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Building and Selling

Posted by Rob Uker on April 4, 2014 at 2:21pm in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever

I've never built anything with the intention of selling it, but I find once I accumulate about a dozen CBGs the herd needs to get thinned. So about once a year I find a craft fair or flea market to show my guitars and hopefully send some to a new home.(So I can build some more)(I Love Building)

As I already stated I never plan on selling them when I'm building so my material costs sometimes get high.

Generally my material costs run anywhere from $35 to about $160.00.

I find that everything priced at $125 will sell at a craft show and nothing over $200 sells. People do admire and love to play the pricier models but they don't fork over the cash.

My questions are, how much does your typical build cost to make? Not factoring in labor.

How much do you sell them for?

Lastly, where is the best place to sell them?

I won't sell on Ebay because I want people to know exactly what they are buying. I build everything to suit my personal preferences. What I like isn't necessarily for everyone.

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Replies

  • Slow Slough Guitars June 1, 2014 at 2:30pm

    This was a great thread to find. I'm planning everything from diddly bows to canjos to 3 and 4 string cbg's. I know it's going to get out of hand and having a little knowledge base to work with is great. Has anybody been selling battery powered amps with their cbg's? I would imagine a matched set could go for a nice little price tag. Most of my builds will be in the $50 for materials range and maybe an hour or two depending on various things. I'll stick with a basic piezo and will probably do a mix of fretted and not.

  • Peter J Thorne April 10, 2014 at 11:58am

    All I can say is, Keep building CBG's, let people know how easy and fun it is to play these instruments. The more popular, the more demand, the more value!

  • Muddy Creek Guitars April 8, 2014 at 5:44pm
    I also started building just for me, then as we ran out of room for them, I started to sell. Mine are much simpler than what other people are listing here. Most of mine are between $16-20 in parts. I charge between $55-75 for a git. What I build is simple, but I enjoy what I do. In my area, west central Illinois, they sell ok. Most people have never heard of a CBG before. They think that I invented them.
    I sell at town festivals, craft fairs, Christmas Bazaars and such events. Everyone thinks that they're incredible and a few buy. There are a lot worse ways for me to spend a day than listening to people complement what I make. I don't try to sell anything. I just demo and people who want to make a purchase. Everyone leaves happy.
  • Wichita Sam April 6, 2014 at 11:08am

    If you're selling to flea market crowd, you'd better be able to bring it in for $99 price and still make 30-40 dollars for your labor.  That means simple construction and really basic materials (piezos, 1X2 necks, wire to output jack and cheap boxes)... If you wire them, mostly directly to output jack.  If you fret them, you'd better be fast... (Mass produced in my garage, I can fret 4-5 necks per hour.  (Have one or two better CBGs to generate interest in custom orders)

     

    If you get into high end craft fairs, you can double and sometimes triple your price and profit.  And as said by others you build to the market.  I had a friend that snagged a booth at hot air balloon festival.  He was selling CBGs to that affluent crowd for way more than I had ever sold any CBGs.

     

    I've found that the best profit margins for me come from busking.  When people on the street hear what a simple 3 or 4 string CBG can do and they will sometimes throw down $200 or more on a guitar that would be $99 at the flea market.

     

    The highest margin can come from custom/build to order CBGs.  There is no high limit other than the customer's wallet.  2 hints:  1) Take a deposit of at least 1/2 the agreed to price...a buyer with cold feet can leave you with an instrument that you may have trouble getting parts price out of, much less anything for labor.  and....2) don't let "upgrades" eat up your profit margin.  When customer changes from a six pole pickup that came of a clone strat that you had on the shelf and now wants a new lace dual pickup system, up your price by at least double the retail parts cost.  It's amazing how quickly you can find yourself working for nothing when upgrades get added without price adjustment (experience speaks)...

     

    Finally, what sells the best is what you play the best.  As you work on your building skills, keep working on your playing chops.  Simple slide skills will sell simple slide CBGs fine.  The better the CBG needs a better player to demo it adequately.

    • Rob Uker > Wichita Sam April 8, 2014 at 8:10am

      Thanks Sam,

      I've experiences a lot of the things you just mentioned especially " what you play best sells best". Another tick I use every time is I teach non musical customers how to play Bad to the Bone on a three string. Almost anyone  can learn it in a couple of minutes and it's a real confidence builder for new musicians.

  • The Phrygian Kid April 4, 2014 at 8:54pm
    My budget is $50 .

    Tuners $12
    Strings $12

    That's half already.

    Output jack and any pots $12 or so
    There's 75%

    Wire to wind a couple coils $5 or so...
    Frets $3 or so
    Bugger me, it's just about gone.

    Better get my hookup wire and magnets from an old tv or computer, better find a pallet or a demolition for some wood eh..

    Building to a budget is a great challenge.
  • Scott aka Farmer Ted April 4, 2014 at 3:22pm

    For a three or four string cbg, fretted w/ one mag pickup in a cigar box, I may spend $50-70 on parts, from start to finish. A six string (with re-claimed bolt on neck from a standard electric guitar) w/ 2 pickups and all the dressings, I may spend an additional $60-80 for parts, etc.

    Pricing to sell is really dependent on factors such as the target customer, local economy (i.e. what the market will bear ), type of build relative to playability (i.e. is it only a slide style w/ no frets, or is it fretted ), and of course, time involved to create/build.

    As a general rule, for me, I take the cost of materials alone, and multiply by 3 to get an approximate sell point. So a guitar that costs $50-70 in parts, I would list for $150-210 as a low end. Higher-end builds like 6 stringers, I would list for $300-450.

    I understand the position of not selling online (i.e. Ebay), because in many cases a person looking to buy a guitar likely prefers to play the guitar before deciding if it is right for him or her. But for me, I do use Ebay (and other online listings) and have had great success in doing so. I haven't had any client return or complain about their purchase, and the small percentage that Ebay and Paypal charge for their services is fair, considering the potential number of people that are exposed to my listed builds.

    Consignments (as mentioned by Chris), can work. But in my experience, those who will sell on consignment will want from 25-35% of the sell price for simply allowing you to display in their venue. And unless you are there to answer questions by shoppers, the chance of making a sale are up to the eagerness of the shopper, and the cooperation/help offered by the store owner.

    Local craft/artisan fairs are a good option. The cost of a table/space is relatively small. You are able to see customers face to face, answer questions, allow them to hold/see/play the guitars, and lets the public learn more about these crazy awesome things we all spend so much time & passion building.

    Any way, best of luck. Look forward to hearing what comes of your "herd thinning", hehe.

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