BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

What do you find to be an appropriate annual "ROI" on effects such as Cornish, Tone Czar, Ethos, etc. -- ones that are still being produced but have wait times?

It seems, from what I have seen, that people hope to bank 30-50% for their wait of 6-12 months. Some even hope to double up with those waits close to 2 years...

I am in no position to do such a thing. Even if I was, I would have no interest in profiting that way, but what do you think?

(PM me if you do not want your thoughts to be publicly broadcast)

Cheers!

Interesting thread topic and safe on this site, but wow! This would draw out the monsters on TGP!

This is a delicate subject. I know I have sold pedals at a loss, at what I paid for them, and maybe 2 for more than I paid. One of those two (I actually can't remember another one. I have asked more, but it almost always ends up even or at loss) was my LGW. I actually bought the LGW for around $230 (I think) and sold it for $500. My justification in this case was that I wanted a price that would enable me to buy a different BJFE. I have also sold pedals for what I paid when I know I could have gotten more.

As far as the resale for profit thing. I think if you order pedals directly from Cornish, Bjorn, or Ed for the purpose of reselling, my guess is that you should not be angered or surprised if you are quickly removed from future orders. It's one thing to get a pedal, find you don't care for it, and sell it for your cost plus a little more that puts you in fair used market value, but it kind of kills me to see guys taking delivery on 4 or 5 pedals and them flopping them for profit two weeks later. Of course, my feelings about this are just that, "my feeling," I think Sonic is correct is pointing out that there are those who will pay huge to not have to wait and the owners do have the right to do what they want with the pedals once they own them.

One thing that has always been pretty cool about this site is that the prices tend to be pretty fair and reflect true market value.

From what I have seen, the longer wait time and most cherished pedals tend to go in the range of 40% to 50% over original price. Anything more than that, seems to actually get people upset. I'm pretty sure there are two Cornish duplex's that are never going to sell on eBay at prices even close to what they are listed for right now.

I agree with Sonic. You buy it and it is yours to do what you want. So what if you make 300%? It should be a big for the maker to either raise price, make more items or a little of both. I do wonder if some makers keep people waiting as it is free advertising on message boards with all the discussions of unobtanium. How hard would it be to have Analogman, for example, hire a skilled out of work person to do the soldering and assembly of King of Tones?

I would think a few other makers would look at what Bjorn did with BJFE, Mad Professor, MP Amps and then Bearfoot. A way to get great ideas/products out at many price points.

great point JK.

Great thoughts, guys.

I was curious what views were out there, and from what I have learned about some of you over the past year, I kind of had an idea of the responses coming back. You have expanded upon my expectations. Thanks for sharing.

caveat emptor

Yes, i agree with what has been said that it’s ok to sell for more than what you paid, as it takes somebody out there willing to pay the prices. Sometimes I have purchased pedals for more than what I considered they were worth, but I was impatient. So I see it kind of evening out at the end.

I also wish more builders follow on Bjorn’s steps and provide other lines that are more obtainable.

I've made a LOT more money on pedals that I paid for them. About 6 years ago, I decided to get rid of my old pedals and start getting some of the new technology (boutique pedals).

I got serious about playing in the late 60's so had quite a collection of old pedals. I wasn't too informed at the time about the whole "vintage" thing.

I remember I first decided to get rid of my old EH Big Muff. I think I put it on eBay for about $25 hoping to get a few bucks for it (along with the rest of my old "junk") so I could buy the new pedals I wanted. Low and behold, the final bid was $300!!! I couldn't believe it. I even emailed the buyer to make sure he didn't make a mistake. He told me that my EH Big Muff is exactly what he had been wanting.

Anyway, I happily took the $300 and bought my first BJFE, the Honey Bee, for about $250. I sold off the rest of my old pedals with similar shocking results and have since bought many nice pedals to replace the old.

I have never understood the fascination with "vintage" pedals. I've owned (and sold) most of what was available "in the day" and it is pure crap compared to what we have on our pedalboards today.

I did get lucky, though, in that I got into the whole BJFE thing early on. I don't think I paid more than $250 for any of them. The mistake I made was selling off my PPF thinking that it just wasn't different enough than all the rest of the BJFE pedals I had. I really wish I never made that mistake. There is nothing like the PPF and now they are $550 and up (I think I got mine for under $200).

I also sold a 1963 Strat that I bought in 1973 (I think I paid about $150 for it). The amount I got for that Strat paid for my Suhr Custom Classic, 1958 Les Paul Historic Reissue, and a new boutique amp. Everyone that bought my "old" stuff was as happy with their new toys as I was to get rid of them to move on to the new

I feel that if I was just ordering pedals for the sake of earning money, I would just be wasting my time. There's much more profitable things I could invest in out there to make the same or even more. Then again, it's always up to the buyer. We can't control what he wants or thinks.

For me I'll only buy or wait for something that I'll know I'll keep, use and appreciate for years to come. Either that or I'm just itching to try it out!