, people you meet, shit like that. If you can't find anyone, go to a local music store, mom and pop place, and see if they want to buy it. Most music forums will have a buy/sell section, and most hang outs, head shops, bars etc. will let you post up a flyer with your number. Just don't pawn it, you'll get really ripped off.

 

By all means, try to sell it before you trade it. On E-Bay you can put in a stipulation for local pick-up only, so you don't have to deal with shipping.

Looks like nice equipment -- should sell.

 

those were the unfortunate answers i sort of expected. thanks. i'm in no hurry, but i'll probably try to sell it ebay or something.

 

I would highly recommend selling it privately, i find that trading amps into shops usually gets you ripped off (since they have to make a proffit).
just sell your cab on ebay and you will beat the price you would of got on trade by a mile

 

Yeah... only go to shops if you're desperate. Ebay is a lot better. More hassle, but worth the time and effort for you in the long run, but you've probably already sold it by now, so..

 

Harmonycentral.com has a great classifieds section. You'll get more $ then you would trading in, and often times if you list that you are willing to trade you will get tons of offers (most musicians are gear whores it seems)

 

if you pawn it or sell it to a shop they'll buy it for 1/4 of the price that they will sell it

 

Yeah... I've sold there before. I'm a big fan of Harmony Central. It's my second site to hipforums...