# Where to sell a lot of guitars + gear quickly in Calgary/Alberta



## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Hi. I have a friend with a lot of equipment and guitars and he wants to fairly quickly come up with about 20k for a record deal.
I'm looking to just list it all on kijiji but was curious if there might be a place out there that would just buy the whole lot (or a good chunk) for a reasonable price.
He has many guitars worth several thousands, a nice avalon compressor, bose pa system and other stuff he is considering selling to raise funds.
Many of the guitars are limited edition high end, they are all mint condition 1 owner instruments.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Start by posting in the classifieds on this forum. If the prices are fair things move quick.

If you're OK with losing half the value you can find music stores that will take the lot.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I’d give Stang guitars a call, or email with a list, up in Edmonton


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

auction house?


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

Until a better answers, I post all stuff on Facebook market and Kijiji


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## sillyak (Oct 22, 2016)

Kijiji is more active than Facebook marketplace in Alberta, although I have moved stuff on both of them.

If he wants to maximize his money than Kijiji will be best. If he wants it done easy and quickly than the Stang suggestion is probably a good one. There are also people who buy entire collections to resale, but they need to make a profit too so you will not get top dollar.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

player99 said:


> Start by posting in the classifieds on this forum. If the prices are fair things move quick.


In case you meant for @Jarretv to post the items here, forum rules state that one can only list items they own. But the friend could join and list them here.

With diverse items like guitars, a PA, and studio gear, it seems unlikely that anyone is going to truly want the whole lot. The buyer would probably want a significant discount to assume the responsibility of selling off what they don’t want to keep.

I’d suggest listing items in various classifieds at a good price to sell quickly. Then whatever remains after a while try to find sell as a whole lot at an even deeper discount to a store. Sure, it would be a lot of work, but if it could get an extra couple thousand from the effort it would be worth it.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

If you have to sell all your gear to pay to record, don't record there.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

If it's good stuff and priced right most of it should sell if it's listed here--- Not to one buyer, but sold individually.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

A sound investment.


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

Budda said:


> If you have to sell all your gear to pay to record, don't record there.


+1

But...theres also maxsold


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I hate to be the one to ask, but something about this gives me a bit of an uneasy feeling. 

Why does a guy have to sell all or most of his guitars to come up with $20,000. for a "record deal"?

There are so many scammers out there ready to prey on someone's vanity....

Looks like Budda beat me to it.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Sounds like one of those battle of the bands where whichever band sells the most tickets wins!


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

20k for a 'record deal'? What record deal is this that requires you to pay money? Deal to play your music eventually in Spotify? LOL


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Good Morning everyone, thank you all for the many replies. I will forward this info to my friend.

Now for @Budda @ezcomes and @Milkman --
#1 It's not all his gear, not by a longshot
#2 It's a big name label's subsidiary that is going to get him worldwide distribution and a tour across USA.
He too is concerned about them asking him for money, but what they've said is that they match his investment and then put their parent company to work.
I have done some digging into the people involved and they definitely seem to be reputable industry people, at this point I'd be extremely surprised if it was a scam.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

I have never heard of a band paying for a record deal. Scam


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Guncho said:


> I have never heard of a band paying for a record deal. Scam


I appreciate your opinion Guncho, can you tell me approximately how many record deals that you know the details of?


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

There's just no need for this.
Upload music to Spotify - Free
Upload video to Youtube of song playing with album cover as the visual - Free.


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## Jaime (Mar 29, 2020)

In what world do you pay your label like that? Granted, I've been out of the game for 15+ years, but even the smallest indie labels I worked with were the ones fronting cash for production expenses. 

What exactly is the label doing if they're asking for a 20k loan from an artist that said artist can't do for themselves?


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Jarretv said:


> I appreciate your opinion Guncho, can you tell me approximately how many record deals that you know the details of?


I have played in bands for years and read a shit tonne about the music industry. Can you name a successful band that had to put up $20k of their own money for a record deal?


