Insane price for a 20/20 on teh bay...

[MesaGod666]

Check this out!

He's asking for $1,387.40 for it. Isn't that more than the price for a NEW 20/20?

I'm going to break it to this guy that his amp is probably worth $400 USD. It looks like he kept it in decent condition and swapped out the black volume knobs for the chrome ones.

 

[elvis]

I'm not sure what the new price for one in Australia or Europe is, but it's likely worth more than $400. It's the 220V version, anyway.

 

[ando]

It is an excessive price for eBay. The 20/20 retails for $2,195AUD and this item has $1,499AUD on it. People expect a significant saving on eBay otherwise they order these items from the US and just use a stepdown transformer. It definitely won't sell at that price. At about $1,000AUD it would probably sell though, 8-900AUD certainly. These items are hard to get in 230V.

 

[MesaGod666]

It is an excessive price for eBay. The 20/20 retails for $2,195AUD and this item has $1,499AUD on it. People expect a significant saving on eBay otherwise they order these items from the US and just use a stepdown transformer. It definitely won't sell at that price. At about $1,000AUD it would probably sell though, 8-900AUD certainly. These items are hard to get in 230V.

I emailed him and he replied by saying that the price for a new 20/20 is about $2K AUD. Plus, this is a 230V Boogie mod meaning that it can be played in countries with 230V.

It makes sense to me now.

 

[Atomic.Sheep]

You have to remember that usually the exchange rate between the aussie dollar and the US dollar is nowhere near to where it is now and as a result, you always have to multiply the US price by pretty much a factor of two when you take such things into consideration as shipping to AUS etc. As a result, an item which costs 1k in the US will cost more than twice that in aussie dollars. I will agree that 1500 for it is a bit steap. If it had warranty on it I'd think about it but it's just too expensive at the moment. He sent me photos of it and its not as new condition. It's not bad, the parts that are slightly scratched aren't visible anyway (once it goes into a rack) and the screw mounting holes arent badly worn but for that price I would expect a pristine item with a bit of warranty left. Would love to know how much you can talk down the RRP of 2200 down to for a new one though... anyone have any ideas?

 

[ando]

Would love to know how much you can talk down the RRP of 2200 down to for a new one though... anyone have any ideas?

You'd be lucky to talk $50 off a new Mesa in Australia. Forget about it, find a good second hand one - unless you don't mind the hideous expense. Mesa's don't sell much in Australia because they are stocked by about 3 stores in the whole country and they have a much higher price on them than in the US. The stores that do big discounts like Billy Hydes don't do Mesa gear.

 

[Atomic.Sheep]

The stores that do big discounts like Billy Hydes don't do Mesa gear.

Well I don't know about this. In my experience, the only difference between Billy Hydes and Allans for example is that when you go to Allans you can't pick up a guitar and play around with it. At Billy, I've gone for that purpose alone and spent like half a day testing out guitars and amps with one of the sales staff bumming around with me. They encouraged me to test out the gear. The other thing I would like to note is that Billy Hydes to sell Mesa. I know this because a.) I came into their store and said I had never heard a real mesa boogie but was interested in them and that's when the guys were like... you gotta try it and b.) because I asked for a quote for the rig that I'm currently planning on getting i.e. TA, 20:20 and the 2x12 and a quote was indeed provided. The question of price is the other issue as I've been told by Billy Hydes staff that no one discounts Mesa so it's pretty much RRP. But generally, I've not purchased anything at Billy Hydes for prices I am proud of. In fact, despite my hate for Allans for the reasons explained above, I got much better discounts of items from their store.

But yer, what you said is pretty much the impression that I had so I'll probably get it all second hand.

 

[ando]

. I know this because a.) I came into their store and said I had never heard a real mesa boogie but was interested in them and that's when the guys were like... you gotta try it and b.) because I asked for a quote for the rig that I'm currently planning on getting i.e. TA, 20:20 and the 2x12 and a quote was indeed provided. The question of price is the other issue as I've been told by Billy Hydes staff that no one discounts Mesa so it's pretty much RRP. But generally, I've not purchased anything at Billy Hydes for prices I am proud of. In fact, despite my hate for Allans for the reasons explained above, I got much better discounts of items from their store.

But yer, what you said is pretty much the impression that I had so I'll probably get it all second hand.

So if the Billy Hydes guys said, "you gotta try it", where were they suggesting you try it? That's what I was referring to - they won't get it into the store for you to try. Sure, they'll order it in if you've paid for it, otherwise....

As for bargaining: if you haven't destroyed Billy Hydes prices, I'm afraid you are not skilled enough at bargaining, my friend! I have NEVER walked out of a Billy Hydes store with an RRP $1,000 item without a discount of at least $300. That's the line for me, 30% or I walk. I've done it several times and done it for my friends. You have to be shameless and be prepared to walk out of the store. It's not for the faint hearted! In the end, Billy Hydes would prefer to make $10 on a sale than let somebody else like Allans get the sale. I know somebody who works at Allans, and it's a matter of store policy that they will protect their margins. They don't do no profit sales. Billy Hydes will. It's a matter of how aggressively you go at them. I'm aggressive.

The one sure fact is - nobody in Australia does price cuts on Mesa gear. I can only assume that it's expensive for a store to buy too. Maybe you can get a small discount while the Aussie dollar is still high, but a tiny discount on gear you can't afford anyway is not very enticing.

 

[Atomic.Sheep]

I don't settle for anything less than 30% either... which is why I'm still Jacksonless but 5k for a Jackson is just too much considering they are 1800US, simply no justification for such high prices. Even with a 30% discount, $3500 is still too much. For that money I can import an eerie dess swirl one from america and still be overpaying.