Orange Terror Bass 500W - I Need Some Advice

[BigLeeBrink]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice. I have a Orange Terror Bass 500W head that is no longer working (it won't turn on but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what the problem is).

So I am trying to sell it on eBay as 'parts/spares & repairs'. I really need some help on what to price it at, I listed it for £350 ($450ish), which I think is completely fair as it is in excellent condition (other than the not turning on problem). I have made some offers to people that are interested, the lowest (reluctantly) I have gone down to with offers is £310.

Here's where I need the most advice... Am I being completely unrealistic with that price? Am I trying to sell it for too high? Am I selling it for too low? Hypothetically, what would be your realistic price you would sell it for (if you were in my shoes)?

I had someone offer me £200 and they said that they have seen them on eBay starting at £300-350 fully working. The problem is these amps working never sell for as low as that, they usually sell around the £500 mark, which I explained to this user.

Now, if someone was to buy it from me for £300-350 and had to sink some money into getting it working they will have an amp in great condition for potentially under £500. Which you would be hard pressed to find on eBay.

Please be honest and tell me if I am shooting too high or selling myself short. Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Lee

[Sam Spoons]

My gut feeling would be to get it fixed then sell it. I don't think I'd want to gamble more than about £100 on a faulty amp which may be a cheap fix but may need significant money spending on it. A quick Google suggests that PSU failure is not uncommon with these amps (it's a SMPSU which are not easy to fix) but, on the plus side, Orange UK seem happy to fix them for non-silly money.

[Aled Hughes]

I had one of them, and liked it. But I didn't pay £500 for it new, and didn't get that when I sold it, and it was working fine (I think I got £500 including an SP212 cab)

They seem to go used for around £300/£350 in good working condition, and you're asking slightly above that for a broken one.

I'd say £200 is a bit high for one that isn't working, but it's a good offer from your side if they're willing to take the risk.

[Wonks]

Can you confirm that this is one of the new model of Terror Bass heads with the large panels of black/orange/black behind the control knobs rather than the earlier original mainly white fronted Terror Bass?

It's confusing when a company brings out two very different (totally different circuit inside) bass amps with exactly the same name. Why cant they add a Mk2 label, which helps differentiate between the two?

It doesn't help differentiate issues between the two versions when looking up on the web, and what may have been an issue on the first one isn't an issue on the second (and vice versa). But the web will then do what it does best and confuse the two units, so the issues merge.

The Mk2 TB has two valves, either of which if they fail could result in silence. There will be internal fuses which could have failed. There may be a bad solder joint. As has been said, the SMPS could have gone wrong.

But orange seem good at repairing their amps for minimal cost and some dealers seem happy to send back 'out of warranty' amps for just the cost of the courier. If there;s an inherent fault with the amp design, it's covered for much longer than you may think under consumer protection laws. But you probably need to be the original purchaser.

[Sam Spoons]

They are £595 new at Andertons now so £350* used seems reasonable, £500 used and working is an outlier, maybe two people got carried away bidding on ebay? Stick it on ebay with a low start and no reserve and see what it achieves?

I always used to reckon half retail was the average used price, with the advent of ebay et al that seems to have gone up to around two thirds for a mint example but the asking price is not usually what is achieved.

* ebay completed listings show nearly all used working ones sold for between £250 and £350. A faulty one sold for £215 and there is one working one due to finish tonight, starting bid £300 and no bids.

[Wonks]

£519 new at GAK!

[Sam Spoons]

So £500 used seems a touch on the high side then...

[Wonks]

Yes. The used price will always be driven by the lowest new price, regardless of whether you paid significantly more for it.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay.

What's the real value to you of having a dead amp sitting in the corner?

If you just want rid of it, sell it for the best offer you get. Bank the money. Move on.

If you want £500 then you're going to have to pay to get it fixed. If you do that, will you get more afterwards than you would selling it in its broken state? In other words, is it likely to cost more than £300 to get it fixed?

Personally, I think the repair would probably be less, so I'd pay to get it fixed and then sell it as working and in good nick... but you might still not get £500 overall (and more than £200 in your pocket at the end of it all). It all depends on whether you can find a buyer who values it the same way as you!

[sonics]

If you do repair it, make sure you get and keep the receipt, and advertise that fact (and that a repair was done). Genuine buyers should appreciate that.