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Guncho said:


> I have played in bands for years and read a shit tonne about the music industry. Can you name a successful band that had to put up $20k of their own money for a record deal?


Hi Guncho, I can't, I don't know anything about the music industry or any record deals...that's part of why I mentioned it in the OP, hoping to get this kind of feedback from people to share with my friend.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Tell your friend to talk to an entertainment lawyer.


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Jaime said:


> In what world do you pay your label like that? Granted, I've been out of the game for 15+ years, but even the smallest indie labels I worked with were the ones fronting cash for production expenses.
> 
> What exactly is the label doing if they're asking for a 20k loan from an artist that said artist can't do for themselves?


Hi Jaime, I don't know exactly as I didn't get to see the contract, but what I got was that they would be doing a lot of PR--billboards, advertising, and distribution through the giant parent co. as well as setting up a USA wide tour and recording and releasing a track or two.


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Guncho said:


> Tell your friend to talk to an entertainment lawyer.


Thanks Guncho, I think a consult is a smart idea because it will probably only be a few hundred bucks and can give him a good idea about how 'normal' this is. I've found a lawyer in Vancouver who is also registered in the USA. I'm happy to suggest others to him if you have anyone in mind.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Jarretv said:


> Good Morning everyone, thank you all for the many replies. I will forward this info to my friend.
> 
> Now for @Budda @ezcomes and @Milkman --
> #1 It's not all his gear, not by a longshot
> ...



I'd say consulting a lawyer is about the best advice I've seen in this thread so far.

There's a great episode of the Waltons that might serve as a example of just what I'm warning about.

It deals with something called a vanity press, not a scam, just something that exploits wishful thinking.

I just can't see paying for a record deal, but hey, the times they are a changin.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Jarretv said:


> Thanks Guncho, I think a consult is a smart idea because it will probably only be a few hundred bucks and can give him a good idea about how 'normal' this is. I've found a lawyer in Vancouver who is also registered in the USA. I'm happy to suggest others to him if you have anyone in mind.


Back in my day Sanderson/Taylor in Toronto was the entertainment lawyer.


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Guncho said:


> Back in my day Sanderson/Taylor in Toronto was the entertainment lawyer.


Thanks Guncho, I checked the website and it looks like a great place to get a consult; much appreciated!!


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

This kind of reminds me of that ad you see popping up in fb market place all the time. _"Can I put a Coca-Cola sticker on your car for $268 per month?"_ The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Your spidey senses tingle. You instinctively know, even without any proof one way or another, that there is something wrong with this picture and you should just keep scrolling.

That said, if this is legit then KiJiJi is your best bet for money and Stang is your best bet for speed. Even L&M will take your stuff but their formula for calculating what they offer is slightly worse than Stang. Not by a lot but a by a little. Stang will offer you 75% of what they plan to sell it for. L&M will offer you 70%. Both places will use the lowest possible selling point as their baseline.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Why isn't your friend doing all this research?


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

I should add .... KiJiJi in Edmonton might get you a better price than in Calgary. I cruise KiJiJi a bit and I have noticed Calgary typically has lower prices.


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Budda said:


> Why isn't your friend doing all this research?


musical genius, computer/internet/tech challenged


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Jarretv said:


> musical genius, computer/internet/tech challenged


No better time to learn than when a company asks you for $20k.


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## Jaime (Mar 29, 2020)

Jarretv said:


> Hi Jaime, I don't know exactly as I didn't get to see the contract, but what I got was that they would be doing a lot of PR--billboards, advertising, and distribution through the giant parent co. as well as setting up a USA wide tour and recording and releasing a track or two.


Nothing about this is something that he should be paying up front for. Obviously we're both in the dark not having seen whatever the contract is, but I'd be walking away from this one pretty quick if it's as described. 

