I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

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PorkyPrimeCut
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I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:18 pm

The time has come.

I just don't get chance to play it any more. There's a practice space a friend uses that would be a great place to crank it but it's shared by a load of other potentially clumsy, careless musicians & I wouldn't trust leaving it there. The other alternative would be repeatedly carrying it up 3 flights of stairs, there & back. Fuck that!

My problem is that I rarely, if ever, see these for sale.

It's an AC30HH, s just the head. The first in a run of fawn-covered, handwired amps. There were 500 built before they changed the specs for the next lines. No master volume in this one but the usual Top Boost channel. It's in excellent condition as I've never gigged it. The only time it's left the house is when I've had to move to a different property (so 3 times). I have 3 extra Sylvania tubes to go with it as well.
Along with that is a Zilla custom-built cab. Oversized with a 1x12 Vintage 30 speaker but capable of holding 2 of these speakers, if you cut a new baffle. It has Vox grill cloth, which I gather is hard to source. Constructed with proper 16-ply birch, just like other quality manufacturers.

I've not put this in the "For Sale" section yet as I don't have a price. I think the Vox heads new were around £750. The cab was probably around £250.
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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Fri Aug 21, 2020 12:38 am

That's a shame you feel the need to get rid of the Vox. Have you got a replacement in mind?

Sorry I can't help on the price front. I sold my AC30 CC1 Head a while back for £450 (I got the combo version), but it's a totally different beast. One thing I'd say is don't necessarily get hung up on the idea of keeping them as a pair - you might find it easier to shift them individually.

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Fri Aug 21, 2020 1:43 am

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 12:38 am
That's a shame you feel the need to get rid of the Vox. Have you got a replacement in mind?
I have an old Valve Junior modded by RAT Amps that should be more than enough, in terms of useable volume. The wiring's been completely overhauled, with a better speaker fitted and "Power Scaling" so it breaks up nicely at lower volume.
To be honest, the Vox has become a bit of an elephant in the room. A nice piece of furniture, at the moment. I feel the need to downscale somewhat &, out of all my gear, the amp sticks out the most. Had I been gigging (or just jamming) regularly, this wouldn't even be a consideration.
UlricvonCatalyst wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 12:38 am
Sorry I can't help on the price front. I sold my AC30 CC1 Head a while back for £450 (I got the combo version), but it's a totally different beast. One thing I'd say is don't necessarily get hung up on the idea of keeping them as a pair - you might find it easier to shift them individually.
I got a bit sucked into a chat on another forum about how good these amps were, in terms of output mainly, but also how easy they are to fix because of the turret-mounted components. Not many people even get chance to play the HH and the HC because they were a limited run & I guess the ones that got bought have stayed with their owners. Testament to the quality I guess, even if the are Chinese-made.

I dunno, do newer amps ever actually increase in value, or at least stay close to their original price?

I also think I need to shift these as a pair. Having the cab lying around would almost be worse than having them both together. Saying that, my little 4 Watt amp might sound pretty good through a bigger speaker & cab.
You think you can't, you wish you could, I know you can, I wish you would. Slip inside this house as you pass by.

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Fri Aug 21, 2020 2:25 am

Snap! I have a modded Valve Jr. too. A decent living room amp, but still doesn't stop me wanting a Princeton Reverb (or Vibro-Champ at a push).

I wouldn't hold out too much hope for a fairly recent Chinese amp going up in value substantially, but you never know - I saw someone locally trying to sell one of those Fender Excelsiors recently for a tad over what they cost new a few years back. No idea if there were any takers, though. Starting high and being willing to lower your expectations is the way to go, probably.

I guess the view to take would be that you're stuck with the head or cab temporarily if you sold one of them separately. Plenty of cab owners looking for a different head and vice versa, I would think, though I know getting rid of both together would be ideal.

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by fever606 » Fri Aug 21, 2020 2:52 am

The HH is a nice amp! I don’t know that you’ll get more for it than you paid, but Reverb and eBay completed sales might give you a better idea. If it were me, I’d probably list it for what a new one cost and be willing to negotiate down a little.