Again, it's been a minute, but the basic version of the way it generally worked was you'd get an advance from your label to take care of as much of the production cost as possible, and you'd pay that back and then split additional revenues if they were generated. I'm positive every contract would be different, but they'd all involve a label compensating an artist, not an artist compensating a label. It's very similar to writing and publishing. 

The lawyer suggestion is about the only thing that makes sense here, aside from just walking away.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

If you want to make a good album, $20K is not a ridiculous price. For 12 songs that's about $1,670 per song. From this you would have to pay all the session musicians, the studio techs, engineers and producers, rent the studio and it's equipment, record, mix and master. If it is a top studio with top equipment, musicians and staff, it can easily cost $30-$60K and more.


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

player99 said:


> If you want to make a good album, $20K is not a ridiculous price. For 12 songs that's about $1,670 per song. From this you would have to pay all the session musicians, the studio techs, engineers and producers, rent the studio and it's equipment, record, mix and master. If it is a top studio with top equipment, musicians and staff, it can easily cost $30-$60K and more.


Hi Player, he's already recorded a very professional level album, the deal is more about getting him marketing distribution and PR as far as I know....have made inquiries with a few lawyers now..


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Jarretv said:


> Hi Player, he's already recorded a very professional level album, the deal is more about getting him marketing distribution and PR as far as I know....have made inquiries with a few lawyers now..


As someone who had a deal that did not get renewed, that is 100% not how those deals work.

Your friend needs to run, and fast.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Jarretv said:


> Hi Player, he's already recorded a very professional level album, the deal is more about getting him marketing distribution and PR as far as I know....have made inquiries with a few lawyers now..


He is buying $20K worth of marketing? Don't do it.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Tell him to say something stupid and politically incorrect about his music.
He'll get all the free advertising, promotion and cancel culture activists chasing him that people are bound to want to check him out.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

laristotle said:


> Tell him to say something stupid and politically incorrect about his music.
> He'll get all the free advertising, promotion and cancel culture activists chasing him that people are bound to want to check him out.


I agree! like when they cancelled the Dixie chicks for criticizing a president. Some would even say that was the moment mainstream gave birth to cancel culture.


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## Foxycats (Dec 31, 2020)

It sounds like your friend has been given the road map for what he should do, and can pay for with said 20k. He could probably pay an actual marketing company to market his stuff all over social media/the internet for a fraction of what the label is asking for. I also have no record label experience but my business background and common sense would make me consider what I could do with 20k vs what someone else will charge me to spend that 20k for me.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Yeah, your friend is getting ready to get fvcked. But meanwhile...

What’s he got for sale?


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Sad to think an artist is going to get swindled out of his beautiful collection of instruments and tools he uses to create his art.


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## Doug B (Jun 19, 2017)

Jarretv said:


> setting up a USA wide tour


In the middle of the covid-19 pandemic?


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## evenon (Nov 13, 2006)

odd timing for me to be from Calgary and just put a bunch of stuff in the Classifieds... for the record it's not me !!

All kidding aside, that sounds like a screwy deal, good luck hopefully it works out.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Doug B said:


> In the middle of the covid-19 pandemic?


I just saw a post from a guy somewhere in the states, playing a gig in a packed bar. Fun times.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

sillyak said:


> Kijiji is more active than Facebook marketplace in Alberta, although I have moved stuff on both of them.
> 
> If he wants to maximize his money than Kijiji will be best. If he wants it done easy and quickly than the Stang suggestion is probably a good one. There are also people who buy entire collections to resale, but they need to make a profit too so you will not get top dollar.


Why not Facebook and Kijiji in British- Columbia, it so "close" to Alberta. Some people may have money there


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

I agree with all the posters who say having to come up with 20K to pay for a record deal is a terrible idea.
He should keep his guitars, see a lawyer, then make an informed decision on if and how to proceed.


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## Griff (Sep 7, 2016)

@Jarretv You'll have to let us know how it turns out.

From my perspective, the other guys are right. As talented as your friend is, and as much as he wants to make this happen, him paying $20K for some marketing is very fishy. Reminds me of all the e-mails I get to my bandcamp accounts about entering in such and such a contest. Pay the fee.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

After reading the first post I had to check--and sure enough--many suspect a scam on some level.
It's a whole new level of pay to play.


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Here's a little update. I contacted a couple entertainment lawyers as per @Guncho 's recommendation.
One of them came back straight away and said that its highly unusual for a record deal to ever ask the artist for money, and EVEN MORE unusual if they are connected to a major label.
I think my friend is going to send the contract to the lawyer and get a consult...I'll update when I have more.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Jarretv said:


> Here's a little update. I contacted a couple entertainment lawyers as per @Guncho 's recommendation.
> One of them came back straight away and said that its highly unusual for a record deal to ever ask the artist for money, and EVEN MORE unusual if they are connected to a major label.
> I think my friend is going to send the contract to the lawyer and get a consult...I'll update when I have more.


Your friend should just walk away from this "deal" but if it's going to take him spending $500 on a lawyer to tell him that, then that's what he should do.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

How is this so difficult for him to see he's being taken?


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Is his recording executive a Nigerian prince?


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Microsoft


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Jarretv said:


> Here's a little update. I contacted a couple entertainment lawyers as per @Guncho 's recommendation.
> One of them came back straight away and said that its highly unusual for a record deal to ever ask the artist for money, and EVEN MORE unusual if they are connected to a major label.
> I think my friend is going to send the contract to the lawyer and get a consult...I'll update when I have more.


You seem to realize this, but it's worth it to say.

People who are posting warnings here, are not jealous and just being haters.

We're genuinely trying to help prevent your friend from being scammed, if that is indeed what is happening.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Kind of reminds me of those job offers....where you just have to send $40 for the information package.

When I was younger, Mom told me, you get paid for a job, you don’t pay to get one.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I'll take $500 to direct him to someone who has worked with a major canadian label that's a sony subsidiary.


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

I think it will be funny when we all find out that this guy is just baiting us


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

ezcomes said:


> I think it will be funny when we all find out that this guy is just baiting us


So long as I get my $500.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

ezcomes said:


> I think it will be funny when we all find out that this guy is just baiting us


Certainly is possibility.
But could still be a warning to somebody.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

zontar said:


> Certainly is possibility.
> But could still be a warning to somebody.



If it is, it's pretty lame. If some little old lady was about to get sucked in to a lonely hearts scam, I'd try to warn her too.

No shame or embarrassment in that.


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Ok. It gets more interesting... He sent the contract to one of the lawyers for a cursory look. The lawyers says "this is not a typical contract", but it appeared to be legit with a legit record company. I think he's gonna go for an hour consult now...i'll post back in a week or so after I have another update.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Tell your friend the company advances him, not vice versa.

Legit or not, he should not use this company (and i'd disclose who they are if theres no NDA).


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

What your friend is looking to do is to buy a $20k lottery ticket and we all know what the odds of winning the lottery are.

He needs to do the work. Put the music out there and play live. If the music is amazing it will be heard.

If these people truly believed in your friend, they would be giving him money not asking for it.

If they are getting paid to do what they do, then anything they say, "you're music is awesome!", is suspect as their motivations are suspect.


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

@Budda and @Guncho I agree with you, I don't think he should take this deal at all. I'm telling him to just tell them he doesn't have the money and won't be able to get it and see where it goes.

In the meantime, do you guys think Soundcloud/Repost is the best way for a person to get their music out there today?


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Jarretv said:


> @Budda and @Guncho I agree with you, I don't think he should take this deal at all. I'm telling him to just tell them he doesn't have the money and won't be able to get it and see where it goes.
> 
> In the meantime, do you guys think Soundcloud/Repost is the best way for a person to get their music out there today?