The cab is another story... you’ll never get what you paid out of a new cab what you paid for it. Sadly, it’s about the equivalent of buying a new car - you lose money just driving it off the lot. Expect to bring in 50-75% of what you paid for it.

Oh and good luck! I understand the desire to move to a smaller amp... I’m very seriously considering shifting my Bassman and 4x10 and getting into a 5E3 Deluxe...

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:42 am

Yesterday I listed the cab & amp for 700 Euros and there's already a guy willing to drive across Germany to pick it up.

In retrospect I'm tempted to apologise, tell him I messed up the numbers, and ask for 800.
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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by ElephantDNA » Fri Aug 21, 2020 12:04 pm

I was going to say ask $1,000 US which is around 850 Euro and probably yeah settle around 800. 700 is a little low at today's prices on these. I would just say something like it was appraised at 850 so I've increased the price to 800. Apologies, etc.

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by Embenny » Fri Aug 21, 2020 12:14 pm

PorkyPrimeCut wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:42 am
Yesterday I listed the cab & amp for 700 Euros and there's already a guy willing to drive across Germany to pick it up.

In retrospect I'm tempted to apologise, tell him I messed up the numbers, and ask for 800.
It's a bit of a "looking a gift horse in the mouth" scenario, but you can always apologize and tell him you made a mistake (or even try to pass it off as a typo).

Worst case scenario, you've pissed off one guy who may or may not have ended up being a real buyer. I wouldn't sell it out of guilt for less than it's worth.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by Larsongs » Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:12 pm

PorkyPrimeCut wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:42 am
Yesterday I listed the cab & amp for 700 Euros and there's already a guy willing to drive across Germany to pick it up.

In retrospect I'm tempted to apologise, tell him I messed up the numbers, and ask for 800.
Would you say the same thing if you'd advertised it for 800? You messed up & really want 900? Just be firm on your 700 price.. If he doesn't want it, reluctant it for 800....

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by hillerheilman » Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:00 pm

Larsongs wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 9:12 pm
PorkyPrimeCut wrote:
Fri Aug 21, 2020 3:42 am
Yesterday I listed the cab & amp for 700 Euros and there's already a guy willing to drive across Germany to pick it up.

In retrospect I'm tempted to apologise, tell him I messed up the numbers, and ask for 800.
Would you say the same thing if you'd advertised it for 800? You messed up & really want 900? Just be firm on your 700 price.. If he doesn't want it, reluctant it for 800....
I agree with this sentiment. I’d feel like a real douchebag if I raised the price last second. I would just be firm on your initial price. Best case scenario he doesn’t take it and you can relist it for 800, worst case you get 700 and can learn from the experience. Better to have 100 less than you COULD HAVE had rather than no money at all, I figure. Plus it’s getting put to use by someone rather than just taking up space.

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:28 pm

I've raised the price. As it stood before I was basically giving away the cab for free.
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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by ElephantDNA » Sat Aug 22, 2020 11:04 pm

PorkyPrimeCut wrote:
Sat Aug 22, 2020 12:28 pm
I've raised the price. As it stood before I was basically giving away the cab for free.
I agree. I guess forum is split on this one, but personally I think you should get the right price. You don't owe anything to the buyer because they probably knew it was priced too low. In the end, it's your gear and you should make the sale that makes you feel comfortable in the transaction.

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Sat Aug 22, 2020 11:14 pm

Yeah. We hadn't reached a deal or anything. He was just the first person to show an interest.

The ad was clearly marked "Collection Only" but he was asking if I could meet him halfway (he lives on the other side of the country).
So, in the end we're maybe meeting halfway metaphorically by my agreeing to look at shipping costs.
You think you can't, you wish you could, I know you can, I wish you would. Slip inside this house as you pass by.

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Re: I'm selling my AC30HH but what would be a good asking price?...

Post by Larsongs » Tue Sep 01, 2020 6:08 am

Have you sold it yet?

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