SoundCloud is a place amateurs can host their music online but I've never discovered new music on that site. Repost, never heard of it. In this day and age you need a video on YouTube. Video doesn't have to be Thriller but you need visuals. You could shoot this with a decent DSLR camera and edit it yourself cheap. It's free to upload your music to Spotify as far as I know.


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## Griff (Sep 7, 2016)

Jarretv said:


> @Budda and @Guncho I agree with you, I don't think he should take this deal at all. I'm telling him to just tell them he doesn't have the money and won't be able to get it and see where it goes.
> 
> In the meantime, do you guys think Soundcloud/Repost is the best way for a person to get their music out there today?


Bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube, etc.

Send music to CKUA, CJSW, CJSR.

Live gigs once they begin again. Maybe a tour.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

I keep coming back hoping to see killer gear but nope.....


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

tdotrob said:


> I keep coming back hoping to see killer gear but nope.....


someone said he would have to post it himself. Sent you a message with a few pics though..


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## Jarretv (Mar 7, 2021)

Guncho said:


> SoundCloud is a place amateurs can host their music online but I've never discovered new music on that site. Repost, never heard of it. In this day and age you need a video on YouTube. Video doesn't have to be Thriller but you need visuals. You could shoot this with a decent DSLR camera and edit it yourself cheap. It's free to upload your music to Spotify as far as I know.


Check out repost, it's part of soundcloud and costs a few bucks a month or is part of unlimited pro - it basically allows you to distro your music on a variety of platforms and monetize it, spotify is one of them...I'm unsure whether the pay rate is the same though. They also just redid how they do their royalties to supposedly make it way more fair to indies...there was a big forum yesterday where they talked about it all for 4 hours...I actually just had my pitch to them approved so I'm curious to see where it goes (and I'm a far lesser musician than my friend).

He's got a video on youtube, but due to certain life complications he doesn't have access to the account so I haven't been able to get in there and properly pump it...it's sitting at a couple thousand views but hasn't blown up yet like I think it will with a little more attention.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

After all this would love to check out the video or hear some music.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

There are online companies that manage and post all your tunes to all the outlets. The one I would use charges one fee and takes no commission. You still pay the commish to the streaming and selling services though.

Distrokid is the one I would recommend. $20 per year...









DistroKid is the easiest way for musicians to get their music into Spotify, Apple, Apple Music, Amazon, TikTok, YouTube Music, and more


Unlimited uploads to Apple Music and more. Keep 100% of your earnings.




distrokid.com


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

player99 said:


> There are online companies that manage and post all your tunes to all the outlets. The one I would use charges one fee and takes no commission. You still pay the commish to the streaming and selling services though.
> 
> Distrokid is the one I would recommend. $20 per year...
> 
> ...


Does it cost money to upload a song to Spotify? Why pay someone to do it? That being said it's only $20.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Using a legitimate company is the best way to scam people. So is using a real contract to make sure they pay you. 
Not joking either


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Guncho said:


> Does it cost money to upload a song to Spotify? Why pay someone to do it? That being said it's only $20.


Read what they are doing for you for $20 a year.

I know a guy that is making big money but it's a full time job doing all the internet stuff. Before the virus he had 2 people working full time on promoting and online stuff.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Budda said:


> Tell your friend the company advances him, not vice versa.
> 
> Legit or not, he should not use this company (and i'd disclose who they are if theres no NDA).


A NDA would make the deal all that much more sketchier, imo.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

@Jarretv bandcamp.


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## Griff (Sep 7, 2016)

Guncho said:


> Does it cost money to upload a song to Spotify? Why pay someone to do it? That being said it's only $20.


You can't upload to Spotify as easily as you can to bandcamp. You need some sort of avenue to collect the royalties. There are companies set up to help with this, but I don't believe it is free.


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## markxander (Oct 24, 2009)

You need a distributor, lots of options provided by Spotify here: https://artists.spotify.com/directory/distribution


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## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

Guncho said:


> After all this would love to check out the video or hear some music.


+1 here..maybe our views can help 'blow it up'